Talk:Toby Tobias

According to an e-mail received by BoxRec May 20, 2013, from Jean S. Wolf McGuire:

My Dad, William E. "Bill" Wolf, Jr., didn't box, but being a red blooded American, of course, was interested in it. Dad grew up in North Hollywood, went to Black-Foxe military school 1936-40, played trombone with the Sam Fuhrman orchestra at the Biltmore in L.A. before the war, and enlisted in the Marines in March 1940. He was on board the USS Pensacola in the Pacific escorting the Lexington and then the Enterprise until late 1943, then was sent to the Brooklyn Naval Yard around 1944, and in early 1945 got orders for Okinawa. I figure he must have met Toby at the Naval Yard or at the jazz nightspots in New York. Anyway, this is the story of the troop ship going to Okinawa.

Dad said there were about 2,000 or 3,000 white Marines, and about 1,000 or 2,000 black Marines on the ship. They had boxing matches in the cargo hold at night for entertainment.

By the way, there were race riots in Detroit in 1942----I didn't know that until about the late 1980's when I finally started asking Dad questions about the war and saw a program on A&E about the riots in 1942.

So, every night on the troop ship, one black Marine was beating everyone that boxed, white or black. Dad's pal Toby, the professional boxer, never entered the ring and wasn't interested or just wouldn't fight. Shades of "From Here to Eternity", huh?

After several weeks at sea, some of the white Marines were getting testy about that. This was 1945 after all. They were all nervous about getting to Okinawa anyway, because Dad said they'd heard about Iwo Jima. Dad said things were simmering and some guys were grumbling about the black guy beating everyone. One day his C.O. called him up to the Captain's quarters. Some officers and the Captain asked Dad about Toby. They wanted Dad to talk Toby into fighting the black Marine hoping Toby would win, and thus cool down a potential race riot on board the ship. The officers were worried enough themselves about Okinawa---this was May or early June and the reports were already bad. I didn't ask Dad what he said to Toby, and I wish I had, but didn't have the nerve. Anyway, Toby fought the black Marine and beat him.

They got to Okinawa where they lay offshore for several days waiting to go. What a sight that must have been. They could see the island was a mess, so many of our ships around loaded with Marines and soldiers, and then one morning all the lieutenants were called up to the bridge and Dad said they sat on deck to wait for the word, and when the young lieutenants came out, they looked scared to death. Dad was a 24 year old sergeant, and he said Toby was 23.

Finally they went ashore and Dad said the main road from the beach inland was lined with trenches on both sides all the way inland for miles. The weather was terrible, pouring rain, thousands of Marines, and they had to stand all night the first night in those trenches with water up to their waists. The road was at eye level, and all night long there were bumper to bumper ambulances going back to the beach loaded with wounded. All night long. I can picture my young Dad, standing all night, no sleep, drenched and scared. I can still see his blue eyes across the kitchen table telling me this. The next day, Toby was killed on their first day on Okinawa. I didn't ask how.

Dad survived with a touch of TB, so after VJ day and the cleanup on Okinawa, he went to a Naval hospital in Corona, California, where he met my Mom, a Navy Nurse ensign.

So, a few months ago, I searched and found Toby on the Internet, and then last week, on your site. That's all I know. It's sad, but what a story. I wish Dad could have seen his pal on the web. Thanks for putting Toby on your site so I could find him.