Leslie Wardell "Les" King was born on June 25, 1922, in Buffalo, Erie County, New York. He was the son of Stuart Warren King and Kathleen Acheson Wardell King.

Leslie served in the 367th Bomber Squadron, 306th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot on the B-17 #42-31445 during World War II.

On April 24, 1944, his crew took off from Station 111 airfield in Thurleigh, England, for a mission to Oberpfaffenhofen. At about 11:23 AM, their airplane was shot down by flak, taking a direct hit to the #4 engine. Four members were able to bail out just before their plane exploded in flight. The aircraft crashed in the La Salandrière forest range in Saint-Saëns. The others that were not able to bail out died in the incident, including 2Lt King.

2Lt King is now buried in the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-Sur-Mer, France.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov, francecrashes39-45.net