Corporal William (Billy) Leonard (° 11 December 1889) (3 was the son of John and Winifred Leonard from Flushing, New York. During the war, he served with the 27th (New York) Division. In civilian life he had been a journalist. His friends knew him an sociable young man, who liked a laugh and a joke. This was reflected in his newspaper articles, where his unique approach to interesting stories was always laced with humour. It was this same interested curiosity that ultimately led to his death. Although he had no need to go up to the front line, he volunteered for the task, saying that he just wanted to see what it was like "up at the sharp end". 14 July 1918 - the French national holiday - was a cold and wet day in Flanders. That night a British guide led a party including Billy up to the Scherpenberg hill, beyond which lay no-man's-land and Mount Kemmel. The area was full of Germans and danger was ever present. Even so, Billy persuaded a number of British soldiers to take him out on patrol to repair some barbed wire entanglements between the lines. The work party left the safety of their trench around midnight and stumbled forward into the dark. They had only just set out when the British opened up with a fierce artillery bombardment of the German positions. Unsurprisingly, the Germans retaliated in kind. The work party rushed back towards the trench but a shell exploded in their midst. A British soldier was killed instantaneously and Billy was hit in the stomach by a large piece of shrapnel. The other British troops picked up his limp and bleeding body and dragged him back to their own lines, but when they arrived they found that he was already dead. He was buried with the British soldier on the southern slopes of the Scherpenberg hill, but his remains were later transferred o Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery (plot B - row 02 - grave 14). He was the first to find new energy and courage. He was universally praised by his men for his American battle casualty to die on Flemish soil. Source: https://www.toerismeheuvelland.be/en/getfile/D230735261FRONTKAARTWO1DEFINITIEF_79247.pdf/bestand