Gerald Eugene Lesh Military Service

Gerald Eugene Lesh of Bluffton, Indiana in Wells County, was killed December 27, 1944, while serving in the United States Navy during world War II, South Pacific. His status remains missing or buried at sea and his name is honored on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.

We have found the following reference at the Indiana State Library website; World War II database. We do not have the information because we do not have access to the microfilms here in the Philippines but we are hoping for some help from our posting. Our goal is to find the families of Indiana servicemen and present them with free photographs of their loved ones grave sites or their names as they appear on the "Tablets". This information will increase our chances of finding the families. Please help us!

Hello, I am a retired American veteran residing in the Philippines with my Filipino wife. A year ago we visited the memorial as visitors but came home with a mission in our hearts. As we gazed over the beautifully manicured acres and the 17,202 American graves, it was obvious only a few families had ever visited their graves.

I stepped into the soft grass and focused my camera on one of the white crosses, a grave of an Ohio soldier. A strange calmness was in the air as I walked a few more steps and a cross of an Indiana soldier lay square in my path. The letters of the inscription on the marker was bolder than ever, here lay a soldier from my home state.

At that moment a quiet brainstorm aroused my humble thoughts. I wondered if I could locate any of the families of these men. My stride became more defined and within a few moments I had located and photographed eight more graves.

Since those gut-wrenching but touching moments we have energized our efforts in finding the families of these American men from Indiana. We have located well over 100 and have delivered the FREE photographs to them via email.

Please visit our website and see the men we have honored and the families we have assisted in finding a more genuine closure of a horrible tragedy.

Our success in finding the families was the result of journalists, amateur genealogists, historians, historical societies, librarians and lots of wonderful Hoosiers and those with Indiana ties across America.

During our search we have also reached families from other states as well and have filled special requests for photos from the Manila American Cemetery. We presently have photographed only the graves of the Indiana soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen; however we have photographed all of the names that are engraved on the "Tablets of the Missing". We offer them free of charge to anyone who asks.

We ask for your help in finding their families. We understand this is a genealogy board but we do not need immediate genealogy in that form, we need leads to find the families. Please become one of our special volunteers today and find the family of an Indiana serviceman from near your home. A list of the men from your Indiana county is available, free and all you must do is request it.