Charles V. Curcio

Charles Curcio was born on September 9, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, to Vincent and Anna Francis Curcio. He was the middle child, growing up between his older sister Lucille and younger brother James—both now deceased. Charles had a typical childhood and played football at Forest Hills High School while serving in the Naval Reserves assigned to a submarine unit. Charles came of age at the start of the Korean conflict and when it escalated, he voluntarily enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

Once a Marine, Charles personally requested a combat assignment in November of 1952 and his request was granted, and he was soon deployed to the front lines. He arrived in Inchon, Korea, in early December of 1952 and was assigned to a machine gun squad in the 5th Marine Regiment.

On March 26, 1953, Charles’s life changed forever. That night, Chinese forces launched a surprise attack on the Reno outpost—the closest position to the front line. Under intense mortar fire and small arms attacks, the outpost was quickly overrun. Multiple Marine attempts to retake the Reno outpost failed. Charles’s unit was then ordered to reinforce the nearby Carson outpost to prevent it from falling as well.

At approximately 4:55 a.m., while moving in single file toward Carson, a Marine behind Charles, triggered a land mine. The explosion threw Charles forward, severely injuring his legs and causing significant blood loss which rendered him unconscious—all while still under enemy fire. After hours of stabilization at a field hospital and a massive transfusion of blood, Charles was airlifted to the Jutlandia, a Danish hospital ship anchored in Inchon Harbor. He was later transferred to a U.S. naval hospital in Yokosuka, Japan.

After returning to the U.S., Charles reconnected with Alma, the sister of his brother-in-law Anthony—marking a rare instance where a brother and sister married brother and sister. Charles and Alma were married at St. Athanasius’s Church in Brooklyn and went on to have seven children: Mary Ann, Charles, Susan, Anna, Vincent, James, and Peter. Their legacy grew to include 25 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren with four more on the way.

For employment, Charles worked as an insurance adjuster for the Royal Globe Insurance Company, though his true passions in life lay outside the office. He found joy in spending time with his family, playing paddleball and basketball with them, filming homemade movies, and embracing his role as a part-time comedian. He also enjoyed fishing but wasn’t really that good at it. In his later years, he took immense pride in the growing branches of his family tree, relishing every Facetime call, personal visit, card or accomplishment and was proud of all of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. He also enjoyed every meal, actually, any meal, good or bad, as long as it was succeeded by flavorless homemade pie.

A special thanks go to his daughter Anna and son-in-law Joe, whose unconditional love and devotion to caretaking allowed Charles to live the final chapter of his life surrounded in a cocoon of selfless love and support. Semper Fi and Godspeed