Richard D. Vail, a longtime Ojai resident, died Saturday at his home after a brief illness. He was 68.
Vail, who was born Sept. 26, 1926, in Long Beach, moved in 1934 to Ojai, where he graduated from Nordhoff High School in 1945.
A World War II veteran, he had served aboard the battleship Missouri and was on ship when it entered Tokyo Harbor and the peace treaty was signed on Sept. 2, 1945.
Vail worked as a citrus ranch foreman in the Ojai area for 40 years.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley L. Vail of Ojai; his sons, Samuel and John Vail, both of Ojai, and Michael Vail of Santa Barbara; and seven grandchildren.
