In 1947, Dad was honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces.
In the late 1940s, he lost his Army uniforms and memorabilia in a house fire, and that loss broke his heart. In 2017, I embarked upon a little project to recover all that he would have been awarded, and have created a shadowbox to honor his faithful service.
Dad was drafted after high school graduation in June 1945. He received his Quartermaster training at Camp Lee, VA July-October 1945, where he earned his Marksman badge. He then was stationed at Fort Belvoir, VA through early 1946, where he was appointed Corporal.
Dad was originally to have gone to war with the invasion Operation Downfall, but the Japanese surrendered on August 15, accepting the Potsdam Declaration. Dad instead served under Operation Blacklist in the Allied Army of Occupation under Generals R.L. Eichelberger and D. MacArthur.
After a summer furlough, he deployed to Japan as a part of the Occupation. He served in the Eighth US Army, 24th “Victory” Infantry Division (which seized Hiroshima and then occupied Kyūshū), 566th Quartermaster Railhead Company, stationed in Kobe and Osaka, headquartered in Yokohama.
Dad served as Foreman of the Itami Hat Company in Hyōgo. Mr. Horinuki, the owner, reported to Dad for all personnel and operations matters. One time, a young woman was late to work and Mr. Horinuki was going to fire her. Dad saw the tears in her eyes and asked the boss to reconsider. “One more chance,” stated Mr. Horinuki gruffly in Japanese. She kept her job.
Dad had his own room at the barracks, Jeep and horse. Dad saw for himself the devastation that was Nagasaki, and his heart was heavy with the destruction of countless innocent beautiful human beings. He routinely sneaked food from the mess hall to the hungry little children out in the fields.
Dad won thousands of dollars in the Kobe Red Cross pool tournaments, sending home his winnings for my grandmother to deposit in the bank. At one point, he bought a violin for his uncle Butch (Tony) and sent it home to Newark.
He loved his dog, Rex, who saved him from an intruder in a warehouse where he’d been sleeping, chasing him away with furious barking. Unfortunately, the dog was shot by a nasty sergeant who for whatever reason had it in for Dad. When he found out, Dad went into his room at the barracks and overturned his bed, standing over him in a rage. He threatened Dad with his stripes, but Dad had witnesses and the sergeant knew it meant a dishonorable discharge if Dad turned him in. He avoided Dad after that.
He was respected and fondly regarded by the locals and made many friends. He was keenly aware of the dangers, however, and sprinted like the wind one night after the movies when he heard footsteps behind him.
Dad sailed back to the States on the Army transport USS Admiral H. T. Mayo, surviving a horrific storm during which he saw a fellow soldier washed overboard. After having arrived in Seattle, he returned home to New Jersey and was honorably discharged at Fort Dix in April 1947.
Corporal Vincent D. Salvato was laid to rest with military honors on a warm sunny morning at Washington Monumental Cemetery, on September 18, 2015. Dear friends and family were present to bid farewell.
Shadowbox, clockwise from the lower left: Dad’s dogtags, portrait, stripes, US Quartermaster collar device, “Ruptured Duck” (honorable discharge lapel pin), Army of Occupation Medal (Japan clasp), WWII Victory Medal, Honorable Discharge document, Eighth Army patch, 24th Victory Division patch, Trial Defense Service patch, US Quartermaster patch, Marksman badge, stripes, newspaper clipping from one of his billiards tournament victories in Kobe, flag pin, service ribbons, honorable discharge embroidery, US Army insignia.
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