kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Share #1 Posted October 17, 2016 I posted this over on WAF, so if you hang out on that forum, you may have already saw this thread. One of my heroes and long time friends recently passed away. His name was Dan Leach. He was 96. Dan flew approximately 33 missions with the 15th Air Force, 325th Fighter Group, 318th Fighter Squadron from 29 July 1944 through 25 November 1944. He flew P-51B, C and D models. He went on and flew transport and ferry missions from 1 February 1945 through 19 September 1945 with the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces, 328th Ferrying Squadron. I became friends with Dan about 10 years ago when I met him at a Veterans Day breakfast. We quickly became friends when he found out I was a WWII enthusiast and collector. He also liked to collect. My route home from work would take me right past his house, so on many evenings, if it was not too late, I would stop in for a visit. I was also the designated driver for outings to gun and militaria shows. We took many trips down to Denver which is about two hours away. I would drive and he would tell stories about flying. It made the trip go by in what seemed like only a few minutes. He had some great stories and was a genuinely good man. He died peacefully in his sleep. I will miss him. His family was very gracious and offered me his personal WWII items. I am honored to be the keeper of his items and his history. I will post many picutres of all the items in his grouping. I hope you enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #2 Posted October 17, 2016 Here is a picture of Dan in 1943 after he had completed flight training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #3 Posted October 17, 2016 Here is a picture of him not looking too happy after seeing what some flak had done to the tail of his plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarheeltim Posted October 17, 2016 Share #4 Posted October 17, 2016 Good job befriending this gentleman, and congratulations on your new grouping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #5 Posted October 17, 2016 Copy of the article from his hometown newspaper in Cheyenne, WY announcing his receipt of the Air Medal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #6 Posted October 17, 2016 His A-2 jacket with a super nice patch from the 318th "Green Dragons". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #7 Posted October 17, 2016 A-2 patches. As you can see, most of the paint wore off the 15th AF patch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAW Posted October 17, 2016 Share #8 Posted October 17, 2016 Already looks top-notch. Thanks for posting, and keeping the stuff together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #9 Posted October 17, 2016 Overseas caps, B-2, and Bancroft visor.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle5036 Posted October 17, 2016 Share #10 Posted October 17, 2016 Very nice WWII AAF grouping! It is great you are the caretaker for his grouping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #11 Posted October 17, 2016 B-2 and Bancroft Flighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #12 Posted October 17, 2016 Pinks and greens"...shown is his dress uniform...shirt and pants are on the hanger under the jacket. The wings on the jacket are a nice Balfour set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #13 Posted October 17, 2016 There was a note attached to this shirt that said he wore this particular shirt when flying missions. Attached are a set of Josten wings. Next is one of his dog tags. Interesting to see the address. He grew up in this home and moved into after his parents passed away....and it is where he passed away just a few weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamski Posted October 17, 2016 Share #14 Posted October 17, 2016 A beautiful grouping. -Ski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #15 Posted October 17, 2016 Here are all of his log books. Includes his civilian private pilot log, training log, combat and transport log, and then his logs after the war. Also in the picture is his lighter with his initials and his dog tag. Included is a sample page out of his combat log book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #16 Posted October 17, 2016 Next are his Form 5s. These are copies of the Squadron assembly/tracking sheets signed off on by the acting Operations Officer. Pretty cool information and record to back up the log books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #17 Posted October 17, 2016 His B-4 bag and overcoat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #18 Posted October 17, 2016 Dan's aviator sunglasses and the bible his mom gave him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted October 17, 2016 Share #19 Posted October 17, 2016 Beautiful just beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #20 Posted October 17, 2016 His gas mask. He said it made him a little nervous when they issued him this item. He really hoped he would never have to use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #21 Posted October 17, 2016 I have more items that are not pictured. More pictures, his dress shoes, socks, pants, shirts, belt and some other memorabilia. If you want me to post something you see in better detail, let me know. Here are some better pictures of the A-2 patches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundance Posted October 17, 2016 Share #22 Posted October 17, 2016 That is one spectacular group. Did he fly after September '45? Did the family keep anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpaintner Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share #23 Posted October 17, 2016 Yes...he continued to fly with the Air Guard, Civil Air patrol and as a private pilot. His family kept a couple of Lugers he brought back, his watch and medals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundance Posted October 17, 2016 Share #24 Posted October 17, 2016 He was clearly quite a man. It's great that you had an opportunity to befriend him. May he rest in peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieony Posted October 17, 2016 Share #25 Posted October 17, 2016 A really nice group...congratulations and thank you for sharing! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now