Vito W. Fazio

Vito Fazio was born in March 1926 in New York City. Prior to the advent of World War II, he was living in Manhattan and attending high school. Fazio did not recall his response to the Pearl Harbor attack, but said he was most likely out playing with his friends.

Fazio joined the Navy on August 7, 1943, at the age of 17. Due to his age, he had to get parental permission to enlist, which they willingly gave, as they believed it was the right thing to do. Fazio took basic training in Newport, Rhode Island. It was initially a shock for him, as he had never been away from home, and it was difficult getting used to saying “Yes, Sir” and “No Sir.” Fazio got over his initial apprehension, and during training was promoted to the rank of Corporal of the Guard (COG).

Following Basic Training, Fazio was shipped to the Fargo Building in South Boston, where he and others awaited ship and deployment assignments. He was assigned to the USS Vincennes (CL-64), a newly commissioned light cruiser, named for a ship of the same name sunk near Savo island of the Solomon Islands in 1942. As a light cruiser, the Vincennes did not have the large guns of a battleship or heavy cruiser, yet were still able to inflict consequential damage. The ship was Fazio’s home for the rest of the war, as he never left the ship.

Fazio was impressed when he boarded the ship, recalling that it “was just beautiful.” On his first day, he walked every inch of the vessel, learning everything about her. Fazio and his fellow sailors were the first crew assigned to the Vincennes. Once aboard, the ship sailed to Port of Spain, Trinidad, on a “shakedown cruise” to familiarize the crew with their duties to become battle ready before assignment to the Pacific theater of war. Fazio was assigned to several tasks on the ship, from the quartermaster section to gunner.

Fazio’s first combat experience was during the Battle of Saipan, in June and July 1944. All he recalled was the immense amount of gunfire, and that he was more excited than scared. Throughout the interview, however, Fazio remembered that much of his time in the Navy was rather boring, because daily work involved sweeping and cleaning the ship.

Fazio experienced several battles. After Saipan, the Vincennes provided artillery and antiaircraft support for the invasions of Okinawa, Peleliu, the Philippines and Iwo Jima. For every plane the crew of the Vincennes shot down, they would paint a Tally mark under the bridge. Fazio believed that he personally shot down two planes, and his three-man gun shot down a total of six planes.

As the war progressed into the summer of 1945, Fazio and his fellow sailors aboard the Vincennes, who had no idea of when it would end, grew exhausted. When the atomic bombs dropped, the Vincennes was in California for maintenance and repairs. When asked what he thought about the use of the atomic bombs, he responded with: “It solved the case, didn’t it?” Yet Fazio was appalled by the horrible aftereffects, and he seemed to dislike every aspect of the bomb save for the fact that it ended the war. People remember the sight of VJ-Day in New York, but Fazio said it was just as chaotic in California. People were passing around liquor bottles in the streets in a massive party fueled by relief. 

Fazio had no interest in a Navy career, but he had observed how well paid the Merchant Mariners were, so he became a civilian sailor on July 30, 1945. He subsequently sailed around the world five times, enjoying himself and making good money. There were massive differences between the Merchant Marines and the Navy. As a Merchant Marine, Fazio got three excellent meals a day, did not have to clean his living space (that was the steward’s job), and just took his turn keeping watch.

Fazio did not think the war changed him at all, but it was more exciting than anything else he had ever done. He concluded by stating that the Navy is the best branch of the service, because “you live a clean life and can learn a lot.”

Vito William Fazio died on August 28, 2005.