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Kubs Softball Player Dies After WWII Reunion Game

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The Associated Press

Published: December 26, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - A reunion softball game for U.S. and Japanese World War II veterans turned out to be the last mission for one former sailor.

Karl Sommer suffered a heart attack and died Saturday in St. Petersburg, a day after returning to Florida from the game in Hawaii, his wife said. He was 81.

"Karl was extremely enthusiastic about the trip," said Marge Sommer, his wife of 56 years. "He had a blast. He thought that the Japanese men were just top notch in the way they handled themselves. The trip meant a tremendous amount to him."

Sommer, who served aboard Navy amphibious landing crafts, hit two singles for the Florida-based Kids & Kubs in their 14-2 victory Dec. 19 against Japan's Over the Rainbows.

"He was very excited that they won, and that he'd gotten a couple of hits, but he came home very tired," Marge Sommer said.

The game, played at Hans L'Orange Park in Waipahu, was proposed by Sho Ishida, an independent, New York-based Japanese TV director who filmed a documentary on the Kids & Kubs several years ago.

Sommer was a high school sophomore in Rochester, N.Y., when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. His father, an immigrant who fought for Germany in World War I, encouraged him to enlist.

Sommer joined the Navy in 1944 and later served in Korea. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and two grandsons. His funeral is scheduled for Jan. 3 in St. Petersburg.

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