Richard L. Frierdich
Biography: Richard “Dick” Louis Frierdich was born on Feb. 26, 1915, in St. Louis, Missouri and was the son of Martin C. Frierdich and Mary E. Struckhoff. He attended Saint Francis DeSales grade school and Roosevelt High School. Dick worked as a bottler at Anheuser Busch Brewing Company in St. Louis for 10 years before he entered the service.
Service Time: Dick entered the Army on April 18, 1941 and completed basic training at Jefferson Barracks, south of St. Louis. At some point, he was assigned to the 640th Tank Destroyer Battalion, eventually being placed in C Company. Additional training was completed at Camps San Luis Obispo and Roberts, California, and he was trained to install, inspect, test and repair AM and FM radios and related equipment. The 640th moved to Hawaii and later spent time on Guadalcanal and New Britain and also participated in the invasion of the Philippine Islands. The unit earned credit for four campaigns: Bismarck Archipelago, Eastern Mandates, Luzon and the Southern Philippines. Dick earned the following awards: Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Campaign Ribbon and five overseas bars. He left the service on August 15, 1945, at the rank of Technician 4th Grade.
The photo shown above right is Dick standing at the North Gate of the Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, in April of 1941.
Dick returned to the St. Louis area and found work as a railroad mail clerk on the Burlington Route. On April 27, 1946, he married the former Frances Lee Dickerman who was from DeSoto, MO. She was the daughter of Frank A. Dickerman and Bertha M. Missey. The couple made their home in St. Louis and raised two children, Richard L. Jr. born in 1947 and Patricia A. in 1950.
In February of 1959, Dick suffered a severe stroke and was unable to work after that. He passed away on October 5, 1978, as a result of the stroke and complications from it. He was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in St. Louis, MO.
We would like to thank Dick’s daughter, Pat, for the photos and information used in this tribute.