Andrew Lester McLeod

Radio Operator Andrew Lester McCleod was Killed in Action during a Kamikaze attack on his ship the SS John Burke on 28 December 1944. The ship was participating in the Luzon operation in the Pacific. According to the DoD, 9,521 merchant mariners lost their lives in WW2, which was a higher proportion than any military branch. Because the Merchant Marine was not considered a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, McLeod was not eligible for the Purple Heart. Instead, this Mariner’s Medal was mailed to his parents after his death.