Leslie Bartlett was born on September 5th, 1906, in Dane, Wisconsin. He grew up there, and was married on August 9th, 1931. He lived in Janesville by at least 1939.
Leslie was a career soldier, enlisting in the U.S. Army infantry on February 20th, 1936. By November 4th, 1938, he had been promoted to sergeant. On November 5th, he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Wisconsin National Guard. By 1939, he was an officer of Wisconsin’s 32nd Tank Company. This unit soon after became Company A, 192nd Tank Battalion. This unit was deployed to the Philippines in September 1941.
The 192nd Tank Battalion was one of the first American units to see combat during the war, and was the first to engage the enemy with tanks. From December 1941 until surrender at Bataan in April 1942, the 192nd was locked in futile combat against the invading Japanese forces in the Philippines. Those who surrendered participated in the Bataan Death March, and were subjected to inhumane treatment as prisoners of war. Of the 99 officers and men of Company A, 192nd Tank Battalion who went to the Philippines in 1941, only 35 returned alive. A memorial to the "Janesville 99" stands today in a Janesville park.
Leslie was very lucky. Shortly before he was supposed to go overseas, Leslie was transferred out of the 192nd Tank Battalion for unknown reasons. He spent the war in the United States giving first aid classes and working in administration. He died on March 22nd, 1971, and is buried at Simi Valley Public Cemetery in Simi Valley, California.
Photos:
-The survivors of Company A, 192nd Tank Battalion in Janesville's "Tank Park", late 1940s
-The memorial to Company A, 192nd Tank Battalion in Janesville
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