Monessen son lost 81 years ago today in ship bombing

This story is part of Mon Valley Sons of World War II, a series about our sons who lost their lives in service to our country during the war.

By JOHN J. TURANIN
For the MVI

It happened 81 years ago, Sept. 11, 1943. Monessen’s John Edward Zapora was at a battle station as his warship USS Savannah fell under attack off the coast of Italy.

In an instant, John was gone. A radio-guided bomb had been dropped from an attacking German bomber. Its bombardier expertly steered the bomb toward the center of the Savannah, and it penetrated 37 feet into the ship’s hull before exploding. Seaman 2nd Class John Zapora and most of the 197 men who perished probably didn’t know what hit them.

John would never return home to Monessen. This is his story.

The Zapora family of Monessen

John Edward Zapora was born Dec. 24, 1924, to John Stanley and Mary Zapora (née Frenchek) in Monessen. John and Mary had married in 1920 in Herminie, where John worked as a coal miner.

John Stanley, born Jan Zapara in the village of Nevtessiew or Nederuw, Poland, immigrated to the United States in 1912 aboard the SS Vaderland. Mary was born in Pila, Poland, and immigrated to the U.S. in 1904 with her mother, following her father who arrived in 1902.

John Edward, called Edward within the family, was the fourth of nine children. Sophie (1919) was first to arrive, followed by Violet (1921) and Leon (1922). After Edward came, there was Bernice (1926), Mildred (1929), Constance (1933), Martin (1935) and Carey (1939). Sophie and Violet were born in Herminie before the family moved briefly to New Kensington, where Leon was born. By 1924, they had moved to Seneca Avenue in Monessen.

Tragedy befell the family in 1937 when 4-year-old Constance succumbed to extensive burn injuries. Three days earlier, her clothing caught fire when she came too close to their gas stove. The family was devastated.

By 1940, the Zaporas had moved into an eight-family apartment building at 328 Schoonmaker Ave. in Monessen. Sophie and Violet had completed their schooling and were helping their mother raise the youngest children. The rest of the children were attending school. Their father was now working at the Lober Coal Mine of the Hillman Coal Company in nearby Fayette City.

Even though it was 1940, the family still didn’t have a telephone. Every penny was going toward food, clothing and rent.

The U.S. enters World War II

Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on U.S. military bases in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941. The U.S. declared war on Japan, and as an ally of the Japanese Empire, Germany declared war on the U.S. War was about to disrupt the Zapora family.

Young men all over the country were rushing to enlist and defend the U.S. John Edward decided to leave high school early and join the military. For him, the U.S. Navy was the way to see the world. But at age 17, John needed the consent of his parents, which they gave with heavy hearts. So on Oct. 16, 1942, John Edward enlisted with the U.S. Naval Reserve in Pittsburgh. By the end of the month, he was at the U.S. Navy Training School in Newport, R.I., as an apprentice seaman.

It didn’t take long for John to ship out. After just six weeks training at Newport, he was sent to New York City harbor to report to the USS Savannah. He stepped aboard the Savannah Dec. 3, 1942, at the rank of Seaman 2nd Class (S2c).

Aboard the warship USS Savannah

The USS Savannah, CL-42, was a Brooklyn-Class Light Cruiser launched in 1937. A light cruiser is an armored warship about two football fields long and one-tenth as wide. While lighter and smaller than heavy cruisers, they still had extended range and could act independently around the world.

The Savannah had five main turrets, each housing three 6-inch diameter guns. Each gun could fire eight to 10 130-pound shells per minute at targets up to 11 miles away. It also had eight anti-aircraft guns, eight 50-caliber machine guns and four catapult-launched scout planes. The ship was crewed with 868 officers and enlisted men. Despite being a “Light Cruiser,” the Savannah was a formidable ship indeed.

The Savannah had just returned from successful duty in November supporting Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. After brief repairs in Norfolk, Va., and replenishment in New York, it departed to join the Navy’s South Atlantic Patrol on Dec. 25, 1942. It was a very special Christmas for S2c John Edward Zapora, his first cruise on the Atlantic.

The ship was on its way to the farthest eastern port of Recife, Brazil, where the crew’s primary mission was the destruction of any German blockade-running ships in the south Atlantic Ocean. These runners were attempting to transport desperately needed cargo from South America to German territory to support their war effort.

