Pete Viselli
| Date and Place of Birth: | 1915 Ansonia, CT |
| Date and Place of Death: | December 12, 1941 Lamon Bay, The Philippines |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Shortstop |
| Rank: | Staff Sergeant |
| Military Unit: | 28th Bomb Squadron, 19th Bomb Group USAAF |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Armando J. “Pete” Viselli was born in Ansonia, on the Naugatuck River
in Connecticut.
He entered military service in the 1930s, and while stationed at Fort
Devens, Massachusetts, in 1937, he played for the nearby Ayer Town Team
in the Village League, helping them clinch the league title for the
first time. In 1938, Viselli was at Randolph Field, Texas, where he was
the shortstop and lead-off hitter with the Squadron 53 Bears and the
Randolph Field Ramblers. In August of that year, he helped the Ramblers
clinch their sixth successive Army League championship, defeating the
9th Infantry Manchus in a two-game playoff.
Viselli left military service in 1939, and tried his hand at Organized
Baseball. At the start of the season, he joined the Palestine Pals of
the Class C East Texas League. He was batting just .206 over 12 games
but was called up to the Lima Pandas of the Class
D Ohio State League on May 12, because they needed a shortstop. Viselli lasted just a week with the
Pandas; after going hitless in six at-bats he received his release on
May 18. He spent the remainder of the season with the Landis Senators of
the Class D North Carolina State League, where he batted .198 over 24
games.
Viselli did not return to professional baseball after 1939, but
returned, instead, to military service. With the Army Air Corps he was
deployed to Clark Field at Luzon in the Philippine Islands, as aircrew
with the 28th Bomb Squadron. Operating with the Martin B-10 and the
Douglas B-18 Bolo, obsolete twin-engine bombers of the tight military
budgets of the 1930s, the squadron functioned as the long-range strike
arm of the Far East Air Force. Viselli was soon playing shortstop for
the Clark Field team in the Manila Bay League, and played in the league
championships at Rizal Stadium.
On December 7, 1941, Clark Field was caught off-guard as Japanese
bombers roared overhead, showering high explosives on the grounded
bombers, destroying many and wrecking hangars and runways. In their wake
came fighter planes, which made low-level attacks on ground forces and
anti-aircraft batteries. They left behind a burning mass of wreckage
and, though some aircraft were saved, the main strength of the Far East
Air Force in the Philippines was gone. Nevertheless, two days later, the
remnants of the group attacked and destroyed a troop transport and
severely damaged another off the Philippine coast, making it the first
American air unit to strike back at the Japanese.
On December 12, 1941, Staff Sergeant Viselli boarded a B-18 at Clark
Field. First Lieutenant Ted Fisch was taking the bomber up on a
reconnaissance flight to locate the exact position of the Japanese fleet
that was rapidly approaching the Philippines. To get a good view and at
the same time avoid danger, Fisch intended to fly as high and as fast as
he could. Viselli was the crew chief, responsible for overall
maintenance of the plane, while Technical Sergeant Joseph Acton was the
radio operator manning the rear-gun position. The plane roared down the
runway at Clark Field and was never seen again. Whether the plane
succumbed to enemy action or mechanical failure is not known.
Many servicemen of the 28th Bomb Squadron, particularly the ground echelon, were later captured by Japanese forces and some died in prisoner of war camps.
The crew of the December 12 flight, along with Staff Sergeant Viselli, is memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery at Fort Bonifacio in the Philippines.
|
Team |
League |
Class |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
|
| 1939 | Palestine | East Texas | C | 12 | 34 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .206 |
| 1939 | Lima | Ohio State | D | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1939 | Landis | N. Carolina State | D | 24 | 96 | 18 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .198 |
The Clark Field baseball team. Pete Viselli is middle row, second from right.
The Douglas B-18 Bolo
Date Added May 15, 2012 Updated June 11, 2014
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