Leon Laverne Gray was born on May 4, 1925, in Cabot, Pennsylvania. He was the son of George Carl Gray and Ethel Roberta McCandless Gray.

Leon enlisted in the U.S. Army on September 13, 1944, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He served in the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group as a Corporal and Ball Turret Gunner on the B24J #42-51241 "T" during World War II. He was Killed in Action on March 31, 1945, when his airplane crashed at South Cove, England. B24J 42-51241 was caught in the prop wash and was thrown over on its back on the way back from mission 920. The crew did not have time to escape the aircraft before it started to break up, and it crashed close to St Lawrence's Church, South Cove, with all crew lost.

Cpl Gray is now buried in the Gettysburg National Cemetery, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.americanairmuseum.com