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ALFRED J. LEVESQUE

Grave marker for Alfred Levesque Jr. in Plot: sec 1K row E site 40 of the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery Boscawen Merrimack County New Hampshire.
   Fred enlisted in the army on 3 December 1942 and was assigned to Co H, 508th.  VA files record that he was discharged exactly three years later.
   According to a family bio, "Fred 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."

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.

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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