Posted on: Tuesday, April 22, 2003

Leoncio Balan, 104, served in two world wars

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Leoncio "Leo" Balan didn't like eating cold food and sleeping on the hard ground in the Army during World War I. So when he was discharged in 1919, Balan joined the Navy. Later he found himself in the thick of World War II action, including the 1942 invasion of North Africa.

Balan, one of the last surviving veterans who served in two world wars, died April 10. He was 104.

Balan was born in Mabini, Pangasinan, the Philippines on Feb. 15, 1899. He signed up with the Philippine National Guard and in September 1918 his unit was called to active duty with the U.S. Army. After fighting alongside the British in France, Balan decided against re-enlisting.

"In the Army, you sleep on the ground, and you don't eat hot food," Balan said in 1999. "In the Navy, they give you a good bed to sleep in and you eat hot food every day."

With the Navy, Balan saw action at Guadalcanal and was present when Allied troops stormed ashore at Leyte, the Philippines. He was aboard the USS Colorado when it took President Herbert Hoover on a 1929 trip to Latin America.

Balan also served on the battleships California, Utah, Idaho and Mississippi. After he retired in 1947 as a chief petty officer, he and his wife, Maria, settled in Wahiawa. He remained active with the Fleet Reserve Association, the Veterans of Foreign War and American Legion.

Balan is survived by nephew, Orlando Adames; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Mililani Mortuary Mauka Chapel; with a service at 7 p.m. Visitation will be again from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Friday at the mortuary; service 10:30. Burial will be at 11:30 a.m. at Schofield Post Cemetery.