Louis Cukela
Louis Cukela was born in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (today Croatia) in 1888. After being educated there he went to the United States and lived in Minnesota before enlisting in the United States Army in 1914. He served two years, was honorably discharged, and enlisted again, in the United States Marine Corps in early 1917, the United States then still neutral in the First World War. Cukela was assigned to the Fifth Marine Regiment, which distinguished itself in several notable actions in France.
The Fifth Marines were part of the forces which blunted the German Offensive in 1918. Cukela, despite speaking only a heavily accented, broken form of English, rose to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant while in France, where he was awarded the Medal of Honor from both the United States Army and United States Navy. He also was the recipient of several honors from the Allies, including France’s Medaille Militaire, the first ever awarded to a United States Marine. In July 1918 he was engaged in the fighting in the Soissons region.
During this fighting Cukela observed two machine gun entrenchments which were placing American troops, including his own men, under heavy fire. Cukela crawled around and past them, after which he assaulted the first with his bayonet, killing the German gun crew. Cukela then used the grenades found in the gun pit to assault the second, calling up his men while he engaged the remaining Germans. Four surviving Germans were taken prisoner. Cukela was uninjured in the assault, which removed the strongpoint holding up the American advance.
Cukela remained with the Fifth Marines throughout the remainder of the war in France, being wounded twice before the campaign ended. Neither wound was serious enough to warrant his removal from service. The first occurred during the battle to reduce the German salient near St. Mihiel, the other occurred in Champagne. In addition to his numerous awards Cukela received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in September 1918, and chose to remain in the Marine Corps after the war.
Because Cukela did not choose to receive medical attention for the two separate wounds he received in combat in France, the Purple Heart is not among the medals he received for his service during World War I. He was promoted to Major at the time of his retirement from the Marine Corps in 1940. In addition to his two Medals of Honor he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry under fire, the Croix de Guerre with Palms (twice) and the Croix de Guerre with Silver Star. He was the second to last living double recipient of the Medal of Honor when he died in 1956.