Private WILLIAM THOMAS LEONARD NX49070, A.I.F. 8 Div. Sup. Col., Australian Army Service Corps who died age 23 on 23 December 1944 Son of William and Mary Leonard, of Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia. Remembered with honour ST. LOUIS (JEFFERSON BARRACKS) NATIONAL CEMETERY CWGC :: Cemetery Details
From the link: St Louis National Cemetery Roll of Honour ST. LOUIS (JEFFERSON BARRACKS) NATIONAL CEMETERY is situated at Missouri in the United States of America. The cemetery has 39 Austaralian, British and Indians who were Japanese prisoners of war in the Far East. My question is: why are there 39 Commonwealth burials for POWs of the Japanese in Missouri? According to the AWM ROH his place of death was Japan and he died of "illness". His pers file at the NAA has not been digitised, so no clues there.
Clicking on the first link (to the CWGC) doesn't help answer my question, however, it does lead to more info on some of the burials in St Louis. First off, the roll-of-honour.org.uk page states 39 POW burials - not quite correct as six of the Aussie burials are from an USAAF aircraft crash in New Guinea in 1944. Also, the CWGC mentions 39 burials but there are 40 entries - the extra is explained by one of the Aussie aircraft crash casualties serving under an alias and having two entries on the CWGC site.
Here is everything I have on that crash (is this the right place to post it, or should I place it on my new thread?? http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-cemeteries-war-memorial-research/41686-st-louis-jefferson-barracks-national-cemetery-missouri-usa.html): CLAPINSON, Henry William - (Sergeant) RAAF 6109 - Paratroop Training Unit Fabric Worker (non-aircrew) attached to Services Reconnaissance Department (NAA holds a 292 page casualty file!). 531st Bombardment Squadron (mentioned in book “Tocumwal to Tarakan” by Michael V. Nelmes). Liberator 42-72801 "The Big Ass Bird II" crashed Fak Fak, Dutch New Guinea 19/03/1944 Crew: Pilot 1st Lt Otto H. Martens O-437245 (MIA/KIA) Ogallala, NE / Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Ernest R. Hedges O-681411 (MIA/KIA) New Albany, IN / Nav 2nd Lt Clifford M Odegaard O-808127 (MIA/KIA) Missoula, MO / Bomb 2nd Lt Brian J. Kennedy O-682551 (MIA/KIA) Flushing, NY / Gunner T/Sgt Arthur J. Schechtel 12157189 (MIA/KIA) NY, NY / Gunner S/Sgt Walter H. Dellinger 34085818 (MIA/KIA) Lowell, NC / Gunner S/Sgt Henry F. Flanagan 31231640 (MIA/KIA) Framingham, MA / Gunner S/Sgt Charles F. Burtis 32427593 (MIA/KIA) Lynbrook, NY / Gunner S/Sgt Howard W. Musson 16156517 (MIA/KIA) Bensenville, IL / Gunner T/Sgt William T. Rabbitt Jr 32535761 (MIA/KIA) Mt. Vernon, NY / Passengers (KIA): Sgt Henry William Clapinson RAAF / L/Sgt Kenneth Dreis Ireland AIF NX134938 / Cpl Arthur Wesley Filewood AIF QX6556 / Cpl James Norman McPherson AIF VX16623 / Cpl Godfrey Charles Mitchell-Burden AIF NX134272 / A/Cpl Ernest Charles Marshall AIF WX4211 (all crew, including the Australians are buried at St. Louis (Jefferson Barracks) National Cemetery which is situated in Missouri in the United States of America). Mission History: in addition to the crew of ten, an additional six Australian crew members were aboard. Took off from Fenton Airfield near Darwin for a 'night attack' against Babo. 1st Lt. John E. Lawor adds: "This aircraft was on a highly secretive mission, the details of which are unknown to this headquarters, the operation being conducted by the RAAF at Darwin.” All AIF members were part of Z Special Unit. Cpl Mitchell-Burden had an alias of "M. C. Taylor".
