WWII · Battle Death Record
Lesley McNair
Lieutenant General, U.S. Army · Minnesota
Personnel File — Core Information
- Name
- Lesley McNair
- Entered the Service From
- Minnesota
- Rank
- Lieutenant General
- Service
- U.S. Army
- Unit / Regiment
- Army Ground Forces (Field Artillery)
- War
- WWII
- Date of Death
- July 25, 1944
- Awards
- Distinguished Service Medal (3), Purple Heart (2), French Legion of Honor (Officer)
- Burial / Memorial
- Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Colleville-sur-Mer, France
- Grave
- Plot F, Row 28, Grave 42
Their story
Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair commanded Army Ground Forces during WWII and was observing the opening of Operation Cobra near Saint-Lo, France. On 25 July 1944 he was killed by friendly fire when short-falling bombs from U.S. Eighth Air Force heavy bombers struck his forward position, making him one of the highest-ranking Americans killed in action in the war. He was posthumously promoted to General in 1954.
Compiled from American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and National Archives (NARA) records and public sources.
This record is one of more than 200,000 in our historical archive. Some information may have been corrupted or lost over decades of data conversion. Corrections are welcome — please contact the archive.