Leeland Thomas Engelhorn was born on September 19, 1922. He was the son of Mathias Engelhorn and Myrtle Mary Engelhorn. He was the husband of Ruth Eleanor Maw Engelhorn.

Leeland served in the 780th Bomber Squadron, 465th Bomber Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Gunner on the B-24 "Sugar Baby" #42-52498 during World War II.

On August 3, 1944, his crew took off from Pantanella, Italy, on a bombing mission over Friedrichshafen, Germany. On their return, they were attacked and shot down by German aircraft. His aircraft crashed at Brendlkar, Tyrol, Austria. His crew lost 2 members in this incident while the remaining were taken as prisoners, including SSgt Engelhorn. Some sources of information reference the location of the crash as Ehrwald.

SSgt Engelhorn died on July 28, 2003, at the age of 80. He is now buried in the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, San Diego County, California, USA.