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Dick helped his younger brother Arthur out of some scrapes when they both were younger. He went into the Army and achieved the rank of Captain in WWII in the North African Campaign. He was an expert in the construction of rail lines to forward the military supplies to the front lines during the war. His field promotion to Captain testifies to his valuable work in the military. He started drinking there and never seemed to be able to control it after that.
After his military service, Dick worked for the Soo Line, as an Assistant Manager in the Storage Department. He married Patricia Sherry and they had one daughter. He liked children and would take his niece, Mary, to ball games and to the park. Due to his alcoholism, he lost his job and his family. Twice he went through alcohol treatment in Willmar, but was not able to stop the dependency. His brother, Art tried to intervene with him on many occasions, but each time he would return to drinking. A psychologist once told Art that he thought Dick was an overachiever. He lived in a rooming house in Minneapolis and was sober for 6 months before he died at the age of 53.
Dick was buried at Fort Snelling.
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