Joe COLO

Source : Antoine Colo

Parents : Angelo & Maud COLO 

Siblings : Helen, Domenic & Jimmy

Source : F Lavernhe

NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY from Colleville

Map Normandy American Cemetery

Joe Colo was 18 years old when he died in the line of duty. He was aboard the SS Leopoldville troopship, chugging its way across the English Channel with a destination of Cherbourg, France, when the U-486 fired two torpedoes. One out of two found its mark, 2232 men went into the water, 763 died, and 492 men and PVT Colo went missing. 

Joe Colo was born on February 10, 1926, to Maud Manzetti and Angelo Colo in Highwood Lake, Illinois. Angelo worked as a laborer in construction while Maud kept the house and raised her children Helen, Domenic, Joe, and Jimmy. Home life and details of the Colo family are sparse. The children's education ended in the 8th grade, with Joe leaving school after the 7th grade. 

Colo registered for the draft when he turned 18 in February 1944. He stood five feet ten inches, weighed 190 pounds, and was employed by Bell and Gosset, a manufacturer of pumps, valves, and heat exchanges. Other details of Joe Colo's induction date and where he went through basic training are unknown. He was assigned to Co. H 262nd Regiment, 66th Division.. 

The 66th was activated on April 15, 1943; the division trained at Camp Blanding, Florida, and was later transferred to Camp Robinson, Arkansas. The 66th left for transport to the European Theater of Operations from Camp Rucker, Alabama, and arrived in England on December 12, 1944. They trained until December 24, 1944, when they were ordered as replacements for the Battle of the Bulge. They boarded two Belgian steamships, the SS Chesire and the Leopoldville. 

PVT Colo and the ill-fated Leopoldville sailed from Southampton, England, to Cherbourg, France, as part of the WEP-3 convoy. The loading of the 2,223 reinforcements from the 262nd and 264th Regiments was chaotic. The Regiment did not load the troopships, and many officers were absent. The instructions for abandoning the ship with insufficient floatation lifesavers and supervised lifeboat drills were minimal. The ship's captain, Captain Charles Limbors, did not speak English. The abandon ship order was given in Flemish rather than English. 

Colo was aboard the troopship SS Leopoldville when it was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel on Christmas Day, December 25, 1944. Before the conflict, the SS Leopoldville was a Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo passenger liner. The German submarine U-486, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See der Reserve Gerhard Meyer, was credited with the sinking. As a result, 763 soldiers died, and 56 of Leopoldville's crew. 

The original explosion was in Cargo Hold 4, which flooded E-4, F-4, and G-4 compartments. An estimated 300 men were killed by the blast and flooded holds. The English Channel was experiencing swells of 8 feet to 12 feet in height, hampered HMS Brilliant's attempts to rescue soldiers on the ship and in the 48-degree water; in a water temperature of 40 to 50 degrees, death may occur in 1 - 3 hours. Rescuers could only recover 493 bodies of the 763 casualties. It is unknown how Joe Colo died, whether it was in the torpedo explosion or drowning/freezing in the Channel; Colo's body was never recovered. 

The tragedy of the Leopoldville was kept secret for fear of its effect on morale. Telegrams went out to families informing them that their sons were killed in the line of duty but without specific details. Family members' questions remained unanswered until the early 21st Century. 

PVT Joe Colo's name is chiseled into the Garden of the Missing in the US Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France.

He was just under 18 years old when he was killed in action and was a recipient of the Purple Heart.

Source : Ancestry

66^th  INFANTRY DIVISION - BLACK PANTHER  

Activated/Activé	Normandy/Normandie
15 Apr 1943	Days of Combat/Jour de Combat  91
	Casualties/Victimes 1 452
Entered Combat/Entré au combat
1 Jan 1945
Commanding Generals/Commandants généraux Maj. Gen. Herman F. Kramer (Apr 43 - Aug 45) Maj. Gen. Walter F. Lauer (Aug 45 - inactivation) 5)	Campaigns/Campagnes Northern France (25 Jul 44 - 14 Sep 44)
PLAN DE ROUTE DE LA CAMPAGNE - CAMPAIGN ROUTE MAP
DIVISION CHRONICLE The three regiments of the 66th Infantry Division arrived in England, 26 November 1944, and the remainder of the Division, 12 December 1944, training until 24 December 1944 when the Division crossed the English Channel to Cherbourg. A German torpedo ripped into the transport as it was crossing the Channel, and 14 officers and 748 enlisted men were lost. Attached to the 12th Army Group and designated the 12th Army Group Coastal Sector, with operational control of all French forces in the area, the 66th relieved the 94th Division in the BrittanyLoire area, 29 December 1944. Its mission of containing the enemy in the St. Nazaire and Lorient pockets was carried out by daily reconnaissance patrols, limited objective attacks, and the maintenance of harassing and interdictory fires on enemy installations. A heavy German attack near La Croix was repulsed, 16 April 1945, and several strongly emplaced enemy positions were taken, 19-29 April 1945. Enemy troops in the Lorient and St. Nazaire pockets surrendered to the Division upon the end of hostilities in Europe, 8 May 1945. The 66th moved to Germany on occupation duty, in the Koblenz subarea, 20 May 1945, and left for Marseille, 26 May 1945. It sailed for home 27 October 1945.	CHRONIQUE DE DIVISION Les trois régiments de la 66e division d'infanterie arrivent en Angleterre, le 26 novembre 1944, et le reste de la division, le 12 décembre 1944, s'entraînant jusqu'au 24 décembre 1944 lorsque la division traverse la Manche jusqu'à Cherbourg. Une torpille allemande s'est faufilée dans le convoi alors qu'elle traversait la Manche, et 14 officiers et 748 soldats ont été perdus. Attaché au 12ème Groupe d'Armée et désigné Secteur de la 12ème division du Groupe d'Armées, avec le contrôle opérationnel de toutes les forces françaises dans la région, le 66th a relevé la 94ème Division dans la région BrittanyLoire, le 29 décembre 1944. Sa mission Les poches de Nazaire et de Lorient ont été réalisées par des patrouilles de reconnaissance quotidiennes, des attaques objectives limitées et le maintien de feux de harcèlement et d'interception sur les installations ennemies. Une forte attaque allemande près de La Croix fut repoussée le 16 avril 1945 et plusieurs positions ennemies fortement implantées furent prises, du 19 au 29 avril 1945. Des troupes ennemies dans les poches de Lorient et de Saint-Nazaire se rendirent à la Division à la fin des hostilités en Europe , Le 8 mai 1945. Le 66ème émigra en Allemagne en service d'occupation, dans la sous-zone de Coblence, le 20 mai 1945, et partit pour Marseille, le 26 mai 1945. Il partit pour la maison le 27 octobre 1945.