Ron was born on October 13, 1937, in Roseburg, OR. His parents, Frieda and Eugene Leonard, were farmers from Kansas who moved there during the Great Depression looking for work. He had one older brother, Gordon, who was both his idol and co-conspirator throughout life in terms of mischief.
When Ron was young, his family moved back to a farm in western Kansas, outside of the small town of Quinter. He worked on the farm from a very early age, often rising before dawn to tend to the fields before going to his one-room schoolhouse. He and Gordon would also go hunting for quail and doves in the morning before school, and so he grew comfortable using close-range firearms.
When he was eight years old, “Ronnie” began playing peewee football. At that point in 1945, all the players wore leather helmets and limited pads. Ron was a three-sport athlete through high school: football quarterback and halfback, baseball pitcher, and spring track sprinter. His teammate and good friend Gene Tilton remembers them both having their “bell rung” multiple times, shaking it off, and being put back in the game to continue playing.
After high school, Ron was recruited to play baseball at Kansas State University but pivoted to play football as a quarterback. He spent one year there before taking a sabbatical to “find himself” as a milkman in California. This also could have been a result of having “too much fun as a freshman and not enough time in the classroom,” in his words.
Ron returned to Kansas and transferred to Fort Hays State, starring as a quarterback for his final three years. He recalled multiple instances of suffering concussions, including crashing into an opponent’s bench after an especially fierce tackle in the rain. He recalled that he “came back to, in the huddle,” and barely remembers the rest of the game.
After a successful athletic career at Fort Hays State, Ron graduated with a biology degree and began to teach high school for several years. However, as much as Ron loved teaching and mentoring students, he felt a deep need to serve his country and pursue adventure in the military.
In 1963, Ron was commissioned into the United States Air Force, following his brother Gordon’s path as an enlisted man in the USAF. At the same time, Ron was recruited for the USAF inter-military football team and continued to play there. However, after two years in the Air Force as a communications specialist, he again grew restless in a desk job.
Through a fortuitous contact, Ron managed a one-time transfer into the U.S. Army with no loss of rank. It came with one stipulation – he would have to attend Airborne and Ranger School. His extreme and arduous training prepared him tremendously for extended combat in South Vietnam in 1966. He often remarked that the lessons he learned during those long days and nights saved his and others’ lives in Vietnam.
In November 1967, Ron and his company were at the center of action on Hill 875 at the Battle of Dak To. As Captain and company commander, his involvement and determined heroism are detailed in the book “The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point’s Class of 1966” and “Dak To: The 173rd Airborne Brigade in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands, June-November 1967.”
For his service and bravery, Ron was awarded multiple military medals, including the Distinguished Service Cross (second in recognition only to the Medal of Honor), Silver Star, and several Purple Hearts due to injuries suffered during his career. He was shot in the leg and had a grenade explode in his proximity, leaving shrapnel in his torso which would remain for the rest of his life. At one point, Ron’s compass was shot off his wrist while lying on his back. He was also exposed to blast injuries while calling in air strikes and survived mortar attacks, along with the continuous trauma of being exposed to high caliber firearms at close range.
After his first tour in Vietnam, Ron returned to the U.S. and was honored to be selected as an instructor/cadre at the Ranger school in Florida. During the “jungle phase” of the Ranger course at Elgin AFB, he met Dabney Osbun Delaney. Dabney remembers many times where Ron would jump out of airplanes and “bounce” landings, a military term for a parachute failure and a hard landing. He finished his Army career as a Master Jumpmaster, having completed more than 150 airborne operations, i.e., “jumps.”
Approximately 18 months after they met, Dabney and Ron were married. In 1971, he headed back to South Vietnam as a district senior advisor. At one point in time, it was reported that there were no American survivors in his district. Fearing he was MIA or killed, Dabney and their new daughter, Kathryn, waited for information while stationed in Hawaii. A few days later, Dabney received a note from Ron saying he was alive, lying in a ditch, and had been calling in air and artillery fire on enemy positions.
Altogether, Ron ended up spending 28 years in the military with the Air Force and the Army. His service included stations at Fort Bragg, NC; South Korea as the battalion commander of the 2nd Infantry Division in the DMZ, Fort Leavenworth, KS; Carlisle Barracks, PA; Fort Stewart, GA; Fort Monroe, VA; Fort McNair, DC, as an instructor at the National War College, and the Pentagon.
Ron retired from the Army in 1991 and began working as a defense contractor in the Washington, D.C., area. He was stationed at the Pentagon on the morning of September 11, 2001. He and a friend were walking to get coffee when they noticed a female passerby who appeared lost. They reversed course, escorting the young woman in the other direction down the hall. Several moments later, American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, crashing into the area where Ron and his colleague had originally been heading. After several hours of no contact, his family learned he had taken it upon himself to hold the door open for thousands of Pentagon personnel fleeing the building.
After many years of combat and defense contracting, Ron officially retired in 2005. He continued to drive thousands of miles to assist with his grandchildren’s care, and to satisfy his love for “packing, moving, and anything orderly.” Ron’s physical health remained excellent, competing annually in his age group at the Pentagon’s Army Ten-Miler.
Slowly, over the next decade, those who knew Ron best began to notice changes. His stories became disorganized, and he confabulated more. He became moody and withdrawn at times and exhibited some uncharacteristic aggressive behavior. At the request of his family, Ron was evaluated by his military health team at Fort Belvoir, VA, between 2016-2017, and was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). As a proud former athlete and military hero, this was a shock to everyone, especially Ron.
In 2018, Ron was inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, GA, and spoke to the audience when receiving his award. It was clear at that time he was struggling to communicate his thoughts and was frustrated by his limitations.
