Preface

HE WAS MY FATHER

His name was Richard Raymond Hoffman. His friends called him Dick and his immediate family members knew him as Babe. He was my father!

I was born in June 1964, and had just turned five years old when my parents' divorce was declared official in June of 1969. They had been married for twenty-one years. My father died just eight months later from an apparent sudden heart attack. He was a week past his forty-sixth birthday at the time of his death.

Following their divorce, and for reasons lost to history and the ravages of dementia, my mother was left very embittered towards my father. Being the facts may never truly be known, I cannot pass judgement as to why she chose to keep his memory from us. But her decision to do so in no way served us children well. I don't ever recall her speaking of my father in any endearing way or of her ensuring that we would remain close and attached to him and to his memory.

Nearly five years later, my mother would remarry. In an attempt to fill an obvious void within herself, she tried to shoehorn a devil of a man, a la "The Great Santini"  into our lives. Thankfully, though, within two years this marriage would fail, as it was a torturous existence for us all.

By the age of twelve I found myself trying to navigate through a fatherless adolescence with the emotional detritus of two broken homes, while remaining in the charge of a selfish and uncaring mother. Before the age of sixteen I would be out on my own with the trajectory and potential of my life inextricably altered. Fortunately, I landed mostly on my feet. In spite of a less than helpful upbringing.

The memories that I did have of Dick, my real father, were that he had worked in the aerospace industry and that he had passed away when I was still very young. This was the extent of the knowledge of him that I carried with me for more than forty years. I certainly wish this had not been the case, but his death along with the aforementioned circumstances convoluted a deliberate avoidance of him and his memory. I suppose this precluded me from learning more -- or even inquiring further of the truth of the man.

But that was about to change.

OUT OF THE BLUE

In January 2010, I received an email with the subject line: "Distant Cousins?" from someone named Beau. Carefully placed salient points and key family historical contexts prevented me from discarding or discounting this email as spam or as a spear phishing attempt. Beau had detailed, in a well-written and effective manner, how he suspected that we might be related. And, as it turns out; we are.

Subsequently, Beau and I have struck up quite an awesome friendship. We seem to be cut from the same cloth with respect to our fascination with all things historical and our appreciation for those who have gone before us. One major element that Beau possesses, that I sorely lack, is a firm grasp on genealogy and genealogical research. He has done a lot of research and documentation work on our ancestors and has graciously provided me a copy of the fruits of that labor.

Beau's data became the spark that ignited the endeavour you are now visiting.

FRENETIC FASCINATION MINUS ONE

Like many boys, I suspect, chief among the interests that I have had since I was a child, is my love of military history. I have always been particularly drawn to World War II and I have studied it for decades. In fact, my library, both physical and digital, contains some 300+ books on the subject.

During my childhood, my mother frequently recounted, and rightly so, the exploits of her father, Harry Halbert "Tommy" Thompson. Harry was a career Navy man who served during the Second World War. He was aboard the USS Narwhal (SS-167) as it was berthed at Pearl Harbor, T.H., on that infamous December day in 1941. My mother too, was living in Hawaii at the time of the attack and, should anyone ever ask, was all too happy to retell her tales from that fateful day.

The fact of my grandfather’s service, having been present during the Japanese attack (along with his tenure as a submariner) had the effect of heightening my interest of the conflict specifically, and of the operations of the Pacific theater in general. Reading about US submarine exploits has served to foster a bond I feel towards my grandfather, despite having never met the man. Over the years I have traced his career and have consumed much material covering many aspects of his naval service. (Upon my completion of this site, I intend on mirroring my efforts in regard to my grandfather's story. His site is linked above.)

Being it was such a steadfast family anchor for me, I suspect that the connection I shared with my grandfather may have precluded me from becoming more curious about my own father's participation in the global conflict. Or perhaps it was that I wrongly assumed that my dad was too young to have served during the war. Certainly the lack of shared family stories and experiences about dad did not facilitate my curiosity about him in any way. I suppose it was like the old adage, "Out of sight out of mind."

MONUMENTAL MARKER

Armed with Beau's tremendous work and inspired by his enthusiasm, I decided to research my family tree as well. I began by piggybacking upon the Ancestry.com tree that my sister had begun. It was during this foray that for the first time I had the opportunity to see a photo of my dad's grave marker.

Holy smokes! Right there upon the marker was something I had not expected. The marker was emblazoned "GM1 US NAVY." (The "GM1" denotes a US Navy rating or job classification of Gunner's Mate First Class.) It also delineated his service as having been during World War II and Korea! I was not expecting any of that. It was an awesome sight! It turned out my dad HAD served. And he was in the US Navy during World War II and Korea!

I was elated! For the first time I could remember, I felt a feeling of intense pride and honor about my father. I have always held those who serve, during wartime or otherwise, in high regard. And now, quite suddenly, I could add my own father to that honor roll. Also, I knew that the military keeps meticulous records, which meant that I could get a "sense of the man" by reviewing those records. As time permitted, I set out to discover all I could about his naval service -- a process which continues to this day.

A BIRTH OF SORTS

It has now been over seven years since I learned of my father's naval service. Much has transpired in that time. From a personal standpoint, I am now able to devote a lot more time towards this endeavor. And I am committed to seeing it through. On the research side of things, I am now in possession of a nearly complete, high-quality electronic format copy of his service record. I have also put forth a considerable amount of time towards developing a high-level timeline of most of the data I have. This will serve to inform you, and to further guide me, into the deeper levels of research I need to perform.

As my deep research has recently begun in earnest, I have quickly come to realize that there seems to be a real story here. A story of more than mere facts and dates. But one of real substance and of true merit. My initial intent was to produce a book about my father. But during a period of "coming to grips with reality", I have decided that it would be best to produce content as I progress in my research; since who knows what tomorrow may hold. I don’t wish to leave behind just a pile of notes should I not awake someday. I have also learned that, despite my best efforts, I clearly could not begin to tell my father’s story without first dealing with some demons of my own.

So, I have decided to build this website as the platform on which to tell my father’s story; along with the story of me producing his story. I have registered the domain name, picked a site provider, and well; now here we are!

A TALE OF MANY JOURNEYS

My primary intent is to build a factual account of the life of my father. Warts and all. So that anyone seeking to know more about him and his lineage will not have to do all of this work again. I will cite sources, and where feasible, provide copies of all the records I use.

With my understanding and knowledge of the Second World War, I hope to breathe life into the countless pages of records while painting a picture of what dad and his family endured during this period. In doing so, it is my hope to be able to honor the sacrifices that he, and his fellow servicemen and women, made so long ago.

Anyone versed in the use of the internet can attest to the fact the there are many subcultures out "on the net." Among them is a group of people researching their family histories and looking for counsel and advice. I am chief among them. Therefore, as a gesture of “giving back”, I would also like to record the “how’s” and the “why’s” of the process I am going through. I am forever indebted to those who have gone before me and who have shared their successes and failures along the way. I intend to do the same here in the form of blog entries and as the items that I feel are worthy of sharing emerge.

Having now taken the first steps on this journey which will cover many thousands of miles, I welcome you to join me in the story!

Joe

December 2, 2017

Ontario, CA