The lives of 10 families were devastated on 4 February, 1944. At 13:32 hours, B17G-42 37975 crashed into the icy waters of the Grevelingen Bay off the coast of Walcheron Island, Holland. The formation was on the return flight from a bombing mission to Frankfort, Germany, when they were attacked by heavy anti-aircraft fire as well as German fighters ME 109s and FW 190s.

My father, S/Sgt. Leroy Earnest "Babe" Leist was the Tail Gunner on this aircraft. He and the entire crew were lost that sad day. I was 20 months old, my mother 22 years old. My Daddy Babe was 26 and considered an "old-timer."

My dad was born on October 18, 1918 in Delphos, Ohio to Earnest and Eva McGath Leist. He has one brother who was two years younger than he. Their mother, Mary died when my dad was 8 years old, his brother Vernon, was 6. My grandfather raised the two boys as a single parent. After they were grown, he remarried and had two daughters who are about my same age.

My dad was a member of the Ohio Army National Guard, "Buckeye Division." In 1940, this division was activated and sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi. My mom was a student at a College in the nearby town of Hattiesburg. They met and married in March of 1941. My dad's enlistment in the National Guard was fulfilled and he was released from service. Shortly after his release from obligation with the Ohio National Guard, he was drafted and chose the Army Air Corp.

Because of my dad's size, only 5'9" and weighing 145 lbs, he was assigned as a Tail Gunner. He trained on bases from Texas to Nebraska, and New Jersey. Finally in October of 1941, he was sent to the 100th Bomb Group base near Thorpe Abbots, England and assigned to the 418th Squadron.

My dad was flying on his 15th mission when his plane was lost to Erich Scheyda of the Luftwaffe JG26 Squadron. Because the aircraft was already weakened from a flak hit, the pilot, 22 year old Lt. William Green tried to dive through the undercast for cover. Unfortunately, Erich followed the crippled plane down through the clouds to issue the final blow and claim his kill.

My greatest possession is an old brown scrapbook my mother kept containing pictures, letters from the families of the other crew members and the most dreaded paper a family could receive, the telegram that begins, "We regret to inform you....."

My father was awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. His name is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Holland. There is a Memorial Marker placed in his memory at the US Military Cemetery, Biloxi, Mississippi

I swell with pride that my father was one of the thousands of brave young men who answered the call to serve their country in the name of freedom. May their sacrifices never be forgotten.