CWO Holycross joined the Marine Corps while still attending West High School in 1949, to which the new Home Training Center to Company L, was named in honor. He was born in Grove City Ohio on 22 January 1931, and upon his graduation form High School left for Marine Corps Boot Camp. He joined Company C, 7th Infantry Battalion (Reserve) that was activated on Labor Day in 1950, deployed to Camp Pendleton California and then on to the Korean conflict. While in Korea he was wounded at the Chosin Reservior by simultaneous mortar shell and grenade explosions. After a two-year tour of duty he returned to the Columbus area, and was hired the Columbus Division of Police on April 1955. His last assignment with the Columbus Police was teaching riot control methods and wrote the riot-training manual for the Department.

In April 1966 he was again activated for a two-year period. After a short period of training at MCB Camp LeJeune and Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, he was sent to Vietnam. For a short period he left Vietnam to attend specialized training in Okinawa Japan, only to return to Vietnam a few weeks later. On September 10th 1967 while in command of the 81mm Mortar Platoon of the 26th Marine Regiment, near Con Thien, CWO Holycross was killed by fragments of enemy rocket fire. (please see accompanied citation) At his funeral in Columbus, it was said: “Dick was a humanitarian. There were things going on in the world that involved people and how they are to live, and he had to have his part in things.” “He seemed to have some sense of accountability and was unable to drift or let things go.”

On November 10th, (also the Marine Corps Birthday) 1967 the Columbus Police Academy auditorium was named, as the “Richard L. Holycross Memorial Auditorium”, were a large portrait of him was unveiled. In February 2004, the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Training Center at Rickenbacker Airport was christened as the CWO Richard L. Holycross Naval/Marine Corps Reserve Training Center.

His widow Donna, his daughter LeAnn and two grandchildren Drew and Michael survive him. CWO Holycross served his community and his country. No man could do more than to sacrifice his life for others.