Petty Officer James J. Capogreca
Pharmacists Mate 3rd Class (1943-1944)

James John Capogreca, born on February 15, 1916. He grew up in Ingram Borough, the son of Isabel and Joseph Capogreca. James lived with his four siblings Isabel, Victoria, Joseph Jr and Edith. In 1941, at age 25, he married Grace Frick, who lived at 1132 Bellaire Avenue. The newlyweds settled at 1530 Merrick Avenue with their daughter Lorraine Jean.

James entered the service in October 1942 and joined the Navy. After basic training and further schooling at a U.S. Naval Hospital Corps he became a Pharmacist's Mate. Petty Officer Capogreca was assigned to the crew of the Buckley Class Destroyer USS Fogg (DE-57), which was commissioned in July 1943.

As a member of the Navy's Hospital Corps, P/O Capogreca was trained in anatomy, physiology, pharmacy, clinical laboratory, hygiene and sanitation, emergency treatment, first aid, and nursing. He was taught how to administer injections, treat compound fractures, administer blood plasma, and suture wounds.

The USS Fogg's first cruise on convoy duty during the Battle of the Atlantic began with her departure from New York harbor on October 13, 1943. She escorted unladen tankers to Aruba and Curaçao in the Netherland's West Indies, crossed to Algiers guarding loaded tankers, then returned by way of Curaçao and Trinidad to New York on December 4, 1943.

Between December 26, 1943 and August 20, 1944, the ship made six escort voyages from New York to Londonderry Port, Northern Ireland, guarding the flow of men and material which made possible the invasion of Europe and the push across the continent which followed.

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The USS Fogg (DE-57), shown here on September 23, 1944.

The escort put to sea once more from New York on September 12, 1944, to escort a convoy through the English Channel to Cherbourg, France, then made a stop at Portsmouth, England, before returning to New York on October 9 for a brief overhaul. After special training at Charleston, USS Fogg sailed once more on November 6 to escort a slow towing convoy to England and back.

Homeward bound, on December 20, one of the LSTs (Landing Ship Tank) in the convoy was torpedoed, and as USS Fogg began to search for the submarine, she too was torpedoed by German submarine U-870, commanded by Korvettenkapitän Ernst Hechler. The GNAT (German Navy Acoustic Torpedo) struck the Fogg's stern. Out of a complement of 216, fourteen of her crewmembers, including Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class James J. Capogreca, were killed. The ship was badly damaged.

The bodies of the dead were recovered from the wreckage and transfered to USS LCI(L)-419. On December 21, 1944, the fourteen men were buried at sea. On December 23, a fifteenth sailor succumbed to his wounds and was also buried at sea.

  
The USS Fogg on December 23, 1944 showing the severe damage suffered from the torpedo hit.

As for the USS Fogg, the crew fought for two days to save the damaged ship while slowly sailing towards the Azores. On the 23rd, the stern sheared completely off. The majority of the men abandoned the ship, leaving only a skeleton crew, which in time managed to restore bouyancy. Finally the USS Fogg reached the Azores in tow of the U.S. Army tug USS LT-643 and USS Chinaberry (AN-61) the next day, escorted by the USS Lee Fox (DE-65) and USS Ira Jeffrey (DE-63).

Back home in Brookline, James Capogreca's Gold Star widow Grace received notification of her husband's passing in January of 1945. The Community of Brookline was made aware on February 6, 1945, when notice of James' death was published in the Pittsburgh Press.

Pharmacist's Mate 3rd Class James John Capogreca, is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing in the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-James, Normandy, France.

The USS Fogg was eventually returned to Boston Harbor and repaired. She returned to service in June 1945. The ship served out the war and was decommissioned in October 1947. She was brought out of retirement and served during the Cold War from March 1949 through October 1954. The USS Fogg was retired on April 1, 1965 and sold for scrap.

Photos From The Ship's Log (1943-1945)

* Written by Clint Burton: April 4, 2018 *

The Brookline War Memorial

Listed below are many of the sons of Brookline who gave their
lives to preserve freedom and contain aggression during
World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
General George S. Patton
 

World War I (1917-1919)

The World War I Memorial - Washington D.C.

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World War II (1941-1945)

The World War II Memorial - Washington D.C.

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Korean War (1950-1953)

Korean War Memorial - Washington D.C.

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Vietnam War (1965-1973)

Vietnam War Memorial - Washington D.C.

The Brookline Monument - The Cannon

<Brookline War Memorial> <> <Brookline History>