Allan Andrade...has conducted his own investigation of the Leopoldville incident. ...The American, British and Belgian governments engaged in a cover-up, filed the papers away as secret... Dennis Hevesi, The New York Times ...This story should hold a special place in every state’s history. Simply put, the soldiers that lost their lives deserve the proper respect and remembrance for their sacrifice, and those that survived need to be recognized for their valor. New York City Congressman Gary L. Ackerman ...On behalf of the residents of New York City I express my appreciation to Allan Andrade...for researching and writing a book on this tragedy. New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani With skills developed over 20 years as a New York City Police investigative lieutenant he started digging into the dusty, hidden files with the tenacity of a real-life Columbo. ...Andrade tracked down not only survivors but also relatives of the victims: sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, wives. ...Andrade had the difficult task of telling the truth about the sinking of the SS Leopoldville and finding again that it is not for the dead that we grieve but for the living. Reuters Television Investigative Reporter, Lawrence Bond Retired NYC Police Lieutenant Allan Andrade has investigated and put together the facts and poignant individual stories of the Leopoldville disaster. Future historians of this incident will be compelled to use his research as a starting point for their own work. Originally published in 1997, the book has been revised to include new material and photographs. Allan Andrade was the American historical consultant for a TV documentary regarding the Leopoldville disaster. The documentary was produced by Norther Sky Entertainment Ltd., Toronto, Canada during 2008. I was flown to England & revisited the sites directly connected to the tragedy. He was aboard a research vessel directly over the wreck when professional divers dove to film it. He also visited Cherbourg, France, destination of the Leopoldville and Normandy American Cemetery where some of the Leopoldville victims are buried. With him were a Leopoldville survivor & 2 relatives of 2 different soldiers who were killed. ( one where body recovered & one where body never found.) The program, Deep Wreck Mysteries:Sunk on Christmas Eve, aired on the National Geographic Channel during February 2009.

During World War II, nothing connected a serviceman and his sweetheart back home like a handwritten letter. It was a link to hometo the life a soldier had left behind. In Letters Home, Philip M. Coons shares the almost daily letters that his father, Harold M. Coons, wrote to his mother, Margaret Richman Coons, during basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Camp Rucker, Alabama; and his subsequent deployment with the United States Armys 66th Division to the European Theater of Operations. Comprised of more than 500 letters, Coons traces his fathers remarkable journey from green soldier to seasoned vet and shares how this war affected the world on both a global and individual scale. As part of the 66th Division, Coons crossed the Atlantic on the HMS Britannic, stopped for a short while in southeastern England, crossed the English Channel on Christmas Eve, 1944, and ended his journey in Brittany, France. Here the 66th guarded the German submarine base pockets at LOrient and St. Nazaire. Through it all, Coons documents a soldiers daily life with its sometimes grueling days and nights, revealing moments of despair, hope, friendship, and courage within the midst of war. A poignant, intimate look at the on-the-ground experiences of a member of the Greatest Generation, Letters Home is a worthy addition to any World War II bookshelf.

A memoir of friendship, history, and longing in a Greek village that “introduces us to a rich cast of writers and ex-pats, shepherds and urbanites” (A.E. Stallings, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry finalist). In his twenties, an American manual laborer and poet found himself living with his beautiful wife in a village in southern Greece. Their first encounter with that country would prove an unrecoverable dream of intimate magic, but through decades of steadfast affection, David Mason grew to a deeper understanding of what it means to be a citizen of one’s own country and a citizen of the world. From a writer praised for his “often intoxicating language” (Kirkus Reviews), News from the Village is a lyrical memoir of Aegean friends, including such figures as Orhan Pamuk, Bruce Chatwin, Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, Yiorgos Chouliaras, and Patrick Leigh Fermor, each of whom comes fully alive, along with a brilliant cast of lesser-known characters. Fearing he has lost Greece and everything it has meant in his life, Mason goes back again and again to the country he knew as a young man. He encounters Turkey and Greece together in the shadow of 9/11; follows the lives of his friends, whose trials sometimes surpass his own; and brings them all together in the circle of this generous narrative. Ultimately, Mason’s memoir is about what we can hold and what slips away, what sustains us all through our griefs and disappointments. “Mason realizes he must confront shifting politics, village tensions, family tragedy, and history with blood on its hands before he can love Greece as she is rather than as he would have her be. Along the way, he introduces us to a rich cast of writers and ex-pats, shepherds and urbanites—and travels that stretch from the Rockies to the Bosphorus—the journey of a lifetime.”—A.E. Stallings, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Like

The SS Leopoldville was a 11,000-ton passenger line, converted into a troopship for World War II. On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1944, the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat, U-486. Over 800 lives were lost, including 763 soldiers. The Leaopoldville sinking is the second greatest loss of life in a single incident after the loss of the American battleship USS Arizona (BB-39) at Pearl Harbor in 1941. At the time of her sinking the troop ship was just 5 miles off the coast of Cherbourg, France. Author Jacquin Sanders tells the shocking truth behind the most tragic and mysterious blunders of World War II. The facts about this sinking were not released until 1961. Here you will learn about the bravery and heroism of a few great men who tried to save their comrades.

How the author adapted to his new surroundings. The drama wrapped around the six hour pass obtained at Shanks to go home to see his folks. The trip across the tempestuous North Atlantic, and the nine days sick at sea! Time spent in a dingy campsite on a bleak coast of Wales, UK. Suffered from a nameless fear aboard the ill fated Leopoldville. Transported in 40/8s. In Liege's railyards was attacked by "Buzz Bombs". Slept in a private home for the night. Marched nearly all of the next day. His company was hit by its own artillery (friendly fire) with devastating consequences.

One of the most striking features of French government in the second half of the sixteenth century was the influence of Italians. Notwithstanding widespread French admiration for Italian culture, Italian influence at the heart of French government aroused xenophobic antagonism amongst many in French society. This study throws light on this complex relationship by offering the first detailed examination of the Gondi, one of the most influential of the Italian families active during this period. The Gondi family played a leading part in the finance, government, church and military affairs of the nation, and were indispensable counsellors to the Queen Mother, Catherine De' Medici. They were also the targets of anti-Italian hostility, much of it deliberately stirred by rivals in the French aristocracy who felt threatened by these powerful foreigners occupying positions they believed were rightfully theirs. The book examines perceptions of the Gondi through examination of contemporary pamphlets, diaries, and ambassadors' dispatches. It investigates, among other issues, their notorious role in the plotting of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572. Making use of many previously overlooked archival sources from France and Italy, this book charts the Gondi's rise to power and demonstrates how their deft use of patronage and financial expertise allowed them to weave the intricate web of power and obligation that protected them against native hostility. In so doing the book reveals much about government and society in late sixteenth-century France.