Leesburg WWII soldier to be buried Sunday, 80 years after his death

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Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall was killed in Jan. 1944

Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, 21, of Leesburg, Florida, was identified in July by scientists who used anthropological and DNA analysis, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release. (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency)

LEESBURG, Fla. – A World War II soldier for Leesburg will get a hero’s welcome home procession and be buried with full military honors Sunday, 80 years after he was killed in action.

Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall was 21 years old when he was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron. He was a left waist gunner on board a B-24D Liberator when his plane was attacked by the Germans on Jan. 21, 1944. According to the U.S. Army Air Force, German forces recovered nine sets of remains from the crash site and buried them in a French cemetery.

Recent efforts to identify remains from World War II using advanced DNA testing and research allowed the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to identify Hall’s remains with 95% probability on July 13, 2023.

Hall still has family members in Central Florida. His nephew, Jeffery Hester, spoke to News 6 in December about how much the discovery of his uncle’s remains means to his family.

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“I just wanna go shake my mom’s grave and tell her,” Hester told News 6′s Emily McLeod. “That would be the great part... My wife was really into it, too, and she passed, and I have two grave markers to shake. It’s good. It’s a good story. It is full circle and also, I think if it’s right, the Jan. 21 burial will be 80 years on the dot to when his plane went down.”

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Hall’s body has been lying in state at Beyers Funeral Home and Crematory. Starting at 2 p.m. Sunday, a Hero’s Highway Welcome Home procession will transfer Hall’s remains from the funeral home in Lady Lake to Loan Oak Cemetery in Leesburg. A graveside service is set for 3 p.m. there, and Hall will be buried with Full Army Military Honors.

The Hero’s Highway Welcome Home procession will start from the funeral home on N Hwy 27/441 in Lady Lake, process south through Lady Lake and Fruitland Park to Leesburg, turn onto South Canal Street, then proceed down West Main Street through downtown Leesburg, then turn onto Thomas Road to get to the cemetery. People are encouraged to display flags and pay their respects.

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