Liz Richardson

Liz Richardson
Born	Elizabeth Ann Richardson (1918-06-08)June 8, 1918[1] Akron, Ohio[1]
Died	July 25, 1945(1945-07-25) (aged 27)[1] Rouen[2]
Cause of death	crashed in an L-4 Grasshopper[1]
Burial place	Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial grave A-21-5[1] 49.360278°N 0.857222°W / 49.360278; -0.857222
Education	Mishawaka High School[2]
Alma mater	Milwaukee-Downer College[2]
Occupation	advertising[2]
Organization	American Red Cross[2]
Parents	Charles Monroe Richardson[3]: 1  (father) Henrietta Mehlbach Richardson[3]: 1  (mother)
Awards	American Red Cross medal[1]

Elizabeth Ann Richardson (1918–1945) was a volunteer for the American Red Cross during World War II known for being one of the four women buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

Early life

Richardson was born in Akron, Ohio on June 8, 1918, to Charles Monroe Richardson and Henrietta M. Mehlbach and raised in Mishawaka, Indiana.^[4][5] She attended Milwaukee-Downer College in 1936 specializing in Art and English.^[5] After college, she worked at the Boston Store (Wisconsin-based department store) and Gimbels before gaining a position in the advertisement department at Schuster's.^[4] She joined the Red Cross in July 1944.

World War II Red Cross Service

Richardson served in a Clubmobile serving coffee and doughnuts to US troops during the invasion of France in the Second World War. Richardson was promoted to the Captain of her unit.^[6] She was killed in a Piper Cub plane crash near Rouen^[7] when flying to Paris on July 25, 1945, and is now one of the four women to be buried in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.^[8][1][3][2] The three other women honored with burials there, were Mary H. Bankston, Mary Jewel Barlow and Dolores Mercedes Browne, African American women who had served in the Army's unique 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion and been killed in a Jeep accident.^[7]

References

1. "Elizabeth Ann Richardson", Mémoire & Database
2. James H. Madison (2007), "Wearing Lipstick to War", Prologue Magazine, 39 (3)
3. James H. Madison (2007), Slinging Doughnuts for the Boys : An American Woman in World War II, Indiana University Press, ISBN 9780253350473
4. "Who Was Liz". www2.lawrence.edu. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
5. "Elizabeth Ann Richardson : from Indiana, World War II Casualty". www.honorstates.org. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
6. "The Red Cross Year". www2.lawrence.edu. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
7. Gritz, Jennie Rothenberg. "Message Received". Smithsonian (March 2023): 47.
8. Julia Stringfellow (October 1, 2008), Elizabeth Richardson Exhibit, Lawrence University