Rome, NY WWII Fallen

Tec5 Gabriel J. Ensenat

U.S. Army 32489967

U.S. Army Medical Corps, 15th General Hospital, Liege, Belgium

Gabriel Joseph Ensenat was born April 20, 1921, in Rome, Oneida County, New York, to Bartolome (1882-1954) and Vincenza (1892-1954) Ensenat. Bartolome was born August 9, 1882, in Andraitx, Spain, and Vincenza was born in 1892 in Carrena, Asturias, Spain. They were married June 20, 1920, in Carrena, Spain. The couple immigrated to the United States from Barcelona, Spain, on the SS Patricio DeSatrustegui, entering New York City, New York, on October 17, 1920. Bartolome and Vincenza moved to Rome, New York, in 1920, where he worked at Revere Copper and Brass as a laborer until he retired in 1947. Bartolome applied for citizenship in Utica, New York, on April 6, 1940.

Gabriel was the first of four children born to Bartolome and Vincenza. His siblings were Matthias (June 29, 1925 - March 25, 2003), Edward (June 29, 1925 - June 30, 1925), and Carmen Gisondi (1927-2013). The 1930 U.S. Census shows Vincenza living at the State Hospital in Utica, New York, and the 1940 U.S. Census shows her at the State Hospital in Marcy, New York. PFC Matthias Ensenat served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and named his son, Gabriel, after his older brother.

Gabriel attended Columbus grade school and Rome Junior High School. He was a Boy Scout, played baseball, and was active in school programs. Gabriel attended Rome Free Academy, where he played as a lineman on the football team in 1938, 1939, and 1940.

Draft Registration Card (front)

Gabriel registered for the draft on February 15, 1942, in Rome, New York. He was 5’8” tall, weighed 170 pounds, had black hair and hazel eyes, and a scar on his forehead from an auto accident earlier in 1940. He was living with his father at 911 East Dominick Street in Rome, New York, and working at General Cable Corporation in Rome.

Gabriel enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 26, 1942, and was inducted in September 1942. The Daily Sentinel, Rome, New York, December 29, 1942, page 8, reported Gabriel playing halfback for the Pine Camp, New York, football team. Pine Camp, New York, was a winter military training facility for the U.S. Army and is now called Fort Drum.

Gabriel went overseas to the European Theater of Operations in February 1943 as part of the Army Medical Corps with the 15th General Hospital unit.

The following is excerpted from the WW2 U.S. Medical Research Centre website detailing the history of the 15th General Hospital unit:

https://www.med-dept.com/unit-histories/15th-general-hospital/#:~:text=The%201000%2Dbed%2015th%20General,two%20weeks%20later%20%E2%80%93ed).

Camp Kilmer, Stelton, New Jersey, was the staging area for the New York Port of Embarkation. The 15th General Hospital unit went aboard the RMS Queen Mary the night of February 29, 1944, and sailed the next day, March 1, 1944. The ship reached Gourock, Scotland, on March 7, 1944, and later went by train to Oteley Deer Park, Shropshire, England. There the unit trained and treated casualties of the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

The 15th General Hospital unit was later sent to Southampton, England, where everyone boarded a luxury liner. In the early hours of August 23, 1944, with destroyer escort, the 15th General Hospital set sail for the European Continent. As dawn broke, the ship was off Utah Beach, Normandy, France. They bivouacked at Sainte-Marie-de-Mont and later at Garches, near Paris.

In September 1944, the 15th General Hospital unit arrived in Liege, Belgium, where they were quartered in luxurious houses and hotels while the site for a hospital was prepared. The hospital, (a former Belgian Military Hospital) was situated on top of a hill called Saint-Laurent. Very thorough cleaning, mopping, and scrubbing was necessary to house the medical installation. The 1000-bed 15th General Hospital finally opened in Liege, Belgium, on September 21, 1944. The staff of the 15th General Hospital organized meetings with the medical faculty of the local university who were eager to catch up on the latest medical developments following the long intellectual drought of enemy occupation (1940-1944).

The hospital had a regular visitor, “Bedcheck Charlie,” an enemy reconnaissance plane that flew over every night. Sirens blew, lights went out, antiaircraft artillery fired, and the plane went home, to return the next night.

