Gerard Domnick Cucci
Private Gerard D. “Jerry” Cucci served the Marine detachment aboard the cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44).
He was lost at sea in the battle of Savo Island, off Guadalcanal, on 9 August 1942.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 319654
Current Status
Lost At Sea
Pursuit Category
Based on circumstances of loss, this individual is considered permanently non-recoverable.
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
August 16, 1921
at Jersey City, NJ
Parents
Stefano “Stephen” Cucci (d. 1932)
Mary Anna (Vidluch) Cucci
Education
Dickinson High School
Occupation & Employer
Details unknown
Service Life
Entered Service
August 18, 1941
at New York, NY
Home Of Record
7 Whitman Avenue
Jersey City, NJ
Next Of Kin
Mother, Mrs. Anna Cucci
Military Specialty
Marine Detachment
Five-inch gunner
Primary Unit
USS Vincennes
Campaigns Served
Midway
Guadalcanal / Savo Island
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Additional Service Details
—
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Private Gerard Cucci was assigned to the Marine detachment aboard the cruiser USS Vincennes in the early months of 1942. As a crewman on a five-inch gun, “Jerry” participated in the Doolittle Raid, and saw action in the battle of Midway before sailing for the Solomon Islands in the summer of 1942.
At 0155 on 9 August 1942, bright searchlights stabbed out of the darkness and illuminated Vincennes. The cruiser let loose a salvo, but was almost immediately bracketed by Japanese shells. In just fifteen minutes, she suffered at least 85 hits from large and medium caliber shells, and at least one torpedo strike. Without power, aflame from stem to stern, Vincennes drifted to a stop and began to list.
According to PFC Donald Gilman, another Jersey City Marine, “Jerry was…. first at our gun station. As the others snapped into their positions, he was ready at his. ‘Let’s give it to those yellow devils,’ he shouted in the din….” Their port-side gun was directly under the glare of the searchlights, and was quickly put out of action by shellfire. Cucci was hit in the chest by shrapnel; Gilman, bleeding from his own wounds, dragged Cucci behind an ammunition hoist. Seaman Charles R. Coombs, also from Jersey City, saw Cucci lying motionless on the deck.
As the stricken cruiser slipped into the water, Corporal Theodore Kornowski felt his way along the deck towards the gun position. “The only light was that of the flaring Jap guns and the guns of the other American warships and the shooting beam of a huge American searchlight on the shore,” he said. He found Jerry Cucci on the deck, bleeding from the chest and legs. As seawater lapped over the deck, Kornowski put a tourniquet on Cucci’s leg, then lifted his friend over his shoulder. “Come on, Jerry. Let’s get the hell out of here.” It was too late; Cucci was already dead. Kornowski left the body on the deck and made his escape to safety.
Captain Frederick Riefkohl passed the word to abandon ship at 0230; ten minutes later, Vincennes slipped beneath the waves. Of nearly 900 crew, 332 men – among them Jerry Cucci – died in the battle for Savo Island.
Burial Information or Disposition
Remains lost at sea; ship considered to be final resting place.
Memorials
Manila American Cemetery and Memorial
The wreck of the Vincennes was discovered by RV Petrel in 2015.
Next Of Kin Address
Address of mother, Mrs. Anna Cucci.
Location Of Loss
The Vincennes sank in Iron Bottom Sound at approximately 0240 hours.
