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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Mr. Douglas H. Leonard

Richard Harrison Leonard was born September 11,1920 in Parkersburg, WV. In 1943 while working at the Parkersburg News as a reporter and recuperating from surgery, he helped organize and joined a U.S. Navy squadron named the Redbirds. As a naval cadet he trained for two years at various bases around the country, receiving his wings in early 1945. After graduation he requested a combat assignment but being one of the best in his class, became a flight instructor where he specialized in instrument flying. He was based at Whiting Field in Florida with the training command. While at Whiting he later became a test pilot where he tested and certified repaired aircraft, mostly training craft like SNJs. With the war over he was honorably discharged from active duty with the rank of ensign in 1946. He completed college in 1948 and became a writer for the Associated Press and raised a family. He laterworked as a writer for the U.S. Government, retiring from service in 1994 at age 74.