Carson City resident celebrating 100th birthday

Leonard Locke Lesch of Carson City didn’t realize it in 1941, but he would rub shoulders with Gen. James Doolittle and learn more about the general who would eventually lead the first retaliatory air raid on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The Lodge Assisted Living and Memory Care this month celebrates the centennial birthday of one of its longest living residents, known to his family and friends as Locke. The resident is a World War II veteran who flew more than 30 missions with the Army Reserves in 1943. His travels from childhood in Colorado to San Francisco and eventually to retirement in Carson City have been memorable and all-encompassing, including his family life and military service, and he enjoys sharing the highlights.

Locke has lived at the Lodge in Carson for seven and a half years. He was born Oct. 17, 1922, in Grundy Center, Iowa and moved to Boulder, Colo., at 5. He attended school from the first grade until college at the University of Colorado, majoring in industrial management and earning a business degree.

He was called into active duty for World War II with the Army Reserves in 1943. He entered the ground forces and was moved into the Signal Corps to study cryptography. After applying for the Aviation Cadet program where he became a bombardier, he went to England and joined the Eighth Air Force at an air base 70 miles north of London.

“I was, of course, with the Army Air Force during World War II, and they needed my services again in Korea, and that became the U.S. Air Force,” Locke said.

He said his “extremely fortunate” crew did not encounter many problems when flying missions often except during times of inclement weather.

“On one mission, we literally were flying wingtip to wingtip,” he said. “That’s very tough flying for pilots to do. And on that particular mission, we were heading to Germany. We were soaked in.”

Locke said his crew flew up to 10-hour flights between its base and south France or south Germany. He visited Berlin twice at 25,000 feet in a B-17.

Eventually, the war would end, and he would be discharged. He returned to Boulder and married his wife Betty Ray Lesch, whom he had met in Sunday school and had grown up with since the first grade. Locke and Betty Ray were married for 71 years, and together they had a son and daughter. They lost their daughter to cancer when she was 54. His son, Kevan Locke Lesch, has retired from a career in maintenance and also lives in Carson City.

One of Locke’s greatest memories of being part of the military service stems from the summer of 1940, when he had no idea who Doolittle was and had attended a dinner party. It was sheer chance that his host would make the introductions to his two friends, and Locke thought nothing of it.

“My brother-in-law came up to me and said, ‘Do you know who that is?’ and he said, ‘That is Jimmy Doolittle,’ and I said, ‘Who the hell is Jimmy Doolittle?’ ” Locke said sharing the memories and stories of what he learned that day about the Medal of Honor winner.

Once he and his wife chose Northern Nevada to retire, the Lodge in Carson City would not be the first of the senior residential homes after Locke came to need care for Betty Ray, but he always wanted to live on a golf course, and the staff has accommodated space for him.

“There were two nice little greens, and the putting greens were taken out to give me more room for the patio,” he said. “We have a very nice apartment on the first floor, very convenient. … I think have the nicest apartment in the building.”

The staff has made plans to celebrate Locke’s centennial birthday on Wednesday after he spends his special day Tuesday with family and friends.