Bridgewater WWII Decorated War Hero Dies Surrounded By Family

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — The community is mourning the death of Bridgewater resident Frank Joseph DeVita, a WWII decorated war hero.

DeVita died peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family on Saturday, March 12, 2022.

Born in Brooklyn, New York before moving to Newark and then Bridgewater, DeVita was married to his lifelong sweetheart Dorothy Guardino who died in July 2017.

When DeVita turned 18, he volunteered to serve in World War II and joined the US Coast Guard "as it was the branch that would send him out to defend his country the fastest," according to his obituary.

He served as a Gunner’s Mate Third Class on the USS Samuel Chase (APA-26), a Coast Guard manned US Navy attack transport, for almost three years, in both the European Theater and the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, and in the Occupation and China Service in the Far East following WWII.

During both the Normandy and Provence campaigns of the Liberation of France, DeVita crewed a Higgins landing craft (LCVP) on repetitive landings, with the task of lowering the boat’s ramp. On the June 6, 1944 D-Day Invasion, his Higgins boat – a part of the first wave - made 15 trips onto Omaha beach in Normandy, France, ferrying solders to the fight and returning with wounded or dead.

"The horror of the War stayed with him; he could never scrub his hands hard enough to remove those memories or the guilt of surviving," according to his obituary.

Following the 70th anniversary of D-day, DeVita became passionate about sharing his story "so that the men in the cemetery would never be forgotten" and future generations would know the lengths to which others sacrificed for their country, according to his obituary.

He did an interview with NBC’s Tom Brokaw regarding the 70th anniversary of D-Day and spoke at high schools both in France and the US, including Columbine in Colorado, and had the honor to address the cadets at the United States Coast Guard Academy. He was also a recipient of the French Légion d’Honneur.

DeVita is survived by his daughter Elizabeth DeVita McDowell and her husband Robert, sons Frank and Richard, grandchildren: David and his wife Sandra, Jason and his wife Kara, Frank Daniel, Christine, Mary and Anthony, and great-grandchildren Haley, Connor Joseph, Daniel, Isabella, and Zakary.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations made in Frank’s memory to: D-Day Leadership Academy. The D-Day Leadership Academy is a program of Denver PAL, a 501(c)(3); donations are tax-deductible. You can make donations at ddayleadershipacademy.com or a charity of your choosing that represents your memories of DeVita.

Visiting hours will be held Thursday, March 17, from 2 to 4 p.m., and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bridgewater Funeral Home, 707 Main Street, Bridgewater. The funeral mass will be offered 10 a.m., Friday, March 18, at Blessed Sacrament Church, 1890 Washington Valley Road, Martinsville. Burial will follow at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Flemington.

For a complete obituary visit bridgewaterfuneralhome.com.

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