Lester “Lars” Westberg Co. A, 266th Combat Engineer Battalion, 66th Infantry Division. 76th Anniversary Sinking of the SS Leopoldville

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Hey y’all, I wanted to share a grouping that is very special to me- even more so on Christmas Eve. Hope you all enjoy.

This uniform belonged to Lester “Lars” Westberg. 76 years ago today, on the night of Christmas Eve, Lester witnessed a disaster unfolding in the cold Atlantic waves below him. Lars was born on May 21st, 1921 in Douglas County, Minnesota. He was one of the 5 proud Swedes- Westberg brothers who served honorably in the Second World War. Lester spent most of his childhood on the family farm, located in the Urness Township of Douglas County, Minnesota. 

           The farm life was quiet, but with the majority of his brothers already in service, Lester Westberg figured it was his turn to “see the world”. Lars volunteered for the army engineers and was inducted into the military on March 5th, 1943 at Fort Blandin, Florida. Lester was stationed in Florida for about 3 months, during which time he became a part of the newly-organized 66th Infantry Division, “The Black Panthers”. While in Florida, Lester visited many parks, including the St. Augustine, Florida, “Fountain of Youth”. Lester was next sent to Camp Robinson, Arkansas for 5 months, and then to Camp Rucker, Alabama for extensive training as a combat Engineer. Westberg was now a part of Company A, of the 266th Combat Engineer Battalion.

           In early December of 1944, the 66th shipped off to England. At one point in the ’90s, Lester was a part of a newspaper interview about the war. “Lester said that the Germans sank one of their troopships, the “SS Leopold” when they crossed the French channel on Christmas Eve of 1944- only 5 miles from the French shoreline. They lost more than 800 men to the freezing ocean, and a huge amount of heavy equipment, vital to stopping the German Ardennes Offensive. Westberg talked about the German Sub Pens at St. Nazaire and Lorient, which were bombed continuously by allied forces, but were impenetrable because of their heavy concrete construction, and miles of bunkers. Lester was also at Cherbourg, France, for a couple of weeks, and the conditions were not good there as they had to sleep in their pup tents out on the runways.” Sometimes he was sleeping under straw on the beach. Lester had a lucky break in Cherbourg, where he was able to visit his brother Neil in the hospital after Neil was wounded for the second time serving with the 3rd Armored Division. “Lester said that every morning U.S. bombers would fill the skies, headed for Germany where they would fulfill their bombing missions and return sometime in the afternoon. This continued for quite a long period of time. After the war ended, he went to Marseille, France for about 4 months and was involved in building staging areas where troops could stay in preparation for shipment to Japan. Lester was discharged from Camp McCoy, Wisconsin in September of 1945, just in time for the hunting season which was just fine with him! Lester said that the military was okay, but he wouldn’t take a million bucks to have to do it all again.” 

           The “SS Leopold” was in actuality the Leopoldville, a Belgian maritime ocean liner-turned troopship. The tragic sinking came as a disaster for 66th troops- they had just lost nearly half of their division. A ship being sunk by a German Kriegsmarine U-Boat this late in the war would be a crippling blow to the moral of the American people, so all 66th survivors were ordered not to speak a word about the sinking. It was courageous of Sgt. Westberg to be one of the first to get the word out, as during and for many years following the war, many Panthers were threatened by government officials; they would lose their VA benefits if they spoke out. The sinking of the Leopoldville was partially declassified in 1959, but it took until 1996 to be fully declassified. Upon arrival in Cherbourg, Combat engineer Lester Westberg was tasked with the demolition of German fortifications and emplacements around the German-pockets of Northern France. The St. Nazaire and Lorient pockets held over 100,000 German soldiers, and it was not until VE-Day that they surrendered- although considerably less of them were still fighting by the time the 66th had finished their assaults. 

           After the war, Lester was a man who was very proud of his service, and the part he played in the war. He was a building contractor for 42 years. He and “the crew” built 97 new homes in the Hoffman (Minnesota) area. He owned the Kensington and Hoffman lumber yards in partnership with his brother, Dale, for 27 years. 

          Community service was important to Lester. He was a 60-plus year member of the Hoffman American Legion and represented them in many parades and funerals, a lifetime member of the Red Rock Golf Club, served on the Hoffman City Council and as mayor of Hoffman, and served in many Lutheran church councils. No one knew a difference between rich or poor in the area he grew up. At one point, Lester went out there to check on a local poor family, with lots of kids. when one son unexpectedly died in their family, he went door to door and collected money and food for the family in their time in tragedy. 

          Favorite pastimes for Lester included visiting with family and friends and going for “Sunday drives.” He was an avid hunter and fisherman, enjoying hunting and fishing trips with family and friends, then later with his grandchildren. Lars passed away peacefully on Nov. 2, 2010, at the ripe age of 89, as the last of the 5 Swedish warriors, the Westberg Brothers. He lived in Hoffman his whole life. 

         On this Christmas Eve, remember the men of the 66th. For Lester, he spent that night clenching the rails of the HMS Cheshire, as the moon lit the floating soldiers in the water. Many of his friends would not survive that night, and we must remember them. Enormous courage became routine for the Black Panthers, even after the terror they experienced on that cold Christmas Eve. The 66th fought with continued ferocity around the Kriegsmarine Bases and supply depots of Northern France, making them more than deserving of their lone campaign star on their European Theatre ribbon.
I am very grateful to the Westberg family for giving me the opportunity to honor Lester. Thank you all, very, very much. This is one of my favorite uniforms, and I know it will stay that way for a very long time. 

