Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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George Lavoie

WWII | 263rd Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division

His convoy bound for England ran into a German submarine wolf pack, but air cover and escort ships kept them at bay. Once there, George Lavoie was lucky. When it was time to cross the Channel, he did not board the ill-fated SS Leopoldville, which was sunk within sight of Cherbourg.(This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (3:51)
The job was to contain a large pocket of German troops in France. George Lavoie recalls one patrol in which they knocked out a communications tower built to support the new German jet planes. The blizzard of December 1944 made this mission very difficult. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:03)
George Lavoie describes the combat during his time in France in a standoff with German troops. The enemy was in a large isolated pocket on the Atlantic coast. Once, he called in an artillery strike on some lunch preparations. Then there was his thirsty friend who went into town for a little drink. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:55)
Since he could speak French, George Lavoie was sometimes called upon as a translator. He was serving in France near the end of the war. Once it had ended in both theaters, he had a few months of occupation duty, then home to start worrying about a job. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (5:15)
There was a French family on a cattle farm who offered to wash clothes for George Lavoie's unit. He spoke French and got to know them and was astounded when the farmer revealed something valuable he had hidden from the Germans. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:46)
George Marchi

WWII | 264th Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division

He wanted to go to university and study the humanities and the arts, but George Marchi had his plans interrupted by the Axis. He enlisted, and at first was sent to college by the Army, but that didn't last long. It was time to retake Europe, so the college boys became infantrymen. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:32)
He was headed for the Battle of the Bulge, but on Christmas Eve 1944, George Marchi didn't even make it safely across the English Channel. His transport, the SS Leopoldville, was torpedoed and he wound up in the frigid water. Part 1 of 2. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (5:45)
After his ship was torpedoed, George Marchi barely survived the frigid waters of the English Channel. For days, he drifted in and out of consciousness as he recovered. Part 2 of 2. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (7:21)
Since the 66th Infantry Division had lost so many men in the sinking of the SS Leopoldville, they weren't sent on to the battle raging in the Ardennes. Instead, they were assigned to contain the German troops guarding two impenetrable submarine pens in Brittany. George Marchi recalls that it was dangerous enough for him. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (4:20)
During occupation duty in Koblenz, George Marchi experienced some delayed psychological effects from his experience during the sinking of the Leopoldville. On the positive side, he was transferred to Vienna where he experienced the reborn arts scene. (4:21)