Tech Sgt. William Luster Leukering was a radio operator for the United States Army Air Force on a B-17 Flying Fortress when his plane was struck by enemy anti-aircraft ordnance during a bombing raid near Memmingen in southwest Germany on July 18, 1944.
The 28-year-old Metropolis, Illinois native – along with four other crew members – were still on board the plane when it exploded. For over seven decades, Leukering’s remains lay in Bavarian fields.
On Thursday – 80 years to the date after he was killed in battle – his ashes were interred next to his brother’s gravesite at Round Springs Cemetery in Massac County, near farmland that once belonged to his grandparents.
Earlier this year, the Department of POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that Leukering’s remains had been identified through DNA analysis.
Leukering’s nephew, Kevin Skahan, doesn’t recall his mother sharing many memories of her brother. Once, when watching World War II-era aircraft flying overhead, he saw a B-17, and his mother remarked that that was the type of plane her brother, known as Luster, had died in.
After that, Skahan dreamed of becoming a pilot like his hero: Uncle Luster.
Kevin’s son, Patrick, read his father’s speech at Leukering’s burial service.
“I'm sure Luster was counting on returning to the States after the Memmingen mission, just not 80 years later. I've never forgotten about my uncle. I’m grateful the United States government has not either,” Patrick Skahan said, holding back tears while reading his father’s words.
According to the Metropolis Planet, Leukering was born in 1915, the second of four children. The son of a dairy farmer, he worked as a deliverer for Farmers’ Dairy Metropolis prior to the war.
While some who worked in agriculture could be deferred from military service, Leukering volunteered to join the Army Air Force – the predecessor of the modern-day U.S. Air Force – in 1942.
After training as a radio operator gunner, Leukering was assigned to the 816th Bomber Squadron, 483rd Bomber Group, 15th Air Force headquarters and deployed to the European theatre.
Paul Mathes, a WWII researcher, amateur historian and reenactor, obtained a copy of the official crash investigation report conducted by the 483rd Bomber Group after the B-17 Leukering was on exploded.
The report contained details from witnesses and survivors who had parachuted out from the aircraft before it crashed. One of the crew members, Herbert P. Leblanc, said he witnessed Leukering attempt to save another crewmate aboard the B-17, and believed Leukering died trying to save one of his own.
“Luster Leukering was an absolute courageous hero,” Mathes said. “He gave his life when he didn't have to. He could have gotten out of that plane, but he gave his life for the other radar operator.”
Leukering’s body was not recovered after the aircraft explosion, and the U.S. War Department issued a finding of death in 1945. His remains were eventually declared unrecoverable in 1951.
In 2012, Department of Defense investigators were notified of a crash site associated with Leukering’s B-17 near Kimratshofen, Germany – roughly 16 miles from Memmingen, the site of his final mission. That eventually led to excavation efforts in 2018, where researchers found human remains.
Skahan, Leukering’s nephew through his sister Helen, was vital to identifying his remains.
“Someone from the Army got a hold of me a couple of years ago and requested a DNA sample. And I agreed. I didn't think I'd done anything wrong, and they weren't hunting me down,” Skahan said. “I had always heard the story that my uncle's plane had blown up in the air. So I thought there'd be no way they would find it.”
He eventually received word that his uncle’s remains had been identified, and that his family could have the option to bury them back in Illinois.
Skahan only anticipated a few people to attend the service. What he didn’t expect was to have over 100 people make their way to the Massac County community of Round Knob, ranging from distant relatives and community members to veterans and their descendants from across the country.
Leukering’s remains were escorted to the cemetery on roadways lined by around 400 American flags by several police officers and firefighters, as well as dozens of volunteers with the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcyclists that honor military veterans and those who have died in battle.
While it was an emotional day for him, Skahan said it was worth it to bring his uncle back to where he belongs: “It's just amazing that it's happened. And he's never forgotten.”
