Richard Botto

Richard Botto: I was born inside Syosset Long Island, New York around 1934, December 9^th. It was high school. I was working for my father, plumbing work.

Interviewer: February 7^th of 19-

Richard Botto: 52. I’m supposed to go in with two friends, they backed out at the last minute I was in the Mediterranean most of the time. I was on a heavy cruiser the USS Salem. Great lakes training. I went to eat easeful electronics technician.

Interviewer: Aha

Richard Botto: I worked on radio transmitters receivers and the radar. My general Quarters station wasn’t what they call spot to. It was very high up on the ship. At the time I had very good eyesight.

Interviewer: Uh huh

Richard Botto: And I would run a diamond out to get the range, the visual range.

Interviewer: Right.

Richard Botto: We also got the radar range

Interviewer: Uh huh. So, you were trained in the Great Lakes, right?

Richard Botto: Yes.

Interviewer: And then after that where did you go?

Richard Botto: To the Fargo building in Massachusetts *pauses*

Interviewer: -And you have never been into Korea?

Richard Botto: I never went to Korea, no.

Interviewer: All right so then you were near to Korea ever?

Richard Botto: Yeah, we stayed offshore. We were east of Korea. We just kept going back and forth I imagined.

Interviewer: From where to where?

Richard Botto: We followed the shoreline.

Interviewer: The shoreline of the East coast?

Richard Botto: *Nods*

Interviewer: and what did you do there?

Richard Botto: I fired the 8 inch guns.

Interviewer: Oh really!? For what did you fire the North Korean soldiers or North Korean navy ship. I don’t think there were navy ship, right?

Richard Botto: *Shakes Head* No, there weren’t any Navy ships.

Interviewer: Then why did you fire, and where did you fire?

Richard Botto: When the soldiers were from 52 to 53, whenever they told me to fire, I would go twice with the left hand and the third time I would go with both fingers and it would fire the 8-inch guns. That was the main battery.

Interviewer: Mm-hmm. Did you have a sense of fighting against North Koreans?

Richard Botto: No.

Interviewer: No. No, you were just told to fire, right?

Richard Botto: We shot into the hills on the shoreline. Probably every ten minutes. All day long, all night long. I was aboard ship, it was air-conditioned, we had heat and air conditioning

Interviewer: Uh huh.

Richard Botto: We had a cobbler shop, we had a cigarette store. We had everything on a ship, all fourteen hundred men.

Interviewer: Fourteen-hundred men?! Do you remember the name of the ship?

Richard Botto: USS Salem, we head moving every night we carried a helicopter. We had the Captain’s gig. We had the Admiral’s badge, and a big crane to ease them into the water. It was small boats, about 26 feet. The only excitement I had was I was assigned to like- what they call quarterdeck messenger watch.

Interviewer: Mhmm, what is that?

Richard Botto: Whatever the officer of the deck told me to do, I would do it. I only have five-inch guns, we had eight inch, and we used to see the shells, we could follow them in the optics like a rangefinder. We could follow the shells coning to the side of the mountain, so we were just shooting and nothing in particular. I hated it.

Interviewer: Why

Richard Botto: I was away from home

Interviewer: That was it? But you really didn’t engage in a severe battle. You were just one sidedly firing at sea shore. So, you were never in danger, right?

Richard Botto: No. There was probably rifle fire, coming at the ship. But they weren’t shooting at me, they were shooting at fourteen-hundred guys.

Interviewer: Do you remember when did you leave Korea?

Richard Botto: *gibberish* Middle of February 53’. We were impacted in the Mediterranean.

Interviewer: What was your mission in the Mediterranean

Richard Botto: I think it was good will, but we operated with the NATO.

Interviewer: What is you thought about the Korean War?

Richard Botto: It’s a forgotten war.

Interviewer: Why?

Richard Botto: We don’t get any credit for it and we never see anything about it.

Interviewer: You mean after the war?

Richard Botto: Yes.

Interviewer: What is the importance of the Korean War, in your life?

Richard Botto: The best of my life was spent in a service. From the time I went in to the time I got out, it was a waste of time on my part. I didn’t get paid well. I was married, at the time. I was sending home a hundred and fifty dollars a month, and I was drawing about eleven dollars about every two weeks. That’s it.

Interviewer: Mm

Richard Botto: It didn’t go very far.

Interviewer: What is the impact of the* Korean War in your life.

Richard Botto: It took the best years of my life.

Interviewer: You feel sorry about it?

Richard Botto: Yeah, from eighteen years old about twenty-two years old I think I think going into service is good. I think everybody should serve. The Army, and Navy, or the Marine Corps. I have two sons. One son went in the Navy, we go into service go into the Navy.

Interviewer: Ok. You like Navy?

Richard Botto: Yes, its good food, you always have a decent place to sleep, and you see the world.