Leo J. Meyer
Encyclopedia
Leo J. Meyer was a soldier in the United States Army
, one of only three hundred and three men who have been awarded three Combat Infantryman Badges out of more than the twenty-three million men who served in the US Army between December 1941 and December 2007. Colonel Meyer was inducted into the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School
Hall of Fame in 2009.
In 1936 Leo Meyer joined the New York National Guard 102nd Engineer Regimental Field Music as a bandsman through the NYNG Cadet Corps. In October 1937 he enlisted into Company ‘B’, 102nd Engineer Regiment and by May 1940 he had been promoted to corporal. In October 1940 he was called, with his unit, the 27th Division, to federal service for 12 months training. From December 1941 to December 1942 Meyer served in the Pacific Theater of Operations as a master sergeant in the positions of Regimental and Battalion Sergeant Major. In March 1943 he graduated from the US Army Air Forces Officer Candidate School. In 1944 he volunteered for service in the infantry and in June 1945 was serving as a lieutenant in Company ‘A’, 34th Infantry
, 24th Infantry Division in the Philippines
. Meyer earned his first Combat Infantryman Badge
during Operation VICTOR V
in the Southern Philippines Campaign.
After serving in occupied Japan
as a captain he mustered out of the Army of the United States
and reenlisted in the Army Organized Reserve Corps
; by June 1947 he was back on active duty as a Regular Army master sergeant instructing reservists. He re-entered active commissioned service as a 1st Lieutenant and served in the 7th Infantry
, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Devens. By November 1950 he was in Korea
north of the 38th parallel serving under LTC Thomas O'Neill in 3rd Battalion, which served as the nucleus of "Task Force Dog
", the forward element of the covering force for the X Corps’ withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir
. He earned his second Combat Infantryman Badge during the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) Intervention Campaign (Nov 1950 to Jan 1951).
Meyer later served in the Cold War
Army as an advisor to the Massachusetts National Guard, a staff officer in Bad Kreuznach
, Germany
, an operations officer at the Army Disciplinary Barracks in New Cumberland
, Pennsylvania
and as a Post staff officer at Fort Dix, New Jersey
. In 1961 Meyer, a reserve infantry major on the active duty list, reverted to Regular Army warrant officer (CWO4) (in lieu of retiring from the Army) and was assigned as an intelligence technician in the Counter Intelligence Corps, serving in New York City
, NY, Camden
, NJ, Honolulu, HI and Washington, D.C.
. In 1967 he received his Bachelor of Science
Degree in Military Science
from the University of Maryland
and the following year he volunteered again for service in a combat zone. At age 51 he was assigned to 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, in Nha Trang
, Vietnam
, where he earned his Jump Wings
. Meyer earned his 3rd Combat Infantryman Badge while serving in the Rung Sat Special Zone with the 5th Mobile Strike Force, B55 (December 68 to February 69). In March 1969 he was promoted to colonel in the Army Reserve but continued serving as a military intelligence Regular Army CWO4 on active duty.
From 1969 to 1971 Meyer was again assigned in the Washington, D.C. area as an intelligence technician with the 116th Military Intelligence Group. He retired as a colonel in 1971. Meyer was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on 18 May 2006.
Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) 3rd award; Soldiers Medal; Bronze Star Medal 3rd award; Purple Heart 2nd award; Meritorious Service Medal; Air Medal; Joint Services Commendation Medal; Army Commendation Medal 3rd award; Navy Commendation Medal w/combat V; Good Conduct Medal; American Defense Service Medal; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/3Battle Stars; WWII Victory Medal; Army of Occupation Medal (Japan); National Defense Service Medal 2nd award; Korean; Service Medal w/4 Battle Stars; Vietnam Service Medal w/3 Battle Stars; Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/Silver Hour Glass (2nd award); Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry Medal w/Bronze Star; Philippine Liberation; Ribbon w/Bronze Service Star; United Nations Service Medal; Vietnam Campaign Medal; Republic of Korea; War Service Medal; U.S. Parachutist Badge; Vietnamese Special Forces Parachutist Badge; Distinguished Unit Citation for the battle of SEGOK (unit award); Meritorious Unit Commendation (unit award); Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (unit award); Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation(unit award); Vietnam Cross of Gallantry w/Palm (unit award); Vietnam Civil Actions Medal 1st Class (unit award)
s" (soldiers, horses, and weapons) for collectors and war game enthusiasts. He learned how to create and cast the figures and contributed to the Bussler line of civil war sets. Bussler and Meyer figures are featured in the book Making And Collecting Military Miniatures by Bob Bard.
In 1964 while assigned in Honolulu, Meyer learned the art of the American whaler
, Scrimshaw
(carving on whale ivory) from Richard (Dick) Hull. He carved larger sperm whale teeth with eagles' heads or traditional scenes of ships and whales and smaller pieces for jewelry. During his first assignment in Washington, DC, his art was on exhibit in the Fort Lesley J. McNair
Post Library and he participated in the first Smithsonian Institution
Festival of American Folklife, July 1967 as a scrimshaw artist. Some of his scrimshaw art is exhibited in the book Scrimshaw: Variations on a Theme by Martha Bowen
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, one of only three hundred and three men who have been awarded three Combat Infantryman Badges out of more than the twenty-three million men who served in the US Army between December 1941 and December 2007. Colonel Meyer was inducted into the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School (U.S. Army)
The United States Army's Officer Candidate School , located at Fort Benning, Georgia, provides training to become a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army...
Hall of Fame in 2009.
Military service
34th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 34th Infantry Regiment is a Regular Army infantry regiment of the United States Army. It saw combat in World War I, in the Pacific Theater of Operations in World War II, and was the first full American regiment deployed in combat in the Korean War...
, 24th Infantry Division in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Meyer earned his first Combat Infantryman Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge is the U.S. Army combat service recognition decoration awarded to soldiers—enlisted men and officers holding colonel rank or below, who personally fought in active ground combat while an assigned member of either an infantry or a Special Forces unit, of brigade size...
during Operation VICTOR V
Battle of Mindanao
The Battle of Mindanao was fought by United States forces and allied Filipino guerrillas against the Japanese from 10 March-15 August 1945 at Mindanao island in the Philippine Archipelago, in a series of actions officially designated as Operation VICTOR V, and part of the campaign for the...
in the Southern Philippines Campaign.
After serving in occupied Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as a captain he mustered out of the Army of the United States
Army of the United States
The Army of the United States is the official name for the conscription force of the United States Army that may be raised at the discretion of the United States Congress in the event of the United States entering into a major armed conflict...
and reenlisted in the Army Organized Reserve Corps
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
; by June 1947 he was back on active duty as a Regular Army master sergeant instructing reservists. He re-entered active commissioned service as a 1st Lieutenant and served in the 7th Infantry
7th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The United States Army's 7th Infantry Regiment, known as "The Cottenbalers" from an incident that occurred during the Battle of New Orleans, while under the command of Andrew Jackson, when soldiers of the 7th Infantry Regiment held positions behind a breastwork of bales of cotton during the...
, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Devens. By November 1950 he was in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
north of the 38th parallel serving under LTC Thomas O'Neill in 3rd Battalion, which served as the nucleus of "Task Force Dog
Battle of Chosin Reservoir order of battle
Battle of Chosin Reservoir Order of Battle is a list of the significant units that fought in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir between November 27, 1950 and December 13, 1950.- X Corps - MG Edward Mallory 'Ned' Almond:- USMC units:...
", the forward element of the covering force for the X Corps’ withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign ,Official Chinese sources refer to this battle as the Second Phase Campaign Eastern Sector . The Western Sector is the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. was a decisive battle in the Korean War...
. He earned his second Combat Infantryman Badge during the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) Intervention Campaign (Nov 1950 to Jan 1951).
