LUCAS — U.S. Army PFC Richard “Rick” McFarland’s platoon was moving toward its night defensive position near the village of Vinh Loc.
Evening was coming quickly at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 10, 1970, as the Recon Platoon moved quietly, about eight miles northwest of Quang Ngai City in the Republic of Vietnam.
The 1967 Lucas High School graduate, just 20 years old, had only been in Vietnam for two months when he triggered a concealed enemy explosive, fatally wounding the young soldier.
Evacuated by helicopter, McFarland died just three hours later at the 91st Evacuation Hospital at Chu Lai.
On Sunday afternoon — exactly 55 years later — signs entering his former hometown along Ohio 39 from the east and the west were dedicated in his memory, marking the “PFC Richard “Rick” Wesley McFarland Memorial Highway.”
(Above left: A photo of Richard “Rick”Wesley McFarland. Center: An obituary that was published in the Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun after his death. Right: His headstone at Pleasant Valley Cemetery, courtesy of Findagrave.com.)
The ceremony at the Lucas Community Center included his twin sister, Patricia Gates, and his younger brother, William McFarland, as well as military veterans from around Richland County and members of the Lucas High School Class of 1967.
An active participant showing animals as a youth in the Richland County Fair, McFarland was also a varsity football and basketball player at LHS.
After earning an agribusiness degree from the Clark County (Ohio) Technical Institute in June 1969, McFarland had plans to make it a career, having been raised on the family farm.
But his low Selective Service number made his military draft likely and his civilian prospects uncertain, according to his siblings.
“He wanted to get into the service and get it over with,” William McFarland said.
He entered the Army on Jan. 20, 1970. After basic training, he was sent to Vietnam as part of E Company, 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division.
Less than nine months after joining the military, McFarland became the third Lucas native to die in Vietnam and was the 47th from Richland County.
He was buried in the Pleasant Valley Cemetery.
McFarland was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and Marksmanship Badge, according to a report published in the Mansfield News Journal.
(Below are photos from a ceremony on Sunday afternoon at the Lucas Community Center to mark the dedication of the renaming of a section of Ohio 39 through the Village of Lucas for U.S. Army PFC Rickard “Rick” Wesley McFarland, killed in Vietnam in 1970. The story continues below the photos.)
Signs were placed on the eastbound and westbound lanes of Ohio 39, between the
intersections of Mansfield Lucas Road west of the village and Smart Road on the east side.
William McFarland credited the work of state Sen. Mark Romanchuk and state Rep. Marilyn John for their work in the road honor, now in state law as Ohio Revised Code Section 5534.154.
He also credited the Richland County Veterans Commission for seeking the designation.
Commission President Doug Theaker pointed out the organization was founded in 1876, seeking to assist military veterans returning from the U.S. Civil War.
“There are 88 counties in the state of Ohio and 88 veteran service commissions,” Theaker said. “But there is no question about it. Richland (County) is the best.”
Romanchuk introduced the legislation in 2023 and provided testimony in support of the bill to the Ohio Senate Transportation Committee in April 2024. It was signed into law earlier this year by Gov. Mike DeWine.
“Growing up on the family farm, Mr. McFarland enjoyed working with animals. As an active member with FFA, he would show sheep and steer annually at the Richland County Fair. He attended Clark County Technical Institute to study agricultural business,” Romanchuk said.
“After his graduation in 1969, he enlisted in the Army. Mr. McFarland was deployed to Vietnam in June 1970.
“During a reconnaissance mission in the Quang Ngai Province on Aug. 10, 1970, he tripped an explosive device and was killed. Mr. McFarland gave his life for our nation and deserves to be remembered. It is my hope that this Memorial Highway will make sure that Richard McFarland is remembered for years to come,” Romanchuk said.
After the remarks inside the community center, the Richland County Joint Veterans Burial Squad provided McFarland’s siblings with a folded American flag, also offering a 21-gun salute, the playing of “Taps” and “Amazing Grace.”
