Leonard S. Winiatowski

Leonard Stanley Winiatowski was born in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio on October 20, 1919.

(His record of induction and his draft registration list his birth year as 1918.)

He was drafted into the Army on March 3, 1942. His home of residence was listed as Niagara County, New York
and his civilian occupation was listed as general woodworking occupations.
He had completed three years of High School and was single with no dependents.
His religion was listed as Catholic.

He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal in Headquarters 22nd Infantry Motorized General Orders No. 5,
dated June 8, 1943 at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

One of the letters written to The Evening News in North Tonawanda-Tonawanda, New York
by Leonard S. Winiatowski and published in the section of the paper which published letters
from servicemen. This one was written after he arrived in England.

Leonard S. Winiatowski was promoted from Private First Class to Sergeant
on the battlefield in Normandy on June 27, 1944.

Article from The Evening News North Tonawanda-Tonawanda, New York
announcing the promotion of Leonard S. Winiatowski to the rank of Sergeant -1944.

Newspaper article announcing the award of the Bronze Star Medal to
Staff Sergeant Leonard S. Winiatowski. This photo of him in the newspaper
was printed backwards. (Note the piping on his cap is incorrect. The longer piping
should extend from his left top to his right bottom, not from his right top to his left bottom as it is in the photo.
The photo at the top of this memorial page was taken from this photo and is turned around correctly.)

Left:

Leonard Winiatowski

His winter uniform indicates
the photo was taken in
October/November 1944.

Courtesy of Theophile Odaert

Staff Sergeant Winiatowski was killed in action in Germany during the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest
on November 24, 1944.

The entry for Leonard S. Winiatowski in the casualty lists of the 22nd Infantry for the month of November 1944

From The Evening News North Tonawanda-Tonawanda, New York Monday December 18, 1944

Before entering the Army Leonard S. Winiatowski worked for the Wurlitzer Company.
During the war the Wurlitzer Company continually published in The Evening News in Tonawanda, New York
a list of all former employees who were now serving in the military. Winiatowski's name is listed above
on the bottom line, twice.

Left:

Three entries of Leonard S. Winiatowski's name
in the pages posted by the Wurlitzer Company
in The Evening News in
North Tonawanda-Tonawanda, New York.

As the war progressed his information
was updated.

Courtesy of Julien Woestyn

The entry for Leonard S. Winiatowski in a section in the local newspaper
entitled "The War Against Germany" which listed all the names of local
servicemen killed in action.

Leonard S. Winiatowski was originally buried in the Henri-Chapelle Cemetery in Eupen, Belgium
and in 1947 his remains were returned to the United States for re-burial in New York.

Article announcing the return of the body of Leonard S. Winiatowski aboard the U.S. Army Transport
Joseph V. Connolly to New York City.
From The Evening News North Tonawanda-Tonawanda, New York Monday October 27, 1947

The NEWS of the Tonawanda, New York Tuesday October 28, 1947
correcting the name of the funeral home in the above article.

The U.S. Army Transport Joseph V. Connolly leaving the port of Antwerp, Belgium in October 1947
bound for the United States with the remains of over 6000 American servicemen killed in Europe.
This was the first shipment of American war dead to return to the United States for re-interrment there.

When the above photo was taken the body of Leonard S. Winiatowski was on board this ship.

U.S. Army Transport ship, the Joseph V. Connolly, moves into New York Harbor passing the lower Manhattan skyline, Oct. 26, 1947,
bearing 6,200 World War II dead being returned from military cemeteries in Europe for reburial in the United States.
Two crewmen on the deck of the destroyer U.S.S. Bristol look on.

When the above photo was taken the body of Leonard S. Winiatowski was on board this ship.

It was a parade of sorts that began shortly after the Joseph V. Connolly sailed past Ambrose Light,
through the Narrows, and glided slowly into New York harbor in the early morning haze of October 26, 1947.
Two sleek navy destroyers, the USS Bristol and the USS Beatty, and the gleaming white Coast Guard cutter,
Spencer, wheeled into position to escort the Liberty Ship as their crews snapped to rigid attention along the guardrails.
On the Connolly’s boat deck an honor guard surrounded a solitary flag-draped coffin that stood out in the defused
autumn light, a swatch of red, white and blue against the ships gray flanks. The Connolly approached the towering mass
of New York City as the huge 16-inch guns of the battleship, USS Missouri, boomed a salute that echoed off the
New Jersey Palisades and back through Manhattan’s man-made canyons. The thunder of the guns rolled away,
and a flight of fighter planes roared overhead before gracefully turning to leave the city’s streets in an unnatural quiet.
To fill the sudden void, a lone marine on the Bristol’s fantail raised his bugle and sounded “Church Call.” As the
notes drifted away, a somber voice broke the silence to deliver a prayer. The Connolly slipped into Pier 61 at
West Twenty-first Street in Manhattan with a reassuring nudge, marking the end of a journey to fulfill a long-held
promise of a grateful nation in bringing her cargo safely home. The accompanying tugboats reversed screws and
withdrew in a rush of churning water and pounding engines as the crew cast the Connolly’s lines ashore and
she was firmly secured. In her reinforced holds she carried 6,248 coffins containing the remains of American soldiers
killed in the European theater of World War II. The casket on deck, bearing an unnamed medal of honor winner
killed in the Battle of the Bulge, was a symbol of all the young men who were coming home on the Connolly
and of the scores of thousands more American dead who also would be returned in the months and years ahead.

The Evening News North Tonawanda-Tonawanda, New York Wednesday October 29, 1947

Ten years after Leonard S. Winiatowski returned home to be buried
in the United States the Tonawanda News Tuesday December 3, 1957
posted this poignant tribute to his memory.