Lost in 1945, WWII Airman Will Be Laid to Rest in Florida

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Sgt. Leonard J. McNeill, 27, of Orlando, Florida, who died as a prisoner of war during World War II, will be interred Nov. 11 at Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando, Florida. Services and interment are being coordinated by Colonial Funeral Home.

In the spring of 1945, McNeill served as a tail gunner aboard a Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" bomber assigned to 881st Bombardment Squadron, 500th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy).

In early April, during a bombing mission against the Nakajima Aircraft Engine Plant in Musashino City, Japan, the aircraft crashed. The circumstances leading to the crash are unclear.

However, the unit’s records indicate that aircrews on the same mission witnessed one plane explode near the target area before falling to the ground.

McNeill survived the crash but was held as a prisoner of war. He perished in the Tokyo Military Prison during a fire on May 26, 1945.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency accounted for McNeill on Oct. 9, 2025.

For more information on DPAA’s efforts to locate and identify McNeill, please visit: [https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4551497/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-mcneill-l/](https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4551497/airman-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-mcneill-l/)

U.S. Army Human Resources Command’s Past Conflict Repatriations Branch plays a vital role in the process of identifying, locating and contacting subsequent generation family members of Soldiers missing or killed in action during WWII and the Korean War to positively identify previously undiscovered or unknown remains.

Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact Colonial Funeral Home, 407-898-2561.

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