Benjamin T. Leland collection

Collection — Box: 21.0002-Box 1

Identifier: 21.0002

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection relates to U.S. Navy Lieutenant Benjamin T. Leland who served as a fighter pilot on the U.S.S. Wasp with VF-86 Squadron during World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations and remained in the U.S. Navy Reserves until retiring in 1964. He was recalled to active duty as a pilot during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953 and served with Squadron VF-831 on the U.S.S. Antietam. This collection includes Leland's oral history interview transcript, memoirs, artifacts, flight equipment, documents, Leland's U.S. Navy Flight Jacket, and photographs.

Dates

Event: 1920-2016
Event: Majority of material found within 1941-1946
Other: Date accessioned: 2021-02-26

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to all researchers.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to quote, publish, broadcast or otherwise reproduce from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean for Special Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Florida State University Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Biographical / Historical

Benjamin T. Leland was born on February 15, 1920 in Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Union College in 1942. Before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, he worked as an Instrument man on a survey party for the Naval Supply Depot, Scotia, N.Y. Leland entered the U.S. Navy in November 1942 and was selected for flight training. He attended pre-flight training at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. He received additional training at Glenview Naval Air Station, Glenview, IL, and Corpus Christi, TX. After flight training, Leland was stationed at Cecil Otis Field and Camp Edwards, MA. In September 1944, he left San Diego, CA for the Pacific Theater of Operations and was subsequently assigned squadron VF-86 aboard the U.S.S. Wasp CV-18 flying support and bombing missions on F6F Hellcat fighters on Okinawa and Japan in 1945. Leland was released from active duty in February 1947 and worked for the Lackawanna Railroad as an engineer. In 1951, he was recalled to active duty in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and flew missions in Korea with VF-831 on the U.S.S. Antietam. He was again released from active service in 1953. He worked for the Douglas Corporation, Tulsa, OK as an engineer. Leland passed away on October 27, 2016.