Richard (Rich) Chen

Richard (Rich) Chen passed away on January 28, 2025, in Charleston, South Carolina at the age of 54, due to complications from kidney failure. A memorial service will be held in Charleston at the Bastin Hall atrium of The Citadel on Sunday, February 23 at 3:00 p.m.

Rich was born on November 26, 1970, and was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended Iolani School in Honolulu before leaving Hawaii to attend Gunn High School in Palo Alto, California and then Mountain View High School in Mountain View, California. He later graduated from NYU and earned his M.P.P. from Harvard University. Throughout his youth and high school years, he was an outstanding water polo player and a dedicated martial artist, studying Kendo (Japanese fencing) and Judo from a young age and later expanded his training to include among other disciplines: Aikido, Jeet Kune Do, Jiujitsu, Kali, Escrima, Muay Thai and, of course, boxing.

After a brief and successful career as a musician and Ducati motorcycle racer in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rich began training various U.S. military personnel and law enforcement in hand-to-hand combat techniques including the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). The U.S. Army Rangers were so impressed with Rich’s martial ethos that he was invited to attempt Ranger School, a notoriously demanding and painful experience. Rich may be the only other professional guitarist beside Kris Kristofferson to have earned the coveted Ranger Tab. Rich then served with distinction through multiple combat tours of duty with the Special Forces community as a member of the Third Infantry Division - the famed “Rock of Marne.” Rich served in Panama during the 1990s, was a first responder after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and served additional combat tours of duty in the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Africa, until combat injuries forced his retirement from active duty at the rank of Captain.

In 2010, Rich moved to Charleston with his partner, Allison, where he continued to be active as a martial arts instructor, boxing coach, and jazz guitarist. Most recently, he coached the boxing team at The Citadel and made such an immediate and profound impact that the college has renamed its boxing program for him and established a scholarship fund in his memory.

In addition to the gratitude he earned and deserves from his country and its citizens as a warrior, Rich will be remembered for excelling at whatever he chose to pursue, his strength of character even more than his unusual physical resilience, and his willingness to sacrifice for others. His wide experience around the globe — as a musician, martial artist, and soldier — and strong and heartfelt views about America, the world, and honor made him even more open to exchange ideas and opinions with those he seemed to share little in common with, except an appetite for friendship, debate, and laughter.

His lifelong friends, fellow warriors, and loving family are grateful for the times they had with him and because of him, from surfing on the beaches of Oahu, to hunting trips in Wyoming, to drawing enemy fire in war zones around the world, to spoiling his beloved dogs and horse in Charleston. 

Rich is survived by his partner Allison King, daughter, brother David Chen, stepfather Thomas Lee, stepsister Cynthia Chiu, families at Ethos Athletic Club and Seacoast Church and so many more; to know him was to be part of his ohana. 

Richard Chen was a uniquely impressive man. His absence is hard to comprehend, and he leaves a void that is impossible to measure. Blessed are those who knew and loved him and may they carry his fire always and share it with those who deserve it and especially those who need it. Aloha ‘oe, Coach Rich.

In lieu of flowers or other gifts, please send any support to The Citadel scholarship in Rich’s memory: https://foundation.citadel.edu/2025Boxing

Expressions of sympathy may be viewed or submitted online at mcalister-smith.com/. 

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to McAlister-Smith Funeral and Cremation, 347 Folly Road, Charleston, SC 29412, (843) 614-8494.