Sgt Leonard J. McNeill
U.S. Army Air Force, 20th Air Force, 500th Bomb Group, 881st Bomb Squadron
B-29 Superfortress 44-69666 Tail Gunner Prisoner Of War (POW) April 2, 1945
Died in Tokyo Prison Fire May 26, 1945 Missing In Action (MIA) Identified October 9, 2025

Background
Leonard James McNeill was born November 3, 1917 to parents William Seymour “Willie” McNeill and Margaret Sophia “Maggie” Buchanan McNeill in Prince Edward Island, Canada. His older brother was Seymour Duncan McNeill born in 1914 and younger sister Melva Gertrude “Mel” McNeill born 1920.

In 1926, the family moved to the United States and resided in Somerville, Massachusetts. McNeill completed four years of high school, purchased a car and drove to Orlando, Florida and worked as a soda clerk and bartender. In 1938, he married Melba Culbreth in 1938. The couple had a daughter, son and a stepson. On October 16, 1940 at age 22, McNeill registered for the U.S. Draft and worked at R. B. Alexander at The Green Tree Grill, 371 North Orange Avenue in Orlando, Florida.

Wartime History
On November 17, 1943 drafted in the U.S. Army at Camp Blanding, Florida with serial number 34796533. He volunteered for service with the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) and trained as an aerial gunner. Assigned to the 20th Air Force (20th AF), 500th Bombardment Group (500th BG), 881st  Bombardment Squadron (881st BS) as a B-29 Superfortress tail gunner and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Mission History
On April 1, 1945 took off from Saipan as tail gunner aboard B-29 Superfortress 44-69666 piloted by 1st Lt. Edward G. Law on Mission 37 an experimental night precision bombing mission against Musashino Aircraft Factory at Musashino west of Tokyo in Japan. The formation included thirty-five B-29s with one aborting the mission. Inbound to the target, the weather was clear with visibility good with a slight haze.

On April 2, 1945 after midnight, the formation arrived over the target between 5,000' to 6,000'. Five minutes into the bomb run at roughly 4,500', this bomber was hit by anti-aircraft fire between the no. 3 and no. 4 engines and moments later a second hit in the rear fuselage and tail. The damage caused a fire and pilot Law ordered the crew to bail out. After the ten crew bailed out, pilot Law died flying the bomber when it exploded and crashed. When this bomber failed to return, it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA).

Prisoner Of War (POW)
McNeill and the rest of the crew bailed out and were captured by the Japanese and became Prisoners Of War (POW). According to Japanese military law they were considered captured enemy airmen, not military prisoners.

On April 16, 1945 the rest of the crew were detained by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) Kempeitai (Kempei-Tai) at Tokyo Military Prison (Shibuya Military Prison). During the night of May 25, 1945 to May 26, 1945 the POW crew (with the exception of Hopper) died during a B-29 fire bombing raid that caused fires that burned large urban areas.

Postwar, five Japanese charged with war crimes related to the fate of the crew and were put on trail during the Yokohama War Crimes Trial and all found guilty including: Hatsuaki Kambe (life sentence), Keiji Kamimoto (death penalty), Masao Koshikawa (30 year prison sentence), Mataishi Okubo (life sentence) and Toshio Tashiro (death penalty).

Recovery of Remains
After the crash, the remains of Law and Giddings were recovered from the crash site. Law was identified by his name tag on his flight jacket that was recovered to Youngi Temple. Postwar, his remains were transported to Hawaii and the United States for permanent burial.

Postwar, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) recovered 65 sets of remains from Tokyo Military Prison. At total of 39 were unable to be identified and were buried at Manila American Cemetery as unknowns.

Due to the advocacy of Michael Krehl, grandson of Sgt Leonard J. McNeill and pressure from U.S. Senators, the Department of Defense (DoD) was compelled to exhume the unknown remains for modern DNA testing and forensic analysis. During March 2022 and April 2022, the unknowns from Tokyo Military Prison were exhumed and transported to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) for laboratory testing.

On October 9, 2025 the partial remains of McNeill were identified by the Department of War. He was identified by anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence plus mitochondrial DNA analysis versus reference samples from family members including Michael Krehl.

Memorials
McNeill was officially declared dead on May 26 1945. He earned the Air Medal and Purple Heart, posthumously. McNeill is memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) on the courts of the missing, court 7. After he was identified in 2025, a rosette was added next to his name. He will be buried on Veterans Day November 11, 2026 Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando, Florida in the family plot area.

Relatives
Melba Margaret (née Culbreth) Lynch (wife born 1914 died 1986 at age 71)
Seymour Duncan McNeill (brother born 1914 died 1994 at age 79)
Melva Gertrude “Mel” (née McNeill) Swanson (sister born 1920 died 2001)
Michael Krehl (grandson of McNeill)

References
NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Leonard J. Mc Neill
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Leonard J. McNeill
DPAA Personnel Profile - Leonard J. McNeill
FindAGrave - Sgt Leonard James McNeill (photo, news, tablets of the missing photo)
DPAA Press Release - Airman Accounted For From World War II (McNeill, L.) July 21, 2026
YouTube - Tokyo Prison Fire
Thanks to Mike Krehl and Katherine Rasdorf for additional information

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