Leon J. Trecker

World War II

Leon Trecker was born in Templeton on March 16, 1923, to Theodore and Susan (Fox) Trecker. Theodore operated the Standard Oil bulk plant in Templeton. Leon attended Sacred Heart School. When he registered for the military draft on June 26, 1942, he indicated he was employed at the Buick Motor factory in Chicago, IL.

Leon was inducted into the US Army on January 14, 1943, at Camp Grant near Rockford, IL. He was assigned serial number 36 723 983. On February 9, 1943, he was assigned to the Army Air Forces and was transferred to Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis, MO. There he was part of the 360 Technical School Squadron, Flight E. By July, 1943, Leon was undergoing cadet training at Patterson Field in Dayton, OH and had been promoted to PFC (private first class).

After completion of this training, Leon was assigned to the Air Transport Command. Their mission was to develop a worldwide air transportation system to deliver supplies and personnel to all theatres of the war. They also conducted ferrying operations to deliver aircraft. Leon’s training included stops in Utah and South Dakota. By May 25, 1944, he was stationed at Harlingen Army Air Base in southern Texas. He attended gunnery school and received his Gunner’s Wings on July 24, 1944. He was also promoted to Corporal.

During October, 1944, Leon was assigned to the North African Division of the Air Transport Command. This unit had originally been the 26th Army Air Force Ferrying Wing. Leon left the United States for Europe on November 12, 1944, and was sent to the Army Air Base at Naples, Italy. This base had become available earlier in 1944 as the Allies pushed the Germans farther north.

Leon and his unit operated three principal aircraft: C-47 Skytrain, C-54 Commando and the C-87 Liberator Express (a transport version of the B-24 bomber). They flew supplies on routes that included Casablanca, Morocco, Algiers, Algeria, Tunis, Tunisia, Tripoli, Libya and the other primary hub of Cairo, Egypt. Some missions were also flown to India. Their primary mission was to support the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces.

This activity continued through the end of the war. After the German surrender on May 8, 1945, supplies continued to be required. Leon returned to the United States on March 12, 1946, and was discharged at Fort Sheridan, IL on March 19, 1946.

After the war, Leon settled in Southern California. On February 18, 1950, he married Mildred Peterson Orr in Los Angeles. He held jobs that included owning a jewelry store, working as a machinist and selling automobiles. He had several addresses but was residing in Laguna Hills at his death. Leon died on November 4, 2003 at age 80. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.