Harold James Decell was born on November 15, 1923. He was the husband of Lucy Newton "Bunny" Page Ruggles. He served in Company L, 262nd Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division, as a Private First Class during World War II. In December 1944, the 66th Infantry Division arrived in England and was quickly ordered to France as reinforcements during the Battle of the Bulge.

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1944, more than 2,000 soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 66th Infantry Division were crossing the English Channel aboard the Belgian troopship SS Leopoldville, traveling from Southampton to Cherbourg, France. Only a few miles from port, the ship was torpedoed by the German submarine U-486. The blast and swift flooding plunged the ship into chaos amid freezing darkness, while rescue efforts were hampered by poor communication, a shortage of lifeboats, and confusion within the harbor. As a result of the disaster, 763 American soldiers were killed, and 493 were never recovered. Some perished trapped below deck, others drowned in the icy waters of the Channel, and several courageous officers and enlisted men lost their lives while trying to save their fellow soldiers.

PFC Decell was among the soldiers killed that day, and is now buried at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Saint Johnsbury, Caledonia County, Vermont.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com