Correspondent photo / Sean Barron
Michael Salcone, 100, a World War II veteran, far right, shares recollections about his three years in the U.S. Navy during a special Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day program Saturday at the Trumbull County Veterans Service Center in Warren. Saturday also marked the 83rd anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, surprise Japanese attack on the naval base in Hawaii.
WARREN — When a fellow military veteran asked Michael Salcone to provide his assessment of those who have served or are serving their country, it didn’t take long for his emotions to bubble to the surface.
“They are the greatest. People don’t know that, but they’re the greatest,” Salcone, 100, of Warren said, fighting back tears.
Salcone was in a position to offer such a summation because he was drafted in 1943 into the U.S. Navy, where he served three years, including two on the USS St. Louis after having boarded in Long Beach, California. Specifically, he was a fire controlman 2nd Class.
Salcone, a Warren G. Harding High School graduate, also was the guest of honor who shared many of his Navy recollections during a special Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day program Saturday afternoon at the Trumbull County Veterans Service Commission office, 253 E. Market St., downtown.
The gathering was to remember the 83rd anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, surprise Japanese attack on the large military installation near Honolulu, where, in 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had moved the U.S. Pacific Fleet from San Diego.
The 75-minute attack killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including 68 civilians, wounded 1,178 others and destroyed or damaged 19 Navy ships. Nearly half of the fatalities were crew members on the USS Arizona that sank and remains in its watery grave.
The unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor also came four years after the Imperial Japanese Army had attacked Nanking, China, in late 1937, resulting in the Nanking massacre in which hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed in that heavily damaged city.
One day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, the USS St. Louis, a light mini cruiser battleship commissioned into the Navy in May 1939, was moored in the Southeast Lock. Within minutes after the bombing got underway, Capt. George A. Rood gave the order to fight back with aircraft guns, then get the ship out of harm’s way, before it shot down the first Japanese plane in the attack. As a result, the USS St. Louis — which was having radar equipment installed at the time — was the first major American ship to make it safely out of Pearl Harbor.
Salcone was not onboard that morning, but noted that, in an effort to get out of Pearl Harbor as quickly as possible, the ship traveled more than 20 knots in an 8-knot zone. It also survived after having two torpedoes fired at it that missed and struck coral reefs before exploding, which earned the USS St. Louis the nickname “Lucky Lou,” he told an audience of a few dozen fellow veterans and others.
By Salcone’s estimation, each Japanese plane took 10 to 15 minutes to attack because they traveled at high speeds then had to return to refuel. He also recalled that one enemy plane, perhaps because of confusion, accidentally landed on an American aircraft carrier.
In addition, the USS St. Louis performed 13 or 14 burials at sea, which are final dispositions of remains performed on deployed Navy vessels, Salcone said, adding that his duties also included repairing headsets for crew members to effectively communicate with their superiors.
Salcone’s service also included having fought in the Battle at Leyte Gulf in late October 1944 in the Philippines, under the leadership of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. By some accounts, the three-day battle was history’s largest naval engagement.
The World War II veteran recalled that his Navy stint began fortuitously, because his intent was to serve in the U.S. Air Force as a mechanic, but that he got into the line for Navy recruits instead. He received about 14 weeks of training at the Great Lakes Naval Station.
“You know what? I don’t regret it. I’m still here at 100,” he said about having gotten into the wrong line.
After returning to civilian life, Salcone got a job as a machinist but, after several months, he became dissatisfied. Soon after, he applied for a position at Kroger Co. that turned into a nearly 40-year career.
“Be a good listener and don’t talk too much,” Salcone quipped, while describing the main technique he used in dealing with the public over four decades.
His tenure at the Cincinnati-based grocery chain, however, brought him more than a reliable paycheck. The experience also led to meeting his second wife, Theresa, who had been a 16-year nun, Salcone said, adding that his first wife had died after 22 years of marriage.
“There have been some ups and downs; it hasn’t always been smooth. At my age, I don’t have to be looking for someone else,” he said to laughter.
Of the estimated 1,500 Navy personnel who have served on the USS St. Louis during its deployment, Salcone is one of six who are still living. The youngest survivor is 96; the oldest two are 104, he said.
Salcone added he is concerned about the state of today’s world, saying that advanced technology has made any potential war more dangerous than in the past.
“Don’t let it happen again,” he said. “Be prepared at all times for everything. We’ve got to make it OK.”
Also during Saturday’s program, Cari Delgado, the Veterans Service Commission’s director, handed Salcone a Certificate of Congressional Recognition and Achievement for his service.
“He’s a national treasure,” said Delgado, a Navy veteran who saw five years of active duty.
