Career
He served in the Marine Corps for over 29 years and is called by some "the living historian of the Marine Corps". Richard Spooner was living in Northern California when World World War II broke out. He subsequently enlisted in the Marines at age 17 as a rifleman.
Major Spooner participated in several operations during the war, including the Battle of Saipan, where he was briefly taken prisoner by the Imperial Japanese Army.
He also fought in the Battle of Okinawa. After the war, he was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant and eventually commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.
During the Korean War, Spooner served in with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and also taught infantry tactics at Camp Pendleton. During his subsequent career, he commanded five companies and the Marine detachment aboard a heavy cruiser.
During the war, he served in the Provost Marshal Division and as an adviser to the South Vietnamese police.
Spooner received a medical discharge and retired from the Marine Corps in 1972. In 1968, Richard Spooner opened the Globe and Laurel Restaurant (), which he described as "a public for professional Marines". The public features a collection of military memorabilia, including an original Medal of Honor and Victoria Cross in the same case. was originally located on Broadway Street in the town of Quantico, but in 1973 a fire gutted the original building. subsequently reopened in the town of Triangle, just outside the main gate of Marine Corps Base Quantico.
The Spooners and "" have been featured on "War Stories" on the History Channel and the Food Network.
The original Globe and Laurel was closed and destroyed in May 2008. Subsequently, Spooner re-opened the restaurant in Stafford, Virginia.