Who was your uncle?
My uncle was my father’s younger brother and he was born on September 17, 1924. His name was Louis Archer Bolton and he was drafted into the U. S. Army in 1943 during WWII. At the time, he had been married for one year. He was a Sergeant and was a member of the 607th Graves Registration Company, 1st Platoon. His Army company would have been responsible for taking care of the bodies of those who died on Utah Beach after the invasion on D-Day, June 16, 1944. At the time of his death, he was known as Sgt. Louis A. Bolton and was 19 years old.
Were you close to him?
I never knew my uncle. He died before I was born. I was born on his birthday in 1952. That is why I did research on him and made inquiries on how he died in WWII.
What boat was he on?
He was on board LST 531, one of eight large ships transporting soldiers and equipment in a practice D-Day landing exercise on April 28, 1944, known as Exercise Tiger.
What happened to him?
During the exercise at sea when the ships were in Lyme Bay in the English Channel, 4 German torpedo boats attacked the convoy of ships and struck two of them. LST 531, the ship my uncle was on, and LST 507. Both ships sunk within 10 minutes. Over 749 soldiers and sailors died, and my uncle was one of them. His body was never recovered and is with the ship at the bottom of the sea. His name is on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery in England.
Did the government cover up his death?
No they did not. His wife received a telegram on May 6, 1944, saying he was missing in action, at the time, because they did not recover his body. Then another telegram was received on August 10, 1944, saying he was confirmed killed in action. A copy a letter from the War Department to his mother is included.
What did they tell you had happened?
In the above referenced letter, they stated he died in the English Channel but provided no other details.
How did you feel about the government lying to you?
The government did not lie about his death. However, they withheld details of the military exercise so my family did not know the exact circumstances of his death. We wish they would have given us the details after war was over. In 1994, the men who survived began speaking about the tragedy. So I contacted them and found out the actual details of the military exercise and my uncle’s death at that time. Then I attended their reunions and as they grew older, planned reunions for the survivors and families, and brought them over to England and Normandy to see the places where their loved ones died and where the survivors continue to serve in the war on the Normandy beaches.
My uncle was my father’s younger brother and he was born on September 17, 1924. His name was Louis Archer Bolton and he was drafted into the U. S. Army in 1943 during WWII. At the time, he had been married for one year. He was a Sergeant and was a member of the 607th Graves Registration Company, 1st Platoon. His Army company would have been responsible for taking care of the bodies of those who died on Utah Beach after the invasion on D-Day, June 16, 1944. At the time of his death, he was known as Sgt. Louis A. Bolton and was 19 years old.
Were you close to him?
I never knew my uncle. He died before I was born. I was born on his birthday in 1952. That is why I did research on him and made inquiries on how he died in WWII.
What boat was he on?
He was on board LST 531, one of eight large ships transporting soldiers and equipment in a practice D-Day landing exercise on April 28, 1944, known as Exercise Tiger.
What happened to him?
During the exercise at sea when the ships were in Lyme Bay in the English Channel, 4 German torpedo boats attacked the convoy of ships and struck two of them. LST 531, the ship my uncle was on, and LST 507. Both ships sunk within 10 minutes. Over 749 soldiers and sailors died, and my uncle was one of them. His body was never recovered and is with the ship at the bottom of the sea. His name is on the Wall of the Missing at Cambridge American Cemetery in England.
Did the government cover up his death?
No they did not. His wife received a telegram on May 6, 1944, saying he was missing in action, at the time, because they did not recover his body. Then another telegram was received on August 10, 1944, saying he was confirmed killed in action. A copy a letter from the War Department to his mother is included.
What did they tell you had happened?
In the above referenced letter, they stated he died in the English Channel but provided no other details.
How did you feel about the government lying to you?
The government did not lie about his death. However, they withheld details of the military exercise so my family did not know the exact circumstances of his death. We wish they would have given us the details after war was over. In 1994, the men who survived began speaking about the tragedy. So I contacted them and found out the actual details of the military exercise and my uncle’s death at that time. Then I attended their reunions and as they grew older, planned reunions for the survivors and families, and brought them over to England and Normandy to see the places where their loved ones died and where the survivors continue to serve in the war on the Normandy beaches.
War Department Letter | |
File Size: | 595 kb |
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