War Stories: Frank DeLorenzo

Pensacola, Florida (WALA) - FOX10 News is honoring Memorial Day early. We have been sitting down with local World War II veterans to share their stories of courage with you.

Frank DeLorenzo was a navy transport pilot on the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He said after the attack, rumors started flying - there were concerns that the Japanese would invade Mexico and make their way to California.

Thankfully, that didn't happen. But as you'll soon find out, the Japanese got closer to the U.S mainland than you might think.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese struck a blow to America's psyche by launching an aerial attack on Pearl Harbor.

That same day, Frank DeLorenzo was a naval pilot based in San Diego. On that Sunday morning, he was sharing breakfast with his friends, and couldn't have imagined what had happened.

"We were having a jolly time, eating bacon and eggs when the phone rang. My friend picked it up and went, 'Yeah, okay! And the moon is made of green cheese!' And he hung up. Then it rang again immediately. 'Yes, yes sir. Right away sir. Guys, the Bloody Mary party is over. The Japs have just attacked Pearl Harbor, and we're at war!'" DeLorenzo remembered.

DeLorenzo said America was not prepared.

"Domestic intelligence as to what was going on in the far east was pratically nil," DeLorenzo said. "Rumors started flying. One rumor was that the Japanese had an amphibious invasion force, and they were going to invade San Diego."

So DeLorenzo was sent on his patrol plane to monitor Baja California.

"Saw no sign of Japs. No sign of anything! All I saw were the goats on Guadalupe Island," he recalled.

DeLorenzo was ordered to remain on base. He and his fellow service members stayed in hangers and slept in cots. He said the mood was apprehensive.

"We were surprised that the Japs had the gumption and wherewithal to attack Pearl Harbor," he said.

DeLorenzo said the Japanese let the Americans know they were nearby.

"One Japanese submarine was off the coast of the state of Washington," DeLorenzo said.

The Air Force said in 1944, the Japanese launched weather balloons with small bombs on them to set the forests on fire.

"One or more Japanese subs got down off the coast of California and was lobbing shells into the state of California from the submarine," he said.

DeLorenzo added the subs did little damage, but it was certainly alarming.

On Christmas Day, 1941, DeLorenzo flew a plane that carried Admiral Chester Nimitz, the commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet.

They were giving him an aerial tour of Pearl Harbor.

As they flew overhead, they invited the Admiral to the cockpit.

"Put him in the left-hand seat, and made big sweeping turns. What he saw was sickening," he remembered.

Ships were sunk or upside down.

"All airplane hangers completely demolished. No roofs, no walls," DeLorenzo said. "Bomb craters everywhere. Oil was 6-8 inches thick from the ships that had been torpedoed. [Nimitz] didn't say anything. He just shook his head and clucked his tongue."

After that tour, DeLorenzo spent the rest of the war flying transport planes between America and Australia.

DeLorenzo said during the war, he detested the Japanese for what they did to his fellow Americans. But now in reflection, he has forgiven them. They were just doing their duty, just like he was.

"Our very survival, keep the U.S. the greatest country in the world. Great and free and safe," he said.

DeLorenzo was just one of thousands of American men and women who did just that.

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