JB4244 Posted December 23, 2014 Share #1 Posted December 23, 2014 Hello, Here is an USMC dress blue jacket named to Bart J. Curto. The jacket has some moth holes, but the story of this Marine is very impressive ! Bart Joseph Curto was joins the Marine Corps in july 1940. In november he is transferred to Marine Detachment of USS Yorktown (CV-5), as field music. He participated in the Coral Sea battle 4-8 may 1942. In June 1942 he also participated in the Midway battle with USS Yorktown. He was one of the survivors. He came back to Pearl Harbor with USS Fulton. Early 1944, he was tranferred to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine, 2nd Marine Division. He landed with this unit on the beach of Saipan on june 15th. He is WIA the same day. He was awarded the purple heart for wounds received in action against the enemy. In december 1944 he was transferred to 3rd battalion, 26th Marine, 5th Marine Division. He participated to the battle of Iwo Jima between february 19th and february 28th, 1945. After the battle, he was admitted to a hospital because he suffered from 'combat fatigue'. Sgt. Bart J. Curto was honorably discharged in september 1945. After some research, I found a video of him during the wedding of his daughter in 1990, one year before his death. Hope you like it ! And Merry Christmas ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB4244 Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted December 23, 2014 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted December 23, 2014 Share #3 Posted December 23, 2014 Very nice and thanks for posting. Merry Christmas Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViewfinderGyrene Posted December 23, 2014 Share #4 Posted December 23, 2014 Very nice and thanks for posting. Merry Christmas Mark You took the words right out of my mouth Gator That was a great Christmas present for us to see it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellumbill Posted December 23, 2014 Share #5 Posted December 23, 2014 Wow, nice jacket of a marine that saw some incredible service in WWII. Ship shot out from under him and combat service with two different divisions in major battles! I had to go into Ancestry and do my own looking on this guy. From what I can tell this jacket must be from his ship board service as by the time he went into infantry service he was a Sergeant. Anyway, great jacket with a great history. Thanks for posting. Very best Bill K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB4244 Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted December 23, 2014 Thanks for your comments. Bill, you have right, this uniforme was more use in Marine Detachments. Bart Curto was appointed FMCpl. in July 1942 and FMSgt. (temporary) in august 1943. He was Sgt. in february 1944. Here is an extract of medical report which resume his career : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uplandmod Posted December 23, 2014 Share #7 Posted December 23, 2014 Phenomenal Marine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellumbill Posted December 23, 2014 Share #8 Posted December 23, 2014 JB4244 - Thank you for posting the extract - Always interesting to see that kind of thing. The guy definitely has seen his share! Amazing too that he went from a seagoing marine with a field music specialty to a squad leader in an infantry unit on Saipan. Must have been a pretty good marine to have been placed in the new duty. I wonder if he requested it? Again, always interesting to speculate and fill in the blanks between the lines of what you see in service records. Very best, Bill K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB4244 Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share #9 Posted December 23, 2014 I have other uniforms named to a seagoing Marine who was also a squad leader during the war. I think they were the most experimented soldiers at the beginning of war. Even if Bart Curto had a field music speciality, in the Marine Detachment, he learned how to use a weapon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellumbill Posted December 23, 2014 Share #10 Posted December 23, 2014 JB4244 - Yes, I have heard from many WWII marines that Sea School as THE thing to get into pre-war, definitely. Of course you are correct, "every marine a rifleman" and with his prior service he was certainly qualified I am sure. My thought was that with Sea School training, which would have been somewhat specialized, he may not have likely been transferred into the 4th Division into an infantry unit by the "higher ups" as they were pretty well trained up by that time and had plenty of personnel. My thought was that he likely requested to be placed in a combat unit, which is pretty commendable as he could have likely spent the rest of the war serving on ships or other sea going duty. Again, this is simply all speculation which is fun but we will probably never know. My point is that it's just amazing how a uniform like this can spark so much interest, talk and speculation. Very best, Bill K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB4244 Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share #11 Posted December 23, 2014 Yes Bill, I see what you are thinking about. He also choose to extend his enlistment. And I agree, it's very interesting when an items tell its story ! Best regards. JB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC Saipan Posted December 25, 2014 Share #12 Posted December 25, 2014 It is wonderful jb bravo you found a video of him if I understood well? You can say it more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB4244 Posted December 26, 2014 Author Share #13 Posted December 26, 2014 Yes, there is a video from 1990, we can see and listen him during 0.22 ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB4244 Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share #14 Posted March 21, 2015 For the 70th of Iwo Jima ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViewfinderGyrene Posted March 21, 2015 Share #15 Posted March 21, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
American Heritage Posted March 22, 2015 Share #16 Posted March 22, 2015 nice uniform. Maybe I missed it, but did he serve on a navy ship which was in combat with axis forces in the Atlantic in 1941? or is that just the ribbon you are using with the A on it for lack of another? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB4244 Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share #17 Posted March 23, 2015 Hello, No, it's not a mistake, he served aboard USS Yorktown between Dec. 1940 and Midway. In 1941, Yorktown conducted patrols in the Atlantic. The was ship awarded the American Defense Medal with "A" device for that. Regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMC2015 Posted March 26, 2015 Share #18 Posted March 26, 2015 Hello, Here is an USMC dress blue jacket named to Bart J. Curto. The jacket has some moth holes, but the story of this Marine is very impressive ! ... JB4244, Thank you for your respectful words regarding my father, Bart Curto. He was indeed a great man of whom I will be forever proud. I am curious, however, how his uniform came to be in your custody? Until I came across your posting I had believed it to still be in our family's possession. To be clear, this is not a challenge, but a request. I would also be interested to know where you got a copy of my dad's service record? This so I may obtain one as well. FYI, I am his youngest (of six) children and the video you reference was not of his "daughter's wedding" but of mine to the beautiful woman featured [25 years this November]. Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon and thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB4244 Posted March 26, 2015 Author Share #19 Posted March 26, 2015 Hello, Thanks for your comment. I send you a PM. Best regards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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