Joe DiMaggio in WWII DiMaggio was already a top major league baseball player prior to WWII. During his hitting streak Joe DiMaggio had a batting average of .408, a slugging average of .717, he faced four future hall of fame pitchers, and he played in the 1941 All-Star Game (he went one-for-four, scored a run, and drove in a run). He enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces on February 17, 1943, rising to the rank of sergeant. He was stationed at Santa Ana, California, Hawaii, and Atlantic City, New Jersey, as a physical education instructor. He was released on medical discharge in September 1945, due to chronic stomach ulcers. Other than now being paid $21 a month, DiMaggios service was as comfortable as a soldiers life could be. He spent most of his career playing for baseball teams and in exhibition games against fellow Major Leaguers and minor league players, and superiors gave him special privileges due to his prewar fame. DiMaggio ate so well from an athlete-only diet that he gained 10 pounds, and while in Hawaii he and other players mostly tanned on the beach and drank. Embarrassed by his lifestyle, DiMaggio demanded combat duty in 1943, but was turned down. DiMaggios parents, Giuseppe and Rosalia DiMaggio, were among the thousands of German, Japanese and Italian immigrants classified as enemy aliens by the government after Pearl Harbor was bombed by Japan. They carried photo ID booklets at all times, and were not allowed to travel outside a five-mile radius from their home without a permit. Giuseppe was barred from the San Francisco Bay, where he had fished for decades, and his boat was seized. Rosalia became an American citizen in 1944, followed by Giuseppe in 1945. cconnect.s3.amazonaws/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2007-Topps-Baseball-Distinguished-Service-Joe-DiMaggio.jpg
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 22:55:59 +0000
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