For Sergeant Eugene Leonard, the time he spent in Pearl Harbor remains a part of him forever.
It really warms my heart to see stories like these.
Sadly, “The Greatest Generation” is fading away from existence. Soon, there won’t be any WWII Veterans left. I personally try to thank each Veteran I see and teach my Son to do the same. I want him to be able to tell his children one day that he knew and met some of the heroes from the “Greatest Generation”.
That he met men and women that forever changed the world and made history. When I was a young volunteer EMT, I had the honor of meeting the last surviving WWI Veteran in the Greater Pittsburgh area. He was 104 years old, funny and a total pervert. He kept checking out all the pretty girls walking by on the street as we passed the University of Pittsburgh. He kept saying, “…if I was your age kid, I would be flirting with those pretty little things like there was no tomorrow.
That was about the politest comment he made about the lovely ladies. The rest were much more crude. I loved that guy! LOL! At 104 years of age, I guess you don’t really worry about manners and the like.
I think we all should take the time to get to know our elder Veterans. For they ARE the REAL History books.
At 99-years-old, the sergeant made his maiden voyage on the sentimental journey Saturday.
“Of course I spent thousands of hours in the R4D and C46’s,” said Leonard.
He joined the Marines in 1936. He also served in the Air Force. A renowned mechanic for 76 years, he was shot during war and survived.
“I’d say indirectly, he saved about 40 lives with his maintenance on airplanes and preventing pilots from making mistakes,” said Guy Coulombe.
Two years ago, Coulombe befriended the Sergeant during a monthly meeting of Pearl Harbor survivors in San Diego, where the war hero lived at the time.
Coulombe arranged this flight hoping to cheer up his friend who recently lost his second wife and moved to the valley with his son.
(Photo Credit: FOX 10 Phoenix)