Loading...
Description
Oral history interview of Frank V. Boffi. Interview conducted by Edmund Kallina at his home.
Log
0:20 Basic introduction bio; 0:40 Family: farm and Great Depression; 2:20 His education; 2:45 Working in insurance industry; 3:15 Son and grandchildren; 3:40 Surviving cancer; 4:40 Enlistment in WWII and engagement to wife; 5:40 Boot camp, short duration; 6:20 1st ship and deployment to N. Africa & Italy; 7:30 Midnight run to find gun emplacements (scariest moment); 8:25 Boot camp; 10:40 Ice cream incident; 11:00 Hamuck memories; 11:30 Memory of his ship getting hit and reunions; 12:28 Obtaining his profession, mos. in the Navy; 15:00 Old friends and meeting them after the war; 17:30 Working as an engineer in insurance company; 19:30 His education; 20:40 Sicily: always down below, rarely saw action in person; 25:20 Deployed to the Pacific and training involved; 26:30 Swapped to the Pacific due to personal conflict; 27:50 Part-time jobs while waiting for ship to be built; 30:25 Hadley ship –destroyer; 31:30 Relationship with his chiefs; 34:45 Size of crew; 36:00 Indian Joe story; 37:37 saw two Kamikazes; 40:05 Okinawa; 41:00 Shot down 25 enemy planes –record; 42:00 Ship was towed statewide and scrapped; 44:45 His rescue after he was wounded; 47:40 Doctor sent him stateside; 48:30 Re-enlisted in the Navy; 50:30 Got out of the Navy -wife wanted him out; 51:00 Good camaraderie in events after the war; 52:30 Views on him being an American; 52:15 How military service affected his life.
Date of Birth
1922-05-08
Place of Birth
Cranston (R.I.)
Gender
Male
Race
White - Non Hispanic
Home State
Rhode Island
War or Conflict
World War II; Korean Conflict
Status
Veteran
Begin/End date of Service - 1st
1942-01-01
Type
Video; MovingImage
1945-01-01
Begin/End date of Service - 2nd
1948-01-01
1952-01-01
Entrance into Service
Enlisted
Branch of Service
U.S. Navy
Unit of Service
USS Bernadou (DD 153); USS Hugh W. Hadley (DD 774); USS Brownson (DD 868); USS Fiske (DD 842)
Location of Service
Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; Mediterranean Sea; North Africa; Okinawa Island (Japan); Ryukyu Islands (Japan); European Theater; Pacific Theater
Highest Rank
Machinist's Mate 1st Class
Prisoner of War
No
Service Related Injury
Yes
Battles
Battle of Okinawa; Operation Husky; Invasion of Sicily; Operation Avalanche; Invasion of Italy; Battle of Anzio
Medals
Purple Heart; Battle Citation; Unit Citation
Achievements
See video for details.
Note
Interview topics include family: farm and Great Depression, his education, working in insurance industry; son and grandchildren, surviving cancer, enlistment in WWII and engagement to wife, boot camp, short duration, 1st ship and deployment to N. Africa and Italy, midnight run to find gun emplacements (scariest moment), boot camp, ice cream incident, hamuck memories, memory of his ship getting hit and reunions, obtaining his profession, mos. in the Navy, old friends and meeting them after the war, working as an engineer in insurance company, his education, Sicily: always down below, rarely saw action in person, deployed to the Pacific and training involved, swapped to the Pacific due to personal conflict, part-time jobs while waiting for ship to be built, Hadley ship—destroyer, relationship with his chiefs, size of crew, Indian Joe story, saw two Kamikazes, Okinawa, shot down 25 enemy planes—record, ship was towed statewide and scrapped, his rescue after he was wounded, doctor sent him stateside, re-enlisted in the Navy, got out of the Navy—wife wanted him out, good camaraderie in events after the war, views on him being an American, and how military service affected his life. 99% was in Forward Engine Room- Engineering Spaces Control Room
City of Birth
Cranston
Country of Birth
United States
Interviewer
Kallina, Edmund
Interview Date
10-15-2010
Location of Interview
Dr. Kallina's Home
Subjects
Boffi, Frank V.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives; Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives; United States. Navy
Collection Description
Contains logs, audio and video recordings of interviews with Central Florida's veterans as part of a history class project for the students at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The UCF Community Veterans History Project(CVHP) started in fall 2010. It collects, preserves, and makes accessible to the public the experiences of Central Florida's veterans so that future generations will better understand the realities of conflict. It is a collaborative endeavor supported by multiple departments and offices at UCF. The veterans' histories are archived and made digitally available through the UCF library and selected materials are contributed to the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress.
Contributor Affiliation / Organization
RICHES; University of Central Florida
Contributors
Kallina, Edmund
Length of Interview
56 minutes
Publisher
Department of History, University of Central Florida
Type
video
Rights
All rights are held by the respective holding institution. This material is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. For permission to reproduce and/or for copyright information contact Special Collections and University Archives, University of Central Florida Libraries, (407) 823-2576. http://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/special-collections-university-archives/
Repository
University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives
Contributing Project
UCF Community Veterans History Project
Document Type
Interview
Recommended Citation
Central Florida, RICHES of, "Boffi, Frank V. interview" (2010). Veterans Oral Histories. 2.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/veteransoralhistories/2