Leopoldville: A Tragedy Too Long Secret

Reviews of Allan Andrade's book, S.S. Leopoldville December 24, 1944 published in 1997 Thanks to the publication of this book and the publicity that it has received on regional and national television programs, Americans can now understand what had been a hidden tragedy. The book, in conjunction with the monument and memorials at Ft. Benning, helps ensure that the gallantry and sacrifices of the men of the 66th Infantry Division will no longer be unrecognized as they had been in the past. Dr. Steve Grove, USMA Historian, West Point, New York Allan Andrade's book is an excellent story of human courage in the face of a horrible tragedy. His book gives the reader an idea of what it must have been like to be aboard a sinking ship in the English Channel on Christmas Eve 1944. His extensive interviews with survivors tell how human error played a role in the death of so many U.S. soldiers and how lucky some survivors were to be in the right place at the right time. It was heartbreaking to read how the government lied to so many families who only wanted to know the truth about the fate of their loved one. It truly was a hard book to put down. Joseph P. Napsha, Reporter, Tribune - Review, Greensburg, Pennsylvania Through careful piecing together of survivors' accounts, of photos and wartime letters of both survivors and victims, Andrade weaves a heartbreaking narrative from the beginning of the calamity to its bitter conclusion. In this book, strangers otherwise lost to history are redeemed from the shadows. Ghosts speak in tender love letters of dreams and hopes, of their undying affection for dear ones. They stare gallantly from faded photos, their soldiers' hats jauntily cocked, their eyesanxious. They pose stiffly in family portraits, young kids clinging to their knees. Lovely wives with soft, 1940s hairdos, hug their babies. In the book, we learn firsthand of heroic rescues, desperate acts, brutal deaths, incomprehensible suffering and grief. The History Channel video of the event focuses on the military cover up.. Yet, it does not come close to conveying the gripping horror, pathos and heroism found in Andrade's book. Lynn Ascrizzi, Reporter, Kennebec Journal, Augusta, Maine Read more