textmarchaelrichardedward1946.html

North High School Wall of Honor
Richard Edward Marchael
Class of January, 1946

Research done by Claradell Shedd, Class of 1953.

Richard Edward Marchael

Dick graduated in the January, 1946 North High class. When he was 17, Dick enlisted in the U.S. Navy in Des Moines, IA. His service number was 3231149. Dick's next of kin was listed as C.W. Marchael, 4013 2nd Avenue, Des Moines, IA.

Richard Edward Marchael

Year		Rank		Status

January, 1946		Graduated		Graduated from North High School, Des Moines, IA.
January 25, 1946	x	Enlisted/ US Navy	x	When Dick was 17, enlisted in US Navy in Des Moines, IA under Voluntary Recruitment Act.
Spring, 1946	x	US Navy/Seaman	x	Basic Training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, IL. MOS was air conditioning.
May 1, 1946- Oct 1, 1946	x	US Navy/Seaman	x	Aboard *USS Burleson (APA-67) Aboard for Joint Task Force One Atomic Bomb Test (Operation Crossroads)
Nov. 2, 1946- Oct.13, 1947	x	US Navy/Seaman	x	Aboard **USS Marquette
Nov. 6, 1947	x	US Navy/Discharged	x	US Naval Air Station; Norfolk, VA
Aug, 1949	x	Family	x	Married Ione Mueller
May, 1952	x		x	Graduated from Drake University.
July, 1952	x	Civilian	x	Moved to Long Beach, CA. Living in CA.
1961-1983	x	Employment	x	Northrop as Engineering Planner.
July 23, 2009	x	Deceased	x	While living in CA.



Atomic Bomb Test/USS Burleson; Bikini Atoll; Crossing 180th Meridian	Dick Marchael, Marvin Rosenberger, X	Seaman Dick Marchael

*Photo of USS Burleson (APA-67) attack transport

USS Burleson; APA-67 Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: China Service Medal (extended); American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) ; World War II Victory Medal ; Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)

*USS Burleson (APA-67)
USS Burleson (APA-67), a Gilliam-class attack transport, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Burleson, Texas. Her keel was laid down on 22 April 1944 at Wilmington, California, by the Consolidated Steel Corporation under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1860).

Following shakedown training out of San Diego, California, and post-shakedown repairs at Terminal Island, the attack transport got underway for the southwestern Pacific on 17 January 1945. She stopped at Tillotson Cove in the Russell Islands from 3 February to 11 February. On the latter day, she moved over to Guadalcanal. Burleson operated at various locations in the Guadalcanal–Tulagi area conducting amphibious training until mid-March. On 15 March, the ship set a course for Ulithi Atoll. She spent the period 21 March to 27 March at anchor in Ulithi lagoon and, on the latter day, got underway in convoy bound for the Ryukyu Islands.

Burleson entered the transport area off Okinawa on the morning of 1 April 1945, the day of the initial assault, but she did not begin unloading until the following day. Those operations continued until 7 April when she put to sea bound for Guam. The attack transport spent the night of 11 April and 12 April at Apra Harbor, Guam, and then resumed her voyage. She arrived in Pearl Harbor on 23 April. Burleson remained in the Hawaiian Islands for two months. She conducted several amphibious training exercises at Maui and underwent repairs at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard. On 25 June, the ship got underway from Pearl Harbor on her way back to the western Pacific.

After stops at Eniwetok and Ulithi, the attack transport arrived back at Okinawa on 5 August. She unloaded her cargo and disembarked her passengers at Buckner Bay. Burleson stayed at Okinawa beyond the end of hostilities on 15 August and through the end of August. On 5 September, she got underway for the Asian mainland. Burleson arrived at Jinsen, Korea, on 8 September and began disembarking troops assigned to military government units. On 13 September, she returned to Okinawa and operated in the Ryukyu Islands until 26 September. On that day, she departed Okinawa with elements of the First Marine Division embarked. The attack transport reached Taku, China, on 30 September and spent the next five days disembarking troops and unloading cargo.

She continued to perform duty in support of occupation forces until November when she returned to Pearl Harbor with a complement of troops returning home. In December, she was assigned to the 14th Naval District temporarily to undergo modifications preparatory to her participation in Operation Crossroads, nuclear tests scheduled for the following summer at Bikini Atoll. In June 1946, Burleson moved from Pearl Harbor to Bikini carrying animals to be used in the two nuclear tests. She observed both tests and moved into the test area after each to remove the animals for study.

**Photo of USS Marquette (AKA-95) attack cargo ship

USS Marquette; AKA-95 Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row: American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row: Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal

**USS Marquette (AKA-95)
USS Marquette (AKA-95) was an Andromeda-class attack cargo ship named after counties in Michigan and Wisconsin. She served as a commissioned ship for 10 years.
Two weeks prior to the end of hostilities in the Pacific, Marquette departed the east coast for Pearl Harbor. Arriving there on 23 August, she loaded cargo for the western Pacific and departed for Guam on 20 September. From Guam she continued on to Manus and Brisbane, where she picked up a cargo of food for the Philippines. Upon arrival at Samar, she discovered her cargo was no longer needed and had been transferred to UNRRA for use in Greece. She then proceeded to Piraeus, via Suez, discharged her cargo, and returned to Norfolk on 19 April 1946.

Marquette was then assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and for almost nine years served as a unit of that fleet's amphibious force. She participated regularly in type, squadron, and amphibious exercises which ranged from Greenland to the Caribbean. Her activities also included periodic deployment with the 6th Fleet and, from 15 August to 21 September 1947, a Brazilian cruise with congressional observers for the Rio Conference embarked. This conference resulted in the signing of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance on 2 September.

Richard Edward Marchael Seaman 1stClass United States Navy
		Victory Medal

References

(1) Information was obtained from the Records on Military Personnel Who Died, were Missing in Action, or Prisoners of War as a result of the Vietnam War. This document can be found online at the National Archives and Records Administration at http://www.archives.gov/.

(2) The comprehensive list of names from North High's 1893-2018 graduation classes are from Claradell Shedd's North Des Moines High School website. The names of North High School graduates can be found online at: http://www.ndmhs.com/. Richard Edward Marchael's 1946 class page is: http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1946(2006.60).html.

09/22/10: Died 07/23/09.

Music: "Anchors Aweigh"