[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 65 (Thursday, May 12, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2922-S2923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING PRIMO CARNABUCI

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, sometime after nightfall on November 1, 
1950, under the cover of a dark sky, there was a firefight north of the 
town of Unsan, in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Unsan lies 
in the eastern North Pyongan province, on the western half of the 
peninsula. It sits peripheral to the Kuryong River, which cuts a steep 
valley through the land as it channels out into the Korea Bay. Unsan 
also lies north of the 38th parallel and was enemy territory for the 
U.S. 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, which had taken up 
position there just days before.
  The regiment was part of a northward advance toward the Sino-Korean 
border, in aggressive pursuit of a weakened, retreating North Korean 
enemy. But as it advanced, it encountered a ferocious counteroffensive 
lead by Chinese forces, absorbing tragic casualties at the hands of 
damaging defeat. As the regiment retreated south back across the 
Kuryong, it was forced to leave behind many brothers in arms. Almost 
600 Americans fell that day, many of whom were declared missing in 
action, MIA, never to be found.
  Among the regiment was Primo Carnabuci of Essex, CT. Primo came from 
a family of patriots; his two brothers, Dominic and Louis, also served 
our country in uniform. Anecdotes about Primo from the battlefield 
paint the picture of a tenaciously courageous fighter. In one such 
story, outlined in a military document awarding him a Distinguished 
Service Cross for heroism, as reported by the Middletown Press, Primo 
was temporarily sidelined from battle after killing three enemy 
soldiers and taking grenade shrapnel to the face. As he was being 
attended to by a medic, Primo, according to the document, ``thrust away 
the aid man, picked up his rifle, and with utter disregard for his own 
safety, advanced into the fire of the enemy machine gun with blood 
streaming down his face.''
  His brother Dominic was not surprised to hear that story. And it is 
safe to say that, as his regiment encountered those Chinese forces on 
that November night in 1950, Primo did not shy away from danger, but 
rather took the fight to the enemy, even as it overwhelmed his 
regiment. He ultimately perished in that battle and was declared MIA, 
leaving his family back home in Connecticut heartbroken and unsure 
about where he was, and whether he was alive or dead.
  Suppressed in history's pages between the Second World War and the 
Vietnam war, the Korean war is often referred to as the ``Unknown 
War,'' or as the ``Forgotten War.'' While Primo Carnabuci's whereabouts 
were unknown to his family, he was certainly not forgotten. Every night 
since then, his brother Dominic has prayed that his brother would be 
found, and returned safely and soundly.
  Miraculously, that prayer was answered, in part, just a few months 
ago,

[[Page S2923]]

when Dominic received a phone call from a U.S. Government official. 
Primo's body had been found in a mass gravesite surrounded by several 
of his compatriots and identified by DNA. Now, Primo has left Unsan, 
and he is coming back home to Connecticut.
  As we gaze across the endless expanse of graves at Arlington 
Ceremony, or as we mourn the loss of a servicemember during a military 
burial somewhere across our land today, we must think about those who 
paid the ultimate sacrifice of not returning home alive but also not 
returning home at all. This country and its freedoms that we enjoy 
exist because men and women like Primo Carnabuci have defended it. Many 
have fallen for it so that we might live in freedom, and unfortunately, 
some of those who have fallen do not have the solace of having America 
as their final resting place.
  On Thursday, Primo Carnabuci will be buried in Clinton, CT, with full 
military honors. As the crack of rifle fire and the cry of a bugle 
ripple through the air, and as the colors that Primo wore the uniform 
for are draped across his coffin, I hope that Dominic and the entire 
Carnabuci family will feel relief that Primo has come home and pride in 
his service. America is where he belongs, and America is where he will 
now forever rest in peace.
  God bless Primo Carnabuci, God bless his family, and God bless the 
United States of America.

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