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The 66th Infantry Division was activated in April of 1943. Known as the "Black Panther Division," the unit arrived in England in November of 1944. Moving from England to France in December of that year, a transport vessel carrying many soldiers from the unit, the SS Leopoldville, was struck by a German U-Boat while crossing the English Channel, resulting in the loss of close to 800 soldiers. The rest of the unit continued on; fighting across France and Germany for the remainder of WWII.