Abe Laurenzo

Prepared by the Witnesses of War team

Abraham “Abe” Laurenzo was born on 7 August 1925. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy’s amphibious forces, reaching the rating of Radioman First Class. His service aboard USS LCI(L)-409 and USS LCI(L)-47 took him to the invasions of Normandy and southern France. These infantry landing craft carried soldiers directly onto the invasion beaches.

After twenty weeks of radio training, Laurenzo was unexpectedly assigned to LCI(L)-409 in March 1944, replacing a radioman who had been confined to the brig. He had never seen the ocean or travelled aboard anything larger than a canoe or rowboat. The crossing from Norfolk, Virginia, to Plymouth, England, lasted twenty-one days through rough Atlantic seas. With help from an officer, he quickly learned to operate the ship’s radio equipment.

On 6 June 1944, eighteen-year-old Laurenzo participated in the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach, helping deliver American infantrymen to Normandy. After the landing, his vessel collided with a Landing Ship, Tank, while coming alongside to transfer soldiers for medical treatment. The damage forced the crew to return to England for dry-dock repairs before resuming operations.

Laurenzo subsequently participated in the invasion of southern France. By spring 1945, aboard LCI(L)-47, he was transporting Yugoslav repatriates and German prisoners between North Africa, Yugoslavia and Italy. He was in Naples when Germany’s surrender was announced, and returned to the United States that summer.

Discharged on 4 March 1946, Laurenzo began a thirty-nine-year career in purchasing and contracting, eventually becoming Chief of the Major Procurement Branch at Watervliet Arsenal, New York, before retiring in 1985. He later served as chaplain of the USS Landing Craft Infantry National Association, maintaining his connection with fellow veterans and sharing his memories of amphibious service during the war.