A hero from the Greatest Generation will be laid to rest today - Richard C. Higgins - one of the last remaining survivors of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The family has invited the Patriot Guard Riders to accompany their hero from the mortuary to the cemetery and it will be our privilege to fulfil their request.
Richard Clyde Higgins was born on a farm near Mangum, Oklahoma, on July 24, 1921. He joined the Navy on 12/6/1939 and was trained to be a radioman assigned to a patrol squadron of seaplanes based at the Hawaii naval base when Japanese planes began dropping bombs on the morning of December 7, 1941. When the bombing began, he ran to the flight line and began pushing planes away from each other as bombs fell around him. “I was moving planes away from ones that were on fire, because when the tanks exploded, they threw burning gas on the others,” he said.
About 2,400 servicemen were killed in the bombing, which launched the U.S. into World War II. The USS Arizona battleship alone lost 1,177 sailors and Marines, nearly half the death toll.
His awards include the Air Medal w/gold star, Presidential Unit Citation with bronze star, Good Conduct Medal w/5 stars, American Defense Medal w/star, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/3 stars, WWII Victory Medal, China Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Philippine Defense Ribbon, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation and Pearl Harbor Survivors Medal
After his 20 years of military service, retiring on July 16, 1959, Richard became an aeronautics engineer for Northrop Corporation, which later became Northrop Grumman, where he worked on the B-2 Stealth Bomber. He also became a pilot after he retired, flying relief supplies to missionaries and indigenous people.
His granddaughter, Angela Norton, called her grandfather a humble and kind man who would frequently visit schools to share stories about Pearl Harbor, World War II, and the Great Depression. Norton said he wanted to teach people history so they wouldn’t repeat it. “It was never about him,” Norton said. “The heroes were those that didn’t come home.”
Richard is survived by two children, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. His wife, Winnie Ruth, died in 2004 at the age of 82. They had been married for 60 years. He is being flown home back to California, where he will be buried next to his wife.
The family held a memorial service at his church in Bend, OR which was followed by a ceremony with full military honors.
NOTE: This mission posting is to facilitate your voluntary participation in honoring this Greatest Generation hero. For those interested, and all PGR members are welcome, we will be accompanying the hero and his family from mortuary to the cemetery, approximately 15 miles. Please see the timetable if you would like to participate.
NOTE: There is rain forecast for Monday so please be safe out there on the roads.TIMETABLE FOR MONDAY, 01 APRIL 20241045 - Stage at Hilgenfeld Mortuary, 120 E. Broadway Ave., Anaheim, CA.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/idrXhiFHQWqCkh1z61100 - Mission briefing.
1115 - KSU to Christ’s Cathedral Memorial Gardens, 13280 Chapman Blvd., Garden Grove, CA.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/UK6vSP2irzLdVUoA61145 – Arrive Christ’s Cathedral Memorial Gardens.
TOM BARRY
PGR California State Captain
casc@patriotguard.org
714-206-1227You do not have to be a veteran or a motorcycle rider to attend this mission. All PGR members are welcome. We encourage those who do not ride to attend in your car. If this will be your first mission go to the initial staging area and you will be briefed there by the Ride Captain (RC). Dress for motorcycle riding or dress casually if you are driving a cage (car). Please feel free to attend any portion of this mission you can. Please ride/drive safely.
Please remember that our mission is to stand tall and silent, and with honor and respect for our Heroes. No talking, smoking, or cell phone use during the flag line or service. Please keep radios off and engine noise to a minimum.
