Smokejumper Obituary: McClung, Richard Ellis (Missoula 1942)

Authors

National Smokejumper Association

Files

Obituary

Richard was initially listed as MIA on January 10, 1944, in the Helena, MT. Independent Record and later listed as KIA on January 12, 1946. He was born August 30, 1917, in Cleveland, N.D. and later moved to Missoula. He was a student at Montana State University when he registered for the Draft on October 10, 1940, at the age of 23. During the summer of 1942, he signed on with the smokejumpers and made at least two fire jumps. His military service combat organization was with the Montana US Navy Reserve at the rank of Ensign. From the Missoulian November 1942, "Cadet Richard E. McClung will graduate from the Navy Pre-Flight school this week and will report to the advanced school of navigation at Coral Gables, Florida, for primary flight training. On completion he will be commissioned and ensign in the naval reserve." He received a posthumous Purple Heart and added to a monument to the missing KIA at Honolulu, Hawaii.

Identifier

McClung_Richard-Ellis_Missoula_1942

Publication Date

January 2002

Keywords

Smokejumping; Smokejumpers -- United States; National Smokejumper Association; Wildfire fighters; Obituaries

Disciplines

Forest Management

Recommended Citation

National Smokejumper Association, "Smokejumper Obituary: McClung, Richard Ellis (Missoula 1942)" (2002). Smokejumper Obituaries. 1359.
https://dc.ewu.edu/smokejumper_bios/1359