| Hometown | Civilian Occupation |
| Wilmington, Delaware | Machinist helper for the Pennsylvania Railroad |
| Branch | Service Number |
| U.S. Naval Reserve | 8262347 |
| Theater | Assignment |
| American (Zone of Interior) | U.S. Naval Training Station, Bainbridge, Maryland |
Early Life & Family
John Paul Sparco (Sparaco) was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on August 13, 1923. He was the son of Joseph Sparco (a fiber mill worker and World War I U.S. Army veteran, 1886–1984) and Anna Sparco (née Fierro, 1901–1984). His parents were Italian immigrants who married in Wilmington in 1921. Sparco had an older brother, Louis V. Sparco (1922–2014), and two younger brothers, Joseph P. Sparco, Jr. (1925–2017) and Anthony J. Sparco (1930–1996). Louis served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, while Anthony later served in the U.S. Army.
As of November 23, 1925, when the younger Joseph Sparco was born, the family was living at 1813 West 10th Street in Wilmington. On February 5, 1927, Sparco’s parents purchased a home at 910 North Dupont Street for $3,500. It appears that Sparco lived at that address until he entered the service. He dropped out of school during his sophomore year of high school.
Prior to joining the military, Sparco was a machinist helper for the Pennsylvania Railroad. When Sparco registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, he was working at the railroad’s Wilmington Shops. The registrar described him as standing five feet, eight inches tall and weighing 155 lbs., with brown hair and eyes. He was Catholic.
Military Career
On November 13, 1942, Journal-Every Evening reported that Sparco’s older brother, Louis, had become the “750th man to join the Navy at the recruiting office in Wilmington” and added that “Louis has three younger brothers who’ll be ‘ready when Uncle Sam wants them.’”
Three weeks later, an executive order by President Roosevelt ended most voluntary enlistments in the U.S. armed forces and gave draft boards responsibility for selecting most of the military’s manpower for the rest of the war. The local draft board classified Sparco as I-A on January 13, 1943.
When Sparco was drafted soon after, he followed in his older brother’s footsteps by requesting naval service, making him what the U.S. Navy called a “selective volunteer.” He was inducted into the U.S. Naval Reserve in Camden, New Jersey, on February 23, 1943, and briefly placed on inactive duty. Apprentice Seaman Sparco went on active duty on March 2, 1943. He didn’t have to travel far to report for boot camp: The Naval Training Station, Bainbridge, Maryland, located outside Port Deposit in Cecil County, was only about 30 miles southwest of Sparco’s home.
After completing eight weeks of recruit training on April 28, 1943, Sparco was promoted to seaman 2nd class and given nine days’ leave. He returned to Bainbridge on May 7, 1943. His personnel file does not provide any details about his activities for the next three months, although the Wilmington Morning News reported that Sparco “was a member of the seamen’s guard at Bainbridge.”
Around 0725 hours on August 18, 1943, just five days after he turned 20, Seaman 2nd Class Sparco was killed when another sailor negligently fired a pistol. Lieutenant Commander H. C. Shaw, the medical officer who filled out Sparco’s death certificate, wrote:
Deceased and another enlisted man were passengers in a truck. Thirty-eight calibre revolver hold [sic] by other man was accidentally discharged and bullet entered chest of deceased at right nipple, transversed [sic] diagonally across chest, and lodged in the soft tissue just below the angle of the left scapula. Death was instantaneous.
A board of investigation found that Seaman 2nd Class Warren E. Bloom had, “by reason of reprehensible negligence” killed Seaman 2nd Class Sparco “while skylarking.” The board determined that Sparco’s death occurred in the line of duty, not due to his own misconduct, and recommended that Bloom be tried by general court-martial.
Journal-Every Evening reported on August 21, 1943, that “Eighty men from the Bainbridge Naval Training Station served as a guard of honor at the funeral services this morning in St. Anthony’s R. C. Church for John Sparco[.]” The article added:
Pallbearers were eight members of the guard of honor group. The group stood at attention while the body was carried into the church and after the services formed two lanes through which the flag draped casket was carried. The Very Rev. Dr. J. Francis Tucker, pastor of St. Anthony’s officiated at the funeral service.
At the grave in the Cathedral Cemetery, the guard of honor again stood at attention while “Taps” were played as the casket was lowered into the grave.
Sparco’s parents were buried alongside him after their deaths.
Notes
Last Name
Although he served in the U.S. Navy under the name John Paul Sparco, quite a few records and his headstone spell the family name as Sparaco.
Address
The Sparco family was recorded on the 1930 census as living at 912 North Dupont Street in Wilmington. Presumably, that should have been recorded as 910 North Dupont Street, which the family purchased in 1927 and which was their address on other contemporary records.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the Delaware Public Archives for the use of their photo.
Bibliography
“750th Youth Joins U.S. Navy In Wilmington.” Journal-Every Evening, November 13, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/article/131837720/
“Anna Fierro Sparco.” Every Evening, March 12, 1984. https://www.newspapers.com/article/131782693/
“Bainbridge Men Attend Funeral Rite for Sailor.” Journal-Every Evening, August 21, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/article/131638402/
Certificate of Birth for Joseph Sparaco. Record Group 1500-008-094, Birth Certificates. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YQM-Q8XL
Delaware Land Records, 1677–1947. Record Group 2555-000-011, Recorder of Deeds, New Castle County. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61025/images/31303_257016-00630
Delaware Marriages. Bureau of Vital Statistics, Hall of Records, Dover, Delaware. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61368/images/TH-267-12525-4533-54
Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4531894_00325
“Joseph Sparaco.” Evening Journal, March 1, 1984. https://www.newspapers.com/article/131782400/
“Louis V. Sparco.” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124163466/louis-v-sparco
Official Military Personnel File for John P. Sparco. Official Military Personnel Files, 1885–1998. Record Group 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri.
“Seaman John Sparco Killed at Bainbridge.” Wilmington Morning News, August 19, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/article/131638323/
Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-00550-00563
Sparco, Joseph. Individual Military Service Record for John Paul Sparco. April 19, 1946. Record Group 1325-003-053, Record of Delawareans Who Died in World War II. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://cdm16397.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15323coll6/id/20939/rec/1
WWII Draft Registration Cards for Delaware, 10/16/1940–3/31/1947. Record Group 147, Records of the Selective Service System. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/44003_02_00005-00982
Last updated on September 15, 2023
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