Little Richard shatter racial divisions in the music industry. Little Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman on December 5, 1932, in Macon, Georgia. He was the third of twelve children of Leva Mae (née Stewart) and Charles "Bud" Penniman. His father was a church deacon who sold bootlegged moonshine on the side and owned a nightclub, the Tip In Inn. His mother was a member of Macon's New Hope Baptist Church. Initially, Little Richard's first name was supposed to have been "Ricardo" but an error resulted in "Richard" instead. The Penniman children were raised in a neighborhood of Macon called Pleasant Hill.
Richard Wayne Suesens Richard Wayne Suesens Richard Wayne Suesens was born 30 April 1915 at Burlington, Iowa. "Suesens" enlisted in the Naval Reserve 31 May 1938. Appointed Aviation Cadet 4 October 1938 and commissioned ensign 15 October 1939, he reported for duty in Torpedo Squadron 3, on board USS Saratoga (CV-3) 20 November 1939. Promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) 1 November 1941, he was killed in action during the Battle of Midway, June 1942. For his "extraordinary heroism" in pressing home his attack on Japanese naval units during that battle, despite "tremendous antiaircraft fire and overwhelming fighter opposition", Lieutenant (junior grade) "Suesens" was