CHARLES INMAN LEONARD was born January 6, 1924 in Albany, Georgia. While attending Georgia Tech in 1942 he enlisted in the USAAC. He became an Aviation Cadet at Maxwell Field on Independence Day 1943 (Class 44C). He flew his first combat sortie as a member of the 33rd Fighter Group (Terry and the Pirates), 60th FS, against the Japanese in Burma on Armistice Day (11 Nov.) 1944.
In December 1944 while flying a P-47 Thunderbolt on a bombing mission from Sahmaw, Burma he was brought down below Bhamo. For two days, Katchin tribesmen (OSS, 101 Det) hid him from Japanese search patrols. Then SSgt Carl Hughes piloting an L-5 flew him safely to Myitkyina where Hughes received the Silver Star following the rescue.
Lt. Leonard was awarded the DFC in March 1945 following bombing and strafing attacks in close support sorties north of Mandalay. He flew 123 combat sorties in P-47 Thunderbolts and P-38 Lightnings.
Following his military discharge and return to Georgia Tech, he was joined by his wife and children during five years spent on heavy construction in Morocco. After that, eight years on Military Base construction in Spain. Other construction projects included Egypt, Kuwait and Iran. Upon returning to the states Leonard joined CBIVA, Burma Star, AFEES, P-47 Thunderbolt Pilots Assoc, and presently volunteers at New York Veterans Hospital. He was also senior archivist for the WWII China-Burma-India website www.CBIinfo.com.