Leo Jack Bennett was born in 1919 in Kansas. He was the son of Leo G. Bennett and Synthia Elgin Southerland Bennett. He reside in Montgomery County, Kansas prior to the war. Leo served as a Staff Sergeant and Gunner on B-24D #41-24243, 374th Bomber Squadron, 308th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.
B-24D #41-24243 took off, with other B-24's, on a bombing mission over Hankow, China. Over the target they were hit by Japanese ground anti-aircraft fire and also attacked by Japanese planes and shot down near Hankow. The entire crew of 9 were lost on this mission. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.
He was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.
Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov