Leonard Robert Willette ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from New Jersey
On September 22, 1944 Second Lieutenant Willette was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army Air Forces. ★ He is remembered by the people of New Jersey. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Click to Submit Update Request for this Fallen Service Member▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Leonard Robert Willette is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2023-09-20 07:07:49.
Missing : Core Data
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Birth + childhood location· Educational background
· Marriage history
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 323475 |
| Service ID | T-062308 |
| Name | Leonard Robert Willette |
| From | Belleville, Essex County, New Jersey |
| Birth Date | April 29, 1921 |
| Casualty Date | September 22, 1944 |
| War | World War II |
| Service Branch | Army Air Forces |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Specialty | Pilot |
| Unit/Group | 332nd Fighter Group, 99th Fighter Squadron |
| Casualty Type | Non Hostile, Died while Missing, Air crash |
| Location | Freimehring, Germany |
| Burial | American Cemetery, Lorraine, France, Plot J Row 18 Grave 17 |
| Notable Awards |
★ Air Medal |
Additional Details
Leonard Robert Willette was a member of the Tuskegee Airmen.On September 22, 1944 he was piloting his P-51B Mustang #42-106504 "Wrong Woman" during a bomber escort mission to Munich, Germany. He had engine trouble and said he was going to bail out. He was not seen again. At some later point his body was found as he was buried in France. He was posthumously promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. ▼ Auto-Generated Profile Synopsis: Leonard Robert Willette was serving his country during World War II when he gave his all in the line of duty. He had enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces. Entered the service via Regular Military. Willette had the rank of Second Lieutenant. His military occupation or specialty was Pilot. Service number assignment was T-062308. Attached to 332nd Fighter Group, 99th Fighter Squadron.
He was born on April 29, 1921. According to our records New Jersey was his home or enlistment state and Essex county has been included within the archival record. We have Belleville listed as his city. During his service in World War II, Army Air Forces Second Lieutenant Willette was reported missing and ultimately declared dead on September 22, 1944. Recorded circumstances attributed to: Non Hostile, Died while Missing, Air crash. Incident location: Freimehring, Germany. |
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Air Medal
★ United States Aviator Badge Army
★ World War II Victory Medal
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Army Good Conduct Medal
★ European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.New Jersey Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of New Jersey who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ New Jersey was home to over 17,260 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 2,789 World War I
• 12,131 World War II
• 852 Korean War
• 1,488 Vietnam War
• 158 Prisoners of war
• 2,909 Missing in action
• 30 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 206 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 19 Medal of Honor recipients
• 12,131 World War II
• 852 Korean War
• 1,488 Vietnam War
• 158 Prisoners of war
• 2,909 Missing in action
• 30 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 206 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 19 Medal of Honor recipients
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