Leonard Kittle

Leonard A. Kittle, 23, of Caney, Kansas, died November 22, 1952 in Alaska. Kittle was among the 52 servicemen aboard a massive C-124 Globemaster military transport when it slammed into a frozen mountaintop outside of Anchorage, Alaska. There were no survivors. The crash site had been identified in 1952 but terrain and weather conditions precluded recovery efforts at that time.br Visitation will be held Friday, June 20, 2014, 8:00am to 5:00 pm, with family greeting friends from 3:00 to 5:00pm, at the Potts Chapel of Caney. Graveside Celebration of Life services will be held at 10:30am Saturday, June 21, 2014 at Sunnyside Cemetery, Caney, with U.S. Army Chaplain William Breckenridge, officiating, Full military Honors will be provided by Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, Ft Riley, Kansas. Interment will follow at Sunnyside Cemetery, Caney, under the direction of Potts Chapel of Caney. br Leonard Albert Kittle was born October 13, 1929 in Caney, Kansas to Hazard Albert Kittle and Mary Jane Young Kittle, the third of four children. Leonard grew up and attended schools in Caney and graduated from Caney High School in 1949. br He married Sandra Sue Sanders on September 14, 1950. To this union was born a son, Charles DeWayne, and a daughter, Linda Sue. br He was drafted into the U.S. Army in February 1952 and received basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was then sent to Ft Riley KS, for additional training before heading to his assignment in Alaska. br In a story printed on Nov. 25, 1952, editor H.K. Skeet George penned these thoughts as he reported on the trauma and tragedy befalling the family of a fallen Caney soldier. ...as a Caney High School athlete from 1945 to 1949, Leonard Kittle was a wiry, capable, resourceful boy with a lot of initiative and a lot of determination. If that plane landed with the Caney soldier still having a fighting chance for survival, the Caney boy is the type who would come through. Leonard Kittle was that kind of boy.br Sandra relates: As a young man growing up in Caney he enjoyed basketball, football, his motorcycles, and fast cars. br Leonard is survived by his widow Sandra Kozak of East Troy, Wisconsin, daughter Linda Donald Erickson, 1 grandson Michael Stephens 42 of Menomonee Falls, WI, and 2 great granddaughters, Jordan Sue Stephens 11 and Emma Irene Stephens 9 Menomonee Falls, a sister Beatrice Crawford of Bartlesville, OK, nephews, nieces, and a host of cousins and friends. br He was preceded in death by his stillborn son, Charles DeWayne. br In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be given to www.findingthosewelost.comindex.html, a not-for-profit venture established by Tonja Anderson-Dell that has been crucial in following the efforts to find the missing C-124 Globemaster, the airmen on the plane and their familys members. Donors are also encouraged to donate to the organization of choice designating in memory of Leonard Kittle.br

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