Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Memorial – Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Memorial – Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Memorial – Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

Photo of Leo La Salle – This is his graduation photo from Pilot Training in Canada, taken in July 1941.

Photo of Leo La Salle – This photo was taken at his Airbase in Bottsford England in the spring of 1942, while on operational duty as a Lancaster Bomber pilot with the RAF's 207 Squadron.

Photo of Leo La Salle – This photo was taken in the spring of 1942 in London while on leave. Leo La Salle was a brilliant young man. By the age of 19 he had completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree, and by the age of 20 completed his first year of dentistry at the University of Montreal with an 80% average.

Newspaper Clipping – Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me

Certificate – This image shows the following: A lapel pin of 207 Squadron on the left, and the RCAF Operations Wings Award on the right. The certificate that accompanied the RCAF Operations Wings Award is below. The RCAF Operations Wings was a unique award issued to Canadian aircrew who served between Sept 2, 1939 and September 2 1945 for operations against the enemy. It was issued "IN ORDER TO RECOGNIZE ALL RCAF PERSONNEL WHO HAVE PERFORMED MERITORIOUS OPERATIONAL SERVICE AND HAVE COMPLETED A TOUR OF OPERATIONAL DUTY". In RAF Bomber Command in 1942, this consisted of 30 missions. It was also awarded posthumously to aircrew who were Killed in Action while on an operational mission during their tour of duty. This was the case of Leo La Salle who was Killed in Action in Lancaster # R5867-T over the industrial city of Duisberg, Germany, in the Ruhr Valley.

Military Medals – These are the medals that were awarded posthumously to the family in 1950. Note the Aircrew Europe Star (second from the left), a medal that was not widely issued, and is hard to find.

Headstone of Leo La Salle – This is a photo of his headstone taken in 1999, at the Reichswald Forest Cemetary in Germany.