Leonard George Geier was born on April 30, 1924, in the Bronx, New York. He was the son of Samuel and Nina Geier. He was married to Gloria Dorothy Geier. He enlisted in the service on October 19, 1942. He served in the 765th Bomb Squadron, 461st Bomb Group, Heavy, as a Sergeant and Top Turret Gunner of B-24J #42-50953, nicknamed "Flying Finger," during World War II.

On December 17, 1944, the “Flying Finger” took off from Torretta, Italy, as part of Mission No. 151 to bomb the synthetic oil refinery at Odertal, Germany. The “Flying Finger,” piloted by 2Lt Phillip Crossman, was last seen around 11:45 a.m. near Muglitz, Moravia. It never returned. The aircraft went down south of Neutitschein (now Nový Jičín, Czech Republic) after encountering heavy flak and German fighters, with four crewmen killed and the rest wounded or taken prisoner.

Sgt Geier was taken prisoner and held at Stalag Luft 3 Sagan, Silesia, Bavaria. After the war, he returned to duty and ended his military service as a Technical Sergeant. He died on July 12, 2015, and is now buried in the Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Sumter County, Florida, USA.

Source of information: 461st.org, www.americanairmuseum.com, www.findagrave.com