From the August 5, 2021, Trib Live (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) "World War II Army pilot memorialized 76 years after being killed in action" by Julia Felton.
Seventy-six years after 1st Lt. Robert M. Leety was killed, , his family dedicated a stone in his honor at Mt. Royal Cemetery in Shaler on Saturday.
Robert Leety was born and raised in Glenshaw, Pa., and graduated from Shaler High School in 1942, enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1943. After about a year of training, he was shipped overseas, first to England, then to France.
He was a fighter pilot flying P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts. The day after Christmas, 1944, he was promoted to first lieutenant.
During his time in Europe, he racked up 175 combat hours in more than 75 missions., including the Normandy invasions and the Battle of the Bulge. Because he had flown so many missions, he was given the opportunity to return home and assume a military role in the States.
But, he chose to continue flying.
--GreGen
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