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Leon Frederick Haas
Lieutenant
VA-155, CVW-19, USS ORISKANY, TF 77, 7TH FLEET United States Navy Newton, New Jersey April 03, 1943 to July 17, 1972 LEON F HAAS is on the Wall at Panel W1, Line 57 |
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'Lonnie', as he's always been called by family, was a second generation Navy man. His father John Haas was a SeaBee and WW2 Navy veteran. Military service ran deep in the family, as five other uncles, along with his father, served the country from WW2 in the Navy to Korea in the Air Force. I don't remember Lonnie. I don't remember the war. I don't think I was even a gleam in my mother's eye when it started and I was only six when Lonnie died. What I am is the self appointed family genealogist. My father fought in the war, but my dad came home. I could very well have been in Lonnie's girls' place. Heather and Brooke lost their dad when they were 3 and 1. They probably don't even remember him. Knowing that fate does not play favorites, that it can just as easily be heads as tails, knowing it could have been me instead of them, that's why I requested this memorial page for my cousin.
From a first cousin, |
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Please tell Lt. Haas's family that I wear a silver Vietnam Veteran's wristband with the inscription "Lt Leon F. Haas USN 17 Jul 72 NVN" on my arm every day. I think of him every morning when I put it on. When I am having a tough day with my problems, I can hear Lt. Haas's voice in the back of my mind telling me to "never surrender." Please accept my deepest sympathy for such a painful loss. Lt. Haas is not forgotten and he will come with me wherever I go. E-mail address is not available. |
A Note from The Virtual WallLT Leon F. Hass launched from USS ORISKANY in A-7B BuNo 154521 as one of two A-7s tasked with an armed recon mission in North Vietnam. While still off-shore LT Haas reported that he was taking evasive action after seeing what he believed was a surface-to-air missile launch. His aircraft apparently went into the water near Hon Nieu island. As with most losses at sea no significant amount of wreckage was found and LT Hass's body was not recovered. |
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