Wilmore B. Leonard (1916 or 1917 – April 2, 1978) was an American college professor, U.S. Army Air Corps/ U.S. Air Force officer and combat fighter pilot with the

332nd Fighter Group The 332d Expeditionary Operations Group is a provisional air expeditionary group of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command, currently active. It was inactivated on 8 May 2012 and reactivated 16 November 2014. The group forms part of ...

.CAF Rise Above. "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster." https://cafriseabove.org/the-tuskegee-airmen/tuskegee-airmen-pilot-roster/ One of 1,007 documented

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

Pilots, Leonard was a member of Tuskegee's sixth cadet graduating class and one of the first 50 African American combat fighter pilots. He served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, retiring from the military in 1946. He subsequently attended the Howard University School of Dentistry, and became a dentistry professor, holding the position for 25 years.

Early life

Leonard was born in

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury () is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region. The population was 33,050 at the 2020 United ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Eastern Shore Eastern Shore may refer to: * Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia), a region * Eastern Shore (electoral district), a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia * Eastern Shore of Maryland, a region * Eastern Shore of Virginia, a region * Eastern Shore (Al ...

. He had two siblings, Howard E. Leonard Jr. and Lillian Flamer. In 1939, he graduated from the Hampton Institute. He taught at Accomac County High School in Accomac, Virginia on

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Leonard was married to Elizabeth A. Leonard. They had one daughter, Charmaine L. Jackson, and one grandchild.

Military career

On September 6, 1942, Leonard graduated from the Tuskegee Flight School's Single Engine Section Class SE-42-H, earning his wings and a commission as a

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. One of 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots, Leonard was a member of Tuskegee's sixth cadet graduating class and one of the first 50 African American combat fighter pilots. He served in

's European Theater. In 1946, Leonard left the military with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Awards

Congressional Gold Medal Awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2006.

Post-military career and professorship

In 1947, Leonard applied and was provisionally admitted to the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

's graduate school in the chemistry department. Maryland subsequently rescinded its admissions decision, officially citing dissatisfaction with Leonard's previous average grades, though probably as a result of Leonard's race. In 1948, Leonard attended the Howard University School of Dentistry, graduating in 1952. He worked there as a professor for 25 years until his retirement in May 1976. He served as Howard's associate director of clinics, secretary to the faculty. He taught oral diagnosis, endodontics, oral therapeutics, pharmacology. Howard University School of Dentistry awarded him the Howard University College of Dentistry Alumni Award for outstanding contributions to dental education. Leonard was a member of the American Dental Association, the National Dental Association, the Robert T. Freeman Dental Society and the District of Columbia Dental Society. He also authored multiple journal articles on periodontology and endodontics.

Death

Leonard suffered from cancer and died on April 2, 1978, at

Howard University Hospital Howard University Hospital, previously known as Freedmen's Hospital, is a major hospital located in Washington, D.C., built on the site of the previous Griffith Stadium. The hospital has served the African-American community in the area for over ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

References