Amsterdam native survived submarine Disaster

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History Daily Gazette 

     Donato "Danny" Persico entered the sunken submarine's escape hatch, crawling up a steel ladder as his hands were too chilled to grasp the ladder rungs.

Persico, who lived on Broad Street on Amsterdam's South Side, was one of the survivors from the submarine U.S.S. Squalus, which sank May 23, 1939 in the Atlantic Ocean off the Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire.

Valves malfunctioned during a test dive. The after compartments filled with water, drowning 26 men.  Persico was almost crushed by a torpedo.  Squalus settled on the ocean floor in 243 feet of water. 

 "This happened so fast, there was no chance for an alarm," Persico told Daily Gazette. "We lost power and lost lights."

In forward compartments, sealed by watertight doors, 33 men were still alive.

"I had goose bumps. I was scared," Persico said. At 20, he was the youngest man on board. Survivors donned woolen coats and stayed still, using as little air as possible.

Persico was among the last rescued on the fourth trip of a diving bell deployed from the rescue ship Falcon. Rescuers used the McCann Submarine Rescue Chamber, a diving bell that could withstand depths beyond lethal limits.

The first three trips went perfectly. Captain Oliver Naquin, Persico and six other sailors were in the diving bell for the last rescue. About halfway up, there were problems with the lifting cables.

Rescuers dropped the diving bell back to the bottom and pulled it in by hand with only one frayed strand of cable. The final rescue took many hours using the frayed cable.

Persico's father had died in 1929. The family, including Persico's mother, Carmela Pinto, were kept informed as the rescue unfolded by Amsterdam Police who stopped at the family home with updates

The family received two telegrams. The first said Persico was alive. The second said he had been rescued.

When his mother visited Persico at a hospital after the rescue, he told her he would continue in the submarine service, adding his shipmates felt the same.

The Navy was able to raise the Squalus. It was repaired and recommissioned as the Sailfish and was awarded nine battle stars in World War II.

Persico served aboard two other submarines. One of them, U.S.S. Batfish, sank three Japanese subs. He earned a Bronze Star. A stone marking his Navy service is at Fifth Ward Veterans Park.

His nephew Anthony Signoracci said Persico, "Always had a sly smile on his face. I think it was because he cheated certain death."

Persico retired from the Navy in 1956 as a chief torpedo man and recruiter and then had a career as a heavy equipment salesman in the Capital Region for L.B. Smith Company.

Amsterdam historian Hugh Donlon wrote the Recorder story in 1961 when Persico visited Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for the first time since 1939. He was there for the launch of the nuclear submarine Tinosa.

On hand for a picture were Persico, Congressman Sam Stratton and John Donlon, Hugh's son. John was executive officer of Tinosa and later commanded nuclear submarines.

Persico married Felicia Puglia of Amsterdam in 1973. They met at the bar of the former Peter Stuyvesant Hotel in Amsterdam. They married years later when Persico returned to Amsterdam after his mother died. They had no children. "He was my hero," Felicia said.

In 2000 Persico was one of the Squalus survivors at a ceremony naming a destroyer for the man who organized their rescue, Charles "Swede" Momsen.

Persico died in 2001. The intersection of Florida Avenue and Bridge Street was named Persico Square that year.

Bob Cudmore is a freelance writer.

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