Felix Gabaccia was born in Manhattan, New York on 22 May 1924. He was the son of Maria and Giuseppe “Joseph” Gabaccia, and grew up in Queens with his brothers John and Remo.

In the early 1940s Joseph, Felix, and Remo moved to New York’s Hudson Valley and settled in Ancramville. The boys attended Roeliff Jansen High School; Felix graduated in 1941, and found work with the Larchmont Yacht Club. He was working there on his eighteenth birthday, and his Selective Service registration indicates that he was living at the club.

Felix enlisted on 23 September 1942, and was sent to Parris Island for boot camp. He volunteered for aviation training, and was accepted to radio school in Jacksonville, Florida where he proved to be a quick study. Private Gabaccia was soon Corporal Gabaccia, and then Sergeant Gabbacia by the summer of 1943 and his deployment overseas.

Gabaccia joined VMSB-132 in July 1943 and began flying combat missions out of Guadalcanal. When the veteran squadron rotated home in October, Gabaccia was transferred to VMTB-143 for a second tour of duty.

The forward echelon of VMTB-143 was stationed at Munda Airfield, and Sergeant Gabaccia was soon flying missions over the northern Solomon Islands. His TBF Avenger crew consisted of pilot 1Lt. John W. Tunnell  and PFC Billy M. Black on the turret guns.

On 4 November 1943, VMTB-143 participated in a strike against Kahili airfield on the island of Bougainville. Tunnell, Gabaccia, and Black were aboard TBF-1 #24195, which bore squadron number 15.

Over the target, #15 was seen to smoke and catch fire. Other aviators watched as Tunnell yanked the big plane out of its dive, straining to gain a few thousand feet of altitude. Three small figures jumped from the Avenger, and three parachutes were seen to open before the plane slammed into the water and disappeared.

Tunnell, Gabaccia, and Black were reported as missing in action and carried as such until the war ended. Repeated searches failed to uncover any clues as to their ultimate fates, and they were declared dead on 11 January 1946.

Sergeant Felix Gabaccia received a posthumous Commendation Ribbon for his service in the South Pacific.

“TBF #15 (piloted by 1st Lt. John W. Tunnell, with crew consisting of Sgt. Felix Gabbacia, radioman, and PFC Billy M. Black, gunner, all of VMTB-143) smoked and caught fire while in its dive over Kahili Strip. The plane was pulled up to 2000/3000 feet and three men were seen to bail out. Thereafter the plane fluttered and fell into the sea three miles SW of Kahili Strip. The plane was probably hit by AA.”
– VMTB-143, Combat Tour 10/18/1943 to 11/30/1943, Mission Report for 4 November 1943.

CENOTAPHS
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial