Jack Carrol Leonard was born January 9, 1922 in Huntington, Sebastian Co., Ar. to Mattie Leonard, her maiden name. His grandparents, who he was living with in 1940 in Center township in Sebastian Co. were Frank & Lou Leonard, parents of Mattie. His step-father was Carl Madsen. July 28, 1944 Jack married Geneva J. Gilliam from Huntington, Sebastian Co., Ar. No registration cards for the military draft have been found. On September 7, 1942 Jack enlisted in the Army Air Corps at Little Rock, Arkansas. His enlistment papers sat he completed 4 years of high school and his civil occupation was "Semiskilled mechanics and repairman." He served with the 97th Bomb Group. From Wikipedia During World War II the 97th Bombardment Group flew its first mission on 17 August 1942. It was the first Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombardment group to fly a mission from the United Kingdom against a European target, the marshalling yards at Sotteville-lès-Rouen in France. In late 1942 the group moved to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, where it earned two Distinguished Unit Citations for missions against Steyr, Austria and Ploiești, Romania. The unit earned a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for leading a raid against an aircraft factory at Steyr on 24 February 1944 during "Big Week," the intensive air campaign against the German aircraft industry. The unit participated in first shuttle-bombing mission to Russia (Operation Frantic) in June 1944. The group earned a second DUC for a devastating raid against one of the Ploiești oil refineries in Rumania on 18 August 1944. The unit supported Allied forces at Anzio and Cassino by bombing enemy communications, transportation targets, and airfields. The unit bombed coastal defenses in preparation for the invasion of Southern France and assisted the American Fifth and British Eighth armies in their advance through the Po Valley of Northern Italy until the German surrender in May 1945. The 97th Bomb Group flew 467 combat missions, in which 110 aircraft were lost. During this time TSgt Jack Leonard was awarded the Air Medal on April 21, 1944. On May 24, 1944 he was again awarded the Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Custers. June 21, 1944 he was awarded an Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters. The information about TSgt Leonard's awards is from the Army Air Corps Library & Museum. A date for his discharge from the service has not been found. Jack Carrol Leonard passed away April 23, 2019 at Greenwood, Sebastian Co., Ar. He burial was in Gilliam Cemetery at Witcherville, Sebastian Co., Ar.