Leigh Slates Jr
Military
Object Number - UPL 21489 - Lt. Leigh Slates, Jr. Killed In Action 24 April 1945
1st Lieutenant Leigh Slates was born December 24, 1919. His next of kin were his wife, Glennadine Slates, and his parents, Leigh and Almira Slates. He was from Palmyra, Missouri.
On April 24, 1945, he was the Pilot of “Yo Yo Champ,” B-26 tail #42-95987 of the 17th Bomb Group (M), 34th Bomb Squadron (M), when it went down over Oberroth, Germany.
He is buried in the US Military Cemetery at St. Avold, France.
Connections
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Units served with

- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Twelfth Air Force Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-26 Marauder
- Nicknames: Yo-Yo Champ
- Unit: 344th Bomb Group 34th Bomb Squadron 496th Bomb Squadron 17th Bomb Group
Missions
- Date: 15 January 1945
- Date: 24 April 1945
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Palmyra, MO 63461, USA | 24 December 1919 | 1st Lieutenant Leigh Slates was born December 24, 1919. His next of kin were his wife, Glennadine Slates, and his parents, Leigh and Almira Slates. He was from Palmyra, Missouri. |
Enlisted |
St. Louis, MO, USA | 15 January 1942 | At Jefferson Barracks |
Died |
Oberroth, Germany | 24 April 1945 | On April 24, 1945, he was the Pilot of “Yo Yo Champ,” B-26 tail #42-95987 of the 17th Bomb Group (M), 34th Bomb Squadron (M), when it went down over Oberroth, Germany. |
Buried |
He is buried in the US Military Cemetery at St. Avold, France. Plot E Row 45 Grave 24 |
Revisions
He was with the 17th BG, not the 19th as in the typo.
A couple of the sources available online are:
ABMC record: https://www.abmc.gov/node/538071#.VyCUHk32aM8
Findagrave record: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=slates&GSfn=leigh…;
I am a relative of 1st LT Leigh Slates, Jr. His youngest brother is my Grandfather. Many of the corrections I have made are from facts shared with me by his parents and other members of his family, as well as my own personal research.
IDPF and/or crash report researched by Bill Beigel. IDPF donated to American Air Museum by Bill Beigel. For more information about this flyer, you may contact http://ww2research.com.