M/Sgt. Leslie A. RYAN

 

Charles E. Pollard

 

I am searching for information about my uncle, Leslie A. Ryan. He died in 1970 at the early age of 53. I'm sure his service in the Philippines contributed to his early demise. I inherited his Army uniform. I have written to the Army for his records, but they were lost in a fire in St. Louis. He was in the paratroopers from about 1942 until 1945. He was a M/Sgt from Monrovia, CA. His left shoulder patch is "11th Airborne." His right shoulder patch is "503 Airborne". I have researched his ribbons and they are:

  • Philippine Liberation Medal (with one star)

  • WWII Victory Medal (with one star)

  •  WWII Army of Occupation Medal

  • Army Good Conduct Medal

  • American Campaign Medal-WWII

  • Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal-WWII (with two stars) 

  • Army Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon 

  • WWII Honorable Discharge Patch 

  • Combat Infantryman Badge 

  • Airborne Insignia

 Would he likely have been in your outfit? Would he have been involved at Corregidor?

Any help you can give me to better understand his service on this Veteran's Day would be greatly appreciated.

 

Charles E. Pollard

Former CPL, US Army 1953-55

[email protected]

 

Paul Whitman

Charles,

 Although we do not have a comprehensive roll of 503d PRCT members, the information which you have provided does give a strong indication  that your uncle was most likely from the 503d.  For instance, many of the old-timers of the 503d had sufficient points on their record not to be posted on occupation duties in Japan, and thus would not have been authorised the  Army of Occupation Medal.  

The 11th Airborne patch was worn when the 503d were in Japan, so that would indicate your father had been through most of the war with the 503d.   His medals are also consistent with a Corregidor veteran, though not necessarily determinative of whether he was on the jump.

The website's database search for jumper’s names doesn’t determine the matter.  Other bits of information might assist – whether he’d ever been to Australia, whether he’d been on a troopship, whether he’d been to Panama, all that sort of thing.  

The more you read about the 503d on our websites, the more you’ll be able to understand your uncle’s history. Our website provides more cumulative understanding of the 503d experience than the lost records of St. Louis ever did.