Leon Ross Milner was born on March 1, 1920 in Provo, Utah to Mr. and Mrs. Amel S. Milner. He graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1938 and attended Brigham Young University for three years before serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Southern States. He was an Eagle Scout in Troop 50 of the Manavu Ward. He married Barbara Payne Milner and was the father of two sons, Robert Seaton and Stanley Leon Milner.
Lt. Milner joined the Air Corps Reserve June 2, 1942, and entered training March 1, 1943. He went overseas January 1, 1945. On April 8, 1945, Lt Milner's crew led the Low Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Hof, Germany. Lt Tony Bamberg flew in the copilot position as Air Leader, and Flight Officer Swan, the copilot, moved to the tail gun position as officer tail gunner and formation observer. Lt Sherman and four of his crewmates were killed in action when their aircraft, B-17G 44-8547, was shot down by flak just after bombs away over Hof. The ship received a direct flak hit near the right wing, and probably another in the tail. F/O Swan may have been wounded and unable to bail out from the tail. Lieutenants Sherman, Milner, Bamberg, and Schramm were in the nose trying to bail out when the aircraft exploded and crashed near Heinersgrόn, about 12 kilometers northeast of Hof. Four men bailed out and survived as prisoners of war.
The bodies of the five casualties were not recovered until September 24, 1952. They were buried first at the Mausoleum in Frankfurt, Germany. The remains could not be individually identified. They were returned to the United States and reinterred in a group burial at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Saint Louis, Missouri on April 30, 1953. They are not listed in the U.S. War Department's World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel because the remains were found after publication.
B-17G 44-8547 crew:
Milner, Leon R 1/Lt Pilot KIA
Bamberg, Tony O 1/Lt Air Leader KIA
Sherman, Edward H 2/Lt Navigator KIA
Schramm, Elmer J 2/Lt Bombardier KIA
Wechsler, Stanley J 1/Lt Mickey Operator POW
Bellow, Irving S/Sgt Engineer POW
Jackson, John A T/Sgt Radio Operator POW
Bullion, Bobby J S/Sgt Waist Gunner POW
Swan, Clement E F/O Officer Tail Gunner KIA
Source of information: www.findagrave.com