World War II Honoree

Michael F. Abatemarco

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Brooklyn, New York

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private First Class. Inducted into the United States Army from New York. Following recruit and advanced infantry training, he was deployed to England, Great Britain. He served as a Rifleman with Lima Company, Third Battalion, 262nd Infantry Regiment, an element of the 66th Army ‘Black Panther’ Division. Sunday, December 24, 1944 elements of the division were en-route from South Hampton, England to France, crossing the English Channel aboard the SS Leopoldville. The transport was sunk off the coastal shore-line of Cherbourg by the German submarine, U-486. The division was moving to the French Brittany-Loire area. Monday, December 25, 1944 after his rescue, he died of injuries suffered from the sinking. Personnel from a Grave Registration Company buried him in the Blosville Battlefield Cemetery Carentan, France. In his Memory and Honor, a cenotaph memorial has been placed at the Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York. In the post-war era, this Soldiers’ family requested that he be buried with Military Honors at Normandy American Cemetery Location: Colleville-sur-Mer, France. This American Patriot was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, for his Heroism and ultimate sacrifice.