Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Daily Update
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Daily Update
...Bucci was home on leave in July 1943 when the Recorder printed an account of his actions on Guadalcanal written by Marine private Eddie Lyon
Some weather in the weather in The Mohawk Valley this weekend, Scroll Down for either the good or bad news
Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-World War II hero Joseph A. Bucci of Amsterdam and Episode 405-Jerry Snyder of Historic Amsterdam League has stories from a new booklet on Amsterdam’s arts, focusing on visual artists, actors, singers and more with ties to Amsterdam, New York. Saturday chatter "35 Minutes"
Amsterdam man survived bloody battles on Guadalcanal
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
Joseph A. Bucci was an Amsterdam man who fought heroically with the U.S. Marines in World War II.
Bucci was the son of Charles and Mary Bucci who lived at 12 Lark Street in the East End. Charles Bucci was a veteran of World War I. Joseph Bucci’s brother Anthony served in the Army Air Corps in World War II.
Born in 1913, Joseph Bucci graduated from St. Mary’s Institute and earned a degree in journalism at Notre Dame in 1933. He worked for John Hancock insurance and later was in sales for the Curtiss Candy Company.
Just over a month after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Bucci enlisted as a private in the Marines.
By October 1942 he was fighting the Japanese on Guadalcanal Island in the Pacific and found himself and six others pinned down by Japanese artillery fire in the Battle of Matanikau River. The small band had missed orders to move from their foxholes to another position.
Through one long night and the next day the seven endured an artillery barrage and attack. The seven Marines were credited with killing 175 to 200 Japanese soldiers. Then Bucci and his comrades came under American artillery fire in a Marine counter attack. Ultimately the seven Marines were reunited with their unit.
Intense fighting on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands lasted six months, from August 1942 to February 1943.
In November 1942 Bucci was wounded by three pieces of shrapnel. He contracted malaria and was shipped to a military hospital in San Diego, California.
It was there that he learned he was to receive the Purple Heart and Silver Star for his actions on Guadalcanal. He was promoted to Sergeant.
Bucci was home on leave in July 1943 when the Recorder printed an account of his actions on Guadalcanal written by Marine private Eddie Lyon, who had interviewed Bucci at the San Diego hospital. Bucci and his parents went to the Recorder offices to get their first look at the news story and to have their picture taken.
In December 1943, Bucci was still at home, assigned to the Scotia Naval Depot on Route 5, today an industrial park. He had applied for Officer Candidate School.
That month Knights of Columbus Council 209 in Amsterdam honored Bucci at a dinner at the then Amsterdam Hotel on East Main Street and presented him with a special ring.
“When I was in the South Pacific, I dreamed of getting home,” Bucci told the Knights of Columbus. “Just at the present I wish I were down there again.”
He also said, “It is my fond wish and hope that this international mess will soon be over and that all of us can come back to the good old American way of life. However, I expect to be shoving off again soon and in whatever part of the world I am I will have this ring with me, a reminder of your thoughtfulness and I will be thoughtful for you.”
Bucci went to Officer Candidates School and became a second lieutenant. He was promoted to captain in the Marine Corps reserve.
He attended Albany Law School after the war and in 1948 became head of the new Montgomery County Probation Department. He and Louanne Wilkes of Albany married in 1953 and moved to California where Bucci worked in the Ventura County Probation Department.
In their later years Bucci and his wife moved to Virginia to be near one of their two sons. Bucci died in 2010 at age 96 at Lovingston Health Care Center in Arrington, Virginia. Inurnment was at Arlington National Cemetery.
Tomorrow, Sunday, January 16, 2022-From the Archives- Friday, February 14, 2020-Episode 305-Malta N.Y. town historian Paul Perreault has the story of a famous drawing of Andersonville Prison in Georgia done by a Union prisoner, Thomas O’Dea. Perreault also has an account of the Saratoga Battlefield and the story of a fighting chaplain in World War I, Reverend Francis Kelly.
Winter in The Mohawk Valley is "on the way"
Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Saturday, January 15, 2022
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EST TODAY...
...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY EVENING
THROUGH MONDAY EVENING...
* WHAT...For the Wind Chill Advisory, very cold wind chills
expected. Wind chills as low as 15 to 25 below zero. For the
Winter Storm Watch, heavy snow possible. Total snow
accumulations of 6 to 10 inches possible. Winds could gust over
40 mph Sunday night into Monday.
* WHERE...Eastern Windham County in Southern Vermont, The Glens
Falls and Saratoga Region, central and eastern Mohawk Valley
and the Helderbergs of eastern New York.
* WHEN...For the Wind Chill Advisory, through noon EST today. For
the Winter Storm Watch, from Sunday evening through Monday
evening.
* IMPACTS...The cold wind chills could cause frostbite on
exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. Travel could be very
difficult Sunday night into Monday.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a
hat, and gloves.
Monitor the latest forecasts for updates on this situation.
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Saturday, January 15, 2022
Daily Gazette
As eviction moratorium ends, Mohawk Hudson Humane Society offers assistance
With the New York state’s eviction moratorium set to end Saturday, the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society is expanding services for…
Union College raises $20M in less than a year to help low-income students
SCHENECTADY – A fundraiser to make Union College affordable for 10 additional low-income students in perpetuity sprinted toward its finish,…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Picture:RecorderNews
Bail set at $500K cash, $1M bond for female defendant in Fulton County torture case
Calling the alleged acts “some of the worst allegations I’ve seen,” a Fulton County...