My Best Christmas Regards to all! 
-Preston

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78 years ago 

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Updated Story: 

 

This uniform belonged to Lester “Lars” Westberg. 78 years ago today, on the night of Christmas Eve, Lester witnessed a disaster unfolding in the cold Atlantic waves below him. Lars was born on May 21st, 1921 in Douglas County, Minnesota. He was one of the five proud Swedes- Westberg brothers who served honorably in the Second World War. Lester spent most of his childhood on the family farm located in the Urness Township of Douglas County, Minnesota. 

           The farm life was quiet, but with the majority of his brothers already in service, Lester Westberg figured it was his turn to “see the world”. Lars volunteered for the Army Engineers and was inducted into the military on March 5th, 1943 at Fort Blandin, Florida. Lester lived in Florida for three months while he was incorporated into the newly-organized 66th Infantry Division, “The Black Panthers”. While in Florida, Lester visited many parks, including St. Augustine, Florida, and the “Fountain of Youth”. Lester trained at Camp Robinson, AK for five months, and then at Camp Rucker, AL for extensive instruction as a combat engineer. Westberg was made a part of Company A in the 266th Combat Engineer Battalion.

           In early December of 1944, the 66th shipped off to England. At one point in the ’90s, Lester was a part of a newspaper interview about the war. “Lester said that the Germans sank one of their troopships, the “SS Leopold” when they crossed the French channel on Christmas Eve of 1944- only 5 miles from the French shoreline. They lost more than 800 men to the freezing ocean, and a huge amount of heavy equipment, vital to stopping the German Ardennes Offensive. Westberg talked about the German Sub Pens at St. Nazaire and Lorient, which were bombed continuously by allied forces, but were impenetrable because of their heavy concrete construction, and miles of bunkers. Lester was also at Cherbourg, France, for a couple of weeks, and the conditions were not good there as they had to sleep in their pup tents out on the runways.” For many nights he slept under the straw scattered over French beaches. “Lester said that every morning U.S. bombers would fill the skies, headed for Germany where they would fulfill their bombing missions and return sometime in the afternoon. This continued for quite a long period of time. After the war ended, he went to Marseille, France for about 4 months and was involved in building staging areas where troops could stay in preparation for shipment to Japan. Lester was discharged from Camp McCoy, WI in September 1945. This was convenient timing for the hunting season which was just fine with him! Lester said that the military was okay, but he wouldn’t take a million bucks to have to do it all again.” 

           The “SS Leopold” was actually the SS Leopoldville, a Belgian maritime ocean liner-turned troopship. The tragic sinking was a disaster for 66th Division troops. A ship being sunk by a German Kriegsmarine U-Boat this late in the war would be a crippling blow to the morale of the American people, so all 66th survivors were ordered not to speak a word about the sinking. It was courageous of Sergeant Westberg to get the word out. Government officials threatened many GIs after the war. Speaking out would lead to a loss of VA benefits. The sinking of the Leopoldville was partially declassified in 1959, but it took until 1996 to be fully declassified. Upon arrival in Cherbourg, Combat Engineer Westberg was tasked with the demolition of German fortifications and emplacements around the German-occupied pockets of Northern France. His platoon used satchel charges and explosives to destroy enemy positions. The St. Nazaire and Lorient pockets held over 100,000 German soldiers. It was not until VE-Day that they capitulated. 

           After the war, Lester was very proud of his service but seldom talked about the part he played in the war. He was a building contractor for 42 years. Lars and “the crew” built 97 new homes in the Hoffman (Minnesota) area. He owned the Kensington and Hoffman lumber yards in partnership with his brother, Dale, for 27 years. 

          Community service was crucial to Lester. He was a 60-plus-year member of the Hoffman American Legion and represented them in many parades and funerals. Lester was also a lifetime member of the Red Rock Golf Club, served on the Hoffman City Council as mayor of Hoffman, and taught in many Lutheran church councils. Few knew the difference between rich and poor in the area he grew up. During one winter, Lars went out in a blizzard to check on a local underprivileged family with many kids. After one child unexpectantly died, Lester went door to door and collected money and food for the family in their time of tragedy. 

          Favorite pastimes for Lester included visiting with family and friends and going for Sunday drives. He was an avid hunter and fisherman. Lars especially enjoyed trips with his grandchildren. Lars passed away peacefully on November 2nd, 2010, at the ripe age of 89, as the last of the Westberg Brothers.

         On this Christmas Eve, remember the men of the 66th Division. Lester spent that night clenching the rails of the HMS Cheshire as the moonlit hundreds of freezing soldiers in the water. Many of his friends did not survive that night and it is essential that we remember them. Enormous courage became routine for the Black Panthers, even after the terror they experienced on that cold Christmas Eve. The 66th fought with ferocity around the Kriegsmarine Bases and supply depots of Northern France, making them more than deserving of their lone campaign star on their European Theatre ribbon.

I am very grateful to the Westberg family for allowing me to honor Lester. Thank you all, very, very much.