Published April 8, 2020
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The town has lost two more people to the COVID-19 virus, including a prominent World War II veteran.
Essex Village resident Earl Richard passed away from the virus on Sunday, March 29, at the age of 99. He died five days after he lost his son, Historical Commission member Steven Richard, to COVID-19.
“It is with great sadness we share with you the passing of Steven’s father Earl ‘Skipper’ Richard,” Sandra Nascembeni McArthur, Steven’s sister-in-law, wrote on Facebook. “This man was a treasure to us all. We are heartbroken. Please keep his son Glenn, daughter Doreen and her husband David, daughter-in-law Karen, and his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, friends and family in your thoughts and prayers.”
North Shore Music Theater General Manager Karen Nascembeni, Steven’s widow, remains hospitalized with the virus.
According to Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Glenn Davis, there were 28 people in town who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of Monday morning. In addition to Earl and Steven Richard, an unidentified man in his 80s has passed away from the virus. No information has been released about the fourth victim.
“On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, we want to recognize and offer our full condolences and our heartfelt sorrow for those who have passed and those who are struggling with this terrible virus,” Town Administrator Rob Dolan stated during a virtual press conference on April 2. “The Meeting House is lit up not only in memory of those people, but in recognition of all the people who are struggling.”
In memoriam
Earl was profiled in the Dec. 7, 2011 issue of the Lynnfield Villager, where he recalled his World War II experience serving on the USS Vincennes.
While attending Wakefield High School, Earl and one of his friends took a train to see the cruiser being commissioned at the Fore River Ship Yard in Quincy in 1938. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and graduated from boot camp on Dec. 7, 1940.
After boot camp graduation, Earl was assigned to the USS Vincennes, marking the beginning of an incredible year-and-a-half long journey. The USS Vincennes departed San Francisco along with the USS Hornet on April 2, 1942 as part of the Doolittle Raid.
“Everyone on the Vincennes thought they would be escorting the Hornet to Pearl Harbor to off-load the (B-25) bombers,” Steven Richard stated in a memo about his father that was given to Veterans’ Services Officer Bruce Siegel. “While en route, they were notified that they were heading straight to bomb Tokyo in direct retaliation to the attack on Pearl Harbor. This attack was the brainchild of and led by Lt. Col. James Doolittle of the U.S. Army Air Forces.”
Earl told the Villager that he received a special Navy certificate commemorating his participation during the Doolittle Raid from former U.S. Navy Secretary John Dalton in 1995.
“It took them from 1942 to 1995 to give us this certificate,” Earl told the Villager.
The USS Vincennes was involved in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Earl said the battle was a major victory for U.S. forces and was one of the turning points in the war waged in the Pacific Theater.
Earl survived the sinking of the USS Vincennes on Aug. 9, 1942 during the Battle of Savo Island.
“In the early morning hours of Aug. 9, under the cover of darkness, the Japanese Navy opened fire on American and Australian Navy ships,” Steven Richard stated. “The Vincennes suffered heavy damage, was on fire and sinking. The order was given to abandon ship. In less than an hour after the bombing had started, the Vincennes was lost.”
There were 332 crew members who lost their lives after the USS Vincennes sunk. When asked by the Villager what was going through his mind when the cruiser was sinking, Earl said: “Massachusetts is a long ways away.”
Earl jumped off the ship and had to swim to a life raft that was 200 or 300 feet away. After he got into the raft, another crewman asked Earl to hold up a different sailor who kept passing out due to extensive bleeding caused by shrapnel slicing open his wrist.
“I had my arm around him so he didn’t pass out and I held onto him for the rest of the time,” Earl told the Villager. “Nobody wanted to hold this guy up, so I stayed with him.”
Earl and the USS Vincennes’ survivors spent the night in shark-infested waters until the USS Mugford rescued them at 7:30 a.m. The sailors were in the water for five hours.
“The bow came out of the mist in the morning and boy did it look good,” said Earl.
Earl said the rescue came at the perfect time.
“The sharks were starting to come back because they smelled the blood in the water,” he recalled.
In addition to serving on the USS Vincennes, Earl served on the USS Core for 18 months, which was tasked with hunting and destroying German submarines.
Earl was also aboard the USS Randolph CV-15, which was involved in a number of Pacific Theater battles.
“They saw two bombing raids on Tokyo and were also involved with the Battle of Iwo Jima and the Battle of Okinawa,” Steven stated. “During the Battle of Okinawa, they survived multiple kamikazi attacks by Japanese pilots desperate to inflict some damage on the invading American forces.”
Earl, who enlisted in the Navy before the attack on Pearl Harbor, was honorably discharged in 1946.
“There were a lot of tense moments, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything,” Earl told the Villager.
Veterans’ Services Officer Bruce Siegel recalled that the Richards were “a very close family.” He said Steven was full of pride while his father was being honored at last year’s Memorial Day parade.
“Earl was proud to serve in the U.S. Navy and Steven was proud of his father’s service,” said Siegel.
After he got out of the Navy, Earl met his late wife, Edith, and they moved to Beaver Avenue. The couple had four children: Doreen, Steven, Glenn and the late Craig. Earl worked for the New England Telephone Company until he retired in 1983.
The Richard family was very involved with the Historical Society, particularly the annual Country Store fundraiser, over the years. Steven recalled in an interview with the Villager last year that Edie, who previously served as president of the Historical Society, ran the ham-and-bean supper table while Earl was in charge of the greens department. After Earl and Edie handed the reins over to Steven and Karen, Steven said his father would come to the Country Store in order to inspect their work. Steven also said his father enjoyed having a cup of coffee and a hot dog while reflecting back on his “many years of involvement with the Country Store.”
Centre Congregational Church Rev. Nancy Rottman recalled that Earl was very involved with the church just like Steven. She said both men will be deeply missed.
“Let us pour out our love and compassion for the whole Richard and DiFillippo family,” Rev. Rottman stated in a Facebook post. “Fresh grief and disbelief are what we sit with. But we do so knowing that Jesus weeps with us and that God, the parent most surely knows the pain of loss, is with us in ours. And we can reassure Doreen and Glenn that they are not alone. They have God with them, and all of us too. We are bound together by love. And that’s what today calls for.
“But in the days and weeks to come, we will grasp onto the hope and promise of resurrection, for Earl and Steven, and for all of us,” Rev. Rottman continued. “We will see Easter’s promise. Until then, here’s where hope is for me this morning. The thunderstorms came just after Earl died. And Doreen shared that Earl always loved a good storm. It seemed fitting that a fuss was made for Skipper’s arrival home into God’s waiting and steadfast embrace, and his reunion with Edie, Craig and Steven.”