*IN MEMORIAM*

Eugene Leonard passed away July 13, 2018 at the age of 100. Click here to read his obituary from greenwoodmemorial.com

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97-year-old Eugene Leonard of Chula Vista, CA appears on episode #389 of Hometown Heroes, debuting October 17, 2015. A native of central Kansas, Leonard enlisted in the Marine Corps before America’s entrance into World War II. He was at Ewa Marine Corps Air Station on Oahu on December 7, 1941. Some of the first shots Japanese planes fired that morning were fired at the pickup truck he was driving.

Gene Leonard flies the flag high outside his Chula Vista, CA home. For more photos, visit the Hometown Heroes facebook page.

Hangar burning at Ewa Field on December 7, 1941.

Gene working on an aircraft engine during World War II.