When Richard L Shott was born on 4 October 1925, in Columbus, Franklin, Ohio, United States, his father, Walter Aloysious Shott Sr., was 33 and his mother, Gladys M Wood, was 32. He lived in Montgomery Township, Franklin, Ohio, United States in 1940. He registered for military service in 1943. He died on 14 January 1945, in Europe, at the age of 19, and was buried in Neuville-en-Condroz, Neupré, Liège, Belgium.