Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of Joseph Pierre and Mabel La Salle, of Holtyre, Ontario.
Digital gallery of Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle
This is his graduation photo from Pilot Training in Canada, taken in July 1941.
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle
This is a photo of his headstone taken in 1999, at the Reichswald Forest Cemetary in Germany.
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle
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.
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel 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.
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel 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.
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle
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.
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle
Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle
Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Digital gallery of
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle
Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
Image gallery
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This is his graduation photo from Pilot Training in Canada, taken in July 1941.
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This is a photo of his headstone taken in 1999, at the Reichswald Forest Cemetary in Germany.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Father J P Lardie's comments as inscribed on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
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Flight Sergeant Joseph Daniel Leo La Salle is also commemorated on the Bomber Command Memorial Wall in Nanton, AB … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 89 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY Germany
The REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY is located 5 km south west of Kleve. From Kleve the cemetery is located, using the Hoffmannallee from the Town Centre, which becomes the Materbornerallee. This road enters Reichswald Forest and becomes the Grunewaldstrasse. Follow direction Gennep, entering Reichswald Forest the cemetery is situated 500 metres on the left.
Alternatively from the motorway 57, take exit Kleve/Goch, which leads onto the 9 N road in the direction towards Kleve. After 3 km turn left on to the 504 direction Kranenburg. Reichswald cemetery is clearly signposted on the 504 at cross roads Grunewald. REICHSWALD FOREST WAR CEMETERY is situated on the Grunewald Strasse direction Kleve on the right, 3 km from cross roads Grunewald.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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