Richmond was a stretcher-bearer with the 43rd Company, part of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. He was a member of the American Expeditionary Force that joined the war in the summer of 1918, and helped to bring it to a conclusion that fall. He was promoted to corporal and stationed in Germany for a portion of the occupation. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the French Croix De Guerre for his battlefield actions. After the war, he returned home to Cleveland, Tennessee, where he lived until January 25, 1981.