A deceased World War II Coast Guard Veteran has finally been awarded a Purple Heart Medal for an incident that occurred nearly 76 years ago.
Arturo Antonsanti moved to the US from Puerto Rico at 18-years-old and enlisted in the Coast Guard at 21 after the US entered WWII. He served on the Coast Guard-manned destroyer escort USS Leopold as a seaman first class, escorting supply convoys across the Atlantic Ocean during the war. On March 9th, 1944 off the coast of Iceland, a German submarine hit the Leopold with a torpedo, breaking the ship in half before it sunk.
199 crew members were aboard the ship at the time of the impact, but only 28, including Antonsanti, survived the frigid waters following the incident, reported VANtage Point.
Following the accident, Antonsanti went back to sea, serving for another six years before returning to the US. He spent the remainder of his life in Tampa Bay, Florida, where he worked at the Post Office for many years. Antonsanti passed away in 2008 at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa. He had been a patient at both Haley and Bay Pines VA Medical Center for years.
After reading “Never to Return,” a book about the incident which describes a Leopold survivor being presented with a Purple Heart, Antonsanti’s son-in-law, David Weis, decided to start the application process for a Purple Heart for Antonsanti.
“At the end of that book they talked about survivors are eligible for the Purple Heart, so I started researching it,” Weis said. “Like anything, it takes a little time and research, acknowledging that yes, as a survivor, he’s eligible, things like that. That’s how it all started.”
Nine months later, on February 4th, Antonsanti’s family received the medal.
Following the ceremony, his grandson described him as a man of few words.
“I was younger when I did approach him and ask him,” Nelson Antonsanti said.
“’Hey grandpa, I heard you were on a ship. Do you want to tell me about it?’ Remember, he was a man of few words, so he just told me it was cold. I believe it was off the coast of Iceland in March, so it would be an understatement to say the least.”
“He’d be thrilled, absolutely thrilled,” Anabel, Antonsanti’s daughter, said.
“He’d be thrilled and my mom would be, too.”
soft piano
piano jazz work
Wow, this piece of writing is pleasant, my sister is analyzing these things, thus I am going to tell her.
Awesome article.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
This is one awesome blog article.Much thanks again. Great.
Appreciate you sharing, great blog.Thanks Again. Awesome.
Im grateful for the article post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Appreciate you sharing, great article post.Really thank you! Much obliged.
Very good article.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic post. Great.
Major thanks for the blog post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Thank you for your article.Thanks Again. Really Great.
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic blog post.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
I really like and appreciate your article.Thanks Again. Great.
Really appreciate you sharing this blog post.Really thank you! Awesome.
Thanks a lot for the article post. Awesome.
I really like and appreciate your blog article.Much thanks again. Really Great.
Hey, thanks for the article post.Really thank you! Fantastic.
A big thank you for your blog.Much thanks again. Great.
Fantastic blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
Really enjoyed this blog post. Really Cool.
This is one awesome article.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
Im grateful for the blog.Really thank you! Will read on…
Great blog. Want more.
Thanks for the article.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
I really like and appreciate your blog. Keep writing.
Fantastic article post.Really looking forward to read more. Will read on…
Thank you ever so for you article.Much thanks again. Cool.
Im obliged for the blog post.Much thanks again. Really Great.
I value the post.Thanks Again. Awesome.
Thank you for your blog post.Thanks Again. Want more.
Awesome blog post.Really thank you! Really Great.
I appreciate you sharing this article.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
I think this is a real great blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Will read on…
Hey, thanks for the article.Thanks Again. Want more.
Really appreciate you sharing this article post.Really thank you!
Awesome article post. Awesome.
Thank you for your post.Really thank you! Really Cool.
I really like and appreciate your blog post.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
Awesome blog article.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
Major thanks for the article post.Thanks Again. Great.
Im obliged for the blog.Thanks Again. Cool.
Awesome blog.Much thanks again. Will read on…
A big thank you for your post.Really thank you!
I cannot thank you enough for the article. Cool.
Looking forward to reading more. Great blog post.Much thanks again. Great.
Thanks so much for the blog article.Thanks Again. Great.
Hi, this weekend is good designed for me, because this occasion i am reading this great informative piece of writing here at my home.
Thank you for your blog post.Really thank you!
I appreciate you sharing this blog.Much thanks again. Want more.
I appreciate you sharing this blog article.Really thank you! Keep writing.
I really like and appreciate your blog article.Really thank you! Cool.
I truly appreciate this blog article.Thanks Again. Will read on…
Very neat article.Thanks Again. Really Great.
Very good article.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
I really enjoy the blog post. Want more.
Enjoyed every bit of your post. Want more.
Thanks for the post.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
Thanks so much for the blog post.Thanks Again. Cool.
Thanks a lot for the blog article.Really thank you! Will read on…
I cannot thank you enough for the blog post. Really Great.
Thanks-a-mundo for the blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
I truly appreciate this article post.Really thank you! Will read on…
Fantastic blog. Awesome.
I value the blog article.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Thanks again for the article. Want more.
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic blog article.Really thank you! Much obliged.
Wow, marvelous weblog layout! How lengthy have you ever been blogging for?
you made blogging glance easy. The total look of your website is
fantastic, as smartly as the content material! You can see similar here najlepszy sklep
Very neat blog.Much thanks again. Will read on…
I cannot thank you enough for the article post.Really thank you! Great.
Thanks-a-mundo for the article post. Want more.
wow, awesome blog article.Much thanks again. Much obliged.
I appreciate you sharing this post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Thank you ever so for you article post.Really thank you! Cool.
I am so grateful for your article post.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
I value the article.Really thank you! Fantastic.