WWII US NAVY VETERAN DIES AT 96 | USS VELLA GULF

Please join us in remembering the life of WWII US Navy veteran Donald Tracy, who passed away today at the age of 96.

Tracy was drafted during the height of WWII and chose to enter the Navy, following in his father’s footsteps. Entering service on May 31, 1944, he was first sent to basic training and then to fire control school, and upon graduation achieved the rank of Fire Controlman 3rd Class. He was then assigned to the USS Vella Gulf (CVE-111), a newly commissioned aircraft carrier. The ship was sent to the South Pacific carrying a Marine air squadron prepared to engage the Japanese in the late months of the war.

While onboard, Tracy was stationed on the bow of the ship on the catwalk, three feet below the flight deck, operating a 40mm gun position. During the last weeks of the war in the Pacific Theater, he recalls opening fire on Japanese “Zero” aircraft and shooting down at least three.

WWII ended on September 2, 1945, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese mainland. But for Tracy, his visions of war were far from over. He and several other crew members from the USS Vella Gulf were selected to visit Nagasaki, one of the bombed cities. The experience of walking through the devastation stuck with him more than anything else.

Tracy was discharged from the Navy in late 1945 and married his sweetheart shortly after returning to the US. They were married for over 70 years.

"Giving the Past a Future, One Story at a Time."

WWII Veterans History Project