Alfred Levesque Jr. -- true member of The Greatest Generation
MANCHESTER -- Alfred "Fred" Levesque Jr., who died July 3, didn't live
long enough to see his name inscribed on the city's World War II Memorial
to be dedicated Aug. 23. But he was eulogized by his nephew, Steve Mills,
as "beyond doubt a true example of The Greatest Generation."
Levesque was born on Feb. 9, 1924, to Alfred J. Levesque
Sr. and Stella Munroe Levesque. The family lived in Pinardville, where
Levesque's father owned a grocery store near the corner of Pinard Street
and Mast Road, the current site of Lamonthe Carpeting.
Levesque attended St. Edmund's Grammar School and
Goffstown High School. He did not graduate from high school with his
class. At 14, he began smoking. His high school principal told him that
if he didn't quit he would not receive his diploma. Levesque didn't
give in and neither did the principal. Many years later at a class reunion,
he was presented with his diploma.
The eulogy will tell you about Levesque's military
service, but it's important to know that following the war he married
Beatrice "Bea" Fontaine in 1948. They had three children, Denise, Paul
and Charles. He took a job as a postman and later was promoted to inside
supervisor, a position he held until he retired.
Mills recounted his uncle's military service in his
moving eulogy.
Levesque enlisted in the Army on Dec. 3, 1942. He
volunteered for and was accepted as a paratrooper in the 501st Parachute
Infantry Regiment right from the recruiting station. He was sent to
Camp Blanding, Fla., to be interviewed to become a member of the 508th
Parachute Infantry Regiment. They were looking for the right recruits
for this elite unit, and Levesque was made a member of H Company.
He then attended jump school at Fort Benning, Ga.
He trained in advanced infantry tactics for nearly a year and then crossed
the Atlantic in what was then the largest convoy ever to cross the ocean
at that time.
The 508th trained in England to prepare for the Normandy
invasion. On June 5, 1944, the unit boarded the C-47's that would drop
them into northern France shortly after midnight on June 6.
Levesque, 20, was assigned as the last man in his
stick. Because he was the last to jump, he got separated from his group
and found himself alone on the ground in enemy territory and scared
to death. He managed to keep his wits and eventually reconnected with
his unit.
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During the invasion, Levesque was repeatedly called to
headquarters to interview French nationals because of his fluency in
French. "He tired of constantly being taken away from his buddies so
he finally said, 'Do you want me to be an interpreter or will you let
me stay with my unit?' They stopped calling him back off the front,"
Mills said. Levesque's unit fought for 33 days
before being relieved and sent back to England. Just a few of the original
paratroopers were left.
H Company received a five- day furlough before resuming
training to prepare for the next combat mission. On Sept. 17, the unit
was sent to Holland to participate in Operation Market Garden. Compared
to Normandy, the jump was easier and less costly to the regiment. For
21/2 months, the 508th fought through Holland and then returned
to a new base camp in Sissone, France. Then it headed to the Ardennes
for the Battle of the Bulge. There was no time for a jump mission so
the 82nd Airborne Division was moved to the front lines by open trucks.
The ride was long and tiresome during extremely cold
weather. The paratroopers had been required to move so quickly that
winter clothing had not been issued. Record low temperatures of 23 degrees
below zero subjected Levesque and many of his mates to severe frostbite,
especially in the feet. He was evacuated to a field hospital and later
to a regular hospital in Paris, Miller recounted.
"That was the end of (Levesque's) fighting career
with H Company of the 508th PIR of the 82nd Airborne Division. He was
later assigned to the 504th PIR and served in the occupation of Germany
in Berlin."
He remained in the Army Reserve and was returned to
active duty during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. He eventually retired
as a master sergeant.
Levesque and Bea went to Normandy and participated in the 60th anniversary
of the Normandy Invasion in 2004 where he again served as interpreter.
"Fred said he and his comrades were treated like royalty by the still
grateful Normands," Miller said.
Donations are still needed to maintain the memorial.
Checks should be sent to the Manchester World War II Memorial, One City
Hall Plaza, Manchester, NH 03101. For information about the memorial
and Dedication Week events, visit
www.ManchesternhWWIIMemorial.com.
Please support and honor our World War II veterans
like Fred Levesque Jr. by attending the Dedication Week events, especially
the dedication ceremony at 1 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 23 in Veterans Memorial
Park. |
GOFFSTOWN - Alfred J. Levesque, 85, died July 3, 2009,
at Catholic Medical Center.
Mr. Levesque was born on Feb. 9, 1924, in Manchester, the son of Alfred
J. and Stella Levesque. He was a 25-year resident of Goffstown and Brooksville,
Fla.
Prior to retirement 30 years ago, Mr. Levesque was a carrier supervisor
with the U.S. Post Office.
He was a World War II U.S. Army veteran having served as sergeant in
Company C, 504th Parachute Infantry*,
82nd Airborne Division.
Mr. Levesque enjoyed golf, horseshoes and billiards. He was also an
avid Red Sox fan.
He was past president of Cercle National.
The family includes his wife of 60 years, Beatrice C. (Fontaine) Levesque
of Goffstown, three children, Denise Harnden of Bedford, Paul Levesque
of Goffstown and Charles Levesque of Antrim; a brother, Paul Levesque
of Sorrento, Fla.; a sister, Eugenie Daley, of Ormond Beach, Fla.; and
many nieces and nephews.
.
IN HIS LIFE: Other family members include his son-in-law, Stuart Harnden,
of Bedford; two daughters-in-law, Joanne Levesque of Goffstown and Noreen
Kilbride of Antrim; six grandchildren, Stacy Keenan of Hillsborough,
James Harnden of Goffstown, Ryan Levesque of Brownsville, Texas, Allison
Levesque of Goffstown, and Galen and Benjamin Kilbride of Antrim; and
a great-granddaughter, Brooke Harnden of Manchester.
.
SERVICES: A memorial gathering will be held on Thursday from 5 to 8
p.m. in Phaneuf Funeral Home, 250 Coolidge Ave., Manchester.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated on Friday at 10 a.m. in St. Raphael
Church, 103 Walker St., Manchester. Burial will take place at 3 p.m.
in the New Hampshire Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to New Hampshire Association
for the Blind, 25 Walker St., Concord 03301; or to the Visiting Nurse
Association, 33 South Commercial, Suite 401, Manchester 03101.
(New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester, NH, 7
Jul 2009, Page 5 - courtesy of Tedd Cocker)
*NOTE: Alfred was a Sgt in
H Company, 508th as late as May, 1945. He probably transferred
to the 504th in that same time period.
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