Richard Oscar Bellerive was born on January 10, 1921, in Damar, Kansas. He was the son of Honarot Bellerive and Anna Newell Bellerive. He was the husband of Genevieve Katherine Rohleder Bellerive.

Richard served in the 577th Bomber Squadron, 392nd Bomber Group, as a Technical Sergeant and Radio Operator/Gunner on the B-24 Liberator #42-7497 during World War II.

On March 18, 1944, his crew took off from Station 118 airfield in Wendling, England, for a mission in Friedrichshafen. At 1510 hours, the plane was last seen spinning down to the left, with one engine on fire, and subsequently crashing. A total of seven parachutes in two groups were seen. Those seven crew members, including TSgt Bellerive, became prisoners of war. The bodies of the other three crew members were discovered in the wreckage.

After the war, Richard came home to Kansas to his beloved wife with whom he had six children. They operated a dairy farm until their retirement.

Richard died on July 5, 1999, at the age of 78, in Wichita, Kansas. He is now buried in the Saint Anthony Cemetery, Graham County, Kansas, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, francecrashes39-45.net