Born in Chicago, 1921, John Lesniak came with his parent to Downers Grove in 1926. He attended grade school and graduated from Downers Grove High School in 1940. At the time of his enlistment as a Marine, he had been employed in the Kroger-Consumer stores where he worked in Downers Grove and Hinsdale.
Lesniak had currently been stationed in New Zealand and Australia before going into action where he was a veteran of the campaigns on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Saipan and Guam. In Guam Lesniak was wounded and received the Purple Heart, and advanced in rank from Corporal to Sergeant. Lesniak was killed at Iwo Jima in 1945. He was buried at the National Memorial of the Pacific. As a decorated soldier, his parents received many souvenirs.
Source: Downers Grove Reporter, April 19, 1945
His name is engraved on the plaque at Memorial Park in Downers Grove honoring local servicemen who never returned home from World War II.
