Leo Clement Paquet was born on July 9, 1897, in Cohoes, Albany County, New York. He was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1919. He served in the 31st Infantry Regiment as a Lieutenant Colonel during World War II.

Leo served in the Southwest Pacific Theatre during the Philippine campaign of World War II. He was captured and held at PW Camp #1 in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija Province, Luzon, before being transferred to Japan. He was loaded onto the Japanese transport Oryoku Maru on December 13, 1944. After surviving its sinking at Subic Bay, he was transferred to the Enoura Maru, which was bombed by U.S. aircraft while anchored in Takao Harbor, Formosa (Taiwan). He was reported Missing in Action and officially declared dead on January 14, 1945.

Paquet's name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines.

Source of information: dpaa-aad.archives.gov, weremember.abmc.go, www.west-point.org