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262nd Infantry Regiment & the sink of the Leopoldville

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This page has been created to remember and honor the 555 American soldiers of the 262nd Infantry Regiment assigned to the 66th Infantry Division "Black Panther".

Their death occured on Christmas Eve, 5 miles and a half away from Cherbourg.

These units were onboard the troops transport ship Leopoldville.

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This sinking, as many actions from the American forces, has been forgotten in our collective memory.

Let’s not forget that these men crossed the Atlantic ocean to defend our freedom at the cost of the ultimate sacrifice.

Let’s think of these American families who were celebrating this Christmas 1944, not knowing what was going on, thousands of miles away, in the English Channel cold waters. Let’s think about the Christmases that followed for these families.

Christmas will never mean again joy but sorrow for their mothers, their sons, their daughters and their wives.

You, who are reading, please have a thought for these heroes on Christmas Eve…let’s not forget them !!