Leigh Vial was aboard a Liberator that crashed near Bena Bena, New Guinea, on April 30, 1943. He and all eleven others aboard the aircraft were killed.
Sponsored by:
Leigh
Grant
Vial
DNB (1943)
February 28, 1909
–
April 30, 1943
Cemetery:
Lae War Cemetery
Awards Received
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Distinguished Service Cross
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Distinguished Service Cross
Headquarters, South West Pacific Area, General Orders No. 33 (September 12, 1942)The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Pilot Officer Leigh H. Vial, Royal Australian Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy as a Coast Watcher in action against enemy forces in the Southwest Pacific Area during the period from 15 February 1942 to 13 August 1942. (A complete citation of the actions for which the award to this officer is made cannot be published at this time for reasons of military secrecy.)
NOTE: No evidence of a subsequent complete citation is available. Pilot Officer Vial was a Coast Watcher (Project Ferdinand). He manned an outpost in the hills above the Salamua airfield on New Guinea for the period specified in his citation, reporting daily on Japanese aircraft activity.