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Casualty Info
Home Town Alameda, CA
Last Address 527 Lander St Reno, NV
Casualty Date Jan 06, 1945
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Other Explosive Device
Location Pacific Ocean
Conflict World War II
Location of Interment Buried at Sea, Pacific Ocean
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
By the new year, 1945, USS Louisville (CA-28) was headed towards Lingayen Gulf. While en route on 5-6 January, two kamikazes headed for and scored on her. The first Kamikaze on January 5, 1945 hit the No. 2 main battery 8 inch 55 caliber gun knocking it completely out of commission killing one man with 17 injured/burned including Captain Rex LeGrande Hicks. The second Kamikaze on January 6, 1945 hit the starboard side signal bridge. 42 men were killed and 125 or more men were wounded.
S2c Gabrielli was one of the men killed.
Comments/Citation:
Service number: 8846953
Bronze Star
Fearless and cool when one of several Japanese suicide planes plunged down on his seriously crippled vessel, Gabrielli gallantly remained at his battle station, maintaining steady fire at the approaching craft until it crashed against the starboard side of the ship near his position. Mortally wounded in the terrific explosion which followed, Gabrielli, by his determined fighting spirit and outstanding technical skill, had contributed to the defense of his ship throughout the hazardous, two-day engagement. His unfaltering devotion to duty during a period of strain and peril was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Description The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the Battles for Leyte Gulf, and formerly known as the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.
It was fought in waters near the Philippine islands of Leyte, Samar and Luzon from 23–26 October 1944, between combined US and Australian forces and the Imperial Japanese Navy. On 20 October, United States troops invaded the island of Leyte as part of a strategy aimed at isolating Japan from the countries it had occupied in Southeast Asia, and in particular depriving its forces and industry of vital oil supplies. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) mobilized nearly all of its remaining major naval vessels in an attempt to defeat the Allied invasion, but was repulsed by the US Navy's 3rd and 7th Fleets. The IJN failed to achieve its objective, suffered very heavy losses, and never afterwards sailed to battle in comparable force. The majority of its surviving heavy ships, deprived of fuel, remained in their bases for the rest of the Pacific War.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf consisted of four separate engagements between the opposing forces: the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, the Battle of Surigao Strait, the Battle of Cape Engaño and the Battle off Samar, as well as other actions.
It was the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks. By the time of the battle, Japan had fewer aircraft than the Allied forces had sea vessels, demonstrating the difference in power of the two sides at this point of the war.