TOWN OF NIAGARA, N.Y. — A World War II Navy veteran from Buffalo was lost at sea when his crew’s submarine sank in battle. After 80 years lost to the bottom of the ocean, that local sailor’s ship has been found.
One Niagara County family is celebrating the life of their late uncle, Vincent Dallessandro, after the rediscovery of his ship.
“We wish he was still here, so we could talk to him, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen,” Dallessandro’s nephew Donald Mullen said.
Two years before Donald was ever born, his family went through unimaginable grief when his Uncle Vincent never returned from battle in World War II.
“We heard what a great person he was, but never really knew him,” Donald said.
Dallessandro, a Buffalo native, was a torpedoman's mate in the U.S. Navy, sailing aboard the USS Harder submarine.
In late 1944 disaster struck. An attack by the Japanese sunk the submarine off the coast of the Philippians, taking the entire crew, including Donald's Uncle Vincent, with it.
For nearly 80 years, his sub was never seen again until now.
“I just couldn’t believe it, that’s 80 years ago,” another one of Dallessandro’s nephews, James Mullen, said.
Donald’s brother James saw that the Lost 52 Project, which was founded to discover and memorialize the 52 submarines lost during World War II, had just identified their uncle’s sub, more than 3,000 feet below sea level.
“We were glad they found it, maybe we can find out more about him,” Donald said.
A discovery giving closure to the family about what they always thought happened to their uncle.
“Can you just image how these guys felt, all of a sudden, their ship is just blown apart and they’re going to die. They’re in their last few minutes of life,” James said. “I’m sure he was thinking about his sisters, his brothers, his mom and dad.”
Dalessandro has since earned a Legion of Merit and Purple Heart for his service.
It’s moments like these, the Mullen brothers will forever pass on to honor their uncle’s legacy.
“I think that’s something he deserves. He died for our country and that’s our responsibility to keep his memory alive,” James said.
