Peninsula doctor’s son killed in Afghanistan

PORT TOWNSEND — A July 30 Port Angeles ceremony is being planned in memory of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. William Taylor Richards, the son of Jefferson Healthcare hospitalist Dr. Steven Richards, who was buried Saturday in Tennessee after he was killed in combat in Afghanistan last month.

The fallen Marine, who had played bluegrass banjo with Port Townsend musicians, died June 26 in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.

A funeral was conducted Saturday in Chattanooga, Tenn., where news reports said he was remembered as a fine young man, husband, father and a brave Marine.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Dr. Richards, who lives in Sequim and who also has worked at Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles, was said to be still on the East Coast and was unavailable for comment Wednesday, an official with Jefferson Healthcare hospital said.

Dr. Ed Gacek, who worked with Dr. Richards at OMC for about six years, said the physician was expected to return home sometime today.

“It’s just such a loss, especially around the Fourth of July,” Gacek said, recalling stories of Cpl. Richards coming to Port Townsend in the summers.

He performed on the banjo with bluegrass musicians at such venues as The Upstage, and played anjo and guitar with his father, Gacek said.

Bell-ringing ceremony

To honor his memory, Port Angeles Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1024 are tentatively planning a July 30 bell-ringing ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park on Lincoln Street in Port Angeles, said VFW Post 1024 Cmdr. Bill Minor, but plans had not been finalized with Dr. Richards as of Wednesday.

Minor said he hopes the doctor can join Port Angeles veterans who would present him with a ceremonial U.S. flag honoring the memory of his 20-year-old son.

Bell-ringing ceremonies for veterans who have died in the past month are conducted on the last Friday of the month at the park on Lincoln Street, Minor said.

Paula Dowdle, chief operating officer at Jefferson Healthcare said the doctor has served as a hospitalist, or in-house doctor, for the hospital the past two years.

“He was at an education seminar out of state when he learned about it,” Dowdle said, referring to Cpl. Richards’ death.

Cpl. Richards was from Trenton, Ga., where he attended Dade County High School, southeast of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Musician, father

Cpl. Richards’ family released a statement last week saying the Marine was “an excellent musician” and a “dedicated father,” the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

The statement also said that his commanding officer told family members that Cpl. Richards was “a brave man and a fine Marine.”

Cpl. Richards had been serving in Afghanistan since March.

He died “as a result of a hostile incident while supporting combat operations,” said a Department of Defense prepared statement.

Cpl. Richards was a squad automatic rifleman, handling one of the heavier machine guns for the squad of about 15 Marines.

He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Cpl. Richards was a 2008 graduate of Dade County High School in Georgia.

He is survived by his wife, Emily Mitchell Richards, and daughter Kayden Lee, 9 months; mother Barbara Pouliot of Ringgold, Ga., and his father, who was originally from Hixson, Tenn.

________

Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Cheri Sanford of Port Angeles, right, hands a piece of metal debris to her grandson, Damien Millet, 9, after it was located with a metal detector and dug from the sand at Hollywood Beach in Port Angeles on Wednesday. They were combing the beach in search of whatever hidden treasures they could find. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Beach combing

Cheri Sanford of Port Angeles, right, hands a piece of metal debris… Continue reading

Six Peninsula school measures passing

Sequim voters approve bond, levy

Port Townsend, Chimacum pass school levies

Funds will support facilities, supplies, transportation

Counties can collect up to $1.80 of property tax per $1,000 of assessed value, but they are only allowed to increase their property tax collection amount by 1 percent each year, excluding new construction, without voter approval.
Clallam already eyeing 2026 cuts

If county can’t raise revenue, it may cut employees, services

Port Angeles School Board to conduct community conversation

Port Angeles School Board members will be available to… Continue reading

After-school art program returns to Stevens Middle School

Let’s Make Art, a free after-school program at Stevens… Continue reading

Department of Licensing offices to be closed

PORT ANGELES – The Department of Licensing office of the Clallam County… Continue reading

Voters approving all Peninsula school measures

Sequim bond passing with required supermajority

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Clallam County election workers Neva Miller, right, and Debbie Kracht, both of Sequim, open election ballots on Tuesday at the courthouse in Port Angeles.
Ballot sorting in Port Angeles

Clallam County election workers Neva Miller, right, and Debbie Kracht, both of… Continue reading

Jefferson County board to select interim sheriff

Chosen candidate will serve until next election

State funding challenges dominate legislative conversations

Multiple bills may have local relevance

PA’s Platypus Marine looks to expansion

Growth benefits local economy