Edgar Groesch enlisted with the Army Air Corps on 11 Dec 1940 in Peoria, IL. On 3 April 1944, the Liberty ship S.S. Paul Hamilton sailed from Hampton Roads, Virginia, for Italy via Bizerte, Tunisia, with Army 2nd Lieutenant Edgar Groesch aboard. On the night of April 20, 1944, about 30 miles off the coast of Cape Bengut, Algeria in the Mediterranian Sea the convoy came under attack by German torpedo bombers. An aerial torpedo struck the Hamilton and she suffered a tremendous explosion as her cargo of munitions exploded. The blast reached almost 1,000 feet into the air and the remains of the ship sank in about thirty seconds. All 500+ crew and troops perished in the violent explosion and only one body was ever recovered. See the following website for further details and pictures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Paul_Hamilton
Edgar Groesch enlisted with the Army Air Corps on 11 Dec 1940 in Peoria, IL. On 3 April 1944, the Liberty ship S.S. Paul Hamilton sailed from Hampton Roads, Virginia, for Italy via Bizerte, Tunisia, with Army 2nd Lieutenant Edgar Groesch aboard. On the night of April 20, 1944, about 30 miles off the coast of Cape Bengut, Algeria in the Mediterranian Sea the convoy came under attack by German torpedo bombers. An aerial torpedo struck the Hamilton and she suffered a tremendous explosion as her cargo of munitions exploded. The blast reached almost 1,000 feet into the air and the remains of the ship sank in about thirty seconds. All 500+ crew and troops perished in the violent explosion and only one body was ever recovered. See the following website for further details and pictures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Paul_Hamilton
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from Illinois.
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