Richard Freitag Obituary

I was a part-time college student employee at the Museum of Science and Industry in the 1960s and remember Dick well. The U-505 tour was one assignment that every employee had to know by heart. My experience learning to do it was typical - trepidation that I knew nothing about subs. This was soon fixed by Dick's encouragement and explanation that after his training, I would know more than any visitor, even the sailors who would visit from the Great Lakes Naval training center.
Dick was always a joy to be around. I remember one time when he brought some tomatos to add to the salad in the employees lunch room. It turned out he was growing a few plants outside behind the U-505! What a kick!

RIP Richard Freitag and thanks for making life better for everyone around you.

I knew Dick and his son Dickie in the mid to late 1950s. I lived on Grand Blvd and Dickie lived the other side of the alley behind my house. We were good friends and played together around the neighborhood. Dickie and I took several trips to play on and explore the U-505 on Saturday mornings before it was opened for public display. What great adventures for young boys. Wonderful memories of my growing up in Brookfield.... I got to view the Silversides as well when it was moored at Navy Pier... The boats were quite different... Still preserved and not lost in time.

I knew Dick and his son Dickie when he lived in Brookfield, Il. in the late 50s. his son and me were the same age and played often. He helped get to U-505 back in viewing status then and his son and I would on Saturdays at the Museum of S. I. in Chicago and play on the U-505. He loved the Submarine Service.

My heartfelt sympathies to the Freitag family. When I volunteered on USS Silversides while she was in Chicago in the 1970s, Dick was a wealth of help and information about submarines in WWII, about the Silversides, and for contacting others in Sub Vets of WWII to find former SS236 crew members. He was a great resource for me and for so many others during those restoration years. Though he rarely spoke of his own experiences in the sub service, when he did it was clear why he surely was a standout example of our Greatest Generation.

Dick's zest for life and verve were a major influence on me and thousands of young "demonstrators" who worked with him at MSI. I'll always remember him. I plan to make a contriubtion in his name.

To the family of Richard:



I was certainly saddened to read of Dick's passing in this mornings newspaper. Dick was a special friend that I came to know and respect while I was City Manger in Muskegon at the time of the Silversides short journey from Chicago to Muskegon. His passion for the sub and the museum was second to none, as was his passion for life. A picture of Dick and the entire Board of Directors still proudly hangs in my office as a wonderful memory of some great times shared in Muskegon. I am proud to have had the honor to know your husband/father/grandfather because he was a great man and a hero to all of us. May the fine memories that you have sustain you in this time of sorrow. My sincerest condolences to all of you.

We write to express our heartfelt sympathies to Mrs. Freitag and the entire Freitag family. We had a chance to meet Richard at Spencer's birthday party a few months ago, and enjoyed hearing a few of his favorite WWII stories. He was certainly loved and will undoubtedly be missed. We believe Richard is now at peace and hope that you will find comfort in the days ahead.