Sources: findagrave honorstates.org

Name: Walter Philip Leadbetter Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade Service Number: 4009672 (at enlistment) O-106250 (officer) Service: Composite Squadron 26 (VC-26), Air group attached to the USS Sangamon (CVE-26), US Navy Reserve Awards: Purple Heart Date of Birth: July 2, 1916 Place of Birth: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Date of Enlistment: February 17, 1941 Place of Enlistment: Massachusetts Address at Enlistment: Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Age at Enlistment: 24 Height: 5 feet, 11 inches Complexion: Light Eye Color: Green Hair Color: Brown Occupation: Manager, Howard Johnson’s Next of Kin: John Leadbetter (Brother) Religion: Roman Catholic Date of Death: June 30, 1943 Age: 26 Memorial: Manila American Cemetery and Memorial Reference: Tablets of the Missing Walter Philip Leadbetter was the son of John Asaph Leadbetter (1882-1949), born in Windsor, Kings County, Nova Scotia, and Anna Maria (Neal) Leadbetter (1885-1925), and the brother of John Joseph Leadbetter (1911- 1995), and William Neal Leadbetter (1913-1999). He had a half-sister Dawn Joanne Leadbetter (1927-1978) from his father’s second marriage to Ruth N. Carr (1892-1949), after his mother’s death in 1925. His brother William served in the US Army during World War II from 28 December 28, 1942, to October 27, 1945. In the 1930’s, Walter completed 2 years of college studying medicine in Lawrence, Kansas. Walter registered for the US Draft on October 16, 1940, in Flushing, Queens Co., New York. At the time he was living at 36-19 167th Street in Flushing and employed as the manager of the Howard Johnson’s Restaurant at Scranton Ave and Sunrise Highway in Lynbrook within the town of Hempstead in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. His next of kin was his brother John Joseph Leadbetter at 355 Belmont Ave in Wollaston, Suffolk Co., Mass. His brother worked at the health centre on Federal Street in Boston. Enlisting February 17, 1941, he was posted to the US Naval Reserve Aviation Base in Squantum, Massachusetts the next day, February 18, 1941. On April 26, 1941, he was transferred to Jacksonville, Florida for additional training. He embarked the USS Sangamon on October 11, 1942, and prior to transferring to the Pacific whilst serving on the USS Sangamon, he and his ship participated in the North Africa invasion (Operation Torch) and saw active bombing service at Casablanca in November 1942. The Sangamon subsequently transferred to the Pacific. Walter served as a Naval Aviator. Composite Squadron 26 (VC-26) operated from Guadalcanal between June 26 and August 5, 1943, in support of the Consolidation of the Solomons campaign. It worked alongside air groups from USS Sangamon (CVE-26), USS Suwannee (CVE-27), and USS Chenango (CVE-28). VC-26 was specifically assigned to USS Sangamon, one of the three escort carriers participating in the deployment. During this period, Composite Squadron 26 was part of a strategic shift in U.S. Navy operations. Rather than flying exclusively from escort carriers, VC-26 and other squadrons temporarily deployed to land bases on Guadalcanal to provide sustained air support for the final phases of the Solomon Islands campaign. This move allowed the Sangamon-class escort carriers, originally converted from oilers, to support broader operations while their air groups contributed directly to ground and naval engagements. Walter was lost at sea, initially reported as missing in action at New Georgia, in the Solomon Islands. Because Joseph was missing in action when he died June 30, 1943, his official declaration of death is recorded later, on January 5, 1945. He is remembered on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.