Francis Cappelletti, 89; World War II Air Veteran
Saturday, March 10, 2007; Page B06
Francis R. Cappelletti, 89, an Air Force colonel who later worked as a civilian for the Department of the Navy, died of complications from Alzheimer's disease Feb. 28 at his home in Safety Harbor, Fla.
Col. Cappelletti, who joined the Army Air Corps in 1940, was serving as officer of the day at Clark Field in the Philippines in 1941 when the Japanese bombed it, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He flew 91 combat missions as a navigator in the South Pacific during World War II and received the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal for his wartime service.
After the war, Col. Cappelletti participated in the atomic bomb tests "Able" and "Baker" as part of Operation Crossroads on Bikini Island in July 1949. That was followed by service in counterintelligence in Germany as part of the Office of Special Investigations.
He worked at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha during the 1950s while the Strategic Air Command was established, and he specialized in applying new computer technologies to enemy target planning. In 1965, he began a year's service in Vietnam, followed by a posting to the Pentagon, where he was chief of special activities for the Defense Intelligence Agency. He retired as a full colonel in 1970.
Among his military awards were three awards of the Legion of Merit. He spoke five languages, using this skill to give military briefings to visiting foreign officers.
He then worked at Computer Sciences Corp. and for the Department of the Navy as a civilian, retiring in 1981. He volunteered at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum for a number of years, where he translated newly found documents from Russian immigrants into English. His interests included astronomy, physics and history, especially of the Italian Renaissance. He lived in Annandale from 1966 to 1992.
He was born in Koppel, Pa., to Italian immigrants and grew up in Barre, Vt. He graduated from St. Alexander College and received a master's degree in 1939 from Laval University in Quebec.
His first wife, Margaret Cappelletti, died in 1990. After marrying again in 1992, he moved to Florida.
Survivors include his wife of 14 years, Rose Cappelletti of Safety Harbor; a daughter from his first marriage, Martha Sewell of Falls Church; three stepsons, Enea John Vanzo of Bainbridge, Ga., Leonard Freed of Clarksville, Tenn., and Dr. Fred Freed of St. Petersburg Beach, Fla.; two sisters; and a brother.
