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802 Men Went to Watery Grave on Christmas Eve 1944
(By Franklin Scarborough, The Salisbury Post)

Members of the U.S. Army's 66th Infantry Division are still trying to set the record straight as to what happened on Christmas Eve of 1944.

The late Lincoln H. Morgan was a member of the 66th, but he was one of the lucky ones that were transferred to another ship shortly before the converted Belgian liner Leopoldville met her death from a German torpedo, taking 800 men, most of them members of the his outfit, to a watery grave.

Morgan's wife, Eloise, who still lives in Rowan, also wants to help set the record straight in memory of her husband's many friends who went down with the ship. A release titled "'Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas" tells the story. It was Christmas Eve 1944. The outfit was crossing the English Channel on its way to stop Hitler's forces at the Battle of the Bulge. It was at a time when, if the Nazis had broken out, there was nothing to stop them. There was no time to lose, and the high command had reinforcements on nearly anything that could float. A converted Belgian luxury liner built to carry 361 passengers, the Leopoldville was now crammed with nearly 2,500 men of the 66th Division.

At 5:45 on that cold Christmas Eve, tragedy struck suddenly. Without any warning, and less than six miles from Cherbourg, France, a Nazi torpedo blasted into the starboard quarter of the ship, collapsing the two lowest decks into a maze of twisted steel, bunks, duffle bags, and trapped men. The lucky ones died on impact.

The British destroyer HMS Brilliant came alongside so the men could leap to the safety of the waiting ship. But the sea was so rough, many missed and drowned in the frigid water, while others were crushed, screaming, between the steel hulls of the ships as they crashed together.

Other small craft did what they could. There was no panic, even in the rapidly filling compartments. Troops on deck were mustered in perfect order, dressed in overcoats with full combat packs, patiently waiting for rescue. It has been written that the conduct of the troops should be recorded in the annals of military history as among the finest examples of discipline ever observed. Each man stood in blind obedience, awaiting orders.

The tragedy was that there were no orders.

At 8:30 p.m. another explosion marked the collapse of a bulkhead, and within 10 minutes the ship was gone, taking more than 800 of America's finest men to their death in one of the most tragic and senseless blunders of World War II.

Although it was customary to give emergency drills in case of mishap, none had been given. No lifeboat, fire, or abandon-ship drills were held before or during the channel passage. The soldiers were not even told how to fasten a life jacket, or that the collar would snap a man's neck like a hangman's noose unless it was held down when hitting the water.

Most of the lifeboats were rusted to their supports, and worse, the Belgian crew, with bulging suitcases in hand, took what few were operable and left with no effort to help the doomed men. In fact, they pulled away in half-full lifeboats!

Now the only ones who knew how to winch the massive anchors and free the ship had deserted. So it was impossible to tow the sinking ship to safety. The infantrymen aboard were in effect chained to the deep.

After the tragedy, families were told that their loved ones were missing or killed in action, but not that they had been drowned in what has been considered this nation's second greatest maritime disaster. And to this day, many families still haven't officially been told the circumstances of the loss of their loved ones.

Few honors have been bestowed on the dead or medals delivered to survivors. Two men who died trying to rescue comrades from the bowels of the ship were awarded not a medal for heroism, but the Purple Heart, a symbol for being wounded. Although a presidential citation was promised the 66th, it never came.

No sea disaster in history has ever received less publicity. It was as though the Leopoldville and 802 men of the 66th never existed. No questions were asked; no answers given. The official history of the Royal Navy makes no mention of the tragedy. The official "History of the U.S. Army in World War II," in 40 volumes, makes no reference to the disaster.

Representatives from the 66th Division have made pilgrimages to lay wreaths over the spot where the doomed ship rests today as an underwater monument of the heroism of the unsung and ordinary soldier. It is as important a resting place for our nation's dead military heroes as all the cemeteries in France, or at Arlington. Only there are no crosses on neatly trimmed lawns to mark their sacrifice.

And it happened — 58 Christmases ago.

Determined to see that the sacrifice of his former comrades be recognized, Leopoldville survivor Vincent Codianni, with the help of the Veterans Memorial Committee of Waterbury, Connecticut, in the spring of 1996 formed the Leopoldville Memorial Association.

After consulting with appropriate officials at West Point Military Academy, it was decided that the most suitable site for the monument was Ft. Benning, Columbus, Georgia, which is known as the "Home of the Infantry." The National Infantry Museum located there is visited by thousands of Americans every year.

The Leopoldville Disaster Monument was dedicated on November 7, 1997. All 763 names are engraved on the monument.

*The death toll has often been reported as 802. A review of the official Leopoldville Disaster List from the National Archives totals 763 confirmed dead.

As far as discipline, I will never forget a painting I saw of all places,in the French naval museum in Paris. It was the painting of a English troop ship that sank in the 1880's. She was headed from England to India with a British regiment and their dependents. She started to sink and was able to fire off distress rockets. A French ship came to their rescue but it was almost to late. The Regiment was formed up on the deck to make sure no one rushed the life boats and rescue boats as in the tradition of the sea, first the women and children were being saved. As the ship sunk under them and the waters washed across the deck, not a man in the regiment broke ranks as the ship went down under them.