Maj. Louis Cukela One Of The Few -- And One Of The Very Few To Receive Two Medals Of Honor During his lifetime, Louis Cukela was called "an Austrian, Slav, Yugoslav, Serb, and of course, Croatian," according to historian C. Michael McAdams. Born in Austria, Cukela was actually a Roman Catholic Croatian, though he preferred simply to call himself an "American Marine." On July 18, 1918, the Croatian-American Marine sergeant acquired a title that transcended all nationalities -- hero. The Marines are famous for being the first American forces to go ashore in an international crisis, but the Army became the first landing force when the United States joined World War I in 1917. The Marines successfully lobbied for two regiments to accompany the Army overseas, and thus Cukela's 66th Company of the 2nd Division, 5th Marines, went to France in 1918. The 5th Marines so distinguished themselves there that today they remain one of only two Marine regiments entitled to wear the fourragère of the French Croix de Guerre (the 6th Marines also hold this honor). http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=ML_cukela_bkp http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/louiscuk.htm
