'I live one day at a time.' WWII veteran Richard Stewart, 102, inspires all walks of life
On July 6, 1944, Richard Stewart and his U.S. Army battalion didn't quite know what to expect when arriving on the beaches of Normandy.
It was already a month after D-Day, the beginning of a battle against the German army that marked a turning point in World War II. The Battle of Normandy is the name given to the fighting in Normandy between D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the end of August 1944.
The fighting didn't end on June 6. Stewart and his outfit found themselves in France weeks later, after tens of thousands of American troops had already taken the same route and landed on the same shore. Many never came back.
When the boat hit the coast, they braced for the worst. Stewart held an M1 carbine rifle and waited with his comrades. German rockets whizzed overhead and gunfire rang in the distance.
"I was prepared to do whatever we had to do," he said. "I said, Lord, let (the rockets) keep on going."
When the doors opened, all they saw were dead German soldiers on the beach.
Now at 102, the Lincoln Heights resident remains just as proud as he was as a 22-year-old who laid communication lines during the war.
He traveled to France in June to commemorate D-Day. He was the eldest person in the group, and one of three Black veterans traveling. A member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen also joined the trip.
Stewart was born and raised in rural Marion, Indiana, the sixth of 10 children. A prominent role he's known for is veteran, but he's also a father to three children, embalmer, funeral home director and licensed nurse.
He was drafted in 1942, just as he was about to finish embalming college. He was allowed to take his exam early, passed and then began training for the 459th Signal and Construction Battalion. He was stationed across the United States before traveling to Europe. He retired as a corporal in 1945.
A war abroad, a war at home
Stewart has often said as he was fighting a war abroad, there was another battlefront back home as Black Americans fought for civil rights.
He was 10 years old in 1930 when two Black men were lynched in Marion. The victims were dragged out of jail by a mob and publicly hanged.
Stewart recalled how the Black farmers in the area refused to be discouraged by the murders. He admired how they continued to conduct business and work together, which contributed to his own attitude of self-determination.
Segregation continued into the military.
"Our outfit, the officers were white, period. The only thing we had was the first sergeant, he was Black. But all the rest of them were white," he said.
Stewart said he also faced racism seeking a job as a linesman after returning to civilian life. Despite his extensive experience laying communication lines in the military, he was turned away because he was Black.
In Europe, Stewart said he was treated with respect. It was a different story back in 1940s America, where integration efforts were just getting underway, but racism and Jim Crow laws were alive and well. Stewart noted significant change finally occurred when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. entered the scene decades later.
Discrimination didn't keep Stewart from accomplishing what he wanted to, however. He obtained his embalming license, LPN license, and went on to become a funeral home director.
"Even with all the racism that was going on at the time, he didn’t want it to stop him. He didn’t allow it to stop him," his son, Samuel Stewart, said. "Everything he did, he wasn’t going to allow anyone to stop him from doing what he felt he needed to do to live freely or raise a family."
War hero devoted to loved ones
His family embraces him for his kindness, his persistence and his devotion to his loved ones.
In 1953, Stewart moved to Cincinnati to work for Houston Funeral Home. After meeting and marrying his wife, Pauline, they settled into a home in Lincoln Heights.
"He meant so much to me throughout my lifetime, and what he has accomplished – just being around him and trying to be a decent person in my life," Samuel Stewart said.
With tears in his eyes, Samuel Stewart detailed how his father never gave up on his loved ones. It was particularly his mother whom his father never gave up on. He worked two full-time jobs for 23 years to support his family, for Houston and Sons Funeral Home and Drake Hospital.
After Pauline was diagnosed with kidney disease, Stewart went back to school to get that licensed practical nurse certification so she could receive dialysis treatment at home. The family went east for vacation one year, but he made sure she got back in time for her treatment. And when his son's Boy Scout troop needed a scoutmaster, Stewart stepped up.
"It's just amazing the things he did," Samuel Stewart said.
Larry Davis met Stewart in 2019 while cutting his uncle's grass in Paddock Hills. Stewart was climbing into his car to drive to work. Davis approached him to ask about his World War II veteran hat, and was amazed to learn Stewart was still working a full-time job in his late nineties.
The two have been close friends ever since. Davis said he considers Stewart a father figure, as his own father left when he was 3 years old.
"I’m a Christian, and he’s everything I would like to be. The basic, core values is what I’m interested in, and he has all of that," Davis said. "I can just about imagine being raised in a house with a father like Mr. Stewart."
Sharing his story
Stewart's story, his work ethic and dedication to his family inspire many who meet him, according to his loved ones.
You'll often find Stewart wearing his WWII veteran baseball cap. He uses hearing aids, so he may ask you to use your "street voice" while speaking with him, even indoors.
While in France last summer, he had a chance to share his story with people from all walks of life. He recalls the people he encountered while rebuilding communication lines in France, who were mostly young students. No one knows if they're around anymore and he was disappointed he could not reunite with them while back in France.
Still, he inspired other youth with his story when the veterans went to speak to a class at a French school.
"I told them, you can be whoever you want to be. Don't let nobody tell you you can't do it, because that's when you set your mind to it and show you can do it," he said.
Those words inspired his son, Samuel, throughout his own life.
"There’s a lot of different things I was able to do and accomplish. If it wasn’t for him, and his push and guidance, I could’ve very well been worse off," he said.
His passion has always been in the funeral home business, which he considers his God-given calling. He still to this day maintains a funeral director license and embalming license, and mentors young practitioners in the profession.
Aiming for 120 years
Stewart just moved back to Lincoln Heights to the house where he raised his family, recently renovated. He makes a point to continue his education, getting recertified with his funeral home director license each year.
With all the hats the elder Stewart has worn – soldier, husband, father, funeral home director, licensed nurse, to name a few – he's still got a lot of life left to live. He turns 103 on Nov. 29, but plans on living to 120, just like the Biblical Moses did.
"I just take it one day at a time, and I live one day at a time," he said. "The way I look at it is, every time the Lord wakes me up, that's a birthday."
"The Lord let me be here 102 years without any problems," Stewart said. His concessions: His hearing issues, and he had one cold. Yes, he's been sick one time in his entire life.
For Stewart, there's still time left. Just over 17 years, to be exact.
"I'm going to enjoy it, period," he said. "I intend to stay around."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati World War II veteran honored for service in Normandy
