S2 Anthony Hoffman (WWII)

Seaman Second Class Anthony Hoffman (Service #7563169) was born November 8, 1926 in Monongah, WV to John and Mary (Urban) Hoffman, both born in Poland. The April 1930 Census lists him as 3 years and five months old, joined by three brothers: Henry (9), Edward (7), and Daniel (8 months). John had immigrated to the United States in 1908, and Mary immigrated in 1914. In 1930, John was working as a watchman at the railroad, and their address is listed as "Clarksburg Road."

In 1940, the family was living in Thoburn (just outside of Monongah), while John worked as a coal loader in the mines and Henry and Edward worked as clerks. Anthony attended Monongah High School, with his freshman year being 1942.

Anthony joined the U.S. Navy Reserves, and trained at TADCEN-- The U.S. Naval Training and Distribution Center in Shoemaker, California. On January 29, 1945, he joined the crew of the U.S.S. Franklin, where he remained until his death on March 19, 1945.

U.S.S. Franklin:

"Afire and listing after she was hit by a Japanese air attack while operating off the coast of Japan, 19 March 1945. Photographed from USS Santa Fe (CL-60), which was alongside assisting with firefighting and rescue work. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives."

On March 19, 1945, the U.S.S. Franklin was attacked by bombers off the coast of Japan. Two bombs were dropped on the ship, to catastrophic effect.

From the U.S.S. Franklin Museum:

"Before dawn on 19 March 1945 the U.S.S. Franklin, who had maneuvered closer to the Japanese mainland than had any other U.S. carrier during the war, launched a fighter sweep against Honshu and later a strike against shipping in Kobe Harbor. Suddenly, a single enemy plane pierced the cloud cover and made a low level run on the gallant ship to drop two semi-armor piercing bombs. One struck the flight deck centerline, penetrating to the hangar deck, effecting destruction and igniting fires through the second and third decks, and knocking out the combat information center and airplot. The second hit aft, tearing through two decks and fanning fires, which triggered ammunition, bombs and rockets."

Modern estimates are that 807 men perished and 487 were wounded, including S2 Anthony Hoffman.

Joint Base Charleston reports: "The Franklin earned the designation as the most heavily damaged U.S. aircraft carrier to survive World War II and the ship and crew remain the most decorated in U.S. Navy history – earning two Medals of Honor, 19 Navy Crosses, 22 Silver Stars and 1,100 Purple Hearts."

Honors:

Seaman Second Class Anthony Hoffman received the Purple Heart posthumously and is honored at Honolulu Memorial's Courts of the Missing and the Okinawa Memorial Park Peace Memorial. The Peace Memorial honors "all Japanese, American, British, Korean and Taiwanese soldiers who died as well as the names of all Okinawans, civilian and military, who died throughout the Pacific War" (Center for the Study of Pacific War Memories). 

Anthony is also honored on the Monongah, WV Veterans Memorial and the "Marion County Veterans Killed in Action" Memorial at Veterans Square in Fairmont, WV.

Sources and Other Information:

• American Battle Monuments Commission: Anthony Hoffman
• CVS 13 - USS Franklin: LOTS of photos, before, during, and after the damage
• Survival: The Story of the USS Franklin
• U.S.S. Franklin CV-13 War Damage Report No. 56 (declassified): gives extreme detail about what happened that day, transcribed from a book. See narrative D
• USS Franklin (CV-13) Memorial
• USS Franklin Museum Association
• The Okinawa Peace Memorial Park Project