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Ferdinand A. Glapion: A World War II Navy hero [1]

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Date: 2024-06-03  

Ferdinand A. Glapion Jr. of New Orleans, who served in the Navy during World War II, received the Purple Heart and the World War II Victory Medal. Credit: Department of Defense

Ferdinand A. Glapion Jr. of New Orleans wasn’t old enough to serve in World War II.

“He believed that he could be of service to his country, but due to his age, required parental consent,” states a memorial on Find a Grave. “His father, although initially reluctant, consented and allowed Glapion to join the U.S. Navy.”

Glapion, like so many other Black men and women, stepped up to fight the Nazis, even though white civilians and white military leaders thought Black soldiers “couldn’t fight.”

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, when Germany invaded France in May 1940, only 4,007 (2.3 percent) out of the Navy’s 215,000 sailors were Black. Most served as mess attendants, officers’ cooks and stewards.

On June 6, 1944, roughly 2,000 Black soldiers participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. According to the History Channel website, about 156,000 Allied troops from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom stormed the beach that day. The Nazis killed 4,000.

Steward’s Mate First Class Glapion, who worked at a market before enlisting, was aboard the LST-523, a ship used to transport wounded soldiers or carry reinforcements during the Normandy invasion. On June 19, 1944, the ship, with 40 Navy medics and 195 military personnel aboard, hit an enemy mine near Omaha Beach.

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the blast split the ship in half. It sank in 15 minutes.

Small boats in the area saved the wounded and recovered the deceased. Glapion was not one of them. He was declared killed in action on June 20, 1945.

Glapion received the Purple Heart and the World War II Victory Medal. His name appears on the Walls of the Missing in the Normandy American Cemetery.

Glapion was 18 and a hero.

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[1] Url: https://veritenews.org/2024/06/03/ferdinand-a-glapion-a-world-war-ii-navy-hero/

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