Pollywogs, Shellbacks & the South Atlantic

En route, Savannah crossed the Equator, triggering the traditional “King Neptune” line-crossing initiation ceremony. Sailors who have never crossed the Equator, such as S2c Zapora, are “Pollywogs” — they were to be brutally hazed by the “Shellbacks,” sailors who have crossed before. With an officer sitting as King Neptune in his court, humiliating treatment is doled out to the Pollywogs by the Shellbacks. At the end of the ceremony, Shellback certificates were awarded to the bruised but relieved Pollywogs in recognition of their new status. S2c Zapora and his fellow Pollywogs would have paid a dear price to earn their Shellback status.

Zapora and the Savannah arrived at Recife Jan. 7, 1943. After several days there, the Savannah put to sea with destroyers and an aircraft carrier. Throughout January and February, they searched for German blockade runners without success.

On March 11, 1943, a German blockade runner was finally spotted. The Savannah and her sister ships fired shots across her bow demanding them to stop. As a U.S. boarding party pulled alongside, time bombs on the ship were intentionally exploded by the German crew, killing 11 of the boarding party. Savannah rescued and captured 72 German survivors, quartering them below decks as prisoners of war. It was Zapora’s first encounter with the enemy. It would not be his last.

Savannah & the Invasion of Sicily

Savannah returned to New York to deposit the prisoners, replenish supplies and overhaul the ship. In May, Savannah headed back to North Africa to protect troop transport ships for the preparation of Operation “Husky,” the Allied invasion of enemy-occupied Sicily.

As the invasion started July 9, 1943, Savannah provided fire support for the troop landings and four spotter aircraft for reconnaissance. On July 12, Savannah fired over 500 shells at targets directed by Allied infantry. She also took aboard wounded infantrymen as the battle raged on the island.

Before the Allied armies moved into the island’s interior, they thanked Savannah for “crushing three infantry attacks and silencing four artillery batteries” and for demoralizing enemy troops with her bombardment.

Savannah continued to support the invasion of Sicily until it was taken Aug. 17. The humiliating collapse of Italian troops on Sicily led to the overthrow of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Savannah had done her part.

The Invasion of Italy and catastrophe

Savannah returned to Algeria to prepare for the planned invasion of Italy with landings at Salerno. They set sail Sept. 5 and entered Salerno Bay three days later, ready for battle.

Savannah was the first U.S. ship to open fire against the German shore defenses overlooking Salerno Bay. She launched nine fire support missions that day. Savannah continued her valuable support through Sept. 10. Zapora did all that he was ordered to do, and he and his shipmates barely had time to rest. Little did they know that a catastrophe awaited them the next morning.

Before dawn Sept. 11, 1943, as Savannah was preparing to launch fire support for the Allies’ invading troops, she was harassed several times by enemy aircraft. The men were on constant alert.

At 0930 hours, Savannah was 5 miles from the beach when a red alert was broadcast from the Allied ships. Twelve German planes were entering the area from the south. Immediately, all hands went to battle stations and the ship sped to 15 knots. Zapora prepared as best he could for what might come next.

At 0944 hours, a twin-engined German Do-217 bomber was sighted overhead at a height of 18,700

00076225

feet. Just then, a whooshing sound was heard and a bomb struck Savannah. A strong, sharp jolt was felt across the ship. The ship and her crew were in peril.

A “Fritz-X” radio-controlled glide-bomb had been released by the German bomber. Its bombardier aimed the bomb at the Savannah and scored a direct hit. It pierced through the armored roof of the number 3 gun turret, tearing through 37 feet of three decks into the lower handling room where it exploded and tore open the ship’s port side. For the next 30 minutes, secondary explosions interrupted the firefighting and rescue crews.

The crews quickly put out the fires and sealed off flooding compartments. The damage had been severe, but their quick action kept the Savannah afloat. The ship was wounded, but not fatally. The same could not be said for its crew.

Savannah lost 197 men that day. S2c John Edward Zapora was one of them. Three weeks later, his family was informed by the War Department that John was missing in action and presumed dead.

John Edward Zapora, remembered

S2c John Edward Zapora was never recovered, and he is presumed lost at sea at the moment of the bomb explosion. His name is inscribed on the Tablet of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial at Nettuno, Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Lazio, Italy. His name is also inscribed on the World War II Veterans Memorial Tablet, located at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Euclid Drive in Monessen City Park.

John J. Turanin is a retired Western Pennsylvanian and grandson of the Mon Valley. He is one of hundreds of volunteers with the nonprofit organization Stories Behind The Stars who are writing memorial stories for every one of the 421,000 U.S. service members and 31,000 Pennsylvanians who lost their lives during WWII. Those interested in joining the effort are encouraged to visit www.StoriesBehindThe-Stars.org.