Vernon Plummer Leitch was born on June 24, 1908, in Maryland. He was the son of Albert Sidney "Sidney" Leitch and Margery "Maude" Plummer Leitch. He was married to Martha Louise Davis Leitch. He served in the 723rd Bomber Squadron, 450th Bomber Group, Heavy, as a Technical Sergeant and Radio Operator Gunner of B-24 'Maiden America' #42-78356 during World War II.

On December 25, 1944, after a raid against a supply depot in Innsbruck, Austria, "Maiden America" was on its way back, severely damaged after being hit by flak over the target. With two engines on fire, pilot 1st Lt Vincent F. Fagan tried to reach the airport in Basel, Switzerland. Due to fog, the crew headed for the airfield in Duebendorf, a town near Zurich. In the Wuerenlingen area, Swiss flak – for unknown reasons - opened fire against the crippled bomber. The crew was unable to lower the landing gear and was afraid of shooting flares because gasoline was leaking out of the damaged tanks.

After the B-24 got a direct hit, pilot Fagan ordered the crew to bail out. Then he increased the power of the two remaining engines. Doing so, he avoided the aircraft that crashed right into the village. TSgt Leitch survived the incident, was interned in Switzerland, and later returned to active duty. He died on September 25, 1987, and is now buried in the Friendship United Methodist Church Cemetery, Friendship, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, USA.

Source of information: https://worldwartwoveterans.org, http://www.450thbg.com, www.findagrave.com