In the events of World War II, Leroy Ruder exceeded the performance necessary to accomplish many tasks. Leroy Ruder will not be forgotten for his duty to our country in World War II.

Leroy Ruder was born on May 28th 1921, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert S. Ruder who lived in Nekoosa. Leroy attended Alexander Senior High. In his senior year he was elected class president before graduating in 1939. Before joining the army, he worked for the Port Edwards/Nekoosa paper mills. He joined the army air force and received his wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was trained at Luke Field in Arizona before being assigned to a base in England in November, 1943. His newly assigned station was the 8th Army air force base in England. He was a fighter pilot flying a P-51 Mustang and completed ten operational sorties over occupied Europe. He was a flight leader over Europe when was declared missing.

He and forty one pilots were under the command of Donald W. Graham. He had over 150 hours of combat flying. He was a designated an ace with five confirmed German kills and four unconfirmed. He also sank two ships and assisted in sinking two others. He flew a bomber escort mission to Berlin on March 6th with 20 enemy aircraft destroyed without loss of a single friendly plane. He was declared missing in action on June 6th, 1944 which many know as D-Day. The German government notified the international Red Cross of his death.

Leroy attained the rank of Lieutenant and then Captain before he died. He received air medals for meritorious service in aerial flight. Leroy also attained the First, Second and Third Oak Leaf clusters. Ruder was also a designated Ace. Leroy Ruder without a doubt served our country to the highest degree. We will never forget you.

Written By:

Kyle Pepp

East Junior High School