More detail on this person: He was a CW-5 at Ft Knox as a Detachment Commander.
Surviving Spouse: Sandra Cerow Leonard, Son: Brian Leonard
LEONARD, JOHN PATRICK JR., passed away peacefully at home Thursday, March 27, 2014. He was
diagnosed with leukemia in 2010 and battled the increasing effects of the cancer to the end.
He was born on January 1, 1940 in Springfield, Massachusetts and attended Technical High School and
American International College. He married Sandra Frances Cerow on July 8, 1961.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John Patrick Leonard and Cecile Albert Leonard, and his
only sibling, Patricia Ann Bellerive. He is survived by his wife, Sandra; his son, Brian Joseph
Leonard; and his granddaughter, Megan Barbara Leonard, all of Louisville.
He was drafted into the U. S. Army in May 1963. After a tour of duty as an orthopedic technician at
Walter Reed General Hospital, he reenlisted to attend helicopter flight training at Fort Wolters in
Mineral Wells, TX and Fort Rucker in Alabama in Class 66-1. In 1966 - 1967, he served in Vietnam in
C Company, 227th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. His final tour of duty was with the 2nd
Platoon, Bravo Company, 2-228 Aviation Regiment, Fort Knox, KY. He retired from the military in 2002
as a CW5 after more than 39 years as an Army pilot. At that time, he was 61 and the Army's oldest
active aviator. His last employment was with the Transportation Security Administration.
His lifelong passion was flying and he was an original member of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots
Association in 1984, attending the first reunion in Phoenix, AZ. A military memorial service and his
interment was held Tuesday, July 1, 2014 at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central, 2501 N. Dixie
Blvd., Radcliff, KY 40160.
Published in The Courier-Journal from July 2 to July 4, 2014
This information was last updated 06/27/2014
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