Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg presented a Purple Heart to Anabel Antonsanti-Weis and her family in honor of her late father, Coast Guard Seaman 1st Class Arturo Antonsanti who was a WWII veteran, in St. Petersburg, Florida, February 3, 2020. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Ayla Hudson.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Coast Guard presented a Purple Heart to Anabel Antonsanti-Weis, on behalf of her late father Coast Guard Seaman 1st Class Arturo Antonsanti Wednesday, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Capt. Matthew Thompson, Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, presented the award posthumously to Anabel, and her family in honor of her father who was a survivor of the WWII vessel USS Leopold attack but who passed away in 2008.
The Coast Guard manned USS Leopold was attacked by a German submarine March 9, 1944 in the northern Atlantic of which only 28 crewmen survived and 171 lost their lives.
Purple Hearts were approved for the 28 survivors by the Commandant of the Coast Guard in November 2011.
