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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Quick Article Index . . .
Holiday festivities
ramp up at the Westport Senior Center.
From street kid to
Silver Star recipient.
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Holiday festivities ramp up at the
Westport Senior Center. EverythingWestport.com
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 View the hi-resolution photo album for this
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Poinsettias populated the table tops and
seats filled quickly for the bargain-priced lunch of just $3 per person. Mary
Ellen Gomes certainly knows how to celebrate a special occasion, and this
festive holiday luncheon with great entertainment was no exception. Left: COA Director
Mary Ellen Gomes greets Dartmouth resident Doris Mills. The Senior Center’s hard-working
director puts a cheery smile on visitors’ faces no matter what the time of
year.
Left: The Westport Senior Center’s December social was
standing room only. Center: COA’s Kim Boulay
demonstrates it’s all in the packaging. Right: Musician/entertainer Marc Deschenes brought his holiday cheer in the
form of a guitar.
Left: COA guests sang and clapped along with Marc Deschenes. Right: The Westport Middle School’s 4th grade
chorus performed an animated 5-set medley of holiday songs. From street kid to Silver Star
recipient. EverythingWestport.com Thursday,
December 17, 2009
88
year-old Leo St. Onge is less well understood these
days. World War II injuries received in Italy make hearing difficult, and his
sinuses are always acting up. His memory is hazy and unclear, impaired after
a mortar round devastated his body and earned him a Purple Heart. “I remember
very little of the war and what I did,” St. Onge said.
“I only know that I was just doing what I was ordered to do.” His voice may
be fading, but his heroism in the face of overwhelming enemy fire speaks
volumes for the soft-spoken Westport native. The
Westport ROMEOs hosted St. Onge, Westport’s most highly
decorated veteran, on Thursday, December 17 at Whites of Westport. It’s not
often the ROMEOs are quieted by a guest speaker. But it’s humbling to be in
the presence of an unassuming hero; a man not quite sure why he is getting
all this admiration and respect. “I
was born on Conserve Ave in Westport,” said St. Onge,
who drove truck after the war and retired as a contractor. “I lived in a
dirt-floored cabin and was one of 12 kids. Times were very hard back then,
and we often survived on soup our mother made with the undersized potatoes
given to us by Sampson’s Farm.” St.
Onge was 21 when he enlisted in October 1942. He
was originally scheduled to be deployed to the African theater, and received
mountain and desert training in California. “All I remember was it was hot!” Lino Rego, Commander of
American Legion Post 145 in
Westport, accompanied
St. Onge to the ROMEOs lunch. Rego
took an interest in St. Onge four years ago when he met him through his father-in-law, who also fought in World War
II. Rego began researching the 85th Infantry Division and the 339th Infantry
Regiment to learn more about St. Onge. It was
during this research he discovered the Croix de Guere. Rego’s efforts were
directly responsible for St. Onge receiving the
French War Cross, the third highest French wartime honor given to Americans
and Britons, that was awarded St. Onge’s unit 64
years ago. Take Hill 69. Part of the Germans’ last line of defense against the
allied advance in Italy was Hills 66 and 69. St. Onge,
a heavy weapons machine gunner, was to a set up a forward position at the
base of Hill 69 and protect forward troop movements
against an enemy attack. “We were up against well-trained and rugged SS
troops,” St. Onge said. On May 11, 1944 St. Onge moved out. “They were ill-prepared to face what was out there,” Rego said. “The allied command dramatically
underestimated the Germans’ troop strength and defenses. Click here to read about St. Onge’s
heroics and his Silver Star. Battlefield losses left St. Onge
as the only machine gunner on the right side of the hill. He went through
3200 rounds of 30 caliber ammunition. His water-cooled machine gun was
perforated by enemy fire, so fellow soldiers went to the nearby stream and
carried back helmets full of water to keep it cooled. When mortar fire
knocked out the machine gun, he picked up a fallen comrade’s rifle and
continued firing until relieved. “The bodies were mounding up in front of me and I was
lying in their blood,” recalled St. Onge. “I still
have nightmares about it.” Town vet honored with War Cross – Fall River Herald Critically
wounded in an explosion during a World War II battle in Italy, Leo St. Onge has been missing a citation he should have received
64 years ago — the Croix de Guere, or French War
Cross. The shell fragments that wounded his chest, arm and face also erased
his memory of the incident. He didn’t know until a few years ago that comrades in his unit, 339th Infantry Regiment,
received the cross just after he was discharged. Read
more. Rego is in the process of completing a
book about the heroics of PFC Leo St. Onge. “His
service to his country and sacrifices made to preserve our freedoms should
not be forgotten,” Rego told the ROMEOs. Acts
of heroism in dark times often fade with the passage of time, a common experience
for people looking towards a brighter future to escape wartime travesties.
But we Americans take our liberties for granted, assuming they will always be
there. Why dwell in the past? St.
Onge’s bravery came with a heavy price “I have
nightmares every night, and wake up in cold sweats,” he said. His post-traumatic stress disorder has been
treated regularly throughout his whole life, and continues to this day. Westport’s most
highly decorated veteran. PFC
Leo St. Onge was awarded the Silver Cross for
saving the life of his drowning comrade, wears the Bronze Star and was
awarded the Purple Heart. He is now the proud recipient of the Croix de Guere. He received a battlefield promotion to Sergeant, but
refused it. “I wanted to continue fighting,” St. Onge
said, “but another reason was I couldn’t write, and I would be required to
submit reports,” he confessed to the ROMEOs. Rego is working on restoring that rank, and is optimistic about his chances.
“We have some very influential people working on it,” he said. For
his actions in saving his fellow soldier, St. Onge
was awarded the Silver Cross, the third highest U. S. award for gallantry in
action against an enemy of the United States while engaged in military
operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force. St.
Onge was severely wounded on May 27, 1944 by mortar
fragments, and an army doctor saved his life. A detected colon cancer was left
untreated, and it required another life-saving operation less than a decade
later. Ironically it was the same doctor whom operated on St. Onge years earlier. “He said, ‘I saved your life there
and I’ll do it again,’” St. Onge recalled to the
ROMEOs. Unfortunately, St. Onge can’t remember the
doctor’s name. Rego met St. Onge
through his father-in-law, who also fought in World War II. After talking
about St. Onge’s memories of the war - many of
which still bother St. Onge to this day - Rego began researching the 85th Infantry Division and the
339th Infantry Regiment. He came across the French War Cross. “I
don’t understand what the fuss is about.” St. Onge
dabbed at his dripping nose. “I needed
that drowning man’s ammunition to carry out my orders.” The sunlight coming
through the windows of White’s upstairs Bridge Room glinted off his Silver
Star. “I was just doing my duty.”
The ROMEOs had a good turnout to hear Leo St. Onge talk about his wartime experience. Right: Lino Rego (left) and Leo St. Onge share a laugh with the
ROMEOs.
Left: Rita Lafrance of
White’s Restaurant greets Leo St. Onge (standing).
Right: Mrs. Lafrance is celebrating White’s 55
years of operation, and came upstairs to visit with and thank the ROMEOs for
their support. - - - - - End - - -
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