Nancy Jane Leo, 1921-1945

Nancy Jane Leo
1921 - 1945

Nancy Leo was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patsy Leo of Frederick Street in Cumberland. She was a graduate of Catholic Girls Central High School, and went on to become a member of the 1942 graduating class of the Allegany Hospital School of Nursing.

Nancy soon enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps to serve her nation during World War II. On July 24, 1945 Nancy was on her way to Paris, France to visit her sister Angela, also an army nurse. Nancy was riding with two other nurses when, as the result of a close-by civilian car experiencing a blow-out, the nurses' jeep overturned. Nancy suffered severe injuries and passed away enroute to the hospital. The two nurses she had been riding with were injured.

Second Lieutenant Nancy J. Leo of the U.S. Army had been a member of the Army Nurse Corps for three years, had been serving overseas for 16 months, and was stationed at the 216th General Hospital. She is buried in the Luxembourg American Cemetery in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. In a local newspaper article at that time it was noted that Nancy was the first nurse from Cumberland to lose her life in service to her country, and that her gravesite at that time was adorned with an abundance of flowers and was the most beautiful within the cemetery. She is also the only American nurse buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery.

Nancy's father, Patsy, had been a Cumberland policeman and had passed away a year earlier. She was survived by her mother, her sisters Angela and Rosemary, and a brother, Richard. Nancy Leo would have been 24 years old on August 10th, 1945.