The photos in this gallery come courtesy of the Eric Shulenberger, Author of the book Deny Them The Night Sky.
Faces of the 548th NFS
My father, Peter Leschak, was a p61 pilot in WWII. I was wanting to find out how many survivors there are?
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for getting in contact. Do you know which squadron your father was part of? As you can imagine, the number of night fighters still around is dwindling, due to age. The 417th, where my father served, lost its last surviving member this January. Don’t know how the other squadrons are faring. I am happy to put a post on the main page to see if anyone knows of any surviving members of his squad. Also, do you have any photos of your father and/or the plane he flew? If so, and you want to share them with others, I am happy to post them on this website.
Kind Regards,
Jackie
417th web site admin
My grandfather is Victor Harris Jr, and he joined the 548th shortly after they arrived on Ie Shima. He is actually mentioned a couple of times and has his picture in Mr Shulenberger’s book. I got him one about 10 years ago, and he keeps it, and the model that I built and mocked up like Midnight Madness, which he flew in, where he can pull them out and show people. Before I came along and started asking questions he never talked about his war experiences, now he’s willing to open up! Thank you for this site, thank you for the pictures, and keep it going!
My grandfather, Victor Harris, Jr. was a gunner in the 548th, and joined on Ie Shima. He lived until November 2023. He told me several stories about this time in the service and his time in the 548th.