Leslie Robert “Les” Durkee, Jr. was born in 1924 in Swampscott, Essex County, Massachusetts. He resided in Essex County, Massachusetts prior to the war. Leslie served as a Second Lieutenant and Navigator on B-25J #43-27810, 490th Bomber Squadron, 341st Bomber Group, Medium, U.S. Army Air Forced during World War II.

B-25J #43-27810 took off, with a crew of six and other B-25s, from Hanchung, China on a low level strafing and bombing mission over the Sincheng railroad bridge in China. After making a successful bombing run B-25J #43-27810 then returned to the railroad bridge and strafed railroad cars. They were apparently hit by ground anti-aircraft fire and ended up crashing approximately two miles southeast of the railroad bridge. The entire crew was lost. Leslie was declared "Missing in Action" on May 30, 1945 and 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 commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China but death date is inscribed as 1944-05-30.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov