DCHS "I served..." for Veterans Day Northern Southern Dutchess News

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VETERANS DAY

 November 11, 2020

Beacon veteran Rocco survived kamikaze attack in World War II by Jim Donick He was only a kid. Or so it might have seemed. But, there was a war going on. Jerry Rocco had left High School in 1943 and was headed for the Navy that autumn. A well connected family friend pulled a few strings for his mother so she could have him home for the holidays. That simply meant he would do his boot camp in even colder and less pleasant weather when he reported shortly after Christmas. At the same time, the United States Navy was still going full speed ahead on a massive ship-building program. They had found success in the island campaigns of the Pacific with small, flat-bottomed ships based on the hull shape of the landing craft that ferried troops into the beaches. Fairly heavily armed, these little ships proved effective in providing additional fire power to support amphibious landings and to go into shallower waters where larger ships could not venture. As the war moved further west, the need for these glorified little gunboats grew and so did their range of missions. As a result, the Navy realized a need for an even larger version with heavier fire power but maintaining the shallow water capabilities that gave them so much utility. The new ship was to be called an LCS (Landing Craft Infantry Support or, more often, just Landing Craft Support). As Rocco, now 95, was completing his training and graduating as a rated radioman, the Navy was beginning the construction of one of these LCS ships at Commercial Iron Works in Portland, Oregon. This one was designated LCS 88, and Rocco’s orders sent him there to assist in the fitting out of the ship and then taking it to war. Only 158 feet long and flat-bottomed, the LCS could float and maneuver in only a little over six feet of water - a great capability for inshore action and a terrible idea for sailing across the Pacific Ocean. Jerry Rocco would get the opportunity to experience both. Shortly after the ship was commissioned her commander, Lt. C.L. Bigos - a veteran of action in the Atlantic - was ordered to take the ship to sea and join the Pacific fleet

This photo showcases the damage to the LCS-88 after a kamikaze plane dropped a bomb and hit the ship with the plane itself. The LCS-88 was the size of a large Hudson River tug boat. Despite only being 30 feet wide and 175 feet long, it included 71 people on board. All told, 25 crew members, including the Commanding Officer, lost their lives in the attack. Courtesy photo near the Philipines. As they sailed out from Oregon, the US 3rd Fleet was suffering a devastating blow from Typhoon Cobra, which resulted in three destroyers capsized and sank, with 790 lives lost. Nine other warships were damaged, and more than 100 aircraft were wrecked or washed overboard. Even the Japanese hadn’t done that much damage to the fleet since Pearl Harbor. Rocco and his mates would get the opportunity to taste the typhoons later in the spring with their much smaller ship than those damaged in Typhoon Cobra. “The most frightening part of all of what we did,” he told his son, “was the typhoons. When we got hit by the kamikaze it was horrible, but it happened and it was over. With the storm it just kept continued on page 3

 special section to

NORTHERN

DUTCHESS NEWS & Creative Living

Jerry Rocco on board the LCS-88, location unknown. Courtesy photo

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USS Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt commander sends Veterans Day message To the residents of Dutchess and Ulster counties: I’m pleased to wish the residents of Ulster and Dutchess counties a “Happy Veterans Day” from USS Roosevelt! Though we cannot join you in Hyde Park today, we are thankful for your support. Since we last communicated, USS Roosevelt has spent 110 days at sea. USS Roosevelt commenced its first patrol in the European and African operating area immediately following the homeport shift from Mayport, Florida, to Rota, Spain. We traveled above the Arctic Circle, through the Mediterranean and into the Black Sea to conduct combined exercises with our NATO Allies in Norway, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Iceland, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Ukraine.

October 13th marked the US Navy’s 245th birthday and October 14th marked USS Roosevelt’s 20th commissioning anniversary. For decades, these two entities have been serving in every corner of the world safeguarding the values our nation holds dear and deterring those who threaten them. For this we honor those veterans today. On the home front this year, the COVID19 pandemic challenged America’s quality of life with significant and unpredictable obstacles, yet the nation responded with courage and resiliency. This tenacity has proven time and again to be a distinctly American trait for its people and its military. Though the Coronavirus presented a number of logistical challenges to USS

Roosevelt, the crew has remained safe and healthy throughout this period. In these uncertain times, the leadership and crew continue to relentlessly pursue the knowledge and training necessary to preserve freedom and democracy around the world. We promise to continue in service as the “Arsenal of Democracy.” As we look to future challenges— whatever form they may take— we draw strength from the men and women of past conflicts. Today, and always, we are grateful for their service and sacrifice. Capt. Ryan Kendall Commanding Officer, USS ROOSEVELT (DDG 80) Capt. Ryan Kendall

Beacon veteran Rocco survived kamikaze attack in World War II continued from page 1

on and, in the dark when we couldn’t see, we could hit a 40-foot wave and it would send the whole ship into the air.” The crew suffered more than a few broken bones from the pounding. LCS 88 got through the weather and made station with the fleet and were assigned to the support of the invasion of Okinawa. The Okinawa invasion brought a new kind of storm to be weathered: The “Kamikaze” or “Divine Wind,” the name the Japanese used for their suicide aircraft. The name came as a reminder of a typhoon that saved Japan from a Mongol fleet In the 13th century. To counter this new storm, the US fleet extended its radar-based vision by setting up a circle of picket ships miles away from

the fleet in the direction of the enemy. Their radar and their eyes would allow them to spot the attacking forces before they got to the main fleet. It also meant that they were the first to get hit. It was May 11, 1945, at sea off of Okinawa that Rocco’s little ship was providing anti-aircraft fire support for a pair of destroyers doing radar picket duty. A Japanese kamikaze managed to come straight through their hail of anti-aircraft fire. It hit at the stern. “I was in the radio shack,” Rocco later recounted, “so I didn’t see anything when it happened.” The commanding officer was killed immediately along with nearly a dozen others. In the ensuing days another dozen or 14 succumbed to their wounds. Almost 25 men killed out of a crew of 71 was a massive loss. The ship was towed to shore to be saved and later towed back to Pearl Harbor, and then to San Francisco for major repairs. As they headed back out to the Pacific, the word came the war was over; and LCS 88, along with radioman 2nd class, Petty Officer Jerry Rocco, turned around and came home to stay - for the survivors to get on with life, and to raise families. Jerry Rocco lives in Beacon and remembers those he lost and is grateful for the life he has been given to live.

Above: After boot camp, Jerry Rocco (left) attended radio school in Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Left: Rocco (standing, left) is pictured with some of his fellow sailors. Courtesy photos

VETERANS DAY

a special section to Southern Dutchess News, Northern Dutchess News and Beacon Free Press 84 East Main St., Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 845.297.3723 • www.sdutchessnews.com Publisher: Albert Osten General Manager: Curtis Schmidt Editorial/Creative Director: Kate Goldsmith Writers: Jim Donick, Bill Jeffway Special thanks to the Dutchess County Historical Society Marketing Director: Jaimie Rodriguez Advertising Representatives: Jaimie Rodriguez, Richard Wambach November 11, 2020 - V ETERANS D AY S PECIAL S ECTION 3

‘I served…’ platform for veterans’ voices is active after Covid pause by Bill Jeffway The Dutchess County Historical Society’s program to record the stories of county veterans has resumed under protocols that work well within pandemic guidelines. It had been on pause since February. Interviews are conducted by DCHS Board member Dr. Michael Boden (Lieutenant Colonel, Army, Retired). Boden is an Assistant Professor of History at Dutchess Community College, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, served as an Armored Cavalryman, and in his 23 years of service deployed to Kuwait as part of Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990-1 with the 2nd Armored Division, to Kosovo in 2002 with the 1st Infantry Division, and to Mosul, Iraq, in 2006-7 with the 1st Cavalry Division. Boden recently interviewed four men after a sixmonth pause in recording due to the pandemic. The four most recent interviewees were Joseph Bahnatka of Red Hook, Al Ragucci of Rhinebeck, Alan Woodward of Hyde Park and Ted Zulkowski of Poughkeepsie. We thank them not only for their service, but for sharing their stories. The goal is to have them available at www.dchsny.org/iserved along with a growing number of stories. These four have not yet been produced. This is a sneak peek, if you will, of what is to come. The intention of DCHS’s “I served” program is to give veterans a platform to share their stories of service. We continue to look for participants; please contact Bill Jeffway if you are interested at bill.jeffway@ dchsny.org At the same web page, we are curating stories of

veterans from even earlier service, so that ultimately we have a very broad set of voices. Here are a few examples that reflect the commitment of men and women, generation after generation: • “We were marching to Rhinebeck when the British burnt Kingston.” Jacob Couse, Pine Plains, 1777. • “I saw General Washington.” Andrew Frazier, Milan, 1776. • “At Gettysburg we were lucky to have only seven of our regiment killed.” Richard Titus, LaGrange, 1863. • “Please forgive me for going, as I did, without letting you know.” Fred Knickerbocker, 1898. • “I heard Theodore Roosevelt speak at the YMCA, inspiring talk on service.” Victor Buck, LaGrange, 1917. • “For the one who dies it is easy. It is those left that we worry about.” James Goring, 1918 • “In the year I’ve been in France, I’ve grown two or three years older.” Lester Whitney, Pine Plains, 1918. • “When I see another veteran, there is an immediate camaraderie.” Julia Liu, Tivoli, 2019. • “My view is, serve your country, and serve it well.” George Mackey, Hopewell Junction, 2019. • “I am, was, and will remain ready to give my life for this county.” Greg Liu, Tivoli, 2019. • “ I am glad I am an American Citizen. It’s a great country.” Victor Sepe, Millbrook, 2019. Bill Jeffway is the Executive Director of the Dutchess County Historical Society and can be reached at bill.jeffway@dcshny.org or (845) 293-7711. The soldiers’ stories begin on page 6

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Generations of men and women have served since the founding of the country. The above photographs, all taken in Poughkeepsie, show men assembling for the Civil War in 1861, assembling to "muster out" at the end of the Spanish American War in 1898, and assembling to depart for training and then combat in France in World War One, 1917. Courtesy DCHS Collections.

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‘I served...’ platform for veterans’ stories is active after Covid pause continued from page 4

Joseph A. Bahnatka, Red Hook

ON SERVICE: “l volunteered to go to Vietnam, I went as a second Lieutenant. I was in Vietnam from 1967 through 1968.â€? ON MOTIVATION: “I felt I should probably do something about [the war in Vietnam]. My fiancĂŠe at the time worked at the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. She was familiar with the way of life of military people. This was before we were married and we talked about it and if I was going to do anything, I wanted to be an officer because I had a college education. So I just researched it. I went to all of the different branches of service, Air Force, Marine Corps. Every one of them told me, with your education, you’re going to be teaching, you’re going to be doing this, you’re

going to be doing that. And I said, well, ‘what do I really want to do?’ I just want to play Army. And Army was the only one that said, if you want to be infantry, we’ll make you infantry. So that’s where I went.â€? ON TRAINING: “I have a lot of good memories [of Officer Candidate School]. We started with maybe 150 individuals and ended up with maybe 40 graduating. I think it was ‌ six months. All at Fort Benning, Georgia, it was an interesting time. [At the end,] you fill out a dream sheet, and you list where you want to be, number one, number two, they give you several options. And I put down Special Forces Fort Bragg, Special Forces Germany, Special Forces Vietnam, you know, we filled it out and that was kind of our dream sheet. And I was, and several of us were, lucky enough to get into the Special Forces program.â€? ON VIETNAM: “Our camp sat on a hilltop, you could look and see Cambodia. The

most unusual thing about it, you hear about going to Vietnam and it’s hot and warm and dirty ‌and so on. It was so cold at our camp, I can remember [telling] my future wife at the time, my fiancĂŠe and my brother to send me some sweatshirts. I remember when I got home [I remember them asking if] I thought it was hot in Vietnam. We were freezing and it was cold. We sat on a bluff again, right here, at the Cambodian border. And at night it got downright chilly. We didn’t have to worry about yellow fever or any of these other mosquito-borne diseases, because there weren’t any‌â€? ON LESSONS USEFUL IN CIVILIAN LIFE: “I started a business, a medical supply business, which worked out well. And started another business. I think [you learn] discipline ‌ how you carry yourself, how you look. You know, when you’re in the service, you’re kind of regimented ... And I think we do that right now with our company.â€?

Alfred Ragucci, Rhinebeck

ly I ended up in Germany. I worked there in security and maintenance and practicing firing the missiles at the Russians and Eastern Europe.� ON FAMILY HISTORY: “I’m a third-generation veteran. My grandfather served in World War One. My father served in World War Two. All four grandparents were from Italy and they came to New York City. I have a fraternal twin brother who retired after 30 years in the New Jersey National Guard as a Colonel.� ON SERVICE IN GERMANY: “It was a rural area. It was quiet. The duty was very, very boring. It was a lot of repetitive exercises. It was security sometimes 24 hours. Sites had to be guarded 24 hours, seven days a week. We used to get coded

ON BEING DRAFTED: “[The US] had the draft lottery in 1969. My draft number was 43. I was in college for four years. I got out of college in 1971 and within six months I got drafted. I served from 1971 to 1973. I did basic training at Fort Dix and eventual-

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‘I served...’ platform for veterans’ stories is active after Covid pause continued from page 6

ON GROWING UP: “We lived in the outskirts of, of Pine Plains. My father worked for IBM in Poughkeepsie [and he served in] World War Two. I went in the Army in November of 1968. I was in the infantry. I spent the majority of my military career in Vietnam. The central Highlands of Vietnam. I was there early 1969 to 1970.â€? ON VIETNAM DEPLOYMENT IN HIGHLANDS: There weren’t really any kind of base camps. There was no power. Nothing. We would go out for two or three days at a clip, maybe, a week-long mission, come back for a day, rest up. You still had to [be on] your guard. There were four squads, four teams. One would go out for a week. One would be out for two or three days, and the others would stay back for a day or two and guard‌â€?

ON COMING HOME AND THE SOMETIMES ACCIDENTAL NATURE OF IMPORTANT THINGS: “So I met this guy who was a respiratory therapist. So I got talking to him. And that’s what I did. I ended up [going] to Westchester Community College out of, got my degree in respiratory therapy, and became a respiratory therapist. My first job was at Benedictine hospital in Kingston. I was only there about a year. And then I went to Sharon Hospital and Connecticut, Sharon, Connecticut, and worked there for over 40 years. I lived around Pine Plains.� ON LESSONS FROM SERVICE: “I think it taught me to buckle up and do the job right. Focus, do things right the first time. You had to be disciplined. Sometimes we’d sit in one spot for two to three days, with

not a lot of talk, you can’t light up a cigarette or whatever, you just had to keep your composure and stay still and not move. So I think that was what got me through, even my career. I wanted things done right, and I would let people know if they didn’t do things right. The way I would tell them, I probably wasn’t the most diplomatic sometimes, but you know what, let’s do it right. I think that’s the thing about the military, people from all different walks of life come together. And I think sports was to me was the same way. You have all different kinds of race, creeds and different backgrounds and somehow you all, you know, mold together.�

Alan Woodward, Hyde Park

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Veteran photos courtesy of Michael Churton messages every day and the coded messages would give us directions about loading [the missiles]. And you know, it was all practice in anticipation of World War Three, which was supposed to be over that East European/West European border. There was a safe where the codes were kept to get access to the nuclear weapons. I had one combination. The officer on duty had the other combination. So we’d go to the process of not actually arming them, but doing everything but putting the real nukes on the missiles. I was there when the Munich Olympic murders occurred, when terrorists broke in and shot the Israeli wrestlers. I get this coded message, which puts the team on full alert. They don’t say exercise. So I said to him, ‘did you forget something?’ And he goes, no, this isn’t an exercise. I said, ‘I’m a draftee. I only do

exercises.’ So we went on full alert, which means we had to put more guards out there. They were armed, you know, it was a process for going on full alert until that situation in Munich got settled.� ADVICE TODAY: “It’s a good career for people. It’s a career for certain people. It’s a different time. I think it’s in many ways, a more professional army. They’re not so desperate for people as they were during Vietnam. So I think that the caliber of soldiers today might actually be a little bit better and there’s serious work that they do. I thought about it, if my two sons thought about going into the service, I would tell them, ‘well, think about it and I’ll support you, whatever you do.’ So I wouldn’t be opposed and it’s free choice now. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, which, which makes a big difference.�

