"Dick Who?"

by Dr. Nelson Blackmore

Richard Powell graduated from the University of Syracuse. At the beginning of WWII, he volunteered for officer's training in the United States Marine Corps. He finished his training and eventually was sent to the Battle of Guadalcanal.

As far as I can remember he was never wounded. But he contracted malaria and another intestinal parasite and was extremely ill. He was sent to Australia, where the medical and hospital services were far superior than they were on Guadalcanal at the time.

Subsequently, he was transferred from the field of operation back to the States. I don't think this happened too often for a marine officer, but he had gone through so much that I think the Marine Corps felt that he deserved to have this.

He arrived in Los Angeles where he had a long relationship with a young woman named Julie. The first thing he did was to pick up the phone and call Julie. He said, "Julie, this is Dick." And Julie said, "Dick who?" (Later, they were married.)