Third Medal Of Honor Recipient For Niagara County Town

LOCKPORT, N.Y. (AP) — A western New York soldier being posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor will be the third man from his hometown to receive the nation's highest military decoration for bravery.

The late Staff Sgt. William F. Leonard of Lockport in Niagara County is one of 24 Army veterans belatedly receiving the medal from President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House Tuesday.

Leonard was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroics during a World War II battle in France in November 1944. He died in 1985.

Daughters Rosemary McQueen and Patricia Kennedy, both of Lockport, and Carol Maxey of Dry Prong, La., are attending the ceremony.

Niagara County's historian says the other two Medal of Honor recipients from Lockport are Civil War sailor Michael Huskey and Frank Gaffney, who fought in World War I.