Topus, Richard I. (12156045): Difference between revisions

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{{Soldier

|lede_on_page=1

|asn=12156045

|surname=Topus

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|birth_year=1924

|death_year=2008

|nativity=US

|nativity=United States

|religion=H

|religion=Jewish

|enlistment_place=NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK

|state=NEW YORK

~~|assignment=X-1614~~

|overseas=N

|certificate=9652

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|class_number=24

|class_display=24

|rank_final=Technician Fifth Grade

|birth_date=15 March 1924

|death_date=5 December 2008

|birth_place=Brooklyn, New York

|death_place=Scottsdale, Arizona

}}

'''[[Topus, Richard I. (12156045)|Richard I. Topus]]''' (1924–2008) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 24.

</div>

== Biography ==

~~''Add~~ a ~~biography~~, ~~family details~~, and ~~sources~~. ~~Click Edit~~ to ~~change this page; no account is required~~.''

Richard I. Topus was born on 15 March 1924 in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants. Growing up in Flatbush, he learned pigeon racing from rooftop loft keepers—two of them World War I Army pigeoneers—though his parents would not allow him a loft of his own.

Topus enlisted in early 1942 at eighteen and was assigned to the Army Signal Corps Pigeon Service. At Camp Ritchie (Class 24) he joined a small cadre of pigeoneers who trained soldiers and birds for combat messaging: care and feeding, capsule handling, air drops, and airborne jumps with pigeons carried in specially made vests. The team also bred for speed and endurance and conditioned birds to mobile combat lofts.

After the war Topus earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business from Hofstra, built a career culminating as executive vice president for sales and marketing at Friendship Food Products, taught marketing at Hofstra, C.W. Post, SUNY Farmingdale, and later Arizona State, and worked as a securities arbitrator in Scottsdale. He died there of kidney failure on 5 December 2008.

== Research notes ==

* Pigeon training

* ~~http://jewish1191~~.~~rssing~~.~~com/chan-15120684/all_p9~~.~~html~~

* Regenerated from the Margalit Fox obituary. No military decoration is asserted. Brooklyn is rendered within New York City for the infobox birth_place.

* Civil Life

== Gallery ==

~~''After you are autoconfirmed, [[Special:Upload|upload a photo]] and add~~ <~~code~~><~~nowiki~~>~~[[File:Example~~.jpg~~|thumb|caption]]</nowiki>~~</~~code~~> ~~here, or set <code>|photo=Example.jpg~~</~~code~~> ~~in the infobox.''~~

5930571256964746.jpg

5930571253631413.jpg

</gallery>

</div>

== Technical record ==

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| row_source || both

|}

== Timeline ==

* 15 March 1924 — Born in Brooklyn, New York.

* Early 1942 — Enlisted in the Army; assigned to the Signal Corps Pigeon Service.

* World War II — Stationed at Camp Ritchie (Class 24) training pigeoneers and homing pigeons for combat intelligence.

* Postwar — Earned Hofstra business degrees; Friendship Dairies executive career; college teaching.

* 5 December 2008 — Died in Scottsdale, Arizona.

</div>

</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>

== Sources ==

* Camp Ritchie ~~class roster~~ (~~classes~~ 1–31), ~~merged~~ research ~~file~~

* Margalit Fox, ''New York Times'' / ''The Gazette'' (Montreal) — Richard Topus obituaries (RB Archive ProQuest copies), December 2008

* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data

* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records

* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)

* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)

* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-08 (1 post)

* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Richard I. Topus for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)

* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Topus, Richard I. for Camp Ritchie'' (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: RICHARD TOPUS.doc)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Soldier
+|lede_on_page=1
 |asn=12156045
 |surname=Topus
@@ Line 8: / Line 9: @@
 |birth_year=1924
 |death_year=2008
-|nativity=US
+|nativity=United States
-|religion=H
+|religion=Jewish
 |enlistment_place=NEW YORK CITY NEW YORK
 |state=NEW YORK
-|assignment=X-1614
 |overseas=N
 |certificate=9652
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 |class_number=24
 |class_display=24
+|rank_final=Technician Fifth Grade
+|birth_date=15 March 1924
+|death_date=5 December 2008
+|birth_place=Brooklyn, New York
+|death_place=Scottsdale, Arizona
 }}
+<div class="soldier-lead">
+'''[[Topus, Richard I. (12156045)|Richard I. Topus]]''' (1924–2008) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 24.
+</div>
 == Biography ==
-''Add a biography, family details, and sources. Click Edit to change this page; no account is required.''
+Richard I. Topus was born on 15 March 1924 in Brooklyn, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants. Growing up in Flatbush, he learned pigeon racing from rooftop loft keepers—two of them World War I Army pigeoneers—though his parents would not allow him a loft of his own.
+Topus enlisted in early 1942 at eighteen and was assigned to the Army Signal Corps Pigeon Service. At Camp Ritchie (Class 24) he joined a small cadre of pigeoneers who trained soldiers and birds for combat messaging: care and feeding, capsule handling, air drops, and airborne jumps with pigeons carried in specially made vests. The team also bred for speed and endurance and conditioned birds to mobile combat lofts.
+After the war Topus earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business from Hofstra, built a career culminating as executive vice president for sales and marketing at Friendship Food Products, taught marketing at Hofstra, C.W. Post, SUNY Farmingdale, and later Arizona State, and worked as a securities arbitrator in Scottsdale. He died there of kidney failure on 5 December 2008.
 == Research notes ==
 * Pigeon training
-* http://jewish1191.rssing.com/chan-15120684/all_p9.html
+* Regenerated from the Margalit Fox obituary. No military decoration is asserted. Brooklyn is rendered within New York City for the infobox birth_place.
-* Civil Life
 == Gallery ==
-''After you are autoconfirmed, [[Special:Upload|upload a photo]] and add <code><nowiki>[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]]</nowiki></code> here, or set <code>|photo=Example.jpg</code> in the infobox.''
+<div class="soldier-gallery">
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="140px">
+5930571256964746.jpg
+5930571253631413.jpg
+</gallery>
+</div>
 == Technical record ==
@@ Line 99: / Line 116: @@
 | row_source || both
 |}
+== Timeline ==
+<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
+<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
+* 15 March 1924 — Born in Brooklyn, New York.
+* Early 1942 — Enlisted in the Army; assigned to the Signal Corps Pigeon Service.
+* World War II — Stationed at Camp Ritchie (Class 24) training pigeoneers and homing pigeons for combat intelligence.
+* Postwar — Earned Hofstra business degrees; Friendship Dairies executive career; college teaching.
+* 5 December 2008 — Died in Scottsdale, Arizona.
+</div>
+</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>
 == Sources ==
-* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
+* Margalit Fox, ''New York Times'' / ''The Gazette'' (Montreal) — Richard Topus obituaries (RB Archive ProQuest copies), December 2008
+* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
+* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
 * NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
 * 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
+* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-08 (1 post)
+* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Richard I. Topus for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
+* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Topus, Richard I. for Camp Ritchie'' (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: RICHARD TOPUS.doc)