Leonard Pinkerton “Thomas” Hager was born on April 11, 1916, in Lincoln County, West Virginia. He was the son of Gilbert Hager and Sarah Smith Hager. He enlisted in the service on January 24, 1942. He served in the 512th Bomber Squadron, 376th Bomber Group, as a Staff Sergeant and Assistant Radio Operator of B-24D Liberator #42-40658 during World War II.

On December 28, 1943, the aircraft was lost during combat operations in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II while flying from San Pancrazio Airfield, Italy, on a mission to destroy the marshalling yards at Vicenza. During the attack, the bomber was badly damaged after being engaged by a German Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter and was ultimately shot down near Monselice in the province of Padua. The aircraft was destroyed in the encounter, resulting in the deaths of four crew members, while the remaining airmen survived the loss.

SSgt Hager was declared Missing in Action and officially declared dead on December 28, 1943. His name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, Florence, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, https://aviation-safety.net/, weremember.abmc.gov