Francis Joseph DeVita (1925 - 2022)

Born 15 May 1925 in Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Dorothy Ruth Harriett (Guardino) DeVita — married 7 Nov 1948 in New York City, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 12 Mar 2022 at age 96 in New Jersey, United States

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Biography

Gunners Mate 3rd Class Frank DeVita served in the United States Coast Guard in World War II
Service started:
Unit(s): USS Samuel Chase, Higgins Boat, number 28
Service ended:

Frank DeVita was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and at 16 wanted to join the Armed Forces following the attack Pearl Harbor.His mother asked him to wait to enlist until he had graduated from high school , so at the age of 18 he chose the Coast Guard, and at 19, DeVita found himself on the attack transport USS Samuel Chase on the shores of France, preparing to send elements of the 1st Army Division onto Omaha Beach.

Frank was a gunner’s mate third class and on DDAY he was in charge of dropping the gate on the Higgins Boat that he manned along with a Coxswain. He was originally assigned to man the machine gun on the Higgins Boat, but the night before the invasion of Omaha Beach Normandy the USS Samuel Chase received orders to remove the machine guns for fear of friendly fire, and Frank was reassigned to drop and raise the ramp The Higgins boats were small transport boats made of plywood with an iron ramp that took troops, usually around 30-32 men, from the USS Samuel Chase to the beach.

On June 6, 1944, DeVita set off toward Omaha Beach for the beginning of an 18-hour long battle that involved 15 trips to the beach. He recalled hearing the German machine gun fire rain on the metal ramp that separated those on the ship from death, and then receiving orders to drop the ramp. Fourteen soldiers died immediately, introducing DeVita to the bloodbath that would occupy his life for the next 18 hours. In 15 waves, He and his crew pulled 308 bodies out of the water back to USS Samuel Chase, and saw countless more die on the beaches. Men died or were mortally wounded even standing next to DeVita, most young men no more than 20 years old.

DeVita returned to Marseilles in August for the second invasion, where his ship lost no men. His service ended in Yokohama, Japan, when he was honorably discharged in 1946. He returned to Brooklyn and married his childhood sweetheart, Dorothy. The couple had three children. For 70 years, he did not speak about his wartime experience, even to his wife and children. In 2014, he opened up in an NBC interview which included a portion conducted with Tom Brokaw on Omaha Beach. In 2015, Frank received the French Legion of Honor medal, the highest award given by the French government.

Sources

His son Frank R. DeVita

https://blogs.va.gov/VAntage/89719/frank-devita-brooklyn-omaha/

https://www.kofc.org/en/columbia/detail/to-hell-and-back.html

https://blog.theveteranssite.greatergood.com/frank-devita/

https://americanhomefront.wunc.org/american-veteran/2021-10-17/american-veteran-his-mom-hoped-hed-patrol-coney-island-instead-he-was-a-witness-to-history

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/bridgewater-slash-raritan/articles/bridgewater-renames-ardsley-lane-in-honor-of-wwii-veteran-frank-devita