BENDER-LEONARD

Leonard Michael Bender was born March 19, 1932, in Saint Anthony, North Dakota, the last of seventeen children born to his Russian immigrant parents.  Readily available historical records report the family moved to Yakima, Washington, in 1936 where the family reportedly worked in the agricultural fields.  It is recorded that before graduating from high school, Leonard followed his older brothers into military service by joining the military.  Records do not reveal the dates of his military service, but it is recorded that during the Korean War he served in the Navy as well as the Army.

 

Records reveal there were twelve boys in the Bender family, ten of whom are known to have served in the U.S. military.  During World War II, four were in the Marine Corps, three in the Army and one in the Navy.  Later, Leonard and an older brother reportedly joined the Navy during the Korean War.  Two of the Marine brothers who served during World War II became Japanese POWs and were held together in a POW camp in Japan where one died.  The other brother was a POW for 44-months until returned to U.S. custody at the end of the war.

 

Following Leonard’s military service, he reportedly attended a technical college which was followed by a career of more than 50 years as a sheet metal worker.  He died on Christmas Day 2012 in Tacoma, Washington, and is buried at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington, where his grave marker carries the inscription:  US NAVY  -  US ARMY.  He was survived by his wife, two children, and three grandchildren.

                               THE  10  BENDER  BROTHERS

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)