Radio Operator aboard B-24D Liberator
#42-41257.

Shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire over
eastern beach of Wake Island, moments after
releasing bombs over target.

All eleven aboard Killed In Action:

1st Lt. James Houchins, Pilot
2nd Lt. Kenneth G Russell, Co-Pilot
Flt. Off. John A Dambra
2nd Lt. Lawrence J Degener, Navigator
1st Lt. James G Webb, Bombardier
TSgt. Harold J Hursh, Engineer
SSgt. George L Lanning, Gunner
SSgt. William E Leese, Asst. Radio Operator
TSgt. Leon H. Pollard, Radio Operator
SSgt. Charles M Saffir, Asst. Engineer
SSgt. Robert F Scott, Gunner

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DIES IN ACTION
T-SGT. LEON H. POLLARD

T-Sgt. Leon H. Pollard, son of Dr. T. H. Pollard, Pollard, died in action May 18 over Wake island, according to word received by his father.

Wearer of the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross, Sgt. Pollard had been in raids over the Marshall, Caroline and Guam islands and over Truk and Ponape.

He entered service June 6, 1940

McCurtain Gazette
Wednesday, June 28, 1944

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SGT POLLARD IS AWARDED AIR MEDAL

T-SGT Leon Pollard, son of Dr. and Mrs. T.H. Pollard, of Pollard, Oklahoma, has been awarded the Air Medal and an Oak Leaf Cluster at his station in the Marshall Islands.

A bombardier, Sgt. Pollard has been overseas one of the two years he has been in service. A graduate of Haworth High School, he was attending Southeastern State College in Durant, when he enlisted.

Leon Hampton Pollard was born August 18, 1920 in Pollard, Oklahoma, a small community named for his father, Dr. Tilden Hampton Pollard. Leon's mother passed away 9 days after the birth of her daughter, Mattie Lou Pollard, on August 11, 1922, which was one week before Leon's 2nd birthday. The older siblings helped their dad with the younger children.

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LEON POLLARD IS KILLED OVER WAKE ISLAND
Years Overseas, Was Nearing His Mission Quota

Eight days after he wrote "If nothing happens, I'll be back home in a couple of months," T-Sgt. Leon H. Pollard was killed in action over Wake Island on May 18, according to a telegram Tuesday to his father, Dr. T.H. Pollard, from the secretary of war.

Wearer of the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross, Sgt. Pollard had been flying combat missions as radio operator and gunner. Overseas one year, he said in a recent letter that he had been in raids to the Marshall Islands, Caroline and Guam Islands and in many raids over Truk and Ponape, nearing the required quota that allows a flier to return to the States.

Sgt. Pollard enlisted in the regular Army July 6, 1940, and was stationed at Goodfellow Field, Tex., before going overseas. He had been overseas one year. He was a graduate of Haworth High School and attended Southeastern State college, Durant, Oklahoma, prior to enlisting.

His base in the South Pacific at the time of his death was on Marshall Islands.

He is survived by his father, Dr. Tilden H. Pollard; three brothers, Virgil Pollard, San Francisco, Calif., Floyd Pollard, Oklahoma City, who received a medical discharge in from the Army in 1941, and Olin Pollard, Pollard, who received a medical discharge in February; two half-brothers, Glenn and Larry Pollard, both of Pollard; two sisters, Mrs. Vada May, Pollard and Miss Mattie Lou Pollard, Durant; and one half-sister, Miss Sue Pollard, Pollard.

The veteran combat flier aided in the war effort by purchasing War Bonds as well as by fighting. Leon had sent home more than $1,000 in Bonds since being in the service.

*McCurtain Gazette
Idabel, Oklahoma
Wednesday, June 7, 1944

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LEON POLLARD'S BODY FOUND ON WAKE ISLAND

The body of T-Sgt. Leon H. Pollard, who was killed in action over Wake Island May 18, 1944, has been found, along with the bodies of 10 other crew members, according to a notification received this week by his father, Dr. T. H. Pollard, Pollard.

Details were not known, but the body will be returned to the United States.

Wearer of the Air Medal and the Distingiished Flying Cross, Sgt. Pollard had been flying combat missions as radio operator and gunner prior to his death. Overseas one year, he had been in raids to the Marshall Islands, Caroline and Guam Islands and in many raids over Truk and Ponape, nearing the required quota that allowed a flier to return to the states.

Sgt. Pollard enlisted July 6, 1940, and was stationed at Goodfellow Field, Tex., before going overseas.

He was a graduate of Haworth highschool, and he attended Southeastern State college, Durant, before enlisting.

In addition to his father, he is survived by three brothers, Floyd Pollard, Idabel; Olin Pollard, Pollard, and Virgil Pollard, California; two half-brothers, Glenn Pollard, Germany, and Larry Pollard, Pollard; two sisters, Mrs. Vada May, Haworth, and Mrs. Mattie Lou Hiner, Muskogee, and one half-sister, Miss Sue Dell Pollard, Pollard.

McCurtain Gazette
Wednesday, May 19, 1954

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RITES SET FOR LEON POLLARD

Funeral services for T-Sgt. Leon H. Pollard will be held at 11 a. m. Thursday, July 15, at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., national cemetery, according to notification received by his father, Dr. T. H. Pollard, Pollard.

The body of Sgt. Pollard, who died in action over Wake Island May 18, 1944, when his plane caught fire and exploded after being hit by flak, was found recently when a bulldozer uncovered the plane. The bodies of 10 other crew members were found at the same time.

McCurtain Gazette
Wednesday, June 30, 1954

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Alvia's first cousin, TSgt Leon H Pollard, joined the Air Corp just after the attack on Pearl Harbor. A year later he was in the Pacific, flying as a radio operator with ...
Note ~ That is all I could bring up.