"Leopoldville - A Tragedy Too Long Secret" Book Tour w/ author, Allan Andrade

Leopoldville's WWII Naval Disaster Revealed In Texas Book Tour

The Leopoldville troopship disaster was shrouded in secrecy for half a century.  Despite being one of the nation's largest naval disasters, the event is unknown to most Americans.  On December 24, 1944, the Leopoldville was carrying 2,235 American soldiers across the English Channel when it was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of France.  763 American soldiers from the 66th Infantry Division perished.  The bodies of 493 soldiers were never recovered from the frigid 48 degree waters.  Texas lost 35 soldiers including six from the Houston area.

Because of the magnitude of this naval disaster during the Battle of the Bulge, the Leopoldville's fate was immediately classified as top secret and the War Department was ordered not to release information about the sinking.  There are still many families who do not know the true circumstances of the disaster that took their loved ones' lives.

Allan Andrade learned of this naval disaster while investigating the background of one of the victims.  When Allan discovered the Leopoldville disaster, he became a champion for the 763 lost soldiers of the 66th Infantry Division.  Allan used the skills that he honed as a former NYPD Lieutenant to investigate the sinking of the SS Leopoldville.  He worked diligently to find survivors, rescuers, and families of the victims in order get the complete story for his book Leopoldville: A Tragedy Too Long Secret.  Allan Andrade was able to pull back the shroud of secrecy and expose the sacrifice and heroism that took place that Christmas Eve.

Allan Andrade's book Leopoldville: A Tragedy Too Long Secret is available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Leopoldville-Tragedy-Too-Long-Secret/dp/1436373190

About Allan Andrade
Allan Andrade is a Leopoldville historian and author. The research conducted for his book Leopoldville: A Tragedy Too Long Secret was a key source of photos and information on the leopoldville.org website.  Allan was a driving force behind the Leopoldville Memorial at Fort Benning and worked as a historical consultant on the National Geographic Leopoldville documentary.  Allan regularly answers questions and consults with the families of Leopoldville victims through the leopoldville.org memorial website.

About Leopoldville.org
Leopoldville.org is an online memorial dedicated to building awareness of the Leopoldville tragedy.  We encourage the families of all Leopoldville victims to share their stories on Leopoldville.org.

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