One of the WWII Fallen of Madison County, Alabama

Leroy Calvin “Buddy” Sugg II was born June 14, 1920 in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama to Harry Burgess Sugg and his wife Mildred (Wells) Sugg. Both of his parents were born in Alabama. Leroy had one older brother who sadly died at the age of twelve. In 1930, the family was living in Huntville where his father worked as a retail merchant of farm supplies. His parents divorced and his mother married Reese T. Amis, editor of the Huntsville Times newspaper, in 1933. Leroy attended local schools in Huntsville before graduating from Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee. By the time of the 1940 census, he was living with his mother and step-father in Huntsville and working as a salesman.

Leroy enlisted in the Army Air Forces Aviation Cadet program on 21 January 1942, about six weeks after Pearl Harbor, and upon graduation in September 1942 received his pilot’s wings and a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He served in the 423rd Bomb Squadron of the 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy), which flew B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. The 306th BG was activated on 1 March 1942 and deployed to England in August and September 1942, where it was assigned to the Eighth Air Force, and was based at Thurleigh, England. 2Lt Sugg was a member of a replacement crew that joined the group in early 1943, and completed 25 combat missions over France and Germany as a B-17 co-pilot and pilot between March and July 1943. He earned a promotion to 1st Lieutenant in May 1943.

One of his missions was particularly harrowing, and earned him a mention in the New York Herald-Tribune and by Andy Rooney in the Stars and Stripes. On 17 April 1943 2Lt Sugg was co-piloting B-17 42-5714, known as “Old Faithful”, on a mission to bomb the Focke-Wulf fighter plant at Bremen, Germany, a mission for which he was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His DFC citation reads in part:

“For extraordinary achievement, while serving as a co-pilot of a B-17 airplane on a bombing mission over Germany, April 17, 1943. During the bombing run, enemy fighter planes attacked in unusually large number, completely disabling two engines and partially disabling a third engine by cutting the power controls causing this engine to set itself at an insufficient speed. Displaying great courage and skill, Lieutenant Sugg located the severed ends of the throttle controls and operated them by hand until his hands became so raw he could no longer maintain a grip on the cables. He then rigged up a temporary rope cable from the engine to the cockpit so that the pilot could adjust the speed of the engine. Throughout the entire return flight Lieutenant Sugg rendered invaluable assistance to the pilot and aided materially in the safe return of the airplane and crew. The courage, skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Sugg on this occasion reflect the highest credit upon himself and the armed forces of the United States.”

1Lt Sugg was also awarded the Air Medal and four Oak Leaf Clusters. Upon completion of his 25 combat mission tour of duty, 1Lt Sugg returned to the States in August 1943. He served as an instructor at an Army Air Base in Salina, Kansas for several months, and then was able to spend two weeks leave at home with his family in Huntsville before reporting to the Clovis Army Air Field in New Mexico. There he served as an instructor pilot on the new B-29 Superfortress aircraft, which had only been in operational use for a few months and was prone to engine fires.

On 2 June 1944 1Lt Sugg was piloting B-29 42-6375 on a night combat training mission when engine #4 suddenly caught fire while about 20 miles from the base. Once he determined that the fire could not be extinguished, 1Lt Sugg ordered the crew to bail out, and remained at the controls until all of the crew had safely left the plane. By the time that he was able to bail out, the aircraft had lost enough altitude that his parachute did not open in time and he fell to his death, just ten days short of his 24th birthday.

Leroy Calvin Sugg is buried in Maple Hill Cemetery in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama and is memorialized at the Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial.

A grateful nation thanks you 1Lt Sugg for your service, your sacrifice will not be forgotten.

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story. SBTSProject/Alabama/Madison.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at bob.al@storiesbehindthestars.org.

Sources:

1930 United States Federal Census
1940 United States Federal Census
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
The Birmingham News, 23 Jan 1933
The Huntsville Times, 21 Apr 1943
The Huntsville Times, 4 Jun 1944
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49881679/leroy-calvin-sugg

Leroy C Sugg