Nicholas Robert Kukich

Nicholas Robert Kukich

AGE: 99 • Claymont, Delaware

Went to meet his Lord and Savior on 25 January, 2015 while residing at Forwood Manor in Wilmington, DE.

Nick was born 8 January 1916 in the company mining town of Dillies Bottom, Ohio to Serbian immigrants Steven and Sima Kukich of Yugoslavia. He was raised and attended school in Belaire, Ohio along with his sister Smelia Pavich and brother Sam Kukich. As a young man Nick aspirations were to leave the Ohio Valley telling his elementary grade teacher that someday he would like to become a spy. He left school after the 8th grade to work in the coal mines of Ohio before volunteering for the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1939 then enlisting in the United States Marine Corps (USMC) on January 16, 1940. Nick had three goals when he joined the USMC: (1) to escape the coal mines of Ohio, (2) to get away from the Depression, and (3) to help provide for his hardworking but aging parents. He would do all three. Nick attained the rank of Gunnery Sergeant when in March, 1943 while stationed at Marine Naval Air Station, Quantico, Virginia he was recruited by the Office of Strategic Service for OSS Agent training. In October 1943, after receiving agent training in the Greater Washington DC area, 27 year old Nick Kukich arrived by troop ship in Northern Africa and was told to make his way to Italy in order to be inserted behind enemy lines in Albania. In December 1943 Nick, code name Galba, left Bari, Italy under cover of darkness and was smuggled into Albania in an Italian fishing vessel, renamed Sea Maid, which was captained by actor Sterling Hayden using a nome de guerre Captain John Hamilton. In Albania Nick worked side by side with another well-known actor who would become a life-long friend, Major Anthony Qualye of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). Nick and Tony, along with other OSS and SOE agents as well as Albanian spies teamed with Albanian Partisan leader and eventual President Enver Hoxha in resisting the Germans. Nick was instrumental in assisting and coordinating the efforts of the Albanian partisans in their resistance against the Germans which resulted in his being awarded a battlefield promotion to Lieutenant. Nick's heroic actions behind enemy lines were recorded in the books The Secret Rescue by Cate Lineberry, Eight Hours from England by Anthony Quayle, The OSS in World War II Albania by Peter Lucas, and magazines such as Life, Leatherneck, and Serb World.

At the conclusion of the war he returned to Chicago where he met and married his wife Rose Mirkovich; relocating first to Blanford, IN where he worked for the Atomic Energy Commission as a Heavy Water Foreman, and then to Claymont, DE where he was a Production Supervisor for the DuPont Edgemoor Plant until he retired at the age of 61. After retirement he remained an active member of the St. Nicholas Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church of Philadelphia, PA; the Masons; the Shriners, and was a founding member of the Claymont Little League. Nick was a humble man who accomplished much, proud of his family and Serbian heritage. He spent many happy hours playing Pinochle with friends and family, tending to vegetables in his garden, most of which he placed without notice on the doorsteps of his friends and neighbors along with a bottle or two of his home-made wine. He quietly served the Lord by helping others into his 90s making candles for his church, traveling extensively throughout the US and Europe, participating in Serbian National Federation activities, playing golf, deep sea fishing, family lamb roasts, and climbing trees to trim branches at 82, explaining that he was still young in mind and body.

Nick is survived by his loving wife of 67 years Rose Kukich; Sons: Robert Kukich and wife Shirley (Sam) Kukich; Steven Kukich; Nick Kukich and wife Sharon Kukich; Grandchildren: Laura Melenas and husband Matt Melenas; Danielle Kinney and husband Rob Kinney; Alex Kukich and wife Ashleigh; and Christine Kukich; and Great-grandchildren Anna Kinney, Jocelyn Hunt, Hayley Melenas and Connor Melenas.

Nick was a true American Hero, a loving husband, father and grandfather whose legacy of quiet service to others will always be remembered. The family wishes to express its appreciation to the staff at Forwood Manor for their care for Nick.

Visitation will be Tuesday, 3 February, 2015 from 11 - 12AM at Mealey Funeral Homes, 2509 Limestone Road, Wilmington Delaware 19808 (302-652-5913). A 2pm grave site service will follow at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 2465 Chesapeake City Road, Bear, Delaware 19701. MealeyFuneralHomes.com (302) 652-5913