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‘I served...’ platform continued from page 7

Theodore Zulkowski, Poughkeepsie Courtesy of Michael Churton

ON GROWING UP: “I was born in Newark, New Jersey on June 26, 1919. My father and mother came from Poland. Their home was about 40 miles from Warsaw. They lived in Europe almost next to each other. My father married my mother and they came to Newark. My father died from consumption when I was five years old.” ON BEING IN A POLISH FAMILY: “My mother used to go to the big meetings, they used to have a General from Poland while they were trying to fight the Germans, and he would come to Newark and they would go and [speak at] the Armory building. A lot of Polish people lived in Newark and they would donate money so they could support the Polish Army. And of course, that was a failure because the Germans

took over Poland in a couple of weeks.” ON BEING DRAFTED: “I got married and we had a child. The child was one day old and they drafted me the next day. Well, [my wife] really had to suffer. I never realized it until I came home.” ON BECOMING A MEDICAL TECHNICIAN IN EUROPE: “[Before being drafted] I was learning to work in plastics, creating plastic molds. At night, after training all day, they would take you to a building and they would give you a test to see what kind of attitude you had and what kind of skills you had. They give you the questions and you have to have put the answers down on a piece of paper. So I did pretty well there. [So they asked, ‘do you want to be] a mechanic, work in automobile shop or truck shop, be a surgical or medical technician?’ So I took the surgical technician. I had no background on that but I learned it.” ON COMING HOME: “I got to home to my house and there was nobody home. My mom mother used to have a habit of leaving one window unlocked. And I didn’t have a key to get in. I climbed through the window and I was in the house and nobody was home. Then on the front porch, my wife [arrived] and, I can’t even say it. She said, ‘welcome home, Ted.’ She was with the baby … I squeezed her so hard, I hadn’t seen my baby for a year and a half or two years. So it was a happy day for me. Oh, it was such a wonderful feeling.”

This Family / Veteran owned business salutes our Troops!

7387 SOUTH BROADWAY RED HOOK, NY 12571 8 V ETERANS D AY S PECIAL S ECTION - November 11, 2020

Return the FAVOR to Dutchess County Veterans by Bradford H. Kendall Dutchess County Clerk Are you or do you know a U.S. veteran who lives in Dutchess County? Are you or do you know a local business that would like to thank our veterans for their service? The Dutchess County Clerk’s Office and the county Division of Veterans’ Services is pleased to offer the Return the FAVOR (Find and Assist a Veteran of Record) program. This joint venture between the business community and county government is intended to provide veterans with assistance in obtaining the benefits they deserve. Today, more than 230 businesses have enrolled to participate by providing discounted programs and services to almost 3,900 Dutchess County veterans. Return the FAVOR is a county-wide and year-round program. Any honorably discharged veteran residing in Dutchess County may obtain their FAVOR card by bringing his or her Military Separation Papers i.e. DD-214, WDO-AGO 53-55, etc., indicating their Full-Time Active Duty service to the Division of Veterans Services

Office, at 85 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 105, in Poughkeepsie. After processing, veterans obtain their official card from the County Clerk’s Office, 22 Market St. in Poughkeepsie. There is no cost to sign up for the card. The card also entitles you to one hour of free parking in the lot adjacent to the County Office Building at 22 Market St. Participating businesses honor the card by providing a discount on purchases, services or special offers. Each business uniquely decides on the discount they wish to offer. From auto repairs to meals, haircuts to pet supplies, these are just a few examples of the offers provided. Currently, 20,000 U.S. veterans call Dutchess County home; and with Memorial Day around the corner, please consider joining the Return the FAVOR program as either a recipient or participant. As County Clerk, I am pleased to assist in the initiative that honors our brave men and women of Dutchess County who have made the greatest sacrifice defending our freedoms and liberties. Join me in showing our gratitude for their service.

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