Donato Persico of Amsterdam’s South Side was one of 36 survivors rescued from the submarine USS Squalus, which sank during practice dives off Portsmouth, N.H., on May 23, 1939.
Persico was almost crushed by a torpedo as the vessel bottomed out at 243 feet below the surface.
Twenty-nine sailors drowned in the submarine’s aft section.
Amsterdam city historian Robert von Hasseln said the survivors were saved using the McCann Submarine Rescue Chamber, a diving bell that could be used at depths beyond lethal limits.
The first three trips rescuing men from the Squalus were flawless. But as the captain, Persico and six other sailors got into the diving bell for the final ascent, divers determined its cable had become frayed. The final rescue took many hours as the diving bell was slowly raised.
Persico’s story is one of many in this year’s history booklet, “Amsterdam’s South Side,” published by Historic Amsterdam League.
Persico stayed in the Navy through the Korean War, rising to the rank of chief torpedoman. His medals included the Bronze Star and Submarine Combat Patrol Badge.
In 2000 Persico was one of two Squalus survivors attending when a Navy destroyer was named for the man who organized the Squalus rescue, Charles “Swede” Momsen.
Persico died Jan. 26, 2001. Persico Square at the intersection of Bridge Street and Florida Avenue is named in his honor, and a stone marking his Navy service is at Fifth Ward Veterans Park.
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