PEARL HARBOR SURVIVORS | Profiles

ROBERT BISHOP

Residence: West Austintown

Age: Will be 96 on Dec. 19.

Wife: Married his childhood sweetheart, the former Doris Fee, on Jan. 11, 1943.

Children: Joy Bayless and Gay Blackann, both of Austintown, and Sue Carroll Blake of Clearwater, Fla.; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

Education: Austintown Fitch High School, graduated 1939; took some classes at Youngstown College after leaving the Navy.

Civilian jobs: LTV Steel, Republic Steel, U.S. Steel and was 90 years and three months old when he retired from McDonald Steel Corp.

Community activities: Member of West Austintown First United Methodist Church; Mason and past master of the Hillman Lodge.

Navy: Enlisted Sept. 16, 1940, discharged March 7, 1952, with the rank of petty officer 1st class. Served on the USS Tennessee, a battleship, during World War II, and the USS Shenandoah, a destroyer tender, during the Korean War.

Military job: Fire controlman, Navy designation for person who operates surface ships’ weapons systems.

Veterans organizations: American Legion, VFW, Pearl Harbor Survivors Association before it was disbanded.

Quote: “The Tennessee shot down five Japanese planes at Pearl Harbor and took hits from two bombs. Lots of people had terrible things happen to them. War is a terrible thing.”

ADONE T. “CAL” CALDERONE

Residence: Jackson Township near Massillon; grew up in Niles.

Age: 96.

Wife: Married his childhood sweetheart, Carrie, in 1945.

Children: Greg Calderone of Canton and Ron Calderone of Tucson, Ariz., and is estranged from a third son; one granddaughter; and 18 nieces and nephews.

Education: Graduate of Niles McKinley High School; associate degree in music through the Navy; business degree from Youngstown State University through the G.I. Bill.

Civilian jobs: A musician, he played string bass and tuba and performed in many of the numerous area nightclubs of the era. After the Navy, he worked for John Hancock Insurance and several music stores.

Community activities: He was one of the founders of the W.D. Packard Band in Warren for which he played 50 years and was its principal tuba player until retiring in 2006.

Military job: Played tuba and string bass on the USS West Virginia battleship band, and was communications and damage control in combat.

Quote: “I almost got killed on the Arizona. On Dec. 6, there was a battle of the bands but the USS West Virginia (Calderone’s band) did not participate because we were on guard duty. But, the Tennessee band played and needed string bass player, and they picked me up. After playing, the Tennessee bandmaster asked me to stay and my officer said no. The Arizona band took me to the West Virginia and as they pulled alongside I wished them merry Christmas. If my officer had not denied me permission to stay, I would have been in the Arizona band compartment on Dec. 7. It took a direct hit and they lost everybody. To this day, I can’t forget it.”

JOHN A. PROSENJAK

Age: Born in 1913 in Youngstown, died in 2004 at 90.

Wife: Married Lucy Bistrica in February 1946; children, Stephen, Palm Springs, Fla.; Jimmy, Hermitage, Pa.; John J. of Youngstown; Rosie Prosenjak Marich of Austintown; and nine granchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Education: Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Croatian Elementary School, The Rayen School, graduated 1931; graduated in 1939 from The Ohio State University with a degree in secondary education and as a second lieutenant in the ROTC.

Civilian jobs: Teacher in the Struthers and Youngstown systems until his 1973 retirement from The Rayen School. On weekends, he worked in steel mills and helped run the family grocery store on Youngstown’s North Side.

Military job: Army captain in charge of a Signal Corps company with the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. After surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was discharged from active duty in January 1946. After that, he served in the Army Reserve for 27 years and was a colonel when he retired in 1973.

Veterans organizations: Retired Officers Association.

Quote from Prosenjak children: “He told the story of Pearl Harbor to just about every high school, college and military class he taught. His message was that they should appreciate the American effort and ability to rebound from such a tragic loss to our great country.”

LEO J. ZAPPA

Age: 22 when enlisted in the Army in 1939. He died in 1993.

Residence: Born and raised in Farrell, Pa.

Wife: Helen; son, Leo P. Zappa, Center Township in Beaver County, Pa.; two grandchildren.

Education: Dropped out of Farrell High School in the 11th grade to enlist the day after Hitler invaded Poland.

Civilian job: Westinghouse Electric Transformer Plant, Mercer County, Pa.

Community activities: Farrell VFW and Good Shepherd Catholic Church, West Middlesex, Pa.

Military job: Quartermaster Company.

Rank: Discharged as a sergeant.

Military decorations: Combat infantry badge, good conduct, National Defense Medal

Veterans organizations: VFW Post, Idaho St./Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.

Quote from Leo P. Zappa’s son: “Pearl Harbor was an unforgettable experience for my dad. Ironically, he was scheduled to ship out and be discharged from the Army on Dec. 8 . His buddies were even getting ready to have a party for him ... obviously that didn’t happen.”

Sources: Vindicator interviews, family recollections