Vincent Joseph DiBacco

Vincent Joseph DiBacco’s Story

Vincent Joseph DiBacco grew up during the Great Depression, a time when nothing came easy. After graduating high school in 1940, like so many young men, he couldn’t find work. Instead of standing still, he chose to move forward and enlisted in the Navy, ready to serve his country and build something for himself.

On June 6, 1942, during the Battle of Midway, Vincent was aboard the USS Hammann (DD-412), helping assist the damaged aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5). In just minutes, everything was gone. A torpedo struck, the ship sank, and Vincent never made it home. He was only 20 years old.

He never got to vote. Never got to grow older. Never got the chance to live the life that was ahead of him. He was the first from Good Shepherd Parish in Southwest Philadelphia to be killed in the war, and that loss was felt deeply by everyone who knew him.

At just 19, his sister Elma wanted to join and serve too, but their mother, overwhelmed with grief, couldn’t allow it. A few years later, when Elma turned 21, she kept that feeling in her heart and joined the WAVES, serving for eight years. In her own way, she carried a piece of Vincent with her.

His memory has never faded. His brother Fran has honored him for decades by driving his “America’s Car,” a 1976 Bicentennial Eldorado Convertible wrapped in the American flag and covered in patriotic decals, used in parades through New York City, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and small towns throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania—keeping Vincent’s story alive for generations to see.

Vincent didn’t live a long life, but he lived a meaningful one. He stepped up when it mattered, gave everything he had, and left behind a story that still matters today.

He never came home, but he was never forgotten.