Leo Edward Hamlin

Private Leo Edward Hamlin was killed in action on February 25, 1945 in Alsace-Lorraine in France during World War II.  He was 23 years old.

Leo Edward Hamlin was born on May 23, 1921 in Vance County, North Carolina, the son of Edward Lee Hamlen and Sula Belle Hinton Hamlen.  He was employed in the Portsmouth shipyard and then joined the U.S. Maritime Service before enlisting in the U.S. Army.

Pvt Hamlin enlisted in the U.S. Army and, after training, was deployed to the European Theater of War serving in the 275th Infantry Regiment, 70th Division. 

On December 15, 1944, the 275th Regiment landed at Marseilles, France and was trucked to a staging area to make final preparations for combat. On December 20,  the Division boarded box cars and traveled north toward the front line arriving at Brumath, France on Christmas Eve.  They walked carrying full field gear and weapons to Bischweiler south of Haguenau Forest. Elements of the Regiment took part in the fight to stop the German Operation Nordwind and struck at the enemy at Philippsbourg and at Wingen between Bitche and Hagenau.

Operation Nordwind was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front. It was launched to support the German Ardennes offensive campaign in the Battle of the Bulge which by late December 1944 had decisively turned against the German forces. Nordwind began on  December 31, 1944 in Rhineland-Palatinate, Alsace and Lorraine in southwestern Germany and northeastern France and ended on January 25, 1945.

In mid-January 1945, the Division moved to an area directly south of Saarbrücken, where it carried out reconnaissance and combat patrols and improved its defensive positions. The division continued patrolling and combat raids as it made preparations for an offensive drive in mid-February. On February 17, 1945, the division attacked just below the Saar River. The 70th drove onto high ground overlooking Saarbrücken, smashed into Forbach, took Stiring-Wendel, and continued across the Saar to take Saarbrücken on March 20, 1945. Private Hamlin was killed in action on February 25, 1945.

Last edited: 30 May 2026