In the summer of 1944, Leukering was assigned to the 816th Bomber Squadron, 483rd Bomber Group (Heavy), 15th Air Force. Leukering was a radio operator on a B-17G Flying Fortress that was struck by enemy anti-aircraft on July 18, 1944 during a bombing raid on German air defense installations in Memmingen, Germany. The aircraft suffered damage and the pilot ordered the crew to bail out. Six of the airmen parachuted successfully while the other five crew members, including Leukering, were believed to still be on board when the aircraft exploded in an area south of Memmingen, Germany.
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| U.S. Army Air Forces Tech Sgt. William L. Leukering |
Beginning in 1946, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), Army Quartermaster Corps, was the organization tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European Theater. In 1946, AGRC investigators searched the area of the crash site, they discovered two sets of remains however neither were associated with Leukering. He was declared non-recoverable on July 26, 1951.
In 2012, a German researcher notified Department of Defense investigators of an aircraft crash site near Kimratshofen, Germany, possibly associated with Leukering’s B-17. This information subsequently led to an investigation in 2013 and excavation efforts in 2018. The excavation team located possible human remains and material evidence.
In 2019, DPAA partner teams from the University of New Orleans, and Cranfield University continued work at the Kimratshofen site recovering additional material which was also transferred to the DPAA laboratory.
To identify Leukering’s remains scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Leukering’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Epinal American Cemetery an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Epinal, France along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette has been placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Exactly eighty years after his death, Leukering's remains were buried on Thursday, July 18 in Round Springs Cemetery just outside of Metropolis, Illinois.
State Rep. Patrick Windhorst spoke at the service calling Leukering “a man of exceptional courage, dedication and sacrifice, ... his return is a testament to the enduring promise that our nation will never forget its heroes. It is a reminder of the courage and sacrifice that defines our greatest generation.”
Between 1,500 and 2,300 Massac Countians were inducted or enlisted in World War II. Of those, at least 57 would not return home alive. “They would not get to enjoy the blessings of liberty for which they fought and died," said Windhorst. "They would live on only in the memories of their loved ones and with the eternal gratitude of a nation made stronger by their sacrifice.”
"We dedicate ourselves to defend the values that Luster died protecting: liberty and justice, freedom and equality,” concluded Windhorst.
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Photo credit: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Photo Caption:
Left to right, front row: Edgar L. Mills, Robert N. Girad, Marcus M. Davis, Howell R. Witherspoon, William L. Leukering & Eugene M. Peterson. Back row: Herbert P. LeBlanc, John M. Hommel & Garden C. Ball.