Technical Sgt. Frederick A. Leard was a waist gunner assigned to the Element Lead B-24D Liberator bomber, named, Hail Columbia, 41-11825, flown by Col. John R. "Killer" Kane and Lt. John S. Young on Operation Tidal Wave, the large mission to destroy the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania on August 1, 1943.

TSgt. Leard had been flying and fighting over North Africa and all over the Mediterranean Theater of War for many months when he learned he would be flying to Ploesti with Col. Kane and Lt. John Young in, Hail Columbia, instead of flying with Lt. Young in their regularly assigned airplane, the B-24D, Kickapoo, which was assigned a replacement crew for the Ploesti mission. This seemingly random crew reassignment proved fortunate for Sgt. Leard and Lt. Young, because, Kickapoo's replacement crew were killed taking off for the Ploesti mission, 7 KIA, minus two, who survived but were badly burned, 2 WIA-RTS, after suffering multiple engine failures and a fire shortly after getting, Kickapoo, into the air, when they crashed in flames trying to land back at Lete Airbase at Benghazi. Fred Leard and all of, Hail Columbia's regular crew from the 344th Bomb Squadron, survived the Ploesti bombing mission, with minor injuries to several of the gunners.

Sgt. Frederick Leard received the Distinguished Flying Cross medal for his actions defending his and Lt. John Young's B-24D off the coast of Malta, and an Oak Leaf Cluster for his actions over Ploesti. 1 Aug 43.