John M. Lesher Jr.

Rank: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces

Serial: O-889202

Unit: 491st Bomber Squadron, 341st Bomber Group

Entered service from: New Jersey

Died: September 5, 1944

Buried at: Lakeview Memorial Park, Route 130, Cinnaminson, New Jersey

Awards: Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart

Second Lieutenant John M. Lesher Jr. was born on January 5, 1920, the son of John M. and Cecily Lesher of 20 Oswego Avenue, Audubon, New Jersey. Known to friends and family as Jack, he was a 1939 graduate of Audubon High School. He entered the Army in January of 1942 and trained as a bomber pilot. He went overseas in October 1943, assigned to the 491st Bomber Squadron, 341st Bomber Group, flying B-25 Mitchell medium bombers in the China-Burma-India theater.

Second Lieutenant Lesher had completed over 40 missions when he was killed in action at Liuchow, China, on September 5, 1944. He held the Air Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster and had been recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross. His death was reported in the September 29, 1944 edition of the Camden Courier-Post.

John Lesher was brought home to New Jersey in the fall of 1947 and was buried at Lakeview Memorial Cemetery in Cinnaminson on October 29, 1947. He was survived by his parents; his sister, Mrs. Robert Lough of Audubon; and his grandmother, Mrs. Joseph La Francis of St. Petersburg, Florida. His father was active in the American Legion in Audubon.