Wendel Leeman

“My dad will tell you that he still cannot believe that a kid from ‘the wrong side of the tracks’ made it as far as he did.”

– Richard Leeman, Professor, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Wendell Leeman, remembered by his son, Richard Leeman

He did not see a lot of action, but he endured some tough conditions on the frozen turf.

Wendel Leeman grew up in poverty in Orange, New Jersey, the oldest of eight children. His father was a disabled World War I vet who received a $35 monthly payment from the government.

In an interview, he recalled one of his chores was to take a toy wagon along the nearby train tracks to pick up the coal that fell from the train. The chunks he found was what the family used to heat their home.

Wendel Leeman entered the service in 1942 and was assigned to the Naval Construction Force, better known as the Seabees. During the war, he was stationed in the Aleutian Islands.

Although the elder Leeman acknowledges he did not see a lot of action, he endured some tough conditions on the frozen turf.

“We made the worst of it,” he joked. “It was mostly the wind, not the snow. But it was nothing by comparison to what we thought was cold in New Jersey.”