Uncle Richard and me (Tom Niderost) picnic
at Ft. Bragg, CA  (About 1964)

Then because his father Joseph, would not pay hush money to the sheriff when he was caught making moonshine the family lost their ranch in Hopland. Richard remembers moving from one little house to another because the houses were never big enough for their family so Mother Ada always wanted to move. They even lived in the same house twice and when they first moved to Ukiah they had to live in a chicken shed. Richard remembers his mother pressing their clothes and blacking their shoes Saturday evening so their things would be ready for church Sunday morning. Water was heated on the wood stove and they all took turns having a bath in a wash tub in the kitchen.

Father Joseph did odd jobs and was finally hired by the city. Often there was not enough clothes or food for their growing family. The boys were always hungry. As soon at the children were old enough for school they were each placed in the Catholic orphanage and attended the Catholic school. Richard remembers being taken to the orphanage right after he turned six. He remembers running away from the orphanage several times and going home only to be dragged back by his father. He would go for week at a time not seeing his parents. Sometimes he would see his father walk by on the street out side the high orphanage fence.  The children were very lonely.  It was always Richard's goal to live with his family. 

When he was 13 years old Richard began attending public school in the 8th grade.  At the beginning he had to endure the taunts of "Mackerel Snapper" and other religious slurs, but he soon distinguished himself in football.  He found a job working for Hank Cleone in his bakery shop.  Richard was happy to be able to move home even though it meant working after school for 4 or 5 hours every night during the week, except on Friday.  On Fridays he would go to work right after school and work all night until he was finished Saturday afternoon, nearly a 24 hour shift.  He was paid 7 cents an hour but he had to take his wages in old, stale bread for the family.  Supper usually consisted of stale bread cut up in a bowl with a little milk on it.

Richard's oldest brother Joe acted like a bully and would grab the best at the table. If there was someone at the table who was quicker than he, Joe would fly into a rage and turn the table upside down. If a little brother was given a toy Joe would grab and brake it. One day Joe was out by the sand box harassing his little brothers. Richard told him to stop bothering their little brothers. When brother Joe wouldn't stop picking on them and making them cry, Richard picked up a 2 by 4 and hit Joe over the head with it. Joe stopped immediately. After that Joe treated Richard with respect and he didn't bother the younger brothers when Richard was around.

Richard and his next oldest brother Frank were altar boys in the Roman Catholic church. One day Richard and Frank climbed up in the bell tower of the church. They could see a priest talking to some nuns in the court yard below. Frank got a bright idea and he began pelting the priest and nuns with pea gravel. The priest and nuns started looking around for the culprits but fortunately for the boys, they were not detected.

W. W. II, was raging in Europe and Richard's older brother Benedict had joined the Navy. Richard's brother Frank decided to join too, but he was full of mischief and pranks and Mother Ada was worried about him. She asked Richard to join too so he would keep an eye on Frank. Richard wanted to finish high school but he also wanted to obey his mother. His high school foot-ball coach had assured him of a scholarship at St. Mary's College in San Francisco when he graduated if he would stay. After much mental anguish, he decided to join the Navy in January of his Senior year of High school.

Richard and Frank left Ukiah January 3, 1941 and was sent to San Diego for  basic training. In March he went to Point Loma and was assigned duty on a mine sweeper for 5 months. In August he went to Chicago on a Troop train. In Chicago he trained to be an Aviation Machinist Mate. While he was there the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States joined the war.  June 1942 found Richard back at the Naval Air station in Alameda California. He was assigned to squadron VR2. On base his job was Master of Arms. He had to make sure people were behaving themselves and that the barracks were clean.

After a couple of months Richard volunteered to go overseas to join the new squadron VR10. The new squadron flew to Honolulu and arrived on Ford Island at Pearl Harbor on his birthday September 12, 1942. It took the boys 19 1/2 hours because they were bucking a head wind.  When they landed, there was only an hour of fuel left. 

	Richard met his brother Benedict there. Ben was in assembly and repair working at Ford Island. The following spring 1943, Richard's brother Frank who was a Yeoman arrived aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. During the summer of 1943 Richard's younger brother Dominic, who had also joined, showed up. While all four brothers were there in Hawaii, the newspaper took a picture of them all together.  Dominic was a fireman on an ammunition ship, the USS Hercules.  One day, while the ship was on skids (in dry dock), Dominic and another sailor were chasing each other around the ship's railing.  Dominic fell to the dry dock which knocked him unconscious or 9 1/2 months. The Navy did extensive surgery and rehab before discharging him
but Dominic was never the same. The fall did save his life however, for when the ship he had been on went back out to sea the Japanese blew it up.  Richard was the flight engineer for his plane. They flew south toward Australia hopping from Island to Island taking injured Marines to hospital ships. After 10 days they would fly back to Honolulu and they would be there for 3 days and then go out again to transport more injured Marines. Early in the spring of 1944 Richard's appendix ruptured. The Navy doctor said that Richard had dysentery. He was finally taken to the Army hospital 18th General in Fuji. There the Army doctor diagnosed him correctly and did emergency surgery. After surgery they sent his mother Ada a notice telling her Richard was not expected to live. He did live but did not get better as quickly as they thought he would. After he had a relapse he was kept at the 142nd for observation, for 2 weeks more. Amputees were there and when the wind was blowing you could smell dead flesh. Finally he was released from the hospital and the military sent him back to Honolulu, where he was on light duty for 3 months and then returned to serve in the States and took a discharge several months after the war ended.
This biography was narrated to his daughter Laurel Lea Niderost Shelden, shortly before his death in 1999.  Editing assistance by Lou Niderost. Visit the Niderost Genealogy Store for Books, Music, Software, etc. Last Modified: