CPL Richard Edgar Shurtleff (WWII)

CPL Richard Edgar Shurtleff was born June 6, 1909 in Fairmont, West Virginia, the son of Richard Aaron and Gladys (Kile) Shurtleff.

The  youngest of 3 children, Richard lived with his parents on the West Side of Fairmont, first at 608 Sixth Street (1910 Census), then 1124 Field Street (1920 Census). His father, Richard A. Shurtleff was a shoe merchant who owned his own store. Unfortunately, he died at age 42 while in Boston attending the National Shoe Dealers' Convention. This left Gladys alone with their three children, ages 19, 12, and 10. 

Gladys remarried a traveling electrical appliance salesman named Richard B. Berry in 1922, and the family moved to 5 Sunset Drive (1930 Census). Gladys and Richard Berry had one daughter together, Barbara, born in 1924 when Richard Edgar Shurtleff was 15.

Education:

Richard graduated from Fairmont Senior High School in 1927. While there, he performed in "El Bandido," and "The Trysting Place," as part of the Dramatics Club, helped found the Kibo (School Spirit) Club, and participated in Hi-Y, and the Hi-Life.

He also attended Fairmont State Teacher's College, now Fairmont State University, for one year. While at Fairmont State, he was a member of the Student Council, and the Male Quartet, for which he sang first bass.

Military Service, Marriage, and Death:

Richard registered for the draft on October 16, 1942, in Galveston, Texas. He listed the A.W. Quinn Distributing Company as his employer. He was 5'11" and 180 lbs, with blue eyes and blonde hair.

Richard married Miss Elizabeth Weaver of Pennsylvania on May 2, 1944 in Galveston, Texas. Elizabeth was a member of the SPARS-- the Coast Guard Women's Reserve. The word SPARS was an acronym for the Coast Guard motto, "Semper Paratus- Always Ready." At the time, Elizabeth was a yeoman third class, according to the wedding announcement published by her parents.

Shortly following the wedding ceremony on May 2, 1944, Richard and a fellow soldier were traveling to a new military assignment at Fort Smith, Arkansas, when they were involved in an automobile accident on the Galveston-Beaumont Highway. The other soldier was not seriously injured, but Richard suffered from a fractured skull and succumbed to his injuries one day later, on May 3, 1944 with Elizabeth by his side.

A newspaper article reads: "Capt. Richard Shurtliff [sic] of Galveston received a skull fracture, and Sgt. Thad Borowski of Philadelphia, PA., suffered from shock when the car they were driving hit a dirt embankment on the Galveston highway near Cheerk, above 5 a.m. Tuesday. Both are in Hotel Dieu for treatment."

Richard was initially buried at Galveston Memorial Park on May 4, 1944, but eventually his body was relocated to Woodlawn Cemetery in Fairmont, WV.

Survivors and Legacy:

Richard Edgar Shurtleff was survived by his wife of one day, Elizabeth "Betty" Shurtleff; his step-father, Richard Berry; and his siblings: half-brother Everett L. Shurtleff, Virginia B. Shurtleff, and half-sister Barbara Berry. His mother Gladys died before Richard, of breast cancer on May 6, 1942.

Betty went on to sue the Harrison Engineering and Construction Corporation, and others, for $66,250. She asserted that his death was caused by a lack of lights or warnings before the obstruction. She was awarded $11,300 in damages.

Betty went on to marry William Larson in 1947 and have five children. Unfortunately, she died in 1962 at age 39 of staph pneumonia. Her children were all 14 and under.