Just answered my own question regarding Private Leonard: From Burma Thailand Railway Memorial Association Inc. - Articles Burma Thailand Railway Memorial Association 267 Australians died in Japan, Korea and Hainan Island, however only 237 have graves in the Yokohama War Cemetery. Where are the other 30 graves? The answer provided by Rod was this: At the end of the war many Australian POWs seized the ashes of their mates from the Japanese and carried them as far as Manila. The Australian Government has a long standing rule that their servicemen killed overseas (unlike the Americans, who repatriate their dead) must be buried in the area where they died, hence the number of Allied War Cemeteries overseas. Those ashes from Japan were confiscated and now have graves at the Labuan War Cemetery in Borneo and can be located on Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site. All very well, but there remained another mystery - graves of three of the Australian POWs who died in Japan are not in Yokohama or Labuan. James Stewart Nicol, Charles Frederick Ward and William Thomas Leonard are buried in Section 82 Collective Grave Nos 1B, 1C and 1D, St Louis National Cemetery, USA. All three died at Fukuoka No 1 Camp; because of a shortage of urns several lots of ashes were stored together in large urns. Because these Australian ashes were mixed with American ashes the US authorities insisted on their removal to America. ************************************************************************* LEONARD, WILLIAM THOMAS, Private, NX49070, Australian Army Service Corps, A.I.F. 8 Div. Sup. Col., 23, 23/12/1944, Son of William and Mary Leonard, of Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia, Sec. 82. Coll. grave 1B. 1C. 1D. NICOLL, JAMES STEWART, Private, VX45287, Australian Army Service Corps, A.I.F. 8 Div. Petrol Coy., 26, 26/01/1945, Son of Herbert William and Janet Ogilvie White Nicoll, of Brighton Beach, Victoria, Australia, Sec. 82. Coll. grave 1B. 1C. 1D. WARD, CHARLES FREDERICK, Private, Australian Infantry, A.I.F. 2/40 Bn., 27, 01/01/1945, VX32696, Son of George Robert Grant and Gladys Isobel Rose Ward; husband of Mavis Jean Ward, of Auburn, Victoria, Australia, Sec. 82. Coll. grave 1B. 1C. 1D.
Well, that accounts for the Aussie burials in St Louis - the majority of them aircraft crash casualties and three of them POW burials from Japan. (my posts account for 11 of the total of 39 Commonweath burials - the other 28 are British & Indian burials and must have their own explanation for being in the USA) Here are the last couple of Aussie burials to round it all out: KEOGH, Gerrard Michael - (Pilot Officer) of RAAF Headquarters Melbourne. 266551 RAAF Liberator 42-40984 New Guinea 30-Aug-43 320th Bombardment Squadron aircraft “Little Beaver" took off from Port Moresby and crashed shortly after take off, from an altitude of about 4,000'. It hit a 200'-300' cliff, burnt on impact, and some of the bombs exploded and the wreckage was scattered over a wide area by the impact. Crew: Pilot 2nd Lt William B. Cox O-523742 (KIA) / Co-Pilot 1st Lt Robert F. Violet O-659612 (KIA) / Bombardier 2nd Lt Fred H. Verhein Jr O-738949 (KIA) / Navigator 2nd Lt Patrick J. Byrnes Jr O-674140 (KIA) / F/O Fred L. Evans T-60667 (KIA) / T/Sgt Jacob M. Kesler 35356999 (KIA) / T/Sgt Richard D. Marsh 32405881 (KIA) / S/Sgt George A. Kiferd 13089529 (KIA) / S/Sgt Harold E. Kuhn 12016263 (KIA) / S/Sgt Stanley Marczak 16066245 (KIA) / Pvt James A. Franklin 18064953 (KIA) ***************************************** MacKAY, William Alexander (Sergeant) 414624 RAAF B17 Flying Fortress 41-24543 Dobadura, PNG 30-Jun-43 AWM photo - Studio portrait of 414624 Sergeant (Sgt) William Alexander Mackay, 41 Radar Direction Finding Wing, RAAF. Sgt Mackay, a Wireless Air Gunner, was killed on operations over New Guinea on 30 June 1943, when he was attached to the 63rd Bomber Squadron, 43rd Bombardment Group, United States of America Air Force. Crew: Pilot 1st Lt Harold S. Barnett, O-421584 / 2nd Lt. Sidney S. Bossuk, O-72769 / 2nd Lt Warren V. Seybert, O-734614 / 2nd Lt James G. Burke, O-669983 / Engineer Sgt James B. Candy, 18064952 / Radio T/Sgt Anthony H. Woillard, 17075312 / Radio Sgt William A. Mackay RAAF 414624 / Asst Engineer Sgt Robert A. Burtis, 12033755 / Asst Radio Sgt Donald W. Carlson, 17038206 / Tail Gunner Sgt Phillip J. Lohnes, 6930892 Mission History: part of a strike force from the 43rd Bomb Group including 14 B-17s and 4 B-24s to bomb Vunakanau Airfield overnight. Takeoffs and attacks for this mission were made independently by each plane. This B-17 took off from Dobodura at 1:30am and failed to return. Afterwards, 43rd Bomb Group crews reported they were attacked over the target by night fighters. Over the target, this bomber was intercepted by a J1N1 Irving piloted by Shigetoshi Kudo, firing his 20mm cannon into the B-17. Kudo observed its crash into the mountains southeast of Cape Lambert. It was the final B-17 kill for Shigetoshi Kudo, whose attacks accounted for five other bombers during May and June.
Private WILLIAM THOMAS LEONARD NX49070, A.I.F. 8 Div. Sup. Col., Australian Army Service Corps who died age 23 on 23 December 1944 Son of William and Mary Leonard, of Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia. Remembered with honour ST. LOUIS (JEFFERSON BARRACKS) NATIONAL CEMETERY CWGC :: Cemetery Details According to this site: Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery - Surnames L - St. Louis, Missouri Private Leonard was in the US Marine Corps (obviously another typo)
