Richard Edward Eiting was born on August 23rd, 1920 in Decatur Indiana. His parents are Benard Benjamin and Elizabeth (Miller) Eiting. His siblings were Catherine born in 1908, Francis Margret born in 1910, and Robert born in 1912. He enlisted on July 15th, 1942 to the United States Army. He trained at Camp Forrest, Tennessee; Fort Benning, Georgia; Camp Phillips, Kansas; Yuma, Arizona , and Camp Dix , New Jersey. He would go on to earn the rank of Tech 5. Eiting married Louise Bir, a Fort Wayne nurse, in May on the 14th of 1944 while he was home from training. He was shipped out later that July. Richard's brother Robert was a Sargent with an ordinance company in France, and his sister Francis was a Navy nurse stationed at Oakland, California. His sister Catharine moved to the Bronx in New York to became a teacher at the Sisters of St. Angnes. His parents later moved to Bluffton, Indiana.During Richard's youth, he went to Decatur Catholic High school and was in the graduating class of 1939. He worked at Cal E. Peterson clothing store, along with other clothing stores in the town of Decatur, during high school before enlisting in the Army. He was in the 3rd Battalion, 318th Infantry, 80th Division. His service number was 35-330-239. His unit was nicknamed the "Blue Ridge Division". The unit was ordered into action on July 14th, 1944 and soon set sail on the SS Queen Mary eventually landing in Greenock, Scotland, then moved to the front of France. 3,038 were killed in action, and 17,087 total casualties in his unit throughout the war. Richard was killed in France on September 17th, 1944 in an Army Hospital by wounds we received in action 2 days earlier on September 15th at the age of 21. The family didn't get the news till October 21st. His remains were temporarily buried in an American military cemetery in Andilly, France. After the war, his body was sent home to be buried in the St.Joseph Catholic Cemetery on December 22nd of 1948 in Decatur, Indiana. For his service and sacrifice, Lt. Eiting earned the Purple Heart, WWII Victory medal, American Campaign Medal, and European Campaign medal. Information researched and collected by Vanessa Robinson, 2015.
Ancestry.k12.n.p. n.d. 17 November 2015. Web.
"Cpl. Richard Eiting Dies of Wounds Sustained in France." Decatur Daily Democrat. 23 October 1944. Print.
Employees of the Decatur Daily Democrat, comp. Veterans of the Bi-State Area. Marceline: D-Books Publishing Inc., 2010. Print.
Indiana Historical Bureau, comp. Gold Star Honor Roll: Adams County. Bloomington: Indiana War History Commission, 1949. Print. Vol. 1 of Indiana in World War II.
Yearbook Staff, ed. 1936 Yearbook. Decatur, IN: Decatur Catholic High School, 1937. Print.