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Leonard James McNeill was born at Prince Edward Island Canada November 3, 1917. Leonards family Parents Willie & Margaret along with his brother Seymour and sister Melva relocated to Somerville Massachusetts. After graduating high school Leonard drove to Orlando Florida where he began a carrier in the hospitality industry. While working at one of central Florida’s first diners A woman entered Leonard’s life and after a lengthy pursuit he and Melba Culbreth were married and started a family.

November 17, 1943 camp Blanding Florida Leonard was selected for service and was trained as a Tail Gunner for a B-29 Superfortress crew. February 14, 1945 The Law crew board a B-29 and start the ferry to Saipan island in the Mariana’s Pacific Ocean. As a member of a B-29 crew arriving Saipan in Feb. 1945 you were put into a world of ever changing danger. The Law crew flew their first mission March 4, 1945, target #357 Tokyo, 15 hours round trip over hostile open ocean.

For the Law crew the days of March 1945 were spent training and flying bombing missions over Japan (Burn Jobs). During the month of March 1945 command made a significant change, a change that would put many B-29 crews in horrible danger. “The Blitz on Japan” had begun fire bombing at low altitudes to inflict the most damage and break the will of the Japanese people to fight. These Burn Jobs would require the crew’s fly through the night and arrive at the target early mornings to drop the loads of incendiary bombs, fragment bombs, phosphorus bombs, Death.

April 1, 1945 the Law crew is on a mission over Tokyo and the B-29 they were in was hit in the right wing fuel tank, which caused a fire. After a unsuccessful attempt at putting out the fire by climbing and diving the AC Lt. Edward Law gave the crew the order to bailout. The crew was able to get out of the burning B-29 and as reported by one of the crew Lt. Law did not get out of the plane and was killed when the ship exploded.

The crew was taken as prisoner and held at Kempeitai headquarters Tokyo. On about April 16, 1945 Leonard and the crew were moved to Tokyo military prison Tokyo Japan. One crew member was taken to Omori POW camp this saved his life & he returned after the war.

May 26,1945 a B-29 bombing mission is underway over Tokyo. At about 2:00AM incendiary bombs were released (bombs away) below on the ground at the prison there are 62 men, American B-29 air crews. The prison was hit by the Burn Job and all 62 prisoners were killed.

What follows the accounts described above is a war crimes trial that found several prison staff guilty of negligence & murder. Leonards remains would have been discovered in 1947 when a construction worker uncovered cell block #4 where the Americans were held.

Leonards family never had a chance to know him or anything about him. He was called, he went, he had to leave his wife and children, America needed his help, so he went. After being held as a POW his fate was sealed by the very country that called for his service. The remains of Sgt. Leonard James McNeill should be returned to his family, Leonard is not forgotten.

Leonard J McNeill