2 days ago
Story of Navy sailor killed during World War II told by Muhlenberg man
It is difficult to imagine the terror onboard the U.S.S. Tang on Oct. 24, 1944.
The submarine was in the Taiwan Strait off the coast of China that day when it was struck by a circular run of its own torpedo and sunk, costing the lives of 78 men. The nine survivors were picked up by a Japanese frigate and taken prisoner.
About one-third of the crew was killed instantly by the explosive hit, author Dennis Damiani said.
One of them was Homer Anthony, a 21-year-old Reading man.
Anthony's diary entries for the first six months of 1943 are the subject of Damiani's recently published book, 'Homer Anthony — The Diary of a Navy Sailor.' Damiani edited and annotated the diary and wrote the introduction and epilogue of the slim volume, published by Masthoff Press, Morgantown.
Dennis Damiano's book, Homer Anthony - The Diary of a Navy Sailor." (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The Muhlenberg Township author presented a pre-Memorial Day program on Anthony at the Berks History Center in Reading.
'I have to thank the Philadelphia Phillies for this book,' Damiani said, only partly joking.
He and his wife, Sharon, like to watch baseball games on TV, he explained. But they found one game in the summer of 2015 difficult to watch. The Phillies were losing badly, and Damiani was bored. He opened his iPad and began searching for topics of interest.
A 1973 to 1978 veteran of the Air Force whose father served in World War II, Damiani said he has long been intrigued by U.S. history, particularly military history.
He landed on the homepage of a website dedicated to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the U.S. submarine force.
'As I viewed pictures of the lost crew members, I was immediately struck by their youth,' he said.
Homer Anthony, a World War II sailor who is the subject of a book by Dennis Damiani. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Then on the pages for the Tang, he saw the photo of Fireman First Class Anthony with his name and hometown.
'Who is this guy from Reading?' Damiani said he wondered. 'I want to know more about him.'
His journey to learn more took him to the Reading Public Library, where he found a 1941 Reading High School yearbook with the young man's photograph. It also took him to the history center, through more internet research and eventually to Charles Evans Cemetery in Reading, where he found the grave of Anthony's brother Socrates.
'His marker also listed his wife, Ruth, but there was no death date,' Damiani said. 'So I figured she was living.'
He found a phone listing, and after several weeks overcame his hesitation to call. They spoke for a few minutes before arranging for Damiani to visit the homebound Ruth. That visit turned into many more and an enduring friendship.
On one visit, Ruth smiled and held up a small black, leather-bound book.
It was Anthony's diary.
'You know a lot about Homer, Dennis,' she said, 'but you don't know about this.'
The opening pages of Homer Anthony's diary, the basis of Dennis Damiani's book "Homer Anthony - The Diary of a Navy Sailor. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
By reading the diary, Damiani felt he came to know Anthony.
'Homer was an intelligent young man,' he said. 'He loved to learn and read. His honesty and humor draw the reader of the diary to him in a heartwarming way.'
Anthony's sense of humor and talent for writing come through on the pages of the diary, he said.
Damiani said he was struck by Anthony's patriotism and commitment to doing his duty for his country.
'I believe those who read the diary will come to admire and respect Homer the way I have,' he said.
The entries provide a sense of the man Anthony was, his goal of saving for college, his dream of becoming a poet and his acceptance of the fact that he might not survive the war.
His poem 'Morbid Thoughts on a Rainy Day,' written Jan. 26 and 27, 1943, seems almost a premonition of his death, Damiani said.
The entries also reflect an era, turning a lens on the patriotism, pop culture and racism of the period.
While in Norfolk, Va., attending what he called torpedo school, Anthony witnessed extreme racism for perhaps the first time, Damiani said.
'They definitely draw the race line down here,' the serviceman wrote on Jan. 19, 1943, describing the segregation practiced in public buildings, on streetcars and elsewhere. 'To one who was born under Northern Climes, it comes as a surprise, but an interesting one, nonetheless.'
In several entries, Anthony mentions high school friends, most of whom were also serving in the military.
'Reading High School in 1941, the year Homer graduated, had 807 seniors,' Damiani said. 'Of those, 430 were boys, and out of this figure, 327, or 76%, either enlisted or were drafted.
'Twelve lost their lives while serving in World War II.'
Damiani said he is honored to preserve the story of one of these sometimes-forgotten heroes.
'I am convinced that Homer would have been an author of books and articles,' he said. 'His diary testifies to this.'
With the publication of his diary, Anthony has become the published author he aspired to be.
The book, 'Homer Anthony — Diary of a Navy Sailor' is available for sale in the Berks History Center's gift shop.
For more information, email Damiani at civilman71@
