Richard Clarence Titus

Their Story

Richard Clarence Titus was born in Muscatine, Iowa, on November 11, 1952, the son of Harry G. and Edna Ash Titus. He had two brothers and four sisters. His father was a fireman for the railroad in 1940.¹ Titus attended Rock Island High School.² At the age of 17, he was making mattresses in a mattress factory, along with an older brother and sister.³ His father died on September 23, 1964, and his mother in August 1968.⁴

He married Dolores Anderson on December 4, 1954, in Rock Island, Illinois. They had five sons, Mark, Curt, Ricky, Brent, and Jan. At the time of his marriage, Titus was a factory worker at the Roach and Musser Sash and Door Company in Muscatine, Iowa.⁵

Titus enlisted in the U.S. Army engineers on September 21, 1950.⁶ and served during the Korean conflict in Co. G, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, Unit 1, beginning February 17, 1951.⁷ In October 1952, Tutus arrived in Japan and served with the First Cavalry Division, after 11 months in Korea.⁸ He came home to the United States on the Simon B. Buckner transport ship arriving in Seattle, Washington, on November 13, 1953.⁹ Private Titus was honorably discharged on November 20, 1953.¹⁰

He received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.¹¹ He was first awarded a Purple Heart for a wound to his foot on May 2, 1951. His second Purple Heart (or oak leaf cluster) was presented to him on October 18, 1951, at the 343rd General Hospital in Japan by Col. W.S. Pugh, commandant, for wounds received in action.¹² The wound was to the same foot as before and was received while his unit was taking a ridge in North Korea. He was a machine gunner with the 2nd Infantry Division.

¹³The General Simon B. Buckner was an Army ship transferred to the Navy on March 1, 1950, and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS). The MSTS was established in 1949 to provide sea transportation to the military as a successor to the Army Transportation Service.¹⁴ The Simon B. Buckner throughout the Korean War transported troops and equipment to Japan and other staging areas. The ship continued operations in the Pacific until February 1955.¹⁵

In 1956, Titus was a factory worker at Rock Island Millwork.¹⁶ Titus worked as a custodian for many schools and churches after his Army service. He had attended the First Methodist Church in Rock Island, Illinois. Titus was a member of VFW 1303 and American Legion Post 246.¹⁷

Richard C. Titus died on October 11, 2007, in Rock Island, Illinois. He was survived by his sons, Mark, Curt, Ricky, and Brent; seven grandchildren; and sixteen great-grandchildren. Titus was preceded in death by his wife Dolores on June 2, 2004, and his son Jan.¹⁸