Joseph A. ”Vic” Leana was born on 16 Jan 1914 in Carthage, NY and died on 7 Oct 1944 as the result of hostile action in WWII. Throughout his life, His name was misspelled as Leono, to include his time in the Army. Leono is how his name is spelled on his Arlington headstone. His parents were Domenico Leana (1889-1949) and Maria Frances Iannuzza (1888-1967). His parents were both born in Italy and they immigrated to America after they were married. Per the 1920 Census, his father was a laborer and his mother was a housewife. Per the 1930 US Census, his father worked for the railroad and the family lived in Watertown, NY. Joseph had 1 older and 5 younger sisters. He completed 1 year of high school and was not married. He left high school to help take care of his sisters. Prior to enlisting in the Army, he worked for the New York Air and Brake Company in Watertown, NY.

Joseph registered for the draft on 16 Oct 1940 in Watertown, NY and enlisted the the Army on 15 May 1943 in Syracuse, NY as a private in the medical corps. His service number was 32936045. Nothing could be found on his early time in the Army. At some point he was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division as a platoon medic. The 5th ID was reactivated on 16 Oct 1939 at Fort McClellan, AL. In the spring of 1940, the division was sent to Ft. Benning, GA and then on to Ft. Benjamin Harrison, IN in May 1940. It continued training in Michigan, Arkansas. In Apr 1942, the 5th ID departed New York for Iceland. They were moved to England in Aug 1943 for the eventual invasion at Normandy, France. The 5th ID landed at Utah Beach on 9 Jul 1944 where they quickly entered combat. By 30 Aug 1944, they had driven through France and had taken up positions near Verdun where they prepared for the assault on Metz, France. On 7 Sep 1944, a bridgehead was secured across the Moselle River south of Metz, but it could not be held. The German held Fort Driant played a role in the bridgehead failure. The 10th Infantry Regiment attempted a second bridgehead at Amaville which was successful. The 5th ID continued combat operations around Metz from 16 Sep – 16 Oct 1944 where they encountered extremely heavy fighting. On & Oct 1944, Tech 5th Class Leano was listed as missing in action during this fighting and his remains were not recovered. He was declared Killed in Action on 8 Oct 1945, a year and 1 day after his disappearance which was military policy at the time.

At some point in time many years later, remains were discovered in the area where T5C Leana had disappeared. The remains were positively identified to be those of T5C Leana. His remains were repatriated to the US and he was buried at the Glenwood Cemetery in Watertown, NY on 18 Aug 2001. His remains were later exhumed and he was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery (Section 60, Grave 8019) in Arlington, VA. His Arlington headstone also bears the name of 2LT Julien David Goell who was also a member of Company B, 10th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. It is possible that both sets of remains were discovered at the same time which is why they were buried together at Arlington, but this could not be confirmed. T5C Leana is also memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing at the Lorraine American cemetery in Lorraine, France. It is not known if his headstone is still at the Glenwood Cemetery as a cenotaph. T5C Leana was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster.
Source: Together we served