James E. Leitch, World War II CasualtyPorter County Data on World War II Casualties . . . .
James E. Leitch
Lieutenant
Date of Death: November 16, 1944
Cause of Death: Airplane Crash (Peyton, Colorado)
Hometown: Crisman
Newspaper Notices:
Flier's Body Arrives Here
The body of Lieut. James E. Leitch, 20, of Portage township, killed in a plane
crash one mile west of Peyton, Colo., Thursday, arrived in Valparaiso this
morning and was taken to the Stinchfield funeral home, 55 Jefferson street.
Private memorial services will be held at the funeral home at 1:30 p. m.
Tuesday, with Rev. C. H. Grabemann, pastor of Hope Evangelical church, Crisman,
officiating. Burial will be in Chicago.
Details of the accident in which Lieut. Leitch died are not known other than
Peterson Field officials at Colorado Springs reported two men were killed an two
injured in the mishap which occurred at night.
Lieut. Leitch was a son of Mrs. Rhoda Ketchum Caldwell, of Crisman. He was a
graduate of Portage township high school in 1941 and was a student at Illinois
Institute of Technology, Chicago, when he was inducted into the air corps. He
was commissioned in August at Napier Field, Dothan, Ala.
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Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana;
November 20, 1944; Volume 18, Page 1, Column 8
Return to
List of
Porter County World War II Casualties
Information abstracted and transcribed by Steven R. Shook