Early life
Lukosius was born on August 24, 1918, and he was raised inCapturing the U-505
On June 4, 1944, Lukosius and eight other men were assigned to Task Group 22.3, which was to board and secure the submarine. Six of the nine men sent, including Lukosius, survived. When the crew descended to capture the submarine, fleeing German crew members had opened a valve in the control room in an attempt to sink the boat before the Americans could salvage it. It was suspected to contain booby-traps that might scuttle it or impede its capture. There were however, no such traps and the Americans managed to close the valve that was allowing water to enter. This was the first time that the U.S. Navy had captured an enemy ship, since the nineteenth century. More importantly, the Americans found a code book which filled a gap in Allied cryptographers' understanding of German communications: a special code for geographic positions. For the successful capture of the submarine, Lukosius received theLater life
After the war, Lukosius and his wife, Dorothy, settled in South Holland, Illinois. He worked in construction for 37 years, working on projects such as the McCormick Place in Chicago. Lukosius also helped Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry raise $35 million to build an exhibition space for the U-505 submarine, which opened in 2005. His Silver Star medal is also an artifact held by the museum. Lukosius died on August 12, 2006, at the age of 87.References
Further reading
* Gallery, Daniel V. ''Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001. * Gallery, Daniel V. ''U-505.'' New York: Warner Books, 1967. * Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago). ''The Story of the U-505''. Chicago: Museum of Science and Industry, 1973. * Savas, Theodore P. ''Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-Boat War in the Atlantic.'' New York: Savas Beatie, 2004. * Wise, James E. ''U-505: The Final Journey.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2005.External links