jerry dot com: Lt. Col. Les D. Lanier

by Marie L. Pulliam

Posted February 3rd, 2010
Lt. Col. Les D. Lanier
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Lt. Col. Les D. Lanier, age 93, passed away at a nursing home in Memphis, Tennessee on 01-15-2010 after a lengthy illness with his heart. He was born on 07-27-1917 in New Orleans, La. His parents, Lee Lanier and Teresita Reine' Lanier, preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife, Sybil Arlene Hamilton Lanier. Their home is in Germantown, Tenn. Other surviviors are his son, Boyd Lanier; his wife, Wendy and their two daughters, Holly and Erin; a grandson, Ean Lanier, Sr. and a great-grandson, Ean Lanier, Jr.; two granddaughters, Dylan Lanier and Katherine Lanier. He was preceded in death by his son, Jeffery Hamilton Lanier.
On Thursday, 02-21-2010, a service was held at the Memorial Park Funeral Home in Memphis, Tenn. in his memory.
On Friday, 01-22, 2010, Les D. Lanier was interred in the West Tenn. Veterans Cemetery, Memphis, Tenn. with full military honors.
Les was an R.O.T.C. graduate of L.S.V. He entered the Army Air Cadet Corps in 1940. He was trained at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala. He became a pilot of B.36 and other large bombers. He flew many missions over Germany during WWII. After the War, he spent a brief period as a civilian, then rejoined the Air Force.
At a time when he was a Major, age 37, he was stationed at an Air Base near El Paso, Texas. He was flying a B36 bomber directly over El Paso when the engines failed. He knew the plane was going to crash. Instinctive reaction and fast thinking caused him to turn the bomber toward the desert - away from populated areas. The plane was 600 feet above ground, losing altitude. He landed the Bomber on its belly in the sand. The crash killed the plane's tail gunner and 14 members of the crew received minor injuries.
Les Lanier suffered two black eyes and a bump on his forehead. Just as the pilot who belly landed that commercial plane in the Hudson River near Washington, D. C., thereby saving all those aboard and avoiding crashing in a populated area, became a hero - Les Lanier landed a B36 Bomber on a sandy desert - rather than a populated area - making him also a hero.
Marie L. Pulliam
(Note: Columnist Marie L. Pullman is Lt. Col. Lanier's sister.)