Something new and more destructive came from the skies about this time – the V-1 and V-2 flying bombs, better known as “Buzz Bombs.” On November 24, 1944 (the day after Thanksgiving), the 15th General Hospital woke to the blackest day in its history. A V-1 flying bomb made a direct hit in front of the pharmacy building, killing 24 including seventeen enlisted men, six civilians, and one officer. Countless others were bruised, cut, maimed. As fires raged and walls were tumbling down, the entire unit went to work evacuating patients, caring for wounded, extricating the dead.

The hospital was a shambles and the location was deemed too dangerous. The entire installation was moved to an old fort, the Citadelle, on the outskirts of Liege.

Personnel Killed in Action 24 November 1944 at 15th Gen Hospital in Belgium

Michael A. RAFFERTY, MC, Major
John C. RYAN, MD, Staff Sergeant
Joseph S. ZABELLA, Sr., MD, Technical Sergeant
Francis G. HARRIS, MD, Technician 3d Grade
Dolphis M. DAIGLE, MD, Sergeant
Samuel J. GRAHAM, MD, Technician 4th Grade
David A. HUNTER, MD, Corporal
James T. CARR, MD, Technician 5th Grade
Gabriel J. ENSENAT, MD*, Technician 5th Grade
Lee R. MALMO, MD, Technician 5th Grade
Marion R. PETRICK, MD, Technician 5th Grade
Guy S. JOHNSON, MD, Private First Class
Philip ROTH, Private First Class
Alex CHASE, Private
William J. MILCHRAM, Private
Stephen N. MILLER, Private

*The MD designation was for Medical Department

Corporal Herbert Weiermann and Corporal Harry Webb, both of Rome, New York, aided in the rescue work at the hospital. The unit had already treated over 32,000 wounded soldiers in less than nine months. In less than two hours after the buzz bomb hit, all 1158 patients were safely evacuated. The personnel of the unit worked day and night for five days to get the hospital relocated to the Citadelle, with scores of instances of individual heroism.

A telegram from the War Department in December 1944, notified Bartolome Ensenat that Tec5 Gabriel Ensenat was killed in the line of duty on November 24, 1944, at the 15th General Hospital in Liege, Belgium. Gabriel was the 45th Roman to give his life in World War II.

Tec5 Gabriel Ensenat was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Rome Medal of Honor. Gabriel was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery at Fosse, Belgium, Block C, Row 2, Grave 30. He was later interred in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Liege, Belgium, Plot H, Row 9, Grave 12.

In October 1953, a reunion of the Rome Free Academy (RFA) football teams of 1913 and 1938 was held in Rome, New York. These teams were both undefeated and had two of the most brilliant records in the history of RFA football. Four members of the 1938 team were killed in World War II – Gabriel Ensenat, Edward L. Smith, Jr., Nicholas Esposito, and Leslie Telesca. A prayer was offered for these departed team members.

In December 1959, a citywide testimonial dinner to the RFA football players from 1894 through 1959 was held at The Beeches. The 1938 team, one of RFA’s nine undefeated teams, presented a memorial trophy listing all of the undefeated teams. The memorial trophy is in honor of the five players on the 1938 team who have died, including those four killed in World War II, and the late William Hosley.

Bartolome Ensenat died March 2, 1954, at age 71. The funeral was held at St. John the Baptist Church, with burial at St. John’s Cemetery, in Rome, New York. He had retired from Revere Copper and Brass in 1947 and was a member of Sociedad Ibero-American. Vincenza (Vincenta) Ensenat died in Marcy, New York, on September 5, 1954, and is also buried at St. John’s Cemetery.

End notes: This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars Project, a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3 web sites. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery. If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact hillerson@beyondbb.com.

Resources:

Findagrave:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56280930/gabriel-j-ensenat

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21252567/bartolo-ensenat

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21252568/vincenza_ensenat

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115421208/carmen_gisondi

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10280778/matthais-a-ensenat

Fold3:

https://www.fold3.com/record/529861400/gabriel-j-ensenat-us-american-battle-monuments-commission-1914-1950

https://www.fold3.com/record/704804966/ensenat-gabriel-j-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954

https://www.fold3.com/sub-image/299532131/ensenat-gabriel-j-us-wwii-army-and-army-air-force-casualty-list-1946?terms=32489967

https://www.fold3.com/sub-image/641609590/ensenat-gabriel-j-us-rosters-of-world-war-ii-dead-1939-1945