Hofstetter, Seymour, 1917-2008
Biography
Chief Petty Officer Seymour Hofstetter was born in New York City on November 11, 1917, and died in Santiago, Chile, on January 23, 2008. He developed an early interest in photography while working as a photographer for his high school newspaper, a skill that later shaped his military career.
In 1940, Hofstetter received a low draft number. In early 1941, he obtained temporary employment as a switchboard operator at the U.S. Marine Hospital on Fairhill Road in Cleveland, Ohio. Because of his low draft number, he attempted to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Forces but was not accepted. He also applied to the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School and was rejected due to vision problems. At the Marine Hospital, a Coast Guard outpatient suggested that he enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard. Hofstetter was subsequently interviewed by Lieutenant Commander C. W. Thomas and sworn in as a Petty Officer, Yeoman Second Class.
Hofstetter performed typing duties and contributed photographs to a monthly publication produced for the Coast Guard Auxiliary. In early 1942, he received the rating of Photographer’s Mate, Second Class, and advanced rapidly to Chief Photographer’s Mate. He repeatedly requested sea duty and was eventually assigned to Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., followed by service aboard the USCGC Spencer in Boston. While assigned to the Spencer, Hofstetter participated in North Atlantic operations and later crossed to Casablanca. He also briefly served aboard a 120-foot patrol craft in Chesapeake Bay on anti-submarine patrols along the Atlantic coast to Florida.
Hofstetter was later assigned to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he was assigned to the USS Callaway (APA-35). After the ship was commissioned, it sailed to San Diego, where it remained for several months, and then proceeded to Pearl Harbor. Following Pearl Harbor, Hofstetter served aboard the Callaway during operations in the Pacific, including Roi-Namur, Peleliu, Angaur, Nouméa, and Saipan.
In June 1944, Hofstetter received the Navy Commendation Medal. He continued photographic assignments on the Callaway in the Philippines and Okinawa before being reassigned to Cleveland, Ohio. While there, he learned that the Callaway had been struck by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft, resulting in the deaths of 32 crew members. The impact occurred at Hofstetter’s usual duty station aboard the ship.
Hofstetter was discharged from the United States Coast Guard Reserve in October 1945 in Detroit, Michigan, having completed 52 months of military service.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Seymour Hofstetter Collection
The Seymour Hofstetter Collection comprises 56 large-format, matted photographic prints documenting U.S. Coast Guard and Navy activities during World War II, with an emphasis on naval operations and amphibious warfare in the Pacific Theater. An additional empty storage box with original belted straps and a plastic sleeve containing a blank note are also present.