How Leo B. Leonard and His Sons met with President Eisenhower

During the summer of 1940 the Army had their most ambitious war games prior to World War II. The setting was the newly named Ford Ord, near Monterey, California. Many of the soldiers involved in these war games used wooden rifles. There was little ammunition for the First World War cannons. Trucks were used as mock tanks. This exercise was to be the U.S. Army's first attempt at amphibious landing. As the troops came ashore from rowboats in Monterey Bay, trucks zoomed back and forth with soldiers shouting boom boom, pretending they were tank guns firing away! Above the beach line, crowds of local citizens yelled and applauded while the 32nd Infantry regimental Band played. That band was conducted by Staff Sergeant Leo Bradford Leonard.

The Army maneuvers were partially planned by Mark W. Clark, a brilliant officer from the office of the Chiefs of Staff in Washington D.C. With Col. Clark was his friend and classmate from the West Point Class of 1915, Lt. Col. Dwight David Eisenhower. Ike (as he was called) was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, and wondered if he would ever get a regimental command. With nothing official to do but watch, Ike wandered over to the band and chatted with Staff Sergeant Leo B. Leonard. He asked Leo if he could play a song called "Abdul a bul bul a mir", Ike's favorite song. Staff Sergeant Leonard said that most of the boys knew that song from their many visits to the local bars, but they did not have the music with them since it was not scheduled for the program that day.

Leo Bradford Leonard A Short Biography

Leo Bradford Leonard was born in Price, Utah on 17 August 1905. He was the oldest son of Zoe Ellen and Leo P. Leonard. As the oldest of 9 children, he had to assume responsibility early for the care of the younger brothers and sisters and was expected to perform his share of chores around the home and property. He showed early a flair for leadership and assumed his responsibilities with great enthusiasm. He and his younger brother, Emmett, became popular among the young folk in the Carbon County area. Their popularity was equally strong between the young women and the young men. Both played in their father's band, the original Night Hawk Orchestra. This was the first band organized in that part of the state of Utah and all of the children played in it at one time.

Leo Bradford graduated from Carbon County High School and left home early after signing a professional baseball contract. He subsequently played for the professional teams in San Pedro and Los Angeles, California. In addition to playing for these minor league professional teams, he hung around the lots of a number of movie studios and played in the movie studio orchestras. He also played as an extra in several movies including, Wagon Wheels, an early talkie, where he played the part of an Indian.

(Picture 1: Leo at the POW camp in Gorica, Italy, circa 1945 where he was the commander.)

Memories of Leo Bradford Leonard by Jean Morley Leonard

It would not be difficult to fill a book with interesting and unusual facts about Leo Bradford Leonard but since that is not possible I will tell just a few tales of the wonderful times our family shared when he resided in Vienna, Austria and we lived in Wiesbaden, West Germany.

It is no exaggeration to say that in those days, 1959 to 1975, if Leo Bradford Leonard was not planning a trip to see us, we were planning a trip to see him for my husband Max G. Leonard backed by our two adventurous boys loved to speed off down the autobahn and what better excuse than having another Leonard living in Europe.

What a paradox it was, enjoying hour after hour of serious study and often living like a hermit yet having such a love of people. Leo was a man who listened to others, he was genuinely interested in others and loved to mingle with the masses. He was as happy passing time with the poorest peasant as he was meeting with the wise and famous. And meet them he did. During his years at the Jung Institute he was a part of a group who met regularly with Dr. Jung to discuss the latest findings on the brain. Others included Pauli (the Nobel Prize winner).

Picture 1: Captain Leo B. Leonard 

Some Highlights of My Life by Florence Leonard as told to Leo D. Leonard

I was born March 15, 1912 in a house between G and H Streets in Salt Lake City, Utah- the youngest of five children.  In a way, my parents had almost two distinct families.  My brother, Phil and I were a year apart, while my brother Don was twenty years older and my sister Daff was eighteen years older.  Our brother Marcus was even older.  My parents were in their forties when I was born, and we profited from the financial success my father had long ago acquired.  My father owned Robbins Electric, later called Central Electric.  Primarily a commercial electrical construction firm (Logan street lights, the Boston building.), he also did some residential work.

Both my mother Florence May Phillips, and my father, Le Grand B.  Robbins came from pioneer stock. My father’s mother was Jane Adeline Young, the daughter of Joseph Young, brother to the prophet Brigham Young, and himself the President of the Seven Presidents of the Seventy.  He was called to that position by the prophet and President, Joseph Smith Jr. My mother and especially my father were strong temple goers, father working in the temple for many years.

Graduating from LDS High School several years behind President Hinckley, I stayed and attended LDS College, later transferring to the University of Utah.  I’m afraid I was too young to take school seriously.  I pledged to Tri Delta Sorority, joined Wasatch Mountain Club and gave very little attention to class work.  I was also dividing my time between work and school.

Picture 1: Leo with his trumpet at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, Utah.