VETERANS DAY 2009

TO CELEBRATE THOSE WHO SERVE AND HAVE SERVED
OUR COUNTRY TO MAINTAIN OUR FREEDOM!
THANK YOU NFL!

"A PRESENT FROM NOTTINGHAM"

CELEBRATING MY 2ND BLOG ANNIVERSARY
NOVEMBER 11 2009 !

When I began my foray into family genealogical history
my main goal was to find the truth in family stories.
To actually have concrete proof of what I was told by
family members. But there was also a part of my soul
that was missing. There were never trips to the
Grandparents for holidays, like I heard other kids
had. I was different, I never met two of my
Grandparents and the other I was so young,
I barely remember him.
So I began looking for the connections beyond
my immediate living family. And the connections
were simply finding out who were my ancestors,
where my ancestors came from and hopefully
why they came to America? The past could only
give me those answers. I was always told that
I had ancestors from Great Britain. This is where
I began my searching. With a surname that was
unusual, the 1851 census of Gotham, Nottingham,
England, proved to be a goldmine of family connections
for me. So the pink mug (pictured above) that no one
knew anything about became a family heirloom
And I became:
"A Present From Nottingham."

PURPLE HEART DAY - August 7th 2009

REMEMBERING YOUR GALLANT SERVICE
TO OUR NATION.

FOR INJURIES RECEIVED IN THE ENGLISH
CHANNEL DECEMBER 24 1944. THIS IS THE
ORIGINAL PRESENTATION CASE.

A STORY THAT NEEDS TO BE TOLD

S.S. LEOPOLDVILLE DISASTER
DECEMBER 24TH 1944
CHRISTMAS EVE 1944
ENGLISH CHANNEL
A Survivor of the Troopship S.S. Leopoldville
My father was a member of the
66th Infantry Division Panthers
262nd Regiment - Company L
Marksman, M-1 Rifle who was
aboard the S.S. Leopoldville on
December 24th 1944 when the
ship was torpedoed by a German
Submarine in the English Channel.
Photo taken 1945 at Nantes, France.

I will start with a question to my blog readers,
how does a person tell of a story that happened
long ago that no one wants to remember?
I grew up thinking my father was an ordinary
man who happened to serve in WW II in Europe.
He was a reserved man who hid a secret behind
his deep brown eyes. He never spoke of the fateful
night in detail to anyone because he was told not to.
There were occasions when after watching a wartime
movie, I would ask questions about the movie and
asked if the movie actually depicted his experiences
in the army. He would talk then and he told me he
was on a ship that was torpedoed in the English
Channel, that he had been hurt slightly, and the
water was cold. He did not come forward with a
ships name, a date, or any other exact information.
I didn't press him about what happened, thinking
that someday he would tell me more and wondered
if the English Channel story was just a tall tale.
Unfortunately my father passed away in 1993,
and the story was lost forever, so I thought.
My family was contacted by the local veterans
service, and received a flag and the contents of
his military folder which contained the letter
describing the events of Christmas Eve 1944
on the S.S. Leopoldville and the subsequent
sinking of the S.S. Leopoldville in the English
Channel. There was the proof that 'the story'
was not just a tall tale, and I finally knew why
and how my father had received his Purple
Heart medal. My father had kept the secret
for his entire life and it was not until 50 years
after the unfortunate event that the United
States Military finally acknowledged the major
loss of life and the sinking of the S.S. Leopoldville.
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Photo of Congo Transport Ship S.S. Leopoldville
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Very little was known by the general public
about the S.S. Leopoldville Troopship disaster
and 764 known men who lost their lives that
night were considered missing in action and
families were not told. Sometimes the families
were never told and sometimes they were told
at a much later date about how their loved ones
life was lost. Mostly due to the U.S. Military's
security concerns and the embarrassment of the
immense loss of life to our troops.
-------------------------------------------
To learn more about the
sinking of the S.S. Leopoldville on
December 24th 1944, told by servicemen
who survived the sinking and came
forward to bid their brave troops goodbye.
Here are links to their stories:
Leopoldville Survivor I
Leopoldville Survivor II
Leopoldville Survivor III
Leopoldville Survivor IV

FOR MORE COG DISASTER
STORIES VISIT;
Miriam at AnceStories