Written by: Joey C., Jason S., and Nicole E.
85-year-old veteran, Frank Schiave, was in the navy during one of the most deadly wars in world history. He was born on October 17, 1915. On March 28, 2001, he
was interviewed in the LGI at the Horseheads Middle School. He had many interesting stories to tell us about his experience in the navy during World War II.
Before Frank Schiave got involved in World War II, he lived in Elmira and worked on a farm. He had 2 daughters. One day when he was working his friend came to
him and told him that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Schiave was totally shocked about the attack because there was no warning and how sneaky it was. He slammed
his shovel onto the ground and immediately enlisted for the navy, which he was in for 6 years. Ever since the attack on Pearl Harbor, Schiave had weak feelings about the
Japanese. ‘’You can never really tell what is behind their eyes’’ he said. Schiave would go to war in the Pacific and mostly patrol. Doing well in the navy would require a lot of
discipline and patience. He felt that it was an important quality to have to get through the navy. He would also have to work hard in combat in order to survive and keep his ship
from being destroyed. Frank Schiave would be in one of the most deadliest and adventurous wars ever in history.
Mr. Schiave had many interesting stories to tell us about his war experiences. He had one story about kamikaze pilots. Some were coming at his ship and he and some
other people shot down three of them. Schiave had thought that the kamikaze pilots were quite insane. One of his scariest moments was when there was ship in front of his and
two to his right and some Japanese kamikaze pilots took out all three of them! One of them was an ammunition ship and it blew sky high and totally disintegrated. Schiave also
had to fight in Australia against the Japanese. He learned that the Japanese were tricky and very clever. One time he had seen a Japanese soldier raising his arms as a sign of him
surrendering. He then ducked and there was another soldier with a machine gun! The people of Australia helped the navy fight against them. Mr. Schaive said that they were
some pretty good allies to be with. To Frank Schiave, World War II was definitely one of his most memorable experiences he has had in his life.
After the war, Mr. Schiave went back to live in Elmira to see his family again. When the war ended he was still in the Pacific near Japan. Once everybody heard, you
could breathe a sigh of relief. Mr. Schiave said the only thing that kept the war going was the people at home. He really appreciated what the people did back at the home front.
Mr. Schiaves’ experiences in World War II affected him greatly. While being in the war he learned that it is all about cooperation and helping others. He thought the war
was very tragic and he felt angry when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Thanks To Mr. Schaive and all the other Americans in World War II, we are still living in a free
country.