John P LESKO

Map of Normandy American Cemetery

He is said to have fought in North Africa in another unit of the 101st Airborne Division where he would have obtained his medals.

John was reportedly part of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of American volunteers who went to fight against Franco and the Nazis during the Spanish Civil War.

Most US volunteers were in 2 battalions Lincoln Battalion and the Washington Battalion of the XVth International Brigade.

Drapeau du Abraham Lincoln Brigade

The XV brigade consisted of six battalions from different nations

The term Abraham Lincoln Brigade served to name all the units comprising the 2,800 American volunteers who participated in the Spanish Civil War

The brigade went up to 5000 American volunteers, they arrived in 1936, based in Figueras near the French border.

The brigade was organized in 1937 as a combat unit, 60% was a member of the Young Communist League or the Communist Party of the United States, 1938 the brigade was withdrawn from the fighting. These Americans are considered heroes in view of the radicals but they are frowned upon by most Americans750 of these Americans lost their lives during this conflict ....

The death of John Lesko is a mystery. We know that John Lesko jumped near the village of Foucarville on June 6, 44.

But what happened to Pfc John Lesko is a mystery.

Some reports indicate that he would have landed in a flooded area and drowned. Many men finished like this but when the area was drained in July 1944 a body was discovered but it was not his.

He was also listed as injured during the landing. Witness statements in the "Missing Report" indicate that he was wounded, evacuated to England for hospitalization and returned to the United States.

But no body was ever recovered, it ended up declared dead on June 7, 1945, which is the standard of 1 year and 1 day after the disappearance.

John Lesko is registered on the wall of the missing at the American Cemetery of St Laurent sur Mer, Normandy, France.