Colclasure, Richard 'Dick'

1915 - 1986  (71 years)

• Name	Colclasure, Richard 'Dick'
  Birth	1 Sep 1915	Flora, Clay County, Illinois   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Reference Number	COLC.R004
  _FGRAVE	109535800
  Military Service	World War II, Sergeant, Company C, 313th Infantry Battalion, 79th Infantry 'Cross of Lorraine' Division, United States Army  [2, 3]
  	Entered active service as a draftee on December 3, 1943 at Chicago, Illinois. Trained as a heavy mortar crewman (military occupational specialty 1607). Departed the Continental U.S. on May 13, 1944 bound for the European Theater of Operations. After crossing into the continent across Utah Beach, entered combat on June 19, 1944 with Company C, 313th Infantry Battalion, 79th Infantry 'Cross of Lorraine' Division through the Normandy, northern France, and into the Rhineland Campaigns. Capaptured by the Germans in mid-September, he was interned at Stalag 2B near Hammerstein, Germany until liberated by advancing American forces on April 12, 1945. Earned the American Campaign Medal, The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three bronze battle stars, the WWII Victory Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. Honorably discharged as a Sergeant on November 25, 1945 at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Source: http://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque.aspx?honoreeID=1923895
  		United States of America Flag, 48 Stars (1912-1959) In 1912, two stars were added to the United States flag, representing Arizona and New Mexico, bringing the total number of stars to 48. They were arranged in six rows of eight stars each. American fighting men would fight under this flag during four wars: World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the beginning of the Vietnam War. (In 1959,…
  		United States Army
  		Sergeant, United States Army and United States Army Air Fores (Sep 1942-Aug 1948) NOTE: The three stripe Sergeant Insignia was not used during the Korean War
  		United States Army Enlisted Rank Insignia
  		Military Service Ribbons, Colclasure, Richard 'Dick' (1915-1986) Contributed by Carl Wayne Gray
  		Good Conduct Medal, United States Army
  		Good Conduct Medal, United States Armed Forces
  		American Campaign Medal, United States Military
  		American Campaign Medal, United States
  		European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, United States
  		European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, United States
  		World War II Victory Medal, United States Military
  		World War II Victory Medal, United States Military
  		World War II (1939-1945)
  		79th Infantry Division, United States Army
  		79th Infantry Division, United States Army
  		European Theater of World War II
  		Fort Sheridan, Illinois
  		Brochure, World War II Memorial, Flora, Illinois, Nov 11, 2007 On Veterans' Day, 2005, the city of Flora, Illinois dedicated a memorial to all known Clay County, Illinois World War II Veterans. Located on the south side of the city library, this is a copy of the brochure honoring that event. This 2007 brochure adds a matrix for locating the memorial brick that was laid in honor of each veteran. …
  		World War II Honoree, Colclasure, Richard (1915-1986)
  Death	15 Oct 1986  [1, 4]
  	Cause: Plane Crash
  Burial	Arcola Township Cemetery, Arcola, Douglas County, Illinois   [1]
  		Headstone, Colclasure, Richard and Hazel
  Person ID	I11472	Carl Wayne Gray Research
  Last Modified	6 May 2024

  
  

  Father	Colclasure, Charles Earl 'Charley',   b. 26 Jan 1892, Illinois d. 4 Oct 1973, Cass County, Illinois (Age 81 years)
  Mother	Clement, Ruth M.,   b. 5 May 1892   d. 15 Nov 1963 (Age 71 years)
  Family ID	F5471	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Warren, Hazel Mae,   b. 29 May 1920, Wyoming d. 9 Feb 2011, Decatur, Macon County, Illinois (Age 90 years)
  Marriage	Y  [1]
  Children	1. Colclasure, L.J.
  Family ID	F5472	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	31 Jan 2023

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1 Sep 1915 - Flora, Clay County, Illinois Burial - - Arcola Township Cemetery, Arcola, Douglas County, Illinois  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  Richard Colclasure was born 1 Sep 1915 and died 15 Oct 1986, in a plane crash, his plane was hit by a student pilot near Charleston, Coles County, Illionos. Richard married Hazel Mae Warren and together ran a Western Auto Hardware store for years in Arcola, Illinois. Richard was a WWII prisoner of war and an accomplished pilot.

  
  

• Sources

  [S3048] https://www.findagrave.com, Headstone, Colclasure, Richard and Hazel, (https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=109535800), none. (Reliability: 2). [S2819] World War II Honoree, Richard Colclasure, (https://wwiiregistry.abmc.gov/honoree-plaque/?honoree_id=1923895) (Reliability: 2). [S3050] http://www.findagrave.com, Headstone, Colclasure, Richard, (http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=109535800), none. (Reliability: 2). [S3049] http://www.findagrave.com, Obituary, Colclasure, Verna Mae, 87, (http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=51206657), none. (Reliability: 2).