The World War II Diary of Joseph James Fazzone

This post was written by library volunteer Gail Denisoff.

A collection of artifacts and documents belonging to the late Joseph James Fazzone was donated to the historical society in 2010 a guide to this collection can be found here.  Among the items is a wartime diary that Joseph kept as a Seaman 2^nd Class serving aboard the Navy Destroyer USS Chauncey in the Pacific Theater during the second World War.  The diary provides valuable insight into the day to day life of a seaman during the war.

Joseph James Fazzone was born to Italian immigrants, Antonio and Angela Fazzone on March 19, 1911 in Scotia NY.  He attended school until the 8^th grade and then went to work, eventually becoming proprietor of his own shoe repair shop on Broadway in Schenectady.  In the 1930’s he met Bertha Marcinek whom he called “Squige”.  They were married on August 16, 1936. 

Joseph and Bertha at their home. 

Joseph, who his wife called “Darlin”, and Bertha had no children of their own but doted on nieces and nephews.  Family photos show many family celebrations and get togethers.  Bertha worked as a baseball sewer at the old Wilson-Western Baseball Factory on Hawthorne Street in the Mont Pleasant section of Schenectady. Theirs was a very loving relationship and diary entries reveal how much Joseph missed his wife while he was serving overseas.

Joseph ran his shoe repair business until he enlisted in the Navy in 1942.  He saw action aboard the USS Chauncey whose home base was Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  He also served aboard the USS Randolph for a time.  His diary entries are comprised of brief descriptions of daily travel or activity.  The entry below describes Chauncey’s participation in air strikes on Wake Island on October 5&6, 1943. The Chauncey rescued three downed aviators during the mission.

Someone obviously thought that Joseph looked better with a mustache. 

The destroyer participated in air raids on Rabaul on November 11th.  After the first successful strike launched by the carriers, enemy planes came out in force to seek vengeance, resulting in a furious 46-minute action, during which Chauncey's guns blazed almost continuously, resulting in many downed Japanese aircraft.

Diary entry describing the air raids on Rabaul in New Guinea.

Chauncey next sailed north to begin pre-assault air strikes on Tarawa, on November 18-20. As the landings began on November 20, the carriers launched combat air patrols, antisubmarine searches, and close support strikes, which continued until the island was secured after furious fighting ashore. During this operation, Chauncey again helped drive a Japanese counterattack from the air above the ships she guarded.

Joseph was discharged from the Navy on October 26, 1945.  After the war, he worked as a warehouse supervisor for the Army Depot until his retirement in 1967.  Joseph and Bertha enjoyed a long marriage with presidential greetings from the Clintons and Bushes on anniversary milestones.  They celebrated their 70^th wedding anniversary in 2006.  Two years later, Bertha passed away at the age of 95.  Joseph died on January 29, 2010 at the age of 98.