Alexander William KOWALSKI
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ARMY SERIAL NUMBER | 11008430 | |||||||||||||
AGE | 26 yo | |||||||||||||
DATE OF BIRTH | 1918 | |||||||||||||
STATE | MASSACHUSETTS | |||||||||||||
FAMILY | Single | |||||||||||||
RANK | Sergent-major | |||||||||||||
FONCTION | ||||||||||||||
JOB before ENLISTEMENT | ||||||||||||||
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 8 Novembre 1940 | |||||||||||||
BATTALION | 7th Field Artillery Battalion | |||||||||||||
REGIMENT | 1st Artillery Division | |||||||||||||
DIVISION | 1st Infantry Division | |||||||||||||
DATE OF DEATH | 2 august 1944 | |||||||||||||
STATUS | KIA | |||||||||||||
PLACE OF DEATH | Langeais (37) | |||||||||||||
CEMETERY TEMPORARY |
CEMETERY TEMPORARY of St André N°3572 | |||||||||||||
CEMETERY | NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY de Colleville | |||||||||||||
GRAVE |
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DECORATION |
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STORY | ||||||||||||||
Alexander lives in Franklin County, Massachusetts. His parents, Polish emigrants, die at a young age; Vincent the elder brother will take care of Alexander. In 1937, Alexander Graduated from Greenfield High School. He enlists in 1940 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He joins the 1st Infantry Division which was reactivated in 1939 at Fort Benning. The training process will lead him to Fort Deven, Fort Ethan Allen, Colchester, Vermont, Fort Benning, Virginia Beach. On August, 8th 1942, it is the great departure for Europe aboard the Queen Mary, towards Scotland. After another training period in England including, among other things, new amphibious exercises, on November, 8th 1942 Alexander lands in North Africa as part of the division in Operation "Torch", then in Tunisia Campaign. On July, 10th 1943 during Operation Husky, Alexander lands on enemy territory for the second time. The fightings in Sicily forge the men a solid experience. In October 1943, Alexander and his division get back in England. New training sessions will make up the troopers' daily lives, they train in Slapton Sands, in particular. During this period he was awarded the Legion of Merit for maintaining and developing his platoon. For D-Day, the 7th Field Artillery becomes a part of 16th Regimental Combat Team. In May, pre-boarding maneuvers start; during the last week of May, the men join the selected harbors for boarding. On June, 3rd, all of the troops scheduled to land on Omaha Beach are aboard the ships.. On June,6th , scheduled to land on Easy Red at H+105 to support the 16th RCT, the battalion will suffer many casualties, particularly six 105mm howitzers lost during the crossing when DUKWS sank. Alexander finds chaos on the beach. On June, 12th , the 7th Field Artillery Battalion is in Caumont. On June 18th, Alexander and five of his platoon fellows push towards the 1st battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment so as to set observation posts. On their way they got surprised and made prisoners by German soldiers, Alexander is wounded in this action. He is transfered and interned in Stalag 221 in ST Jacques-de-la-Lande near Rennes. Facing the American pogression, German troops lock 40 prisoners, including Alexander, in freight cars. In that train, there were between 1200 and 1600 prisoners, civilians as well as militaries. On August, 2nd, the train leaves Rennes. Throughout its drive, this convoy of deported will face many events, but in late afternoon of August, 6th the convoy stops at the railway station in Langeais following the railways' destruction due to an ammunition train being machine-gunned. By the end of this day, six P-38s Lightning fly over and machine-gun the convoy. Several prisoners take advantage from the confusion to escape, the Red Cross will care for the true and pseudo wounded. 18 dead body will be collected, and among them was Alexander William KOWALSKI. 40 soldiers, among whom 9 Americans, died in this train | ||||||||||||||
18 dead body will be collected, and among them was Alexander William KOWALSKI. 40 soldiers, among whom 9 Americans, died in this train
There were British soldiers, Canadians as well as soldiers from the French Colonies. |
INFORMATION SOURCE | Bruno CADEVILLE |
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PICTURE SOURCE | Bruno CADEVILLE - Frédéric LAVERNHE |
PROGRAMMER | Frédéric & Renaud |