Richard Kimball Ferrill was born on 12 September 1915.At the time,his family lived at 50 Parker Road in Framingham. His father was an artist and illustrator.His mother was an interior decorator. His military career spanned from 1934 to 1960 when he retired from the US Air Force (USAF).He was first a member of the Framingham based,National Guard Battery E,211th Coastal Artillery.In September of 1941,after his Guard enlistment expired,he volunteered for the US Army Air Force (USAAF).He was subsequently trained as a bombardier and gunner.He would later serve as a Flight Engineer in the new US Air Force’s (USAF) Strategic Air Command (SAC).
In total,Richard accumulated over 5,000 hours as an aircraft crewmember. During WWII,he was assigned to the 319th Bomb Group where he flew in a B-26 Marauder.The Martin B-26 Marauder,a twin-engine light bomber,entered USAAF service in 1941.Over 5,000 Marauders were built,and used in all WWII theaters of operation.
B-26 Martin Marauder
Image: Public Domain
The 319th Bombardment Group was activated on 19 June 1942.It trained with B-26s then moved via England to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations where it participated in the 8 November 1942 Invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch).The 319th attacked airfields,harbors,rail facilities,and other targets in Tunisia until February of 1943.The command also struck enemy shipping to prevent supplies and reinforcements from reaching the enemy in North Africa.
Operation Torch
Image: Wikipedia/Public Domain
After a period of reorganization and training (February to June of 1943),the group resumed combat operations and participated in the Invasion of Sicily (July,1943).After the fall of Sicily in August,the 319th directed most of its attacks against targets in mainland Italy.The group attacked bridges,airfields,railroad marshalling yards,gun sites,defensive positions,and other tactical targets.It supported the Salerno Invasion (September,1943) and combat operations at Anzio and Cassino from January through March of 1944.The 319th also participated in interdiction operations in central Italy to aid the Allied advance to Rome and ultimately Florence.
On 23 January 1943,the aircraft Richard was flying in was part of a four-plane unit that attacked two Axis supply ships in the Mediterranean.They sank both vessels,but Ferrill's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and forced to ditch in the water (1/4th of a mile off Cape Negro,Tunisia).The aircraft broke in two on impact.
For his valorous deeds that day,Richard was awarded the Silver Star Medal.His citation reads:
“For gallantry in action against the enemy while serving as a member of the Air Crew of a Bomber in the TWELFTH Air Force,in aerial operations in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations,on 23 January 1943.After making a crash landing in the sea one-half mile from shore,Sergeant Ferrill displayed great courage and skill in saving the life of the co-pilot,whose life preserver had been made useless by enemy flak.At great personal risk and danger,Sergeant Ferrill brought the co-pilot ashore. The next day he assisted in carrying the co-pilot on a stretcher over 15 miles of mountainous terrain to a Red Cross field station.”
His Silver Star was pinned on by the famous General Jimmy Doolittle.Doolittle planned and led the B-25 bomber attack on Tokyo in April of 1942.The surprise raid from an aircraft carrier (the USS Hornet) shocked the world and provided the Allies with a much-needed morale boost.
General Doolittle Receives the Medal of Honor from FDR for the Tokyo Raid
Image: The National Archives
On 10 February 1943,Richard was awarded an Air Medal for five combat missions in North Africa.On 08 April 1943,Staff Sergeant Ferrill also received a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).
Silver Star
DFC
Air Medal
Following his Silver Star award,Richard was directed to sit for a Major Charles Baskerville portrait.As the official portrait painter of the USAAF, Baskerville created over sixty paintings of officers and soldiers that were exhibited widely during and after the war (some at the Pentagon). Baskerville was a WWI veteran who had himself won a Silver Star for valor.Some of his paintings are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.A 20 July 1972 article in the “Wetumpka Herald” (Alabama) reports that this experience “inspired Ferrill to become a portraitist and an illustrator.”
Richard K. Ferrill
Richard K. Ferrill and Captain Mike Zawisza
Images: Department of the Air Force Art Collection
Richard re-enlisted on 15 November 1945 at Maxwell Field, Montgomery,AL.As of 1 September 1949,now First Sergeant Ferrill was assigned to the 3806th Maintenance Squadron of the Strategic Air Command (SAC).He also served in the Korea War.He retired as a Master Sergeant in 1960.
Richard’s first post military job was as a proofreader for Paragon Press.He was subsequently hired by the Veterans Administration (VA).He ended his second career working for a Department of Agriculture office in Alabama.He remained in the Montgomery area following retirement.
Ferrill's first marriage was to Helen Krecioch in October of 1944.They had a daughter.His second marriage to Lilla Todd took place in 1946.
Richard had a passion for art,which was said to have developed in his early childhood days.He participated in art classes at the University of Alabama and Auburn University.He was engaged in a significant amount of civic activism in the Montgomery area,including in his Masonic Lodge and church.He passed away on 22 July 1996 in Montgomery at 80 years old.
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