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S/Sgt Frank Rossi (AKA Rocco Francis Rossi,
Jr.), USAAF, Armorer, and Special Services.
Information and photos on this page
contributed by his son, Mark Wayne, and placed on this tribute page
to Honor his father's service during WWII - Tinian Island.
After the war dad changed his name when he was
acting and producing off Broadway, as, his Italian heritage worried
him that people would think his shows were backed by the NY Mob!
In the above photo the man on the left, with the
cane, is Dad, as he was with Special Services, (Trained as an
armorer) worked the shows as a performer and make up artist,
producer and coordinator. By the time he was 7 years old, he was
touring the New England area as a singer and dancer on the Kieth
Vaudeville Circuit. He later graduated to Summer Stock Theatre, and
played 12 seasons of Drama, Comedy, Musicals, Pathos, Bathos and
whatever else came along. He also had a traveling puppet show that,
at one point toured the parks locally in Boston too.
Via the scholarship route, he also studied drama at the New England
Conservatory of Music in Boston and became Professor of Drama at the
school, a job he held for over two years. During that time, he was
introduced to the new medium of television, circa 1941. He worked on
an experimental station in Boston with a total audience of about 50
people.
In 1942, the Army Air Force called, and he served for 3 1/2 years
here and in the S. Pacific. His primary Job was to be an Armorer,
but, he also, with his experience, drew a secondary assignment as
entertainment director for special services. He wrote, Produced ,
directed and appeared in all manner of shows, from GI moral boosters
to WAC recruitment drives.
Dad at the microphone, "Mom and Apple Pie!!!"
Dad in the cockpit, morning after the return from
Hiroshima
Some of the planes dad worked on:
"Hellon Wings"
Dad under the "Lady be Good"
"Dream Girl"
"Belle Ringer"
"Lassie Too"
Caricature Map of Tinian Island
Some of the showgirls
I also noticed the name Allen Ludden listed as a
producer or actor in one of the shows. Allen Ludden became famous
for hosting the game show "Password", which my Dad produced, for
Mark Goodson - Bill Todman Productions. Dad also was the Executive
Producer of "The Price Is Right", which has become a house hold name
after all these years on the air. My brother and I also followed dad
into the family business,...both of us having amassed about 100
years in
the TV biz.
Dad didn't speak too much about his service, and told only a few
specific stories that I remember. I am the youngest, and, maybe he
thought his stories of war were not what he should be talking about
with me at the time.
Or, most probably, he is of the old school men, who didn't complain
much about his service, as, serving was enough. I do know many of
the men didn't speak of the horrors they saw and knew to be so.
He passed away in 1988. I didn't have the time, or, know what to ask
to find out what he knew and experienced on the island.
I remember one story of the swimming hole, where he was swept up by
a wave, and then dragged across the corral, getting cut up pretty
badly.
He also told stories of good 'ol Yankee ingenuity, as he and his
pals made a refrigeration device by digging a hole, and then filling
it with aircraft fuel at the bottom and a thin layer of dirt, then
sand, then covered the whole explosive and
dangerous contraption with vented aluminum, and as the fuel
evaporated it helped cool anything inside, keeping perishables a
little longer.
My Mother also sent him a care package, a huge
bottle of green olives, which he detested! lol It sat and sat and
sat, until one of his buddies asked if he was ever going to eat
those olives? He said, what the hell and cracked them open, and to
his surprise, they were slowly aging in a fine Scotch Whisky!
"You Mother is a genius!" he always said.
His friends, who ate those olives for hours and hours, said so too.
He also spoke of having to search the caves for any remaining stray
Japanese.
He HATED the heat, the humidity and we never went without air
conditioning as a result. Never!
He despised the bugs, the crashes and losses and the horror that
humanity can inflict upon itself.
Contributed by Mark Wayne - 2006
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