Richard Micklich was born in 1921 in Pueblo, Colorado. He spent the entirety of his childhood in Pueblo as part of a large family of twelve children. His father struggled to support the family throughout the lean years of the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. As a high school student in the mid-1930s, Micklich spent his summers working in a small local grocery store to help supplement the family income. He did not know much about what was going on around the world regarding the coming of war. After graduating from high school, he worked in a steel mill for a short time before joining the U.S. Navy in April 1940. He joined the Navy for the pay and recalls a saying, “The Army gets the work, the Navy gets the pay, and the Marines get the glory.” He was paid 21 dollars per month when he joined the Navy and was issued a raise to 36 dollars per month when he rose in rank. Micklich took his basic training at San Diego Naval Training Station [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California] after which he was placed into electrical ordnance school. After six months of training, he was transferred to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] where he became a member of Patrol Squadron 22 (VP-22). As a mechanic, it was Micklich’s job to ensure that the squadron’s PBY-5s [Annotator’s Note: Consolidated PBY Catalina] remained in operating condition. The squadron flew reconnaissance and training missions throughout 1941 to various islands in the Pacific, including Wake Island [Annotator’s Note: Wake Island, Marshall Islands] where Micklich was just days before the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941. Wake Island was also attacked by the Japanese the following day.]. After spending several months away from Pearl Harbor, Micklich and the rest of VP-22 returned there on 6 December 1941 after a lengthy but uneventful flight. Being back in Hawaii gave Micklich a sense of safety and security.

On the morning of 7 December [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941], Richard Micklich [Annotator’s Note: serving as a mechanic for Patrol Squadron 22 (VP-22) at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] was awakened at eight in the morning by a loud explosion. He ran to the lanai of the barracks in time to see the “rising sun” of a Japanese Zero [Annotator's Note: Japanese Mitsubishi A6M fighter aircraft, referred to as the Zeke or Zero] pulling up after dropping its bomb load on the planes sitting exposed on the runway. Micklich ran to the hangar nearby to begin readying the planes for takeoff, but it was too late and all 12 planes in the squadron were destroyed. As Micklich ran back for cover, a Japanese fighter flew low over the airfield to survey the damage. He gave the fighter the finger as he flew passed. The bombings continued at other airfields on the island and, soon after, at nearby Battleship Row. The squadron’s mess hall was turned into a triage unit treating wounded soldiers, sailors, and airmen. The stench of diesel and blood hung in the air for several days. Because the airfield where VP-22 was stationed sat closest to the entrance of Pearl Harbor, it was assumed that if an invasion was to take place, their airfield would be the logical invasion point. Micklich and the other men took the machine guns from the inoperable planes and set up a series of defenses around the airfield. Then they sat and waited for an invasion that ultimately never came. For several days following the attack, Micklich was under orders to remain awake and alert in anticipation. An enemy plane that had been shot down at the foot of their runway was pulled out of the water after several days. Micklich took the plane’s control stick, compass, and a piece of the rising sun painted on its wing and sent it home to his family. Micklich felt a sense of embarrassment that they had been caught so unprepared by the Japanese. Hatred for the Japanese grew within him and he felt the need to eliminate them as they had eliminated those at Pearl Harbor. In mid-January [Annotator’s Note: of 1942], a new squadron of PBY-5s [Annotator’s Note: Consolidated PBY Catalina] arrived from San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California] and VP-22 took off for the Philippines, but only made it as far as Surabaya in the Dutch East Indies. The missions they flew were to evacuate British consulates on the many surrounding islands and fly them to Darwin, Australia. When not flying evacuation missions, Micklich flew reconnaissance missions over Japanese-held islands and observed the build-up of large airfields and military installations. Nothing was done with these reconnaissance observations. They often came under anti-aircraft fire from enemy ships. When this happened, the pilots evaded the shots by flying the planes into the area of the previous bomb blast. He does not know why they did this, but this strategy worked in keeping them from being shot down. When the Japanese attacked Darwin in February 1942, Micklich was aboard an ammunition ship that was bombed. He ran from the bow of the ship towards the aft section just as the bomb landed, and he was shielded from shrapnel and debris. He recalls the Japanese flying three bombing sorties over Darwin before things quieted down. That night, Micklich witnessed the burials at sea of 15 sailors killed in the attack. The ship he was on was forced to slow down, making them a target for enemy submarines, while the burials took place. The men’s dog tags were removed, a prayer was said over their bodies, and they were tilted overboard from a sliding platform.

Shortly after the attack on the ammunition ship at Darwin, Australia, Richard Micklich [Annotator’s Note: serving as a mechanic for the Patrol Squadron 22 (VP-22)] said the ship he was on was forced to slow down, making them a target for enemy submarines, while the burials of killed seamen took place. The men’s dog tags were removed, a prayer was said over their bodies, and they were tilted overboard from a sliding platform. After the attack, the strength of VP-22 had dwindled to just 3 planes and the men were sent back to the United States aboard the USS Mount Vernon (AP-22). Upon arriving in Oakland [Oakland, California], Micklich was reassigned to Patrol Squadron 61 (VP-61). After several months of training, VP-61 left for the Aleutian Islands [Annotator’s Note: Aleutian Islands, Alaska] on 14 August 1942. They flew several Army rescue missions, collecting the crews of downed bombers from the frigid Alaskan waters and depositing them aboard a ship. When not flying rescue missions, they flew reconnaissance missions over a Japanese settlement on Kiska [Annotator’s Note: Kiska, Alaska] to ensure that they remained contained to the area. When it was time for the Americans to invade the settlement, they discovered it had been evacuated in the night by submarines. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee talks to someone off camera at 0:35:10.000.] They must have flown several reconnaissance missions over an empty enemy position. Around this time, VP-61 flew missions in which they dropped leaflets urging the remaining Japanese to surrender. Micklich once had the opportunity to go ashore and came under enemy rifle fire while walking along the top of a frozen ridge. The enemy fire did not reach him, but he saw the ground being kicked up just short of his position. The Army quickly wiped out the squad of 18 Japanese soldiers. It was a great feeling to witness their demise. After a year in the Aleutians, Micklich flew back to the United States before a brief period stationed in Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. He was called to Chicago [Annotator’s Note: Chicago, Illinois] for further mechanic’s training in 1943. While there, he worked with some of the Navy’s first jet engines. Following completion of this training, he was assigned to an Advanced Base Aviation Training Unit (ABATU) out of Norfolk Naval Air Station [Annotator’s Note: in Norfolk, Virginia] for the remainder of the war. He traveled to various airfields and trained mechanics.

Richard Micklich recalls the relief and happiness he felt on VE Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] and VJ Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. After disarming and dismantling planes for many months, he was discharged to Memphis, Tennessee with the rank of machinist’s mate first class on 12 April 1946. He did not take advantage of the G.I. bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] to attend college, though he wishes he had. Micklich’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was being at Pearl Harbor during the attack [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He joined the service to kill Japanese. He did not like the Japanese and did not want to have anything to do with them. Micklich is glad that he served and did his duty. He thinks Americans are lucky. Micklich believes it is important for there to be institutions such as the National WWII Museum so that today’s and future generations never have to experience what life in wartime is like.