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Baden veteran honored by France for his war efforts

Beaver County Times (PA) - 7/28/2014

July 27--Almost six weeks ago, William "Bill" E. Leaf Jr. received a letter from the French Embassy notifying him that he was named a "Chevalier" of the Legion of Honor as a sign of France's gratitude for his contribution to the liberation of its country during World War II.

"He was so stunned he couldn't talk," said wife, Josie of Baden.

The Legion of Honor, the highest decoration bestowed by France, is given to American veterans who risked their lives fighting on French territory in one of the war's four main campaigns: Normandy, Provence, Ardennes or Northern France.

Leaf, a member of the Army's66th Infantry Division, fought battles in Cherbourg, Lorient and Normandy, his wife said.

He was the recipient of many citations and medals, including the Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge, but the Legion of Honor is one he was eagerly anticipating.

A contingent of family members including Leaf, his wife, daughter, son, granddaughter and her husband, and great-granddaughter were excited about the prospect of traveling to Washington, D.C., to attend the award ceremony July 17 at the embassy.

But Leaf, 88, had taken ill and was hospitalized July 6.

Still, the family held hope that he would recover and be able to make the trip.

July 15 he entered hospice where he died at 10:42 p.m., the night before the scheduled journey.

"We were all there when he took his last breath," said son Michael "Hunter" Leaf of New Brighton.

There were mixed emotions, Josie said. "Before he got real bad," she said, a granddaughter considered going to the nation's capital to accept the award on Leaf's behalf if he couldn't be there. But when his condition deteriorated, she changed her mind.

"I'm not going to go," Josie remembered her saying. "I'm not leaving my pap."

Leaf was buried Tuesday at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil Township, Washington County.

"He was laid out in his uniform," Josie said. "It still fit."

She received the medal by mail on Thursday.

If anyone deserves the title of true American patriot, it would be William "Bill" E. Leaf Jr., family and friends said.

At 17, he joined the Army in 1944, lying about his age to serve his country.

He arrived in England three days after Thanksgiving, training with the 66th Infantry Division for the Battle of the Bulge.

On Christmas Eve, Leaf and some 2,200 soldiers boarded a Belgian troopship -- the ill-fated Leopoldville -- for transport across the English Channel destined for Cherbourg to relieve troops fighting in the Brittany-Loire area.

Five miles shy of landing, however, the Leopoldville was torpedoed by a German U-boat around 6 p.m., eventually sinking two and a half hours later in the frigid water. More than 800 died.

It was harrowing, but Leaf didn't talk much about it. Only in the last 10 years did he open up.

Sometimes at night, Josie said, he would tell her things.

Most of the men, many seasick from the rough swells, were below deck. The explosive force of the direct hit knocked many from their bunks.

Leaf, who was wearing his life jacket, Josie said, was approached by an officer who suggested that they go below to help bring injured men up and into lifeboats.

"He took his life jacket off," she said, during the assist, and when he got back on deck, it was gone.

Leaf, she said, watched in horror as many men jumped from the listing ship into the icy water where they either drowned or died of hypothermia waiting to be rescued by a British escort destroyer, the HMS Brilliant.

Some who made it into lifeboats wound up being crushed to death between the Leopoldville and Brilliant as the rise and fall of high sea swells knocked the vessels against one another.

Josie said her husband knew he had to time the swells to jump safely aboard the Brilliant.

"He grabbed a rope," said Michael. "He thought it was a rope ladder."

Leaf hung on and with assist from the Brilliant's crew landed on deck.

He would go on to Cherbourg to fight enemy troops there, in Lorient and Normandy. After war ended, he served four years as a military policeman during the Allied Occupation of Germany. Leaf also served in the Korean War, Josie said.

In 1955, he joined the Army National Guard'sCompany B, 28th Signal Battalion, the armory formerly in New Brighton, retiring in 1974, with the rank of first sergeant, said Josie.

It was there he got his nickname, "Big Thunder."

At 6 feet, 254 pounds, Leaf was an imposing man.

"He was very distinguished looking," said daughter Patti Pintur of Vanport Township, especially so in his later years when his full head of thick, dark hair turned silvery white.

Josie was concerned that "Big Thunder" was a pejorative, but Leaf reassured her otherwise.

"No, I wasn't mean," he told her. He didn't expect any more of those under him than he did of himself, she said.

"As long as they did the work, he was fair."

Michael thinks the nickname was a result of his stature.

"When he came to check on them in the barracks, they could hear him coming."

Throughout his life, Leaf supported any and all veterans' activities.

He marched in parades and when walking long routes become more of an effort, Patti drove him in a convertible. A member of the New Brighton American Legion, he was a past commander and past district commander.

Leaf also worked at Babcock & Wilcox for 46 years, retiring in 1989 as a quality control supervisor.

Quite the raconteur, Leaf loved to tell stories.

He told so many, Patti said, and with such sincerity, sometimes they weren't sure what was fact or fiction.

"We grew up believing he won the war single-handedly," Patti said.

"That's what he would tell us," said Michael.

"That's probably why I flunked history," Patti joked.

"He was real witty," Josie said. "He'd come out with these things and you'd wonder, 'how'd he think of that?'"

Leaf, full of personality, had a very dry sense of humor, Josie said.

Sometimes, after hearing one of his tales, people would pull her aside and ask for confirmation, not sure if he was pulling their leg.

Now, Patti said, she wishes she would have written them down.

At least three, sometimes four times a week, Leaf would gather with about eight to 10 of his buddies at the McDonald's in Baden to swap stories over coffee. They had their own table in the back, Josie said.

He also loved to golf and garden.

He was very particular about his lawn, said Josie.

"He liked the yard cut just so. If he couldn't cut it and somebody else did, he'd say they didn't cut it right."

The couple, members of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in the Ambridge area, always helped at the church's annual food festivals.

Josie said her husband peeled potatoes and manned the shish kebab grill.

Leaf always told Josie he wanted to be buried in the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.

"Who would visit you?" she asked, realizing it's about a 45-minute drive from Baden.

Actually, she said, he once thought about being buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., wondering if there would be room for him next to John F. Kennedy.

Josie told him Jackie was buried next to the late president.

That was OK.

"I'll go next to Jackie," Leaf told his wife.

Patti added that he also envisioned his funeral with a horse-drawn caisson "with us walking behind."

Patti and Michael remember their father as being tough, but supportive.

"He was strict with us, but he was there for us when we needed him," Patti said. "He supported us. He was kind and generous. Anything we wanted, he was there for us."

Leaf loved his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she said, and especially liked to attend their sports events.

Countless mourners at the funeral home told the family that in their eyes, Leaf was a hero, someone they looked up to, which brought them great comfort.

"He was a good man," Josie said.

___

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