Meyer later served in the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
Army as an advisor to the Massachusetts National Guard, a staff officer in Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach is the capital of the district of Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located on the Nahe river, a tributary of the Rhine...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, an operations officer at the Army Disciplinary Barracks in New Cumberland
New Cumberland, Pennsylvania
New Cumberland is a municipality at the eastern tip of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. New Cumberland was incorporated as a borough on March 21, 1831. The population was 7,349 at the 2000 census...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and as a Post staff officer at Fort Dix, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. In 1961 Meyer, a reserve infantry major on the active duty list, reverted to Regular Army warrant officer (CWO4) (in lieu of retiring from the Army) and was assigned as an intelligence technician in the Counter Intelligence Corps, serving in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, NY, Camden
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
, NJ, Honolulu, HI and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. In 1967 he received his Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
Degree in Military Science
Military science
Military science is the process of translating national defence policy to produce military capability by employing military scientists, including theorists, researchers, experimental scientists, applied scientists, designers, engineers, test technicians, and military personnel responsible for...
from the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
and the following year he volunteered again for service in a combat zone. At age 51 he was assigned to 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, in Nha Trang
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, where he earned his Jump Wings
Parachutist Badge (United States)
The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" or "Snow Cone", is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces awarded to members of the United States Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy...
. Meyer earned his 3rd Combat Infantryman Badge while serving in the Rung Sat Special Zone with the 5th Mobile Strike Force, B55 (December 68 to February 69). In March 1969 he was promoted to colonel in the Army Reserve but continued serving as a military intelligence Regular Army CWO4 on active duty.
From 1969 to 1971 Meyer was again assigned in the Washington, D.C. area as an intelligence technician with the 116th Military Intelligence Group. He retired as a colonel in 1971. Meyer was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on 18 May 2006.
Honors and Awards
Colonel Meyer was posthumously inducted into the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame on March 27, 2009. He is the 2,480th officer so honored.Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) 3rd award; Soldiers Medal; Bronze Star Medal 3rd award; Purple Heart 2nd award; Meritorious Service Medal; Air Medal; Joint Services Commendation Medal; Army Commendation Medal 3rd award; Navy Commendation Medal w/combat V; Good Conduct Medal; American Defense Service Medal; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/3Battle Stars; WWII Victory Medal; Army of Occupation Medal (Japan); National Defense Service Medal 2nd award; Korean; Service Medal w/4 Battle Stars; Vietnam Service Medal w/3 Battle Stars; Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/Silver Hour Glass (2nd award); Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry Medal w/Bronze Star; Philippine Liberation; Ribbon w/Bronze Service Star; United Nations Service Medal; Vietnam Campaign Medal; Republic of Korea; War Service Medal; U.S. Parachutist Badge; Vietnamese Special Forces Parachutist Badge; Distinguished Unit Citation for the battle of SEGOK (unit award); Meritorious Unit Commendation (unit award); Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (unit award); Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation(unit award); Vietnam Cross of Gallantry w/Palm (unit award); Vietnam Civil Actions Medal 1st Class (unit award)
Contributions to the arts
In 1953 while assigned in Massachusetts, Meyer met Dr. Ralph Bussler, an osteopathic doctor who had established a business making 54mm lead figures, "Tin soldierTin soldier
Tin soldiers are miniature figures of toy soldiers that are extremely popular in the world of collecting. They can be bought finished or in a raw state to be hand-painted. They are generally made of pewter, tin, lead, other metals or plastic...
s" (soldiers, horses, and weapons) for collectors and war game enthusiasts. He learned how to create and cast the figures and contributed to the Bussler line of civil war sets. Bussler and Meyer figures are featured in the book Making And Collecting Military Miniatures by Bob Bard.
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
, Scrimshaw
Scrimshaw
Scrimshaw is the name given to handiwork created by whalers made from the byproducts of harvesting marine mammals. It is most commonly made out of the bones and teeth of sperm whales, the baleen of other whales, and the tusks of walruses...
(carving on whale ivory) from Richard (Dick) Hull. He carved larger sperm whale teeth with eagles' heads or traditional scenes of ships and whales and smaller pieces for jewelry. During his first assignment in Washington, DC, his art was on exhibit in the Fort Lesley J. McNair
Fort Lesley J. McNair
Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of a peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To its west is the Washington Channel, while the Anacostia River is on its south side...
Post Library and he participated in the first Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
Festival of American Folklife, July 1967 as a scrimshaw artist. Some of his scrimshaw art is exhibited in the book Scrimshaw: Variations on a Theme by Martha Bowen