Leroy M. Sullivan was a University of Chattanooga student who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and was killed in action in 1943. He quickly rose to the rank of Flight Lieutenant and was a commanding officer of his squadron during a portion of his time in Africa. He was the only American member of the British Royal Air Force, No. 56, Punjab Squadron, created under Article XV of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which allowed the air forces of Australia, Canada and New Zealand to form squadrons for service under Royal Air Form operational control.

Sullivan was killed after his plane malfunctioned at takeoff on the runway of the Martlesham Heath Airdrome near Ipswich, Suffolk, England on November 7, 1943 and was laid to rest in the Brookwood cemetery near London in the Canadian section, just a month shy of his 22nd birthday.