First Lieutenant, 7th Bomb Squadron, 34th Bomb Group based at Mendlesham, England.

Pilot of B-17G Flying Fortress #44-8263. While on a mission to strike oil depots in Germany, his aircraft was struck in the right wing by anti-aircraft artillery shells and went down at Innien, Germany (known as the municipality of Aukrug), about 22 miles south-southwest of Kiel.

Eight crewmembers were Killed In Action and one survived and was taken prisoner. Missing Air Crew Report № 11565.

The crewmembers KIA were:

1LT Leslie C Carter, O-761235, CA, Pilot

2LT Robert A Koch, O-822470, IL, Co-Pilot

1LT John J Russell, O-723694, NY, Navigator

1LT Joseph E Rozell, O-772079, NY, Bombardier

TSGT Leonard W Guse, 37344523, CO, Radio Operator

TSGT Moe Hut, 12145645, NY, Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner

SSGT Fernando A Barreda, 38213215, TX, Ball Turret Gunner

SSGT Robert C Belh, 42080925, NJ, Flexible Gunner

~

U. S. Army Service No. (ASN): #O-761235

7th Bomb Squadron, 34th Bomb Group, Heavy

Leslie C. Carter is listed as Killed In Action in the 1946 Army and Army Air Forces Personnel Casualty List for Ford County, Kansas.

U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962, lists WWII dead returned from Neuville-En-Condrez, Liege, Belgium. Re-interred on March 21st, 1950.

Texas, Select County Marriage Index, 1837-1965, lists a December 6th, 1943 marriage in Brewster, Texas to Vitula Grace Jackson

***I would like to thank Bobby Hunt Find A Grave ID 47510951 for adding his gravesite photo to this memorial***

***I would like to thank 50thAIB Find A Grave ID 48349695 for adding his photo of the death notice to this memorial***

***I would like to thank lirm1 Find A Grave ID 50889456 for adding his photo of Leslie to this memorial in addition to updating the middle name and DOB information on it***

Suggested edit: From obituary published in the Oberlin Herald (Oberlin, Kansas) 25 May 1950:

Leslie was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Carter. In 1937, while still a student at Decatur Community High School at Oberlin, Kansas, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Logan, Colorado. He received an honorable discharge, with the rank of Sergeant on 20 Sep 20, 1940, at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He re-enlisted the next day.

On 5 Dec 1942, he transferred to the Army Air Corps, and received his commission as Second Lieutenant on 5 Dec 1943, and was united in marriage the following day to Miss Vitula Jackson of Santa Ana, California.

After additional training he went overseas in July 1944, and was a pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress, based in England. He had almost completed his number of missions when his plane was shot down in 1945.

Contributor: lirm1 (50889456) • [email protected]