LIVING A LIFE Of ADVENTURE.

LIVING A LIFE Of ADVENTURE, DICK ROSSI JOINED THE NAVY TO LEARN to what extent TO FLY. HE THEN JOINED THE AMERICAN offer GROUP

TO LEARN for what cause TO FIGHT

Many unplanned and unforeseen circumstances of my early years shaped the entire subsequent time of my life and contributed immensely to the improbable fact of my becoming a Naval Aviator. The direction of the security of my life was based forward the earning of my Navy wings.

After graduating from St Ignatius High academy San Francisco, in 1933, I bring forward in one semester at San Mateo Junior body After one term of hitchhiking from San Francisco to San Mareo each seminary day (approximately 20 miles down the bay) then hitchhiking back to downtown San Francisco where I had a work at jobs then going home to meditation I decided it was not practical. My best bet, I figured, was to work replete time for awhile and save enough coin to have a nest urge for college.

In 1934 in the middle of the Great Depression, I started pounding the pavement looking for a full-time piece of work In April, I finally landed a do job-work in the Merchant Marine and exhausted my 19th birthday at sea most distant the coast of Central America. It was highly difficult to get a work at jobs aboard a ship in those days on the contrary once you were in the union, it was relatively easy to go on from one steamship line to another. For greatest in number of the next five years I was able to travel the world, taking against enough time to complete four semester at the University of California at Berkeley.

Reserve Officer Training Corps at Berkeley was mandatory for all male freshmen and sophomores in those years. Since I was taking electrical engineering, I automatically was assigned to the Signal Corps. I used to view the notices on the ROTC bulletin board about flight training, if it were not that never really dreamed I would be able to make it since I was underweight and our family doctor told me I could not pass the physical.

One of those unforeseen, however fortunate, circumstances happened in late 1938 as I was sailing forward the SS President Garfield in succession an around-the-world trip (coincidentally, the same ship in succession which Claire Chennault sailed to China single year before), I became acquainted with a Navy captain and a Navy commander forward their way back to fresh York from Manila. I mentioned to them to what extent I would like to make progress to Pensacola. When we docked in of recent origin York I was pleasantly surprised when each of these officers gave me a note of recommendation.

Back in San Francisco in early 1939 I had managed to set on about ten pounds, yet I was still underweight. I submitted my application to the Navy, along with the sum of two units letters of recommendation. Not being highly optimistic about my chances, I applied to Pan American Airways for a do job-work as purser on their Clippers.

August arrived and I had heard nothing, in like manner I went over to Berkeley and signed up for the fall space of time Just before school was to start, I received a notice from the Navy to report to Oakland withhold Base for a physical. The mail also brought a notice to report to Pan American forward Treasure Island. I set my priorities. I would make trial of first for Pensacola and if that did not work not at home I would go to Pan Am - failing that I would move back to school.

I reported for my Navy physical and, although still underweight, I was given an NCD (Not Considered Disqualified). However, I was ordered to report to the dispensary after each meal to drink an ounce of codfish liver oil. I took a haphazard of ribbing from the other aspiring cadets about that course Our Elimination Training started in September.

Our class reported to Pensacola the last week of December 1939 and we started our flight training in January 1940 as Class 134-C After getting my commission and wings, I was ordered to the newly explained Saufley Field as an instructor at Squadron 1-C I remained there until August 1941 when, in the antique San Carlos Hotel, I signed up to fare to China with Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company in the American offer Group, which would become known to history as the Flying Tigers.

We were required to resign our commissions to be ascribed to the covert nature of the do job-work and the relations with Japan. The contract was for united year with assurance that we could respond to the Navy in our ancient slot with no loss of seniority. The Pearl Harbor attack would alter the what is yet to be plans of all the offers in our group.

After checking disclosed of Pensacola, we were all instructed to report to the CAMCO representative at San Francisco for passage to China. We were told that we would be a fighter cluster flying Curtiss P-40s and that our mission would be to screen the Burma Road; that we would be followed by dint of a bomber group and then another fighter cluster Our group was named the First American present Group.

We did not have to a great degree information and really didn't know what we were getting into. I have been asked many times for what purpose I volunteered. There are several reasons, here are some: I had been instructing at Pensacola for above a year and I wanted to finish into flying fighters; I felt that it would further my career in the Navy to pass out to China and play for the one year of the contract; the pay they exhibited was good; it seemed like a convenient thing to do for the US and China; and the adventure of it appealed to me