Leon joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1939. Later
in the war, it was to be called the Army Air Forces. After the war, in 1947 to
be exact, a separate and independent U.S. Air Force was created.
Leon was shipped to the southwest Pacific, under the
leadership of General MacArthur. He was a crew chief, and side waist gunner on
a B-17 Flying Fortress.
He was a member of the of the 19th Bomb Group of
the Far East Air Force. Leon was present during the Japanese attack on Clark
Field in the Philippines on December 8, 1941. Luckily, many of the B-17’s had
taken to the air after hearing of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was thought
that they could defend themselves better in the air than on the ground. These
planes eventually made their way to Australia and safety, better to take the
war to the Japanese later on.
Leon went on to see combat over Java, Sumatra, and the Celebes
Islands. He also saw action in the Dutch East Indies, and eventually back to
the Philippines.
As part of the 20th Air Force, Leon trained and
flew on the new B-29 Superfortress. These bombers were the ones that took the
fight to mainland Japan under the generalship of Curtis LeMay.
Leon stayed in the Air Force until February of 1960. During
that time he was a flight engineer and instructor on the B-36 Peacemaker
bomber. This plane was interesting in that it had “pusher” prop engines with
turbo-jet engines at the leading tips of its wings. It also has the distinction
of being the only American strategic bomber never to have dropped its bombs in
anger. But it was the major deterrent during the Cold War, keeping the Russian’s
at bay during the 1950’s.
The 19th Bomb Group was one of the most decorated
in World War II. Along with its crews, it received among other awards the
Presidential Unit Citation.
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