| NAME: Richard Elwood Backstrom |
NICKNAME: — |
SERVICE NUMBER: 567903 |
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| HOME OF RECORD: Milwaukee, WI |
NEXT OF KIN: Unknown |
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| DATE OF BIRTH: 4/7/1927 |
SERVICE DATES: 11/10/1944 – 5/4/1947 |
DATE OF DEATH: 2/29/2000 |
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| CAMPAIGN | UNIT | MOS | RATE | RESULT | |||
| None Served | A/1/24 | 745 | Private | ||||
| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS: — |
LAST KNOWN RANK: Private First Class |
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Richard Backstrom was born in 1927. He first appears on Census records in the home of his uncle and aunt, Ralph and Edith Brown, of Des Moines, Iowa; eventually, a branch of his family settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Richard attended Rufus King high school.
Little else is known about Backstrom before he enlisted in the Marine Corps on November 10, 1944. He trained at Parris Island and Camp Lejeune, and then traveled across the country with the 58th Replacement Draft.
In the summer of 1945, Private Backstrom was transferred to the 24th Marine Regiment, and became a rifleman with Company A. He trained with them for the invasion of Japan, but the war ended before he had a chance to see combat. After the war, he served for twelve months with Headquarters & Service Company, 18th Service Battalion as a stockman until his honorable discharge in May, 1947.
Backstrom died in Washington in February, 2000. He is buried in Tahoma National Cemetery.