Sergeant LeRoy Segar Kussy Jr, Army serial number 36634248, was born at Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois on April 14, 1922. His friends called him Lee. Apparently the family surname was spelled Kussey at one time. His parents were LeRoy Segar Kussey Sr (9 Nov 1896 – 28 Nov 1953), who was born at Rockford, Illinois; and Ethel Verna (Swanson) Kussy Marofske (2 Feb 1896 – Jun 1981), who was born in Illinois. His parents married at Rockford, Illinois on September 24, 1919, and in 1920 lived at 1730 14th Avenue, Rockford, Illinois.

His parents divorced, and his mother married Harry William Marofske (24 Sep 1896 – 19 Mar 1954) about 1929. In 1930 he lived with his mother and stepfather at 3852 Lockwood Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Harry Marofske, his stepfather, was a plumber in the construction industry. His home of record was 4814 Fletcher Street, Chicago, Illinois, his mother's address in 1944.

His father married Florence C. Kussy (abt 1903 – unk) about 1929. In 1942 his father and Florence Kussy lived at 1536 Crosby Street, Rockford, Illinois, and his father was employed by the firm of Simmons, Hazlett, and Erdal at Green River Ordnance Plant (aka Green River Arsenal) in Dixon, Illinois. His father is buried at Scandinavian Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois.

He graduated from Rockford High School, Rockford, Illinois in 1940. His photo in the senior class yearbook is accompanied by this entry:

------------

LE ROY KUSSY

     "Lee" states that the ideal

citizen of tomorrow should have

a desire to understand national

problems.

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He registered for the draft at Chicago, Illinois on June 29, 1942. He was 6 feet tall, weighed 180 pounds, and had blue eyes and blonde hair. At that time he lived at 4814 W Fletcher Street, Chicago, Illinois and worked at the A & P grocery store at 3220 North Central Avenue in Chicago.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army by 1943, completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery training, and was assigned to the heavy bomber crew of 2/Lt Thomas Womer. In December 1943 the Womer crew began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field in Tucson, Arizona. In January 1944 the Womer crew was assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. There they completed B-24 crew training and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 42-52662 overseas from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived in England by mid-April 1944. The 487th Bomb Group was based at U.S. Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe.

After arrival at Station 137, Sgt Kussy and four of his original crewmates (Musser, Boyd, Lumpkin, and Rosenberger) were reassigned to the crew of Lt Arthur D. Erwin in the 838th Bomb Squadron. Here is Lt Erwin's crew roster on June 20, 1944:

B-24H 42-95217 – 838th Bomb Squadron

• Erwin, Arthur D – 2/Lt – Pilot – KIA

• Mass, Rubie R – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA

• Mackie, Thomas S – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA

• Musser, Elmer G – S/Sgt – Engineer – KIA

• Boyd, Leslie L – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA

• Lumpkin, Claude L – S/Sgt – Nose Turret Gunner – KIA

• Kussy Jr, Leroy S – Sgt – Top Turret Gunner – KIA

• Rosenberger, Jearold F – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA

• Ross, Albert L – S/Sgt – Tail Turret Gunner – POW

Sgt Kussy and seven of his crewmates were killed in action on June 20, 1944 when their aircraft, B-24H 42-95217, was shot down by flak on the mission to bomb an oil refinery at Misburg near Hannover, Germany. Just after bombs away, the aircraft received a direct flak hit which tore off the tail. The aircraft spun to the ground in flames and crashed five kilometers north of Hannover. The bodies of eight crew members were found in the wreckage. The dead were buried initially at the military cemetery in Hannover-Limmer. S/Sgt Ross, the tail gunner, was able to bail out and landed at Mecklenheide near Hannover. He was captured there and became a prisoner of war.

After the war Sgt Kussy's remains were permanently interred at Ardennes American Cemetery, Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium in Plot B, Row 19, Grave 6.

His crewmate S/Sgt Albert Louis Ross survived captivity and returned to Chico, Butte County, California after the war. He was lost at sea in 1979 while working as a commercial fisherman off the Mendocino coast near Fort Bragg, Mendocino County, California.

Sources:

1. 487th Bomb Group Association

2. 1920 US Census; Illinois; Winnebago County; Rockford; 1730 14th Ave. Kussy, Leroy. 6 Jan 1920 (his father)

3. 1930 US Census; Illinois; Winnebago County; Rockford Township. Kussy, Leroy. 12 May 1930 (his father)

4. 1930 US Census; Illinois; Cook County; Chicago; Ward 41. Marofske, Harry W. 7 Apr 1930 (his stepfather)

5. 1940 US Census; Illinois; Cook County; Chicago; Ward 31. Marofske, Ethel. 10 Apr 1940 (his mother, in the household of Scott Coss)

6. 1940 US Census; Illinois; Winnebago County; Rockford Township; Rockford City; Ward 1. Kussy, Roy [sic]. 4 Apr 1940 (LeRoy S. Kussy, his father)

7. American Battle Monuments Commission

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

9. Illinois, County Marriages, 1810–1934: Leroy Seger [sic] Kussy married Ethel Verna Albestin Swanson at Winnebago County, Illinois on 24 Sep 1919 (his parents)

10. Social Security Death Index

11. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 5935

12. U.S. Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942–1949 (ancestry.com)

13. U.S. Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939–1945

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. U.S. World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940–1947 (ancestry.com)

16. Winnebago County IL Alphabetical Listing of Births, 1855–1931: LeRoy Seger Kussy [sic] born 14 Apr 1922; parents: LeRoy Seger Kussy [sic] and Ethel Verna Swanson (his birth)

17. World War I Draft Registration of LeRoy Segar Kussy. 5 Jun 1918 (his father)

18. World War II Draft Registration of LeRoy S. Kussy. 27 Apr 1942 (his father)

19. World War II Draft Registration of Harry William Marofske. 27 Apr 1942 (his stepfather)

Research by:

Paul Webber

Find A Grave member ID 47577572

Last edited 18 Apr 2024