The Incredible Journey: From Saipan to St. Mary’s County

They say that with age comes wisdom, and for one St. Mary's County resident that saying couldn't be more true. George Richards has lived a life that has spanned decades, and the changes he has witnessed over those years are truly amazing.

Born December 17, 1911 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, George has lived a life worthy of a screen play. During his lifetime, he has traveled to the Pacific to fight a war and to India to help fight hunger.

Before being drafted in 1942 to serve in the U.S. Navy, George Richards was working for the Department of Agriculture in New York State. At the age of 31, leaving behind a wife and two young children, he boarded a train bound for Shoemaker, California, and Navy boot camp.

He was assigned to the USS Irwin (DD 794), a Fletcher class destroyer that participated in some of the most notable battles fought in the Pacific. After he completed boot camp, George set sail for Hawaii aboard the Irwin before heading to the western Pacific. "When we left the harbor, I was assigned a hammock to sleep in that was over top an open hatch," recalls George about his first night at sea, adding, "That was my introduction to the Navy!"

Throughout his service during WWII, George found himself in a variety of tense and dangerous situations. Holding the position known as the "Captain's Talker," where he relayed the orders from the ship's captain to various parts of the ship, he was often at the heart of extraordinary seagoing battles. During one incident, he was on the bridge when an enemy airplane was barreling down upon the ship as his shipmates valiantly fired off rounds from the 40 mm guns on deck, downing the plane before it hit the Irwin. "I wasn't nervous," George says as he calmly recounted the harrowing tale.

While escorting the aircraft carrier, Princeton, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines in October of 1944, George's strength and nerve would once again be tested. Intense fighting between the United States and Japanese forces resulted in heavy damage to the Princeton by Japanese bombers. "We were waiting in line to go to breakfast, when a plane came out of the clouds and dive bombed the Princeton," recalls George. As the ship struggled to battle raging seas and devastating fires onboard, many of her crewmen were now overboard and the Irwin quickly sailed to their aide.

Several weeks prior to the attack on the Princeton, George and several other men aboard the Irwin had formed an informal rescue squad in preparation of just such a situation. George had once been a lifeguard in West Orange, New Jersey, so he, along with several other strong swimmers, was selected to create the squad. Despite billowing smoke, continuing explosions, and rough waters, George and the other members of the team dove overboard to begin rescuing survivors. During the rescue, the Irwin was also damaged, but she stood fast and rescued a total of 646 sailors from the heavily damaged Princeton.

Like so many who fought in WWII, George is humble about his role in the war. He speaks of participating in the invasion of Iwo Jima and how the Irwin was the first destroyer to arrive at Okinawa as if they were everyday occurrences. When he tells the tale of watching from the ship as the flag was raised on Iwo Jima, it is done with quiet pride. And it is with a calm reserve that he shares how he and one of his shipmates wandered the streets of Tokyo when they were given liberty, just before the Japanese surrender. "That's when we were scared," he says of being in Tokyo before the surrender was officially declared.

But with everything he experienced during the war, it is when you talk with him about his family that George beams with pride. Speaking of his marriage of 57 years to his beloved wife Edith, who passed away in 1994, brings a smile to his face and tears to his eyes. He considers her the rock that got him through the war and attributes the successes of both of their sons to her kind and gentle nature.

Following the war, George went back to his job at the Department of Agriculture which eventually sent him and his family to live in India for two years. Given diplomatic status, he traveled extensively throughout the country meeting with high ranking government and university officials to educate them about farming practices and to conduct research.

After his retirement from the government, George took up several hobbies, including singing with a barbershop quartet and training dogs. Anyone who knows George, knows his long-haired dachshund and constant companion, Hummel. The two are rarely seen apart, and they have been featured in several dog related magazines, achieving the coveted cover spot on one. At the age of 97, George and Hummel competed in an obedience competition, and Hummel garnered his "utility" title, the highest level of obedience that can be achieved by a dog.

When asked what he attributes his great attitude and longevity to, George simply smiles and says, "I try to take it easy and not go overboard on anything," quickly adding, "And I love to sleep!"

George Richards lives every day to its fullest, providing friends with fresh veggies from his beautiful garden and being a wonderful friend, father, and neighbor to not only his son, John, and daughter-in-law, Ann, who live next door, but to all who have the pleasure of knowing him. His varied accomplishments make him more than just the sum of his years, but someone to be admired and emulated, a true American hero.