John Francisco Richards II (born 3 July 31, 1896,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

; died September 26, 1918, near Varennes, France) was a first lieutenant in the 1st Aero Squadron, who was shot down during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Richards Field {{coord, 38.993772, -94.48010, display=title Richards Field was the first airport in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The field was established in 1922 near the border between Kansas City, Missouri, and Raytown, Missouri, at the southeast cor ...

, the first airport in the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

was named for him. Its follow up

Kansas City Downtown Airport Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport serving Kansas City, Missouri. Located in Clay County, this facility is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, which categorized it as a general aviat ...

was originally called New Richards Field. The road serving it is called Richards Road.

Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base Richards-Gebaur Memorial Airport is a former airport that operated alongside Richards-Gebaur Air Reserve Station (also Richards-Gebaur Air Force Station) until the base's closure in 1994, and until it was closed in 1999. Formerly, it was oper ...

was also named for him. His grandfather, John Francisco Richards, founded the Richards & Conover Hardware Company in Kansas City. He graduated with BA from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1917, where he was the circulation manager of campus humor magazine ''

The Yale Record ''The Yale Record'' is the campus humor magazine of Yale University. Founded in 1872, it became the oldest humor magazine in the world when ''Punch'' folded in 2002."History", The Yale Record, March 10, 2010. http://www.yalerecord.com/about/histo ...

''. His letters were published after the war.War diary and letters of John Francisco Richards II, 1917-1918 - Lechtman printing Co (1925)

References

External links

Kansas City Public Library history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, John 1896 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Kansas City, Missouri United States Army Air Forces officers American military personnel killed in World War I Yale University alumni