Joseph John Cusella
Private, Company L, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
Joseph was born the 15th of March 1915 in Southboro, Massachusetts. He worked as a truck driver in Framingham and Southboro and married Helen Johansen in 1939. Together they would have a son Joseph and daughter Carol and made their home at 23 Howe Street.
He enlisted into the Army the 10th of April 1944 and received his basic training at Camp Croft, South Carolina. Following his initial training he was assigned to Company L, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division as a replacement. Arriving at his new unit while they were already engaged in active combat in France, Joseph was with the 26th Regiment during the direct assault on the German city of Aachen.
He was killed in action by an artillery attack during the fighting in the main part of the city the 21st of October 1944. He was posthumously awarded a bronze star for his actions on the 21st of October 1944. He was originally buried in Europe until his remains were repatriated to the United States in 1947. He is buried at the Rural Cemetery in Southboro. Cusella Drive in Marlborough is named in his honor.
