Leland Clyde Poole (November 29, 1922–January 2, 1995)
By Wanjiku Mwangi and Holly Baker
Early Life
Leland Clyde Poole was born in Tarpon Springs, Florida, on November 29, 1922.1 His father, Leland Cavanah Poole,2 had served as Sergeant in the US Marines and belonged to the Tyrian Masonic Lodge of Massachusetts.3 His mother, Anna Schaffer, emigrated from Romania and spoke German. The Pooles were married in New York in 1916.4 Leland Clyde’s sister, Muriel Virginia Poole, was born in 1919.5
In 1930, eight-year-old Leland lived with his family in New Port Richey, FL.6 The 1930 Census, shown here, indicates that Leland’s father worked as a manager at an electric company in New Port Richey while his children grew up.7 In 1937, Leland’s mother, Anna, passed away.8 In 1938, Leland’s father married Virginia Hewlett Poole. The 1940 Census shows that in that year Leland Clyde lived in New Port Richey with his father, sister, and stepmother, Virginia—a social worker and teacher from Nashville, Tennessee.9 That same year, Poole was a junior at Gulf High School in New Port Richey, FL. As shown here, Poole appeared in the 1940 Gulf High School yearbook as the only male cheerleader on the squad.10
Military Service
Leland Clyde Poole enlisted in the US Navy on December 2, 1940, at the age of nineteen. The US Navy stationed Poole in Miami, FL, as a Seaman Second Class at the end of 1941.11 On July 9, 1942, Poole married Katheryn Nora Hillsamer in Florida.12 Three weeks after their wedding, Poole boarded the USS PC-465. The USS PC-465, also known as Paragould, operated as an anti-submarine convoy escort in route between Coco Solo, Panama, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during 1942.13 Poole served as Seaman First Class aboard the USS PC-465.14 In 1943, he was promoted to the rank of Quartermaster Chief Petty Officer Third Class while assigned to USS PC-465.15 In 1944 Poole achieved the rank of Quartermaster Chief Petty Officer Second Class.16 In 1946, Poole transferred to the Luzon ARG-2 for duty as a mechanic.17 During that time, the Luzon ARG-2 served as an internal combustion engine repair ship.18 Poole reached the rank of Quartermaster Chief Petty Officer in 1948. He boarded the USS Gantner, a destroyer escort warship, numerous times between April 1947 and January 1949.19 The data is limited regarding Poole’s service during the Korean War.
After Military Service
Leland Poole returned to New Port Richey as a Navy veteran and a Mason.20 In February of 1957, he and Katheryn divorced.21 In June of 1957, Poole married his second wife, Mildred Louise Manning, in Virginia.22 After retiring from the military, Poole worked for some time with the Florida Marine Patrol. Leland Poole died on January 4, 1995, in his Florida home.23 His wife, Mildred, passed away six months after him.24 The US Navy interred Leland Clyde Poole on March 11, 1996, at Florida National Cemetery (Section MC, Site 104) in Bushnell, FL. His gravestone reads, “QMC US Navy World War II, Korea.”25 He was survived by his stepchildren Scott, Barry, Anthony, and Frankie Meyers, along with five grandchildren.26
Endnotes
1 “U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July18, 2017), entry for Leland Clyde Poole, January 12, 1995.
2 “Massachusetts, Birth Records, 1840-1915,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed April 18, 2017), entry for Leland Cavanah Poole, June 7, 1893.
3 “U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com, (accessed April 18, 2017), Leland Cavanah Poole, 7 Jun 1893; Massachusetts, Mason Membership Cards, 1733-1990,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland Cavanah Poole.
4 “New York, New York, Marriage Index 1866-1937,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com, (accessed 18 July 2017), entry for Leland Cavanah Poole and Anna T. Schaffer, November 11, 1916.
5 “1930 United States Federal Census,” database, Ancestry.com, https://ancestry.com (accessed April 19, 2017), entry for Muriel V. Poole.
6 “1930 United States Federal Census,” database, Ancestry.com, https://ancestry.com (accessed April 19, 2017), entry for Leland C. Poole.
7 “1940 US Federal Census,” database, Ancestry.com, https://ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 22 2017), New Port Richey, Pasco, Florida, entry for Leland Clyde Poole.
8 “Florida Death Index, 1877-1998,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 22, 2017), entry for Anna Schaffer Poole.
9 “Florida, County Marriages, 1823-1982,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for L.C. Poole and Virginia A. Hewlett, September 4, 1938; “1940 US Federal Census,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 22, 2017), New Port Richey, Pasco, Florida, entry for Leland C. Poole.
10 “1940 Gulf High School Yearbook,” West Pasco Historical Society, New Port Richey, Florida, photograph of Leland Clyde Poole, page 15.
11 “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland C Poole, Muster date December 31, 1941.
12 “Florida, County Marriages, 1823-1982,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland Clyde Poole and Katheryn Nora Hillsamer, July 9, 1942.
13 “Paragould, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships,” Naval Historical Center, Vol. V, 211. 1970. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/p/paragould.html, (accessed July 18, 2017); “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland C Poole, Muster date July 31, 1942.
14 “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland C Poole, Muster date December 31, 1942.
15 “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland C Poole, Muster date December 31, 1943.
16 “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949,” database, Fold3.com, https://www.Fold3.com (accessed July 18 2017), entry for Leland C Poole, Muster date December 31, 1944.
17 “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949,” database, Fold3.com, https://www.Fold3.com (accessed July 28, 2017), entry for Leland C Poole, Muster date December 31, 1946.
18 Gary P. Priolo, “USS Luzon (ARG-2),” NavSource Online, https://www.navsource.org/archives/09/29/2902.htm. (accessed July 19, 2017).
19 “U.S. World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949,” database, Ancestry.com, https://ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland C Poole, muster dates April 17, 1947, to January 1, 1949; Gary P. Priolo, “USS Gantner,” NavSource Online, https://www.navsource.org/archives/09/29/2902.htm (accessed July 19, 2017).
20 “Citrus Obituaries,” The Tampa Tribune, Lexisnexis.com, https://www.lexisnexis.com (accessed April 18, 2017), entry for Leland Clyde Poole, Saturday, January 7, 1995.
21 “Florida, Divorce Index, 1927-2001,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland Clyde Poole and Kathryn Nora Hillsamer, February, 1957.
22“Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014,” database, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland Clyde Poole and Mildred Louise Manning Lancaster, June 27, 1957.
23 “Citrus Obituaries,” The Tampa Tribune, Lexisnexis.com, https://lexisnexis.com (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland Clyde Poole, Saturday, January 7, 1995.
24 “Virginia, Death Records, 1912-2014,” Ancestry.com, http://www.ancestry.com (accessed July 18, 2017) entry for Mildred L. Poole, death date July 2, 1995.
25 “U.S. Veterans Gravesites, 1775-2006,” National Cemetery Administration, Ancestry.com https://ancestry.com, (accessed July 18, 2017), entry for Leland Clyde Poole, January 4, 1995;
National Cemetery Administration, "Leland C. Poole," US Department of Veterans Affairs, accessed July 18, 2017, https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/NGLMap?ID=3317285
26 “Citrus Obituaries,” The Tampa Tribune, Lexisnexis.com, https://www.lexisnexis.com (accessed April 18, 2017), entry for Leland Clyde Poole, Saturday, January 7, 1995.
© 2017, University of Central Florida
