Richard J. Steffens (August 23, 1921 – January 2, 2008) was a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

Biography

Steffens was born on August 23, 1921, in

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah ( ) is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River (Green Bay tributary), Fox River approximately northeast of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, O ...

. In 1939, he was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

of his high school class in

Menasha, Wisconsin Menasha () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago and Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 18,268 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Of this, 15,144 were in Winn ...

. He then attended the

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

and the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

and joined

Pi Kappa Delta Pi Kappa Delta () is an American honor society and organization for intercollegiate debaters, public speakers, and instructors teaching speech, debate, and oral communication. Established in 1913, the organization is the oldest debating society i ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Steffens served with the

European Theater of Operations United States Army The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground Forc ...

. He also took part in

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

with the

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (MI numbers, Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of Human i ...

and the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

. Awards he received for his service include the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

and the

Croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Steffens died on January 2, 2008. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Political career

Steffens was a member of the Assembly from 1947 to 1949. Additionally, he was City Attorney of Menasha. He was a Republican.

References

Politicians from Neenah, Wisconsin People from Menasha, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Wisconsin lawyers Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni 1921 births 2008 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Republican-1920s-stub