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John Churchill Leggett

Military

John Churchill Leggett PIlot 340th BG - 486th BS - 12th AF

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Service

People

Wilbur Somers

Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 340th Bomb Group

Units served with

486th Bomb Squadron
340th Bomb Group

Group
Activated on 20 August 1942. The 340th Bombardment Group trained with B-25's for duty overseas. They arrived in the Mediterranean theater in March 1943. Assigned first to the Ninth Air Force and later (in August 1943) to the Twelfth. Served in combat...

Associated Place

Pompeii Airfield

Military site : airfield
Paestrum

Military site : airfield
Alesan Airfield

Military site : airfield

Events

Event	Location	Date
Born	Washington, North Carolina	26 June 1920
Enlisted	Fort Bragg, North Carolina	13 February 1941
Combat Mission/Emergency Landing	Foligno, Italy	22 February 1944
Leggett was flying as co-pilot when his pilot, Wilbur Somers, was hit in the forehead by flak, incapacitating him. Leggett took over control of the aircraft and was able to make an emergency landing at the base. Lt. Somers died later that day despite the crews best efforts.
Combat Mission/Emergency Landing	Capodichino Airfield, Italy	13 May 1944
One ship – 6M – left formation off Gaeta Point and went to Naples, Pilot Leggett, Co-pilot Jacobson, Bombardier Barnard, Aerial Photographer Skipper. Lt. Leggett came in for a crash landing at Capodichino Airport and did a superior job in making a belly landing. Lt. Jacobson was seriously wounded in both legs and Lt. Barnard had a piece of flak go through his hand. Even in view of this Lt. Barnard administered first to Lt. Jacobson all the way to Capodichino. The airplane was badly shot up and the whole crew remained calm, cool and collected, showing outstanding merit under extreme circumstances. This was Lt. Leggett's and Sgt. Strait's third emergency belly landing – enough said for any man....
Died	Virginia Beach, Virginia	11 February 2006
Buried	Williamsburg, Virginia	14 February 2006
Cedar Grove Cemetery Williamsburg, Williamsburg City, Virginia, USA Show Map PLOT 1960 Addition SE

Revisions

Date	Contributor	Update
03 January 2022 00:25:20	466thHistorian	Changes to events
Sources
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53426699/john-churchill-leggett
Date	Contributor	Update
03 January 2022 00:21:46	466thHistorian	Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, highest rank, role, events, person associations, unit associations and place associations
Sources
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/32383448:60901?tid=&pi... https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=3693&h=77092751... http://57thbombwing.com/340th_History/486th_History/transcripts/9_Hist_T...