Francis John "Dick" Varone was born in October 1925 in Mechanicville, New York. He was raised there with his two younger brothers. One brother was offered a minor league baseball contract which he refused because he was set on playing only for a major league team. After service discharge, Varone married and lived just outside Mechanicville. His father died young while operating a hotel and bar business. Varone's father also worked on a railroad in charge of maintenance. He was a handy individual. Varone's father wanted his son to go into the business he was operating. Varone got into a bar fight with an intoxicated individual who struck him first in the bar. After giving the highly intoxicated individual a going over, the drunk sued the bar for his injuries. Varone's father put in a bid to run the restaurant and bar at a local country club, but his son decided that was not the work for him. After working at a number of places, Varone settled into working for GE Silicones [Annotator's Note: General Electric Silicones] in management for 32 years until 1985 when he retired. Varone's mother worked the kitchen at the hotel ran by her husband. The Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945] did not affect Varone much because his father had a decent job. Varone hated school but attended in order to play sports. He hit a teacher in high school while in the band playing saxophone. The band leader dismissed Varone violently and the student reacted in kind. Varone was then sent to La Salle [Annotator's Note: La Salle Military Academy in Oakdale, New York], a military school, and remained until he ended up in the Marine Corps. The military school had discipline and uniforms. Varone played sports. It was tough. When he got out of there, he joined the Marines. He remembers hearing of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] when he was at the hotel. The bartender immediately went out and enlisted. Varone tried to enlist with a fake birth certificate but was discovered. He talked his parents into allowing him to join the Marine Corps instead of being drafted in 1943.

Francis John "Dick" Varone enlisted in the Marine Corps by himself. He waited until he received orders to report to Albany [Annotator's Note: Albany, New York]. He was sent to Parris Island [Annotator's Note: Parris Island, South Carolina] for training. He was kept busy there and had little time to worry about being away from home. Boot camp was quite a thing. It was tough but enjoyable. Lou Diamond [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Leland "Lou" Diamond], who was a legend in the Marine Corps, was in Parris Island at the time. He gave Varone his belt. Varone had a talent for boxing and eventually became a member of the Marine Corps boxing team. He was still in boot camp and that afforded him some advantages including missing unwanted duty. Varone's parents did not want him to box but the Corps did. He had 62 amateur fights and qualified for the Golden Gloves [Annotator's Note: annual competition for amateur boxing in the United States], but his parents refused his participation at Madison Square Gardens [Annotator's Note: in New York, New York]. He had eight fights in the Marine Corps. He was favored by a Marine Corps Gunner Reddy [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] who was like an officer. He won money betting on Varone. When Varone went overseas, he had a conflict with his new top sergeant and was disciplined. Gunner Reddy observed Varone's punishment and interceded for him. Reddy chastised the top sergeant and got rid of him. Varone was trained as a forward observer and radio operator. He did not like the idea of being a radio operator but being a forward observer was fine. He called in artillery support in advance of demolition or flame thrower personnel. He was sent to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for radio operator training. Varone knew code but wanted to be a paratrooper, but the Marines had discontinued their paratroop outfits. After graduation, he returned home for a ten-day furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. He was welcomed by the local populace and family. He was respected. It was great. He sailed out of San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California] for overseas deployment on a large Army troopship. He was billeted [Annotator's Note: a place, usually civilian or nonmilitary, where soldiers are lodged temporarily] down low in the ship on a bunk stacked up like cots. He got terribly seasick. The man above him vomited down on him. After that, he never got sick again. He was on a small LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank] and never got sick. The same was true for the invasion while in Higgins boats [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat] or Ducks [Annotator's Note: DUKW; six-wheel-drive amphibious truck; also known as a Duck].

After the battle of Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945, Iwo Jima, Japan], Francis John "Dick" Varone went to the 5th Marine Division cemetery. He visited a hometown friend he had witnessed being killed during the battle. While at the gravesite, Admiral Nimitz [Annotator's Note: US Navy Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Sr., Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet] and General Rockey [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Keller Emrick Rockey] stood next to him. Varone revealed to the two officers that he was paying respects to his buddy from his hometown whom he witnessed being killed in combat. The Admiral told Varone to carry on. While aboard a ship to return to Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands] after the battle, Varone passed out. He was diagnosed as being malnourished. He was given a pass to eat with the officers. They had a superior selection of dining options compared to what he had witnessed beforehand in the Corps enlisted chow. After departing San Diego [Annotator's Note: San Diego, California], he sailed to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] where he trained. He met up with the 5th Division [Annotator's Note: 5th Marine Division] while training for Iwo Jima. He met three guys from his hometown there. Before landing on Iwo Jima, Varone was aboard ship for about a month. The beaches on Iwo Jima were black ash. Their feet would sink into it making it tough to travel. The island was small. Varone landed on Green Beach 1 at the base of Mount Suribachi. The objective was to cut the island in half to prevent resupply of the southern portion by enemy troops in the north. After the airfield was captured, a B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] was able to emergency land there. It was quite a thing to see it land. It nearly ran off the runway. The first waves that landed on the beaches of Iwo Jima met tough resistance, but the subsequent waves had a far more difficult time. Varone advanced onto the beach in a Duck [Annotator's Note: DUKW; six-wheel-drive amphibious truck; also known as a Duck]. Initially, he carried an M1 carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine] but soon picked up an M1 Garand [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] from a dead Marine and used that. It was quite an experience. By the third day, Varone felt a greater extent of fear after seeing so many dead Marines. After the battle, Varone had enough points to return home [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home], but he first had to be debriefed by a gunnery sergeant. Varone was willing to stay put but was told he had to return to the States to be rehabilitated. Varone disagreed. He planned to return home and not come back. Entering the US through San Diego, Varone and a few others were kept back to unload the ship. A buddy named Bill Russell [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] from Celina, Ohio and Varone got all their pay and proceeded to paint the town during their 45-day transfer to Bainbridge, Maryland for discharge. They spent in excess for four thousand dollars in Los Angeles [Annotator's Note: Los Angeles, California], were jailed and nearly got in trouble with the Vice Squad [Annotator's Note: a division of a police force that enforces laws against prostitution, drug abuse, and illegal gambling among others]. Varone had to telephone his father at home to get cash for the trip home. Russell wanted to continue their celebration, but Varone decided to go Bainbridge. It was a lot of fun and Varone learned a lot. He was discharged in April 1946 as a corporal. He was acting sergeant, but with his discharge, the promotion did not go through. Verona had been in Guam before the bombs were dropped [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945]. They were preparing to go in for the invasion of Japan.

On Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: with the 5th Marine Division during the Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945, Iwo Jima, Japan], Francis John "Dick" Varone thought of returning home when he was fearful. He would pray to get off the island. The Japs [Annotator's Note: a period derogatory term for Japanese] had hit the ammunition dump and Varone and his buddy, Russ [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] jumped into a bomb crater. A shell landed near them and blew them up in the air. Varone had no feeling in his legs but felt something wet. A piece of shrapnel was stuck in his leg. Varone pulled it out and treated the wound himself. The medical personnel were attending far worse wounded. Because he did so, he did not obtain a Purple Heart [Annotator's Note: the Purple Heart Medal is an award bestowed upon a United States service member who has been wounded as a result of combat actions against an armed enemy]. Years later, Doctor Tom Smith [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] lobbied for Varone and another individual to receive the Purple Heart. Varone was awarded the decoration. Varone was on Iwo Jima for the whole battle. He saw both flags raised [Annotator's Note: United States flag raised on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Japan, 23 February 1943]. The noise heard when the flags went up was tremendous. The 4th Division [Annotator's Note: 4th Marine Division] was stopped dead until the naval bombardment blew the resistance away. Varone thought the island would sink. When a Marine was discovered staked to the ground with a broken bottle pushed into his rear, the 4th advanced much more rapidly. The training Varone received helped him significantly particularly the instructions related to gas attacks and the use of a personal gas mask. The threat of the enemy using gas resulted in Varone donning his gas mask. He could not breath. The canister had been waterproofed. His training taught him to get close to the ground and slightly open the mask to see if he could smell gas. When he did so, there was no odor of gas. Shortly thereafter, Varone discarded his gas mask. Varone was halfway up Mount Suribachi treating a wounded friend when the flags were raised. He happened to look up and see and hear the noise from the dramatic event.

Francis John "Dick" Varone wanted to stay in the Marine Corps while he was overseas [Annotator's Note: with the 5th Marine Division]. When he returned home, he decided differently. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer. Varone did not like school and demurred. Instead, Varone built a career in railroad traffic control. He directed movement of all the trains and communicated in Morse Code [Annotator's Note: a method of telecommunication encoding characters in a system of dots and dashes] which he was proficient in. He passed all the required examinations but had a problem with an instructor who was prejudiced against guineas [Annotator's Note: derogatory slang for people of Italian ancestry]. Varone talked to the office and was redirected to another instructor. The move worked out and Varone was qualified. He would pick up shifts when the other individuals had days off. He was being paid well for his efforts. Nevertheless, the instructor and Varone never got along. Varone did not let that stop him from doing his job. The main office in Albany [Annotator's Note: Albany, New York] had a huge board for tracking all the trains. Redman [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling] was the boss. He offered a promotion to Varone, but he refused to take the opportunity. When personnel cuts occurred, Varone left.

Francis John "Dick" Varone had not spoken much about his wartime experiences until he joined a group of other veterans that meet periodically. It lifted a weight off of him. He has not even talked to his family about his Purple Heart [Annotator's Note: the Purple Heart Medal is an award bestowed upon a United States service member who has been wounded as a result of combat actions against an armed enemy]. Nevertheless, he would not trade his three years with the Marines for anything. They were the greatest three years that taught him a lot about people and life. The war made him realize a lot of things he did not know before. When a buddy from home got shot, it disturbed him greatly. The man had been offered a job in Hawaii as an MP [Annotator's Note: military police], but he refused it. Instead, he was shot between the eyes in combat. It was not right. [Annotator's Note: Varone shakes his head and shows his emotion]. The leader called for Varone's friend, Anthony Benamati [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], to set up his machine gun to fire on an enemy machine gun position. As he set up his tripod, Benamati was hit between the eyes by a sniper. Varone knew Ira Hayes [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Corporal Ira Hamilton Hayes]. They were in radio school at the same time. Hayes was a nice guy who never drank until he was sent back to the states with John Basilone [Annotator's Note: US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone] for war bond efforts [Annotator's Note: debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war]. That was when he began to drink. Basilone was memorable too. When called out on inspection, Basilone was out of uniform and wearing his Medal of Honor [Annotator's Note: the Medal of Honor is the highest award a United States service member can receive who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor]. No one protested his outfit. [Annotator's Note: Varone chuckles.] World War 2 changed the way the country thought about itself. A lot of good men were lost on Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Iwo Jima, Japan] but one cannot visit the island without special permission. Restrictions on timing and location approvals are not acceptable to Varone. He would hope that future generations understood what went on during the war and why it happened and how it changed our world. Many youngsters today do not know anything about Iwo Jima [Annotator's Note: Battle of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 March 1945, Iwo Jima, Japan]. Compulsory service should be in place for graduates immediately after completion of their education.