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
After two years without a race, ice racers look to return to action in 2022
by Paul Wager
https://www.leaderherald.com/
View all episodes
By Bob Cudmore...Bucci was home on leave in July 1943 when the Recorder printed an account of his actions on Guadalcanal written by Marine private Eddie Lyon
Some weather in the weather in The Mohawk Valley this weekend, Scroll Down for either the good or bad news
Focus on History in the Daily Gazette and Amsterdam Recorder-World War II hero Joseph A. Bucci of Amsterdam and Episode 405-Jerry Snyder of Historic Amsterdam League has stories from a new booklet on Amsterdam’s arts, focusing on visual artists, actors, singers and more with ties to Amsterdam, New York. Saturday chatter "35 Minutes"
Amsterdam man survived bloody battles on Guadalcanal
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
Joseph A. Bucci was an Amsterdam man who fought heroically with the U.S. Marines in World War II.
Bucci was the son of Charles and Mary Bucci who lived at 12 Lark Street in the East End. Charles Bucci was a veteran of World War I. Joseph Bucci’s brother Anthony served in the Army Air Corps in World War II.
Born in 1913, Joseph Bucci graduated from St. Mary’s Institute and earned a degree in journalism at Notre Dame in 1933. He worked for John Hancock insurance and later was in sales for the Curtiss Candy Company.
Just over a month after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Bucci enlisted as a private in the Marines.
By October 1942 he was fighting the Japanese on Guadalcanal Island in the Pacific and found himself and six others pinned down by Japanese artillery fire in the Battle of Matanikau River. The small band had missed orders to move from their foxholes to another position.
Through one long night and the next day the seven endured an artillery barrage and attack. The seven Marines were credited with killing 175 to 200 Japanese soldiers. Then Bucci and his comrades came under American artillery fire in a Marine counter attack. Ultimately the seven Marines were reunited with their unit.
Intense fighting on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands lasted six months, from August 1942 to February 1943.
In November 1942 Bucci was wounded by three pieces of shrapnel. He contracted malaria and was shipped to a military hospital in San Diego, California.
It was there that he learned he was to receive the Purple Heart and Silver Star for his actions on Guadalcanal. He was promoted to Sergeant.
Bucci was home on leave in July 1943 when the Recorder printed an account of his actions on Guadalcanal written by Marine private Eddie Lyon, who had interviewed Bucci at the San Diego hospital. Bucci and his parents went to the Recorder offices to get their first look at the news story and to have their picture taken.
In December 1943, Bucci was still at home, assigned to the Scotia Naval Depot on Route 5, today an industrial park. He had applied for Officer Candidate School.
That month Knights of Columbus Council 209 in Amsterdam honored Bucci at a dinner at the then Amsterdam Hotel on East Main Street and presented him with a special ring.
“When I was in the South Pacific, I dreamed of getting home,” Bucci told the Knights of Columbus. “Just at the present I wish I were down there again.”
He also said, “It is my fond wish and hope that this international mess will soon be over and that all of us can come back to the good old American way of life. However, I expect to be shoving off again soon and in whatever part of the world I am I will have this ring with me, a reminder of your thoughtfulness and I will be thoughtful for you.”
Bucci went to Officer Candidates School and became a second lieutenant. He was promoted to captain in the Marine Corps reserve.
He attended Albany Law School after the war and in 1948 became head of the new Montgomery County Probation Department. He and Louanne Wilkes of Albany married in 1953 and moved to California where Bucci worked in the Ventura County Probation Department.
In their later years Bucci and his wife moved to Virginia to be near one of their two sons. Bucci died in 2010 at age 96 at Lovingston Health Care Center in Arrington, Virginia. Inurnment was at Arlington National Cemetery.
Tomorrow, Sunday, January 16, 2022-From the Archives- Friday, February 14, 2020-Episode 305-Malta N.Y. town historian Paul Perreault has the story of a famous drawing of Andersonville Prison in Georgia done by a Union prisoner, Thomas O’Dea. Perreault also has an account of the Saratoga Battlefield and the story of a fighting chaplain in World War I, Reverend Francis Kelly.
Winter in The Mohawk Valley is "on the way"
Mohawk Valley Weekend Weather, Saturday, January 15, 2022
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EST TODAY...
...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY EVENING
THROUGH MONDAY EVENING...
* WHAT...For the Wind Chill Advisory, very cold wind chills
expected. Wind chills as low as 15 to 25 below zero. For the
Winter Storm Watch, heavy snow possible. Total snow
accumulations of 6 to 10 inches possible. Winds could gust over
40 mph Sunday night into Monday.
* WHERE...Eastern Windham County in Southern Vermont, The Glens
Falls and Saratoga Region, central and eastern Mohawk Valley
and the Helderbergs of eastern New York.
* WHEN...For the Wind Chill Advisory, through noon EST today. For
the Winter Storm Watch, from Sunday evening through Monday
evening.
* IMPACTS...The cold wind chills could cause frostbite on
exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. Travel could be very
difficult Sunday night into Monday.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a
hat, and gloves.
Monitor the latest forecasts for updates on this situation.
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Saturday, January 15, 2022
Daily Gazette
As eviction moratorium ends, Mohawk Hudson Humane Society offers assistance
With the New York state’s eviction moratorium set to end Saturday, the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society is expanding services for…
Union College raises $20M in less than a year to help low-income students
SCHENECTADY – A fundraiser to make Union College affordable for 10 additional low-income students in perpetuity sprinted toward its finish,…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Picture:RecorderNews
Bail set at $500K cash, $1M bond for female defendant in Fulton County torture case
Calling the alleged acts “some of the worst allegations I’ve seen,” a Fulton County...
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
After two years without a race, ice racers look to return to action in 2022
by Paul Wager
https://www.leaderherald.com/