Landis, Leonard E.

LEONARD E. LANDIS

PRIVATE 1st CLASS

U.S. ARMY

Leonard Landis was born October 11, 1923, in Adams County, Indiana. His parents were Earl and Bertha Fugate Landis. He had eight siblings including Homer, Harvey, Ruth, Arthur, Herman, Willard, Marie (Mitchel), and Clifford. He attended Kirkland Elementary school, all the way through 2 years of high school. All the while, he assisted his father on their farm just west of Monroe and was a member of the Pleasant Dale Church of the Brethren.

His brother Herman served in the U.S. Navy in WWII and brother Willard served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in March of 1943 and took his basic training at Camp Wolter, Texas, and performed maneuvers in Tennessee, Kansas, California, and Arizona. He was then assigned to the 308th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division and achieved the rank of Private First Class.

The 80th Division was activated on July 15, 1942 and would set sail on July 4, 1944 aboard the SS Queen Mary, eventually landing in Greenock, Scotland.  From there, the 80th Division moved on to France, landing on Utah Beach on August 3, 1944. The 80th Infantry served in numerous campaigns including Northern France, Rhineland, and Ardennes-Alsace. Additionally, elements of the 80th participated in the liberation of both Buchenwald and Ebensee Concentration Camps in April 1945.The division recorded 239 days of combat and became inactive on January 5, 1946. The 80th Division, known as the "Blue Ridge" Division lost over 3,500 men in combat from D-Day to VE Day. Included in these numbers are eight men from Adams County. 

Private Landis was sent overseas from New Jersey and was part of the force that captured Utah Beach. From here, he was part of the siege through Normandy. With his division, he assisted in the capture of Argentan on August 20. From here, Leonard assisted in the Battle of the Hedgerows across France where he was killed in action on September 10, 1944. His division would continue on to assault the center of the Siegfried Line, and then northward to Luxembourg and Bastogne and assist the 4th Armored Infantry to punch through the Siegfried Line and into Germany. He is interred in Plot C Row 6 Grave 33 at the Lorraine American Cemetery in France. 

For his service and sacrifice, PFC Landis earned the WWII Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. 

Information collected and researched by Quentin Ganaway, 2014.

SOURCES

             80th Division: History of the 80th Division Lone Sentry, Forward 80th: The Story Behind the 80th Infantry Division. 80th Infantry Division, history.army.mil/documents

Indiana Historical Bureau, comp. Gold Star Honor Roll: Adams County. Bloomington: Indiana War History Commission, 1949. Print. Vol. 1 of Indiana in World War II.

            “Decatur Daily Democrat 28 September 1944 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Historic Newspaper Program.” Newspapers.library.in.gov, newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=DCDD19440928.1.4&srpos=5&e=------194-en-20-DCDD-1--txt-txIN-leonard+landis----1944--. Accessed 23 Mar. 2024.

            “Leonard E. Landis | American Battle Monuments Commission.” Abmc.gov, 2024, www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/landis%3Dleonard. Accessed 23 Mar. 2024.

           “PFC Leonard E Landis (1923-1944) - Find a Grave...” Www.findagrave.com, www.findagrave.com/memorial/56657420/leonard_e_landis. Accessed 23 Mar. 2024.

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