[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 132 (Wednesday, November 17, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11421-S11422]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO THE SOLDIERS OF THE 66TH INFANTRY DIVISION

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, today I join with my constituents in 
recognizing the brave men of the 66th Infantry Division.
  Sixty years ago on November 15, 1944, the soldiers left from New York 
Harbor on the USAT George Washington without knowledge of their 
destination. It turned out the USAT George Washington brought the 
soldiers to England, where they were stationed at Southampton Harbor 
until Christmas Eve 1944.
  On Dec. 16, 1944, the Nazis launched a desperate offensive in Belgium 
intended to split the Allied Forces. The fierce struggle became known 
as ``The Battle of the Bulge.'' As part of the allied response to this 
threat, on Christmas Eve 1944 over 2,000 American soldiers of the 66th 
Infantry Division stationed in England were rushed to Southampton, 
where they boarded the troopship SS Leopoldville. The troops were then 
transported across the English Channel, but just 5\1/2\ miles from 
their destination, Cherbourg, France, the vessel was torpedoed by the 
German submarine U-486.
  Some of the soldiers were killed instantly, some went down with the 
ship, some safely jumped from the ship's rail to the rescue craft that 
pulled alongside, while others missed the jump,

[[Page S11422]]

plunged into the waves and were crushed as the two vessels came 
together. Some drowned, some froze to death in the frigid 48-degree 
waters of the English Channel. In all, there were 763 American soldiers 
confirmed dead, representing sons, husbands, and fathers from 47 of 
then 48 States. There were three sets of brothers killed, including two 
sets of twins. The bodies of both sets of twins were among the 493 
never found. Although over 1,400 soldiers survived, more than 500 were 
hospitalized with injuries or pneumonia. Missouri had 31 brave men who 
lost their lives that night. The Leopoldville disaster was the worst 
tragedy to eve befall an American Infantry Division as a result of an 
enemy submarine attack.
  It is my ultimate honor to recognize the heroism of the survivors and 
the sacrifice of the dead. In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, ``They 
are not dead who live in lives they leave behind. In those whom they 
have blessed they have life again.'' It is my hope that future 
generations of Americans remember the sacrifices and costs in human 
life made to preserve our liberties, and to instill in them an 
understanding of what it means to be an American.

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