Corporal Frank L. "Larry" Bogart
United States Marine Corps (1941-1943)

It was a three day struggle for Corporal Larry Bogart to get that short letter written to his mother, but he managed to do it because it was expected.

It was hard to do because his sight was just returning after twelve days of total blindness that resulted from a major brain operation he underwent after he had been wounded in action aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet when it was sunk last fall.

In perfect health now, Corporal Bogart, who is the sone of Edna and Frank L. Bogart, 1450 Breining Street, Brookline, is home on a forty-day furlough after being unconscious for five days, during which he received an emergency operation aboard a cruiser and two other major brain operations in a British hospital on an island in the South Pacific, followed by the blindness.

Now that he is home, Corporal Bogart cannot give any eyewitness accounts of the sinking of the Hornet because while he was serving as a gunner in an anti-aircraft unit, he was struck in the head by a piece of a fragmentation bomb during the first attack on the shop by Japanese dive bombers.

The USS Hornet CV-8

As his sight slowly returned, Corporal Bogart attempted to write to his mother to let her know he was recovering. For three days he struggled, oftentimes losing sight of the paper and often discovering he was writing on the desk and not the paper.

A graduate of South Hills High School, Corporal Bogart was employed as a brakeman on the Pennsylvania Railroad before he joined the Marine Corps in February, 1941.

While on his leave, Corporal Bogart has spent most of his time speaking before clubs about his experiences and, more important, seeing his fiance, Peggy Fry, 704 Brookline Boulevard, who quit her job when the corporal got his furlough so she could be with him as long as he remains in Pittsburgh.

Additional Information

Corporal Larry Bogart was aboard the hornet serving as Captain Marc A. Mitscher's personal orderly during the Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942. According to the book Target Tokyo, Larry was one of those who attached personal messages to the bombs that would be dropped on Tokyo. "Marine Corporal Larry Bogart scrawled 'This one's from Peggy' on one bomb, and 'This one's from Mom and Pop Bogart' on another."

A B-25 bomber takes off from the deck of the USS Hornet bound for Tokyo.

The book also references the first time that Corporal Bogart set eyes on then Lt. Colonel Doolittle before sailing west for the raid. "Standing outside his skipper's door, he heard someone state, 'Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle, Captain.'"

"I didn't think much about it," Bogart later admitted. "But after a while I heard our executive officer, Commander George Henderson, say, 'Hello, Jimmy.' Then it clicked. I knew who he was. Jimmy Doolittle! The guy who had all the flight records - speed, endurance, altitude, distance. He was going with us."

The book goes on to state that "Bogart knew enough of Doolittle's reputation that he immediately upped his government insurance policy from a thousand to five thousand dollars."

The USS Hornet CV-8 returns from the Doolittle Raid on April 30, 1942.

During the Solomons Islands Campaign, in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands that took place on October 26, 1942, in a fifteen-minute period that morning, the USS Hornet was hit by three bombs from bombs from dive bombers.

One damaged Japanese bomber deliberately crashed into the carrier's island, and two torpedo planes scored hits. As the ship came to a halt, another damaged enemy plane crashed into the port side near the bow. It was one of those first three planes that wounded Corporal Bogart as he manned his post.

An attempt was made to tow the sticken Hornet to safety, but another Japanese attack scored a hit on the starboard side. The ship was ordered to be sunk by Admiral Halsey.

Born on January 10, 1922, Larry Bogart retired from the Marine Corps in August 3, 1943. He passed away September 28, 1960 and is buried at Jefferson Memorial Park.

* Copied from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette - March 18, 1943; Edited *

The following article on Miss Peggy Fry and Corporal Bogart appeared in the
Pittsburgh Press on April 23, 1943. Click on image for a larger version.

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