William Grover Leek Jr
MilitaryAssigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Piggy-back co-pilot, Hamburg mission. Shot down 31-Dec-44 in B-17 42-31987. 'The Little Skipper' Prisoner of War (POW).
Refused pilots order to abandon A/C, as order would condemn pilot. Rode the piggybacked bombers to earth, miraculously survived crash along with pilot when lower bomber exploded upon impact and projected 'The Little Skipper' into the air whereupon it landed and ploughed through a building.
Awards: DFC, AM, PH, POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Shilaylee, The Little Skipper
- Unit: 100th Bomb Group 350th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 31 December 1944
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Everson, Washington, USA | 16 March 1923 | |
Enlisted |
Seattle, WA, USA | 25 July 1942 | |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 31 December 1944 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I. |
Other Crash landed |
Kleingärtnerverein Rüstringen e.V., Neuengrodener Weg 50, 26386 Wilhelmshaven, Germany | 31 December 1944 | Piggy-back co-pilot, Hamburg mission. Shot down 31-Dec-44 in B-17 42-31987. 'The Little Skipper' Prisoner of War (POW). |
Died |
San Luis Obispo, CA, USA | 24 March 1988 | |
Based |
Thorpe Abbotts | 31 December 1944 | Assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Whatcom County, WA, USA |