"I put all of my clothes on, everything. That's what saved me, was all of that clothes I had on." (Video Interview, 11:11)

Antonio Ralph Martinez

Detail from an official photograph of Antonio Martinez [undated] War: World War II, 1939-1946; Korean War, 1950-1955 Branch: Army Unit: 4th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squad, 265th Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division Service Location: Northern France; also: Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming; Patrick Air Force Base, Florida Highest Rank: Private First Class; Airman First Class Place of Birth: San Luis Obispo, CA

On Christmas Eve 1944, Antonio Martinez was one of 2,235 American servicemen aboard a Belgian transport ship, the Leopoldville, on its way from England to France. Five miles from its destination, the ship was struck by a torpedo from a German U boat, and it sank within three hours. Martinez survived, but over 750 GIs did not. His detailed account of this tragedy, among the worst in U.S. military history, is a welcome addition to the public record, as survivors were told at the time not to discuss the episode, and it took fifty years before an official monument to those who went down with the ship was erected.