Berra served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he served as a gunner’s mate on the USS Bayfield during the D-Day invasion of France.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/klapisch-beloved-yankee-yogi-berra-deserves-national-honor-1.1332386
RE: Berra served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he served as a gunner’s mate on the USS Bayfield during the D-Day invasion of France.
That is why it is very difficult to compare the number of homers made by modern day players and the homers made by players during the war.
Joe DiMaggio served in the military for 2 years 1943-1945. Before that, he was already a star player with a MLB record-breaking 56-game hitting streak in 1941.
Who knows how many more hits he would have had if he continued playing during those two years?