03/30/2001

World War II Memorial

  The National World War II Memorial will be the first national memorial dedicated to all who served during World War II. The memorial, which will be established by the American Battle Monuments Commission, will honor all military veterans of the war, the citizens on the home front, the nation at large, and the high moral purpose and idealism that motivated the nation's call to arms.

With this memorial, we remember brave individuals like Erich Richter, who not only served during World War II but also in World War I. His daughter, Ursula McCafferty, tells his story:

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The Medal
By Ursula McCafferty

"Born in Germany on August 14, 1882, his parents named him Gustav Adolph Erich Richter. He dropped the first two and was known as Erich all of his life. He and his brothers were home-schooled by their father, a Lutheran minister, who taught them Latin and Greek and higher forms of mathematics. The next step for the boys was Gymnasium, the equivalent of our high school. Erich hated it and chose to follow the sea instead.

"He signed on as a cabin boy on a brand new sailing vessel, "The Dorothea," for her maiden voyage. They sailed around Cape Horn to Chile and traveled for many months. Somewhere tragedy overtook them. The ship was found adrift, masts gone, off the coast of Ponta del Gada, in the Azores. The entire crew, with the exception of the two cabin boys, was dead of beriberi and scurvy. The boys were unconscious and near death. After weeks of care in a local hospital they were returned home to Germany.

"Erich had the opportunity to go back to school, but the sea had cast its spell. He chose, instead, to apply for the Merchant Marine school in Elsfleth. There he met the girl with the violet blue eyes, Katie Lichtenberg. When he graduated, they were married on June 25,1910. On April 11, 1911 their daughter was born. In June of 1913, Erich's ship started on a year's cruise and on December 12 his son Erich Robert was born.

"In June of 1914, when WWI broke out, Erich's ship was captured by a British destroyer. He was interned as a civilian POW, first in Hong Kong and then in Berrima, Australia. When he was taken prisoner he weighed approximately two hundred ten pounds. When he was repatriated, at the close of the war, he weighed one hundred and twenty-six pounds, his "new" son was seven years old, and lamb was a dirty word. He had spent years living on greasy mutton.

"When the war ended, the German Navy and Merchant fleets were scrapped by the allies. Erich had no future in his chosen profession and the family emigrated to America. Without American citizenship papers and American Merchant Marine masters documents, Erich could not sail as captain on American ships.

"He took work as a barge captain on the Hudson River, a mighty comedown for a proud man. In the 1930's he landed a job with the Colombian government, which was at war with Peru. He became the commodore of their fleet, and the money was good. But like all wars, this one ended.

"By the time WWII had broken out, Erich had become a citizen and was a Commander in the U.S. Merchant Marine. While loading cargo in Baltimore, he chastised a crewman for being intoxicated. The sailor "got even." He reported Erich to Naval Intelligence as a Nazi. Erich was taken off his ship at gunpoint and spent the next several months on shore waiting to be cleared.

"His teenage daughter, Ursula, finally got things moving by writing a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Justice was served and Erich went back to sea as captain of the Liberty ship, "The Richard Olney".

"In September of 1943, in Oran, while loading cordite, TNT, ammunition, aviation fuel and a contingent of the First Cavalry Division, Erich broke three ribs in a fall during a blackout.

"The ship sailed on the 19th and on the morning of September 22, the "Olney" was torpedoed. The torpedo struck in the engine room, not the cargo hold. A fire broke out, the main boiler exploded and the steam put out the fire. Two men lost their lives and fourteen were injured. Although the main engine was displaced four feet to the port side, the decks were torn open, and pieces of steel had penetrated through three steel decks, Erich determined that the ship would not sink. He contacted the escort vessel and arranged to be towed. The ship was towed back to Bizerte Lake and the cargo was transferred to the "William Fisk." The entire cargo was salvaged and the transfer was completed on October 5th.

"Erich was awarded the Merchant Meritorious Service Medal for his efforts in saving the precious cargo. It was the proudest moment of his life, a vindication for the ignominy of being accused as a Nazi, and having his patriotism doubted. While the medal was being pinned on his chest, tears welled up in his eyes, and I have the photo to prove it. I'm proud to say that Erich was my father."

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