Former music teacher and World War II military hero Wilbur Richardson of California.

When Wilbur Richardson stepped into his classroom for the first time, he was already a veteran. During World War II, Wilbur served in the US Army as a member of the 331st Bomb Squadron, 94th Bomb Group.

Wilbur was born in Long Beach, California, on November 17, 1922. He was only 21 years old when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in the midst of the second World War. While in the Army, Wilbur manned the ball turret as part of the crew of a four-engine B17 bomber. He flew 30 dangerous missions in 79 days, two of them on D-Day. The intrepid airman sustained wounds on his 30th mission over Munich, Germany, in July of 1944. He spent the next five weeks recovering in the hospital. Before the war was over, the future educator earned the Purple Heart, five Air Medals, the Presidential Citation, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Croix de Guerre Avec Palm. He earned the latter for dropping supplies to French Resistance fighters.

Once Wilbur was discharged in 1945, he enrolled in college., earning a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Brigham Young University in Utah. He earned his Master’s degree in Education from Cal State Long Beach in California. The the former bombadeir then secured a position teaching music, instruments, and history in the Los Alamitos School District. He worked as an eighth-grade teacher at Oak Middle School. His career as an educator spanned 33 years.

Once he retired from teaching, Wilbur moved to Chino Hills. As a retiree, he became active in a number of veterans groups, the Kiwanis Club, the Chino Valley Community Chorus, and the San Bernardino County Senior Affairs Commission. He also did volunteer work for the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino. The heroic educator was named the Chino Valley Outstanding Citizen in 2012.

This Chalkboard Champion passed away on March 1, 2020, in Winchester, Virginia. He was 97 years old. To read more about Wilbur, see this link to The San Bernardino Sun.