Dixon, Richard Dillard, 1888-1952

Richard Dillard Dixon (1888-1952) of Edenton, N.C. was a lawyer and businessman, clerk of court and superior court judge.

Dixon was born in Beverly Hall in Ednton, N.C. on October 5, 1888. As a child, he spent each summer in Nags Head and in Warrenton, Va. He was educated at the Edenton Academy before attending Trinity Military School, at Chocowinity, N.C. He then attended the University of North Carolina before withdrawing due to financial constraints in 1909.

Following his schooling, he first worked as an assitant in the Edenton graded school before joining the brokerage firm of Charles Syer and Company, Norfolk, Va. as a shipping clerk. He eventually became part owner of the firm before returning to Edenton due to his father's poor health.

In 1917, Dixon volunteered for service in World War I. He enlisted in New Bern and was assigned Battery A of the 113th Field Artillery, 30th Division. As a first lietenant, he arrived in Brest, France on May 20, 1918. During the war, Dixon participated in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives, the engagements in the Troyon sector, and the Woevre offensive. Following an end to fighting, Dixon served with the Army of Occupation in Colmar-Berg, Luxemborg and the Le Mans sector in France. He was honorably discharged on April 15, 1919 having achieved the rank of captain.

After returning, he studied law under state Senator Charles S. Vann of Edenton before enrolling at Wake Forest College. In November 1922, he was elected clerk of the superior court of Chowan County and in December was admitted to the bar. On April 30, 1923, he married Louise Manning Badham with whom he had one son, Richard Dillard Dixon, Jr. For the next 19 years, he served in a number of roles, including clerk of recorder's court, judge of juvenile court, and county accountant before being appointed special superior court judge by Governor J. Melville Broughton.

In 1946, Dixon was sent to Nuremberg, Germany as a deputy secretary general to the U.S. chief of counsel office to assist in the Nazi war crimes trials. In May 1947, at the recommendation of General Lucius D. Clay, he was appointed by President Harry S. Truman to serve as an alternate to any of the tribunalss. He participated in four of the twelve war crimes trials held in Nuremberg under authority of the Allied Control Council Law No. 10, specifically cases no. 1, no. 2, no. 5, and no. 9. Cases 1 and 2, Dixon probably participated as a part of the judges Secretariat's senior staff; On Case 5 he served as an alternate judge and Case 9 as a regular judge. Case No. 1, was U.S. v. Karl Brandt et al. (Medical Case); Case No. 2, U.S. v. Erhard Milch (Milch Case); Case No. 5, U.S. v. Friedrich Flick et al. (Flick Case); and Case No. 9, U.S. v. Otto Ohlensdorf et al. (Einsatzgruppen Case).Returning home in 1948, Dixon spent the remainder of his life as an attorney in Edenton.

Dixon was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Edenton, where he served as a vestryman. He was also a member of the Tryon Palace Commission, Delta Kappa Epsilon, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, the North Carolina Society for the Preservation of Antiquities, the Edenton Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, and Edward G. Bond Post No. 40 of the American Legion. Dixon had a lifelong interest in history and enjoyed gardening. He died at Beverly Hall July 26, 1952 and is buried in the churchyard of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Edenton.