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Last Address Buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California.
Date of Passing Aug 14, 2007
Location of Interment Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery (VA) - San Diego, California
Lieutenant Joseph D. DiMartino, USN (Ret.) "Plank Owner' SEAL Team Two
NCDUs June 1944 UDT-4 1945-1947.
Chief Boatswains Mate.
Commissioned Ensign June 1960.
UDT-21 Seal Team 2 1962 (C.O. 1966).
Lieutenant 1964, retired as Lt 1973.
Died 14 August, 2007.
Buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California.
"If you want to know what it was like on D-Day, watch 'Saving Private Ryan'.", Joseph D. Dimartino said as he was reminiscing the harrowing days on Omaha Beach that marked the beginning of a monumental career spanning three decades. Joe was only 17, still in boot camp in March, 1944, when he became one of 100 volunteers to learn about demolition for the projected invasion of Europe. He experienced combat again later but never in the same way as that morning on that beach. Whenever asked 'What Class were you in?' and 'How was your Hell Week?' Joe would answer that "my Hell Week was June 6, 1944".
During 1946/47 Joe was at Team 4 and deployed to Antarctica and the South Pole as part of Operation High Jump with Admiral Richard E. Byrd's exploration group aboard the flagship, Mt. Olympus. "We captured six of the Emperor Penguins to take to the Zoo at Washington, D.C." During passage on the Potomac, two of the Penguins got their cages open and jumped overboard. The Coast guard was notified immediately. Their report was that the Penguins were too fast for the Coast Guard and were headed south! "Never to be seen again," Joe said.
The Teams began training with scuba gear in 1946 and that became part of his job for the next ten to 15 years was in training Team members with scuba gear, conducting underwater swimming, underwater obstacle clearance and underwater reconnaissance. After the Korean War under Captain [Norm] Olson and some other officers, Joe was with a group of enlisted men that became the first UDT "stick," to go to Jump School together. Joe was now a qualified frogman with the added qualifications of diving with the aqualung and stepping out of planes with a parachute.
Joe DiMartino married Ruth Miller in July 1948, his "Navy Wife" for the next 28 years. They had a son, Jim, and a daughter, Dee.
Joe applied for promotion as a limited duty officer, a privilege offered to CPOs (he was rated as Chief Boatswain's Mate). In June 1960 he received his commission as an Ensign at Newport, RI. In June 1964, he became a full Lieutenant - a rating he kept until his retirement in 1973.
Joe went to Viet-Nam in June 1967, for a year-long tour as a member of the U.S. Naval Advisory Group. Among their mission was support of the South Vietnamese UDT/SEALs in training and in an advisory capacity. During his many years of service Joe's awards include the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star with Combat "V."
After his retirement, Joe joined NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) in 1976 as Boatswain on the ship, Mt. Mitchell. After the first Gulf War, their assignment sent them to the Persian Gulf to study the problem posed by oil spills from Kuwait. For five months, scientists from all over the Middle East, including Iran, joined them aboard ship, wondering how to fix the problem. Travel remained in his blood, and just before Christmas, 2002, Joe, along with Joan Bruyere, his companion of 20 years, went to Lapland where he got his Reindeer Driver's License. They were invited to attend the 50th Anniversary of D-Day by the mayor of the town of St. Laurent but Joe was not able to attend the official ceremony as Joan insisted they return to Paris that morning.
Joe attended a BUD/S graduation and handed out diplomas to Class 249 on June 25, 2004 a highlight for him as his health declined. We will all miss Joe and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and all those that he touched.
Other Comments:
DiMartino, Joseph D., "Joe"
Rank/Rating: Lieutenant (Chief Boatswains Mate)
Died: 08-14-07
Class Number: NCDU-6/44-England
Teams/Units: NCDU-S w/24, UDT-4, 21, 25
Description The Normandy landings (codenamed Operation Neptune) were the landing operations on 6 June 1944 (termed D-Day) of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the invasion of German-occupied western Europe, led to the restoration of the French Republic, and contributed to an Allied victory in the war.
Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal, but postponing would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that meant only a few days in each month were deemed suitable. Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and of developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an Allied invasion.
The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault—the landing of 24,000 British, US, and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight. Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France starting at 06:30. The target 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword Beach. Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions, particularly at Utah and Omaha. The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches, and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes, metal tripods, and barbed wire, making the work of the beach clearing teams difficult and dangerous. Casualties were heaviest at Omaha, with its high cliffs. At Gold, Juno, and Sword, several fortified towns were cleared in house-to-house fighting, and two major gun emplacements at Gold were disabled using specialised tanks.
The Allies failed to achieve all of their goals on the first day. Carentan, St. Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, a major objective, was not captured until 21 July. Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day, and all five bridgeheads were not connected until 12 June. However, the operation gained a foothold that the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months. German casualties on D-Day were around 1,000 men. Allied casualties were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. Museums, memorials, and war cemeteries in the area host many visitors each year.
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day). A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than three million allied troops were in France by the end of August.
The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), and General Bernard Montgomery was named as commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all the land forces involved in the invasion. The Normandy coast was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at Utah and Omaha Beaches, the British at Sword and Gold Beaches, and Canadians at Juno Beach. To meet the conditions expected on the Normandy beachhead, special technology was developed, including two artificial ports called Mulberry harbours and an array of specialised tanks nicknamed Hobart's Funnies. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, Operation Bodyguard, using both electronic and visual misinformation. This misled the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in charge of developing fortifications all along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion.
The Allies failed to reach their goals for the first day, but gained a tenuous foothold that they gradually expanded as they captured the port at Cherbourg on 26 June and the city of Caen on 21 July. A failed counterattack by German forces on 8 August led to 50,000 soldiers of the German 7th Army being trapped in the Falaise pocket. The Allies launched an invasion of southern France (Operation Dragoon) on 15 August, and the Liberation of Paris followed on 25 August. German forces retreated across the Seine on 30 August 1944, marking the close of Operation Overlord.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
June / 1944
To Month/Year
June / 1944
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories "If you want to know what it was like on D-Day, watch 'Saving Private Ryan'.", Joseph D. Dimartino said as he was reminiscing the harrowing days on Omaha Beach that marked the beginning of a monumental career spanning three decades. Joe was only 17, still in boot camp in March, 1944, when he became one of 100 volunteers to learn about demolition for the projected invasion of Europe. He experienced combat again later but never in the same way as that morning on that beach. Whenever asked 'What Class were you in?' and 'How was your Hell Week?' Joe would answer that "my Hell Week was June 6, 1944".