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 Leighton Lyde Baird
Graveside
services for Master Sgt Leighton Lyde Baird, 61, who died Thursday at
Greenwood Leflore Hospital, will be at 3 p.m. today in Odd Fellows Cemetery.
A native of Greenwood, Sgt. Baird had served 30 years in the Army before
retiring in 1971. He was a Methodist.
Survivors include his wife, Mrs.
Helen Hagele Baird of Greenwood; two sons, Ralph D. Baird of Sandy,
Ore., and Bernard Lee Baird of Greenwood; two brothers, J.W. 'Billy'
Baird of Greenwood and Charles N. Baird of Little Rock, Ark.; three
sisters, Mrs. W.F. Ragan, Mrs. S.L Young and Mrs. Yerger Morehead, all
of Greenwood; and two grandchildren.
Pallbearers are the members of
Company A of the 2nd Battalion of the 198th Army National Guard in
Moorhead.
Wilson and Knight Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
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[courtesy of "Sandi K"]
Grave marker of Leighton L. Baird in IOOF Cemetery,
Greenwood (Leflore county), Mississippi.
Leighton's earliest
enlistment is not recorded but by 3 August 1942, Cpl Baird was noted as
being home on leave from Fort Benning. in the local newspaper. A
similar entry on 19 March 1943 reported him home and wearing the rank of
SSgt.
Due to the absence of
multiple Morning Reports for Service Company in 1942 and 1943, the date
of Sgt Baird's arrival in the 508th is unknown. However, on 16
August 1943, Sgt Baird was transferred from Service Company to the
541st PIR.
He re-enlisted as a MSgt
on 11 January 1945
On 23 November 1949, MSgt Baird appeared
on an Army Air Forces Transport Command Manifest or a flight from
Chicopee, MA to Lajes Field in the Azores, an island chain off the coast
of Portugal used as a refueling stop for transatlantic runs in that era.
What his final destination was is not known..
It is interesting to note that the
manifest bears the heading of Army Air Forces Transport Command as the
United States Air Force was established as a separate service in 1947.
more than two years earlier. The AAFS units were redeslgnated as
the Military Air Transport Service (MATS)
but the old forms were still being used.
MSgt Laird was aboard another MATS flight on 17 March 1957. This
time he left Hickham Air Force Base in Hawaii bound for Saigon, perhaps
as an advisor. U.S. combat troops were not sent there until March
1965.
Retirement for MSgt Laird came in 1971 after fulfilling 30 years
of service |
