Leiter Honored As Veteran Of The MonthSidney resident Max C. Leiter was honored as Kosciusko County’s November Veteran of the Month at the county commissioners meeting Tuesday.
Leiter was born in 1922 near Sidney to Charles and Flossie Johnson Leiter. He graduated from Sidney High School in 1940 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps shortly thereafter.
He trained in the B-17, and as a member of the 487th Bomb Group he flew 35 missions over Europe, targeting German infrastructure most of the time. Many times the crew Leiter served with returned from missions with holes in their plane from anti-aircraft fire. On the crew’s first mission, they returned to base on three engines.
The 487th led the 8th Air Force on the Christmas eve mission in support of the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.
Leiter returned stateside to train bombadiers in Texas when the war ended, and shortly thereafter he returned to Sidney and met Doris Raypole. They married in 1946.
Leiter also joined the Air Force Reserve when it was formed, and retired in 1982 after 26 years of service.
Commissioners had relatively little business to handle at Tuesday’s meeting. The board approved a new grant policy that ensures departments are using grant money as intended and in compliance with the terms and conditions of the grants received.
They also renewed a planned service agreement with Johnson Controls for maintenance on HVAC systems.
County attorney Chad Miner, auditor Michelle Pickett and highway supervisor Scott Tilden opened more than 20 bids for supplies ranging from fuel for vehicles to paving materials for roadways. Tilden asked the board to take the bids under advisement, giving him time to sort them out and present his recommendations at the Nov. 27 meeting. The board agreed.
The Nov. 27 meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the commissioners room of the county courthouse.
