Léonard Edgar ABERNATHY
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Source : Images.findagrave.com/
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NUMBER OF SERVICE | 20405709 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
AGE | 26 yo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF BIRTH | 10 November 1918 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
ENLISTMENT STATE | SOUTH CAROLINA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
FAMILY |
Married one daughter | |||||||||||||||||||||||
RANK | Private First Class | |||||||||||||||||||||||
FONCTION | Infantry Man | |||||||||||||||||||||||
JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | Mechanic | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 17 September 1940 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
COMPANY | Company E | |||||||||||||||||||||||
REGIMENT | 117th Infantry Regiment | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DIVISION | 30th Infantry Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF DEATH | 1 august 1944 |
Source : | ||||||||||||||||||||||
STATUS | KIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
PLACE OF DEATH | St Lo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
CEMETERY TEMPORARY |
CEMTERY TEMPORARY of La Cambe N°3539 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
CEMETERY | NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY of Colleville | |||||||||||||||||||||||
GRAVE |
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DECORATION |
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STORY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Léonard was born in Sion Hill in South Carolina, he had two sisters and five brothers, before enlisting in the army, Léonard is an automobile repairer and a farmer; He joined the US Army in September 1940 with the 117th Infantry Regiment. He was declared a deserter on August 19, 1942 while he was at Fort Jackson. He was found on October 13, 1942 in Spartanburg (where his wife Doris Louise and their granddaughter Mary Ann lived) and was handed over to the military at Camp Croft. In January 1943 the charges retained for desertion were withdrawn. He was transferred to Fort Benning in March 1943. Within the division he was trained in different camps: Camp Blanding, Camp Forrest and Camp Atterbury. The division arrived in England on February 22, 1944 and continued training until June. The 30th Infantry Div. landed at Omaha Beach from June 10 to 15, 1944. The 117th Infantry Regiment was placed in a static zone near Lison until July 2, 1944. The first victims of the regiment are here in this area under heavy German 88mm fire. on July 7, 1944 around 3 am, the 2nd battalion crossed the Vire on rubber boats. It is the beginning of a great offensive launched by the XIXth US Corps. On July 9, the Germans caused significant losses to the US troops, the soldiers of the 30th Infantry Division were formidable and fought with extraordinary valor which made them nicknamed by the Germans the "Roosevelt SS". Two days later, the offensive fell into the hedge war, the 30th Infantry Division lost 3,200 men in 6 days. On the evening of July 14, the mission established on July 2 was carried out but at the cost of 10,000 losses. In this second part of July another goal is emerging: Cobra. The 30th Infantry Division is one of them. Léonard is wounded in the arm during this month of July; the 117th will have fought on Saint-Fromont, Pont-Hébert, Saint-Jean-de-Daye but duty calls him and he returns to his unit. On July 24 and 25, the 30th ID suffered terrible losses from friendly bombardments, ie 814 over the two days. On July 26 the 117th advances towards Saint-Lô and settles on the heights. On July 27 the 30th ID carried out a spectacular attack which opened the way for Patton's third army which would lead it to Brittany. Léonard is missing, his body is found on the outskirts of St Lo and his date of death is estimated at August 1, 1944. After the war the 30th Infantry Division was designated as the number one infantry division in the European theater by SLA Marshall. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
30th INFANTRY DIVISION - OLD HICKORY
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SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO | Bruno CADEVILLE |
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PROGRAMMER | Henri, Garrett, Clive, Frédéric & Renaud |