Richard E. Tuttle

Richard Tuttle’s written a fantastic book about his life, including (but certainly not limited to) his experiences growing up in the foothills of California, WW2, being a lawyer, and being a Judge.

Born January 7, 1921, to Raglan Tuttle, an attorney, and Clair Pedlar, Richard Tuttle had a happy, though not uneventful, childhood in Nevada City, CA, a small town complete with strife, mischief, and whorehouses. He went on to college with the intention of becoming a Judge, like his father. After Pearl Harbor his planes were understandably delayed.

December 8, 1941, Richard enlisted in the Army. After not becoming a pilot (he’s colorblind) or a radio repairman (he can’t solder) he finally became a radio operator/gunner, and made his way to England.

Richard participated in many missions, including the attack on Ploesti. His plane survived Ploesti, only to be shot down on a later mission bombing a Luftwaffe fighter factory north of Vienna. After being captured he was sent to Stalag 17-B for 19 months. As the Germans tried to move their prisoners out ahead of the approaching Russians, Richard, who had by this time lost 33 pounds from starvation, managed to duck out of line and jump off a bridge to escape, only to come face-to-face with two other escapees trying to shush him.

After wandering the Danube for six weeks, Richard and his buddy found three Americans in a Jeep, with whom they stayed for a few days, before receiving a Mercedes-Benz which had been liberated from some SS Officers. Richard and his companion drove west toward Paris, but soon realized that they didn’t have enough gas so they ditched the car outside an airbase and snuck in. They slipped into the tail of a B-17 bound for France to deliver French POWs and then England. Once in England they tried to discreetly slip out to find some Americans to sort them out, but were not so lucky. After being captured by the MPs, they were sent to a hospital in Cambridge, then sent home.

After returning home, he resumed his married life and his education, attending UC Berkeley and Stanford. In time, he had three children, tragically lost his first wife, remarried, had two more, became a civil rights attorney in Mississippi during the 60's, was a fellow at Harvard, became a Judge in California, and retired. He's now focused on family, a newly established restaurant named after his son who died of a heart attack recently, and of course, writing.