The remains of a local soldier who died in World War II have finally been accounted for after 80 years.
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Leroy C. Cloud, 24, of Thrall, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 29, 2023, a press release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said.
Now Cloud’s distant family members are preparing for a funeral that’s been eight decades in the making.
“It brings closure,” said JB Cloud, the deceased soldier’s great nephew. “He passed a long time ago. My great-grandmother passed in ‘85 and my great-grandfather passed in ‘96, so they’re already all together. But for me and the rest of the family, it puts the pieces together and finishes the puzzle of his life.” According to DPAA information, Leroy Cloud was killed while in combat in France in July 1944. Cloud was a member of the 744th Tank Battalion and was part of a four-person M5A1 Stuart light tank crew.
DPAA said Cloud’s unit was engaged in a battle with German forces and their tank was struck by a shoulder-fired rocket July 26, 1944.
“Two crew members were able to escape the vehicle, but Cloud and another soldier were never seen or heard from again,” the DPAA press release said. “Due to strong enemy artillery fire and intense combat, surviving crew members were unable to recover Cloud’s remains. He was declared missing in action, but the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war.”
The agency added that the war department issued a report of death the following month.
After the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command identified two sets of remains that were not able to be recognized. They then were buried without names at the Normandy American Cemetery in France.
The DPAA said a historian determined the tank belonged to Cloud’s company and exhumed the remains in April 2018 for testing.
The lab, located in Nebraska, used a DNA sample from JB Cloud to identify the remains successfully.
“We got answers to questions that we didn’t know about,” Cloud said.
“Even though I knew about him and have pictures of him, I just feel closer to him. I just feel proud that we are able to do this for him.”
The Cloud family will host a funeral for Leroy Cloud in Taylor Saturday, April 6 at the Taylor Cemetery.
JB Cloud said his great uncle will receive full military honors at the funeral. The remains are expected to fly in from Nebraska a few days prior and escorted from Austin to Taylor.
Cloud said the recovered soldier will get an insignia on his headstone, have a 21-gun salute at the funeral and a bugler will play taps.
He said a military chaplain will preside over the ceremony.
“The Patriot Guard will try to be there at the airport when he arrives,” Cloud said. “They’re going to try to coordinate with the water cannons shooting over the airplane as he lands.”
A rosette will be added to Leroy Cloud’s name on the Walls of the Missing in Normandy now that he is accounted for.
