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EDWIN S. ZAPETAL

Edwin S. Zapletal attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1943-1944 in the class of 1945. He was sailing as a cadet in the Atlantic aboard the liberty ship SS Paul Hamilton, of the Black Diamond shipping company.

One fateful day, April 20, 1944, the SS Paul Hamilton was part of a convoy carrying arms from Norfolk to Tunisia to help support the allies in Africa. The cargo on the Hamilton was high explosives. The convoy was attacked off the coast of Algeria by the Luftwaffe. One of the German planes launched a torpedo at the Hamilton. The torpedo struck home, and the ship exploded in a huge ball of flame. When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the SS Paul Hamilton.

On board the Hamilton were 47 merchant crew, including cadet Zapletal, 29 Navy Armed Guard members, and 504 men from the Army Air Force. All 580 were lost.