Leo was born on May 31, 1925, in Manhattan to Max and Mollie Lichten. He grew up in Brooklyn, and was described by his best buddy Paul as a “very noble, intelligent and courageous person.” He even saved Paul from drowning once when they were kids. A best buddy indeed.
Pfc Leo Lichten entered the service in New York.City, New York on 11 August 1943.
Leo’s company, Company A, is ordered on Nov. 20, 1944, to attack pillboxes (small bunkers) just outside Prummern to eliminate the enemy resistance in the small German town.
The weather was cold and rainy, and the ground was muddy, making the battle even more difficult than it might otherwise have been. Leo storms one of the pillboxes, but is killed by machine gun fire early in the fighting.
He was laid to rest in the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, along with 8,300 fellow US soldiers and the names of 1,700 other who went missing in action.
Shortly after I posted this blog in April 2017, I received the following email from ,Robert Simpson, one of Leo’s family members.
“I saw your posting on Leo Lichten. He was my uncle. Thank you for honoring his memory in such a nice way. My mother is the little girl in the family portrait photograph included in your posting. She is going to be 81 years old in August. Mom is the only one left now. She is actually Leo’s half sister. The older man in the photo is my grandfather, Solomon Wolf,Leo’s stepfather. The older woman of course is Leo’s mother (my grandmother), Molly Wolf/formerly Lichten. The beautiful young woman is Leo’s older sister (Mom’s older half sister), Belle Lichten Mann. My grandfather passed away in 1966. Grandma Molly died in 1987, and Aunt Belle passed away in 2001. Leo’s biological father, Max Lichten passed away in 1984. Uncle Leo’s best friend, Paul Slater, is still alive and lives in Massachusetts. He is also a WWII combat veteran (Navy). Paul’s son is named Leo. Thank you again for taking the time to bring honor to Uncle Leo and his Comrades in arms also resting in Margraten”
sources
https://en.margratenmemorial.nl/dossier/leo-lichten/overview.html
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56301037/leo-lichten
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