Last updated: January 23, 2024
Person
Valentino Dominelli
Courtesy the Dominelli Family
Quick Facts
Significance:
US Navy Sailor, World War II, KIA
Place of Birth:
Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania
Date of Birth:
September 12, 1922
Place of Death:
Near Okinawa
Date of Death:
July 30, 1945
Place of Burial:
Hillside, Illinois
Cemetery Name:
Mount Carmel Cemetery
Valentino Samuel Dominelli was born September 21, 1922 in Johnsonberg, Pennsylvania to Samuel and Julia Dominelli, immigrants from Italy, who became American citizens.1 Coincidentally, this was the same hometown of Earl Tobias Schreiber, the first commander of USS Cassin Young (DD-793). Valentino had one brother, Victor, and five sisters: Daisy, Josephine, Bernice, Rose, and Francis.2 The family moved to Chicago sometime in the early 1920s. Valentino graduated from high school.
Dominelli worked as a turret lathe operator in an ammunition plant for about a year and a half. A turret lathe works like any other lathe: a piece of metal or wood is rotated rapidly and by applying a sharp edge the material is shaped by peeling back or carving out the wood or metal. What makes a turret lathe different is a carousel of attachments that enable the operator to switch quickly between carving, cutting, and boring bits. This kind of machine work is important for manufacturing interchangeable parts and for consistency in size and quality of the parts made. Dominelli noted on his induction papers that he not only operated this machine but set it up (set up required more skills and a better knowledge of the machine than operation).3 Ammunition production was critical to the war effort. Employees working in that field were less likely to be drafted than laborers working outside the war industry economy. Dominelli earned $36 a week (significantly more than his starting pay with Navy, which was $50 per month).
Dominelli enlisted in the U.S. Navy on July 10, 1943. He volunteered for a two-year appointment, starting as an apprentice seaman. He attended his basic training at the Naval Training Station, Great Lakes located in Illinois on the shores of Lake Michigan, not far from home. He was promoted to fireman 3rd class (F3c) in mid-September and was granted nine days of leave. Firemen were responsible for keeping the fires going that stoked the ship’s boilers and created the steam to turn turbines and propellers. On October 1 he reported to the Naval Training Station, on the Naval Operating Base Norfolk, in Virginia where he continued his training. The following month he moved to California for destroyer training in San Francisco on Treasure Island. This training included firefighting, night lookout, and four weeks of instruction in EPO school, where F3c Dominelli started his training to be a chief petty officer.4 It is possible that during this training period he started to get to know some of his future shipmates.
F3c Dominelli joined the crew of USS Cassin Young (DD-793) on December 31, 1943, earning him the informal title of “plank owner," meaning he was part of the original crew. While serving on Cassin Young he was promoted three times, moving up in class as a fireman (from 3rd, to 2nd and then to 1st class in 1944). Then, on June 1, 1945, he was appointed Watertender 3rd class (Trainee) WT3c(T). This was another step towards becoming a chief petty officer, and a mark of confidence from his commander. A watertender was a crewman aboard a steam-powered ship and was responsible for tending to the fires and boilers in the ship's engine room. For a year and a half, Dominelli shared the experiences of his shipmates as Cassin Young navigated the South Pacific: rescuing survivors from sinking ships, scooping up pilots who had been shot out of the sky, outrunning typhoons, shooting and dodging enemy planes, serving as escort, laying down smoke screens, and working radar picket stations.
During the spring of 1945, while serving on picket duty off the coast of Okinawa, Cassin Young was struck by kamikazes on two occasions. The first time was April 12th: a kamikaze struck the mast of Cassin Young and exploded. Shrapnel rained down on the ship, killing one sailor and wounding 59 more. The second hit came on July 30, 1945: the plane crashed through the main deck and into the forward fireroom, causing a significant explosion. WT3c(T) Dominelli was one of 22 sailors killed. He was 22 years old.
The Commander of the USS Cassin Young, J.W. Ailes III, hand-wrote condolence letters to the relatives of all the deceased sailors. Inevitably, he wrote much the same thing about all the sailors. For this sailor however, he made a few distinctions: firstly, he referred to the sailor as he was known, that is “Dom,” which was rare in the letters; secondly, while some of the sailors were said to have been “liked and admired,” Dom was “greatly liked and admired.” We include the full letter from J.W. Ailes III to Dominelli's father as an example representing all the letters Ailes wrote:
At sea
9 August 1945My dear Mr. Dominelli,
It is with the deepest regret that I write you of your son Valentino’s death. We who were his shipmates grieve with you at his loss. We all consider ourselves better men for having known and served with him.
Dom, as everyone called him, was killed in action with the enemy on 30 July 1945. He died instantly when hit while on his battle station.
Dom had served in this ship since its commissioning. He was greatly liked and admired. He truly served his country with distinction.
On 5 August 1945 we held a memorial service aboard for your son and our other shipmates who gave their lives in the same action. The following day a group of crew and I went ashore to visit [page 2] the graves of those men. We viewed their graves, where they were buried with full military honors, and I can assure you they are well kept and befitting the brave men who rest there.
The Bureau of Naval Personnel, Navy Department, Washington, DC. Will advise you in regard to the details of settling Valentino’s affairs.
My deepest sympathy is extended to you at this grevious [sic] time. If there is any manner in which I can aid you in adjusting your late son’s affairs, please do not hesitate to communicate with me.
Sincerely yours,
J.W. Ailes, III
Commander, U.S. Navy
Commanding Officer
WT3c(T) Valentino Dominelli was survived by his parents and siblings. His body was reinterred in Mount Carmel Cemetery, in Hillside, Illinois (about 12 miles west of Chicago) in 1949.
Footnotes:
- Official Military File of Valentino Dominelli National Personnel Records Center, National Archives and Records Administration, St Louis, MO.
- 1930 U.S. Census. Daisy appears to be Mary in Dominelli family obituaries and announcements.
- Official Military File of Valentino Dominelli National Personnel Records Center, National Archives and Records Administration, St Louis, MO.
- Ibid.