Personal information
On his 22nd Birthday, Vincenzo Iudiciani had a break from lookout duty aboard
USS Hugh L. Scott, went into the mess area to get coffee and decided to head back up top, although he normally would have sat and chatted for a while. As soon as he climbed back up to his perch the torpedo hit and according to him it was the fastest he ever made it down the ladder. In his opinion the decision to not to stay and talk saved his live by a matter of only a few minutes as the explosion wrecked the mess area of the ship.
More information about him can be found here:
Vincenzo "Bananas" Iudiciani