Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
All Credit for this article
goes to Deborah McKeon
and the
Temple Daily Telegram
goes to Deborah McKeon
and the
Temple Daily Telegram
Cameron Man Awarded Medal
by Deborah McKeon
Temple Daily Telegram
2014-12-28
Cameron: Omer Poorman was with the U.S. Army 66th Infantry Division on-board the S.S.
Leopoldville when it was torpedoed and sank on Dec. 24, 1944. About 800 men died.
On Dec. 18, Poorman, one of the survivors, received the French Legion of Honor medal in
Houston. That is the highest decoration that France can award.
Poorman and his wife, Betsy, made the trip to the home of French Consulate General Sujiro
Seam to receive the award that originated in 1802 with Napoleon Bonparte. France honors
U.S. veterans who served in the country during World War II.
Born in Katy on Feb. 21, 1924, Poorman entered the service in June 1943 at Fort Riley,
Kan., at the age of 19 or 20. He was sent with his division to England on Nov. 14, 1924.
A German submarine U-486 torpedoed the ship just 7.5 miles from the port of Cherbourg,
France.
On board the ship with Poorman were 2,234 other American soldiers. The exact number of
lives lost is unknown. No life jackets were issued, so many died in the cold waters of
the English Channel. Also, most of the crew took off in the lifeboats and left the
soldiers behind. The ship’s captain was the only officer lost in the sinking, according
to an account published on uboat.net.
Poorman was one of the lucky ones rescued by a British destroyer. He leaped from the S.S.
Leopoldville to the destroyer and was transferred to Lorient and St. Nazaire for the rest
of the war. He earned the Bronze Star for exemplary conduct in ground combat against the
enemy and a Combat Infantry Badge, Poorman said.
Because there were so many mistakes that led to the loss of lives, the records were
sealed from the public until 1996.
The ship’s wreck was eventually found and is in an area used for testing nuclear
submarines.
After his return from the war, Poorman graduated as a civil engineer and worked with the
Texas Department of Transportation, he said. He retired in 1986 as a district engineer
and permanently moved to his ranch near Cameron in 1991, he said.
Poorman’s time in France was OK when he wasn’t fighting, but he likes to forget the rest
of the war, he said.
He and his wife went to Paris for the 50th anniversary of when the ship sank and were
“wined and dined like royalty for a week,” Betty Poorman said. They stayed on for another
three weeks, rented a car and drove through the French countryside to places he’d been
during the war, she said. They even rode the underwater train that goes through a tunnel
in the English Channel to Paris, she said.
The Poormans are invited back to France for the 70th anniversary celebrated in May 2015
and will probably go, Betty Poorman said.
“We have always found the French people to be generous, helpful and kind,” Poorman said.
dmckeon@tdtne
.
Omer Poorman, right, of Cameron receives the French Legion of Honor medal from French Consulate General Sujiro Seam during a ceremony in Houston
Courtesy photo
.