Technical Sergeant Leonard Anthony Marino, Army serial number 33690402, was born at Swissvale, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1914. He was the oldest of four children. His father was Fortunato Marino (1 Jan 1888 – 1965), who was born at Terranova di Sicilia, Italy (now called Gela) and immigrated to America about 1903. His mother was Josephine (Lonero) Marino (1898 – 1933), who was born in Italy and immigrated to America about 1903. The family lived in Rankin, Pennsylvania and in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, both suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. His father was a cobbler and owned a shoe repair business. His mother died in 1933.

He had three brothers: Peter A. Marino (5 Jul 1916 – 28 Jul 1963), Albert A. Marino (1920 – 1984), and Joseph A. Marino (20 Sep 1923 – 11 Jun 1944). During World War II his brother Peter served in combat with Battery C, 959th Field Artillery Battalion. His brother Joseph was killed in action in France on June 11, 1944 while serving with Company A, 147th Engineer Combat Battalion.

He completed one year of college and worked as a sales clerk at a state liquor store. His wife was Betty M. (McCoy) Marino (3 Dec 1915 – unk). They married at Allegheny County, Pennsylvania on September 17, 1940. They had a son, Leonard F. Marino.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army at Greensburg, Pennsylvania on July 1, 1943. He was 5 feet 8 1/2 inches tall, weighed 185 pounds, and had brown eyes and brown hair. His home of record was 2016 Monongahela Avenue, Swissvale, Pennsylvania.

After training he was assigned as flight engineer and gunner on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Jack Leon in the 837th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. This Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England. The Leon crew arrived in England by November 30, 1944, and became part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. Here is the crew roster on March 18, 1945:

B-17G 44-8276 – 837th Bomb Squadron

• Leon, Jack – 1/Lt – Pilot – Safe

• Polen, Robert C – 2/Lt – Copilot – Safe

• Shaw, Robert W – F/O – Bombardier – Safe

• Dolin, Leon – 2/Lt – Navigator – Safe

• Marino, Leonard A – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA

• Sunberg, John L – T/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA

• Hopkin, Rees W – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – Safe

• Moore, Ralph L – S/Sgt – Waist Gunner – Safe

• Beeson, John D – S/Sgt – Tail Gunner – Safe

On March 18, 1945 Lt Leon's crew flew B-17G 44-8276 on a mission to bomb railroad marshalling yards at Berlin, Germany. Just before bombs away the aircraft was crippled by flak. Lt Leon initially tried to reach a safe landing site in Poland, but the crew was forced to bail out about ten miles east of the Oder River near Massin, Germany (now called Mosina, in Lubuskie Province, Poland). T/Sgt Marino and his crewmate T/Sgt John L. Sunberg were killed by Russian Yak fighters that strafed the men after they bailed out. Seven men parachuted safely. Here is an excerpt from The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H) by Ivo de Jong:

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"The strafing Russian fighters tragically killed Sunberg and Marino. It is highly probable that these pilots were infuriated by an incident that had occurred earlier that day in the Kustrin area. Pilots of the 359th Fighter Group, flying P-51s and escorting the bombers to Berlin, had attacked a number of YAK fighters. They has erroneously identified the Russian YAKs as German FW 190s, and immediately engaged them, while several other pilots of the 359th Fighter Group strafed the airfield at Zackerick, believing it to be in German hands. In all, nine Russian aircraft, mostly YAKs, were destroyed in the air, and two on the ground, for no American losses.

The Russians apparently buried the bodies of Sunberg and Marino, and maybe to escape difficult questions during investigations that everybody knew would be coming, there was made no proper report about it."

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The bodies of T/Sgts Marino and Sunberg were buried in the vicinity of Massin by Russian troops. After the war this area was in the Russian sector of Germany, which limited the access of American Graves Registration personnel. A field investigation by American personnel in April 1948 determined that they were not buried in the town cemetery of Mosina, Poland (formerly Massin, Germany). In a letter to the U.S. Quartermaster Corps in October 1948, pilot Jack Leon estimated that the graves "are within a three (3) mile radius of the town of Massin, Germany [Mosina, Poland]."

T/Sgts Marino and Sunberg are still listed as missing in action. They are memorialized on the Wall of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten.

A monument to Technical Sergeants Marino and Sunberg was dedicated at Mosina, Poland on March 18, 2017. The initiative for the monument came from Dariusz Jaworski, the Mayor of Witnica, Poland.

Sources:

1. 487th Bomb Group Association

2. 1920 US Census; Pennsylvania; Allegheny County; Rankin; 315 Second St. Marino, Nortonato [sic]. 26 Feb 1920 (Fortunato Marino, his father)

3. 1930 US Census; Pennsylvania; Allegheny County; Swissvale; 2016 Monogahela Ave. Marino, Fortunato. 5 Apr 1930 (his father)

4. 1940 US Census; Pennsylvania; Allegheny County; Swissvale; 2016 Monongahela Ave. Marino, Fortunato. 12 Apr 1940 (his father)

5. American Battle Monuments Commission

6. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H), Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004

7. Enlistment Record of Leonard A. Marino

8. Jaworski, Dariusz. Personal Correspondence. Mar 2017 (Mayor of Witnica, Poland)

9. Mundia.com (ancestry.com) profiles of Fortunato Marino (1888-1965) and Leonard Anthony Marino (1914-1945)

10. Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950:

  • Leonard A. Marino married Betty M. McCoy at Allegheny County PA on 13 Sep 1940.

  • Peter A. Marino (his brother) married Teresa V. Ferraiuolo at Allegheny County PA on 23 Jun 1941.

11. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 13135

12. U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Service Personnel Not Recovered Following World War II

13. U.S. Department of the Army, Adjutant General Office, Technical Records Section. Individual Deceased Personnel File of Leonard A. Marino, 33690402 (aka '293 File')

14. U.S. War Department. World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel. Washington, D.C., June 1946

15. World War I Draft Registration of Fortonato Marino [sic]. 5 Jun 1917 (his father)

16. World War II Draft Registration of Fortunato Marino. 27 Apr 1942 (his father)

Research by:

Paul Webber

Find A Grave member ID 47577572

Last edited 15 Mar 2024