A World War II Veteran who survived a deadly torpedo attack on his ship will finally get a chance to see a memorial of the tragic event.
The Leopoldville Memorial in Veteran's Park in Titusville is dedicated to the 783 members of the 66th Infantry Division who died on the SS Leopoldsville on Christmas Eve in 1944.
The ship with 2,000 on board was en route through the English Channel to help with reinforcements during the Battle of the Bulge when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat.
Among the survivors was Private First Class Steve Negrey who is now 94-years-old and lives in St. Augustine.
He spent years searching for the memorial and thanks to a book author; Negrey will now see it at a special ceremony this weekend at Veteran's Park. The park houses memorials of 10 major U.S. conflicts.
George Cipolletti was also a crew member on the ill-fated ship and was instrumental in the creation of the park and the Leopoldsville memorial. His son, John Cipolletti, said he wishes his father could have met Negrey.
“I hope he enjoys it as much as my dad did doing it, and it's kind of a shame dad didn't get to meet a fellow survivor, he passed a few years ago,” said Cipolletti.
The special ceremony takes place Saturday at 11 am at Veteran's Park.