First Lieutenant Rufus Randolph McLeod, Jr.

Early Life

Rufus Randolph McLeod, Jr. was born in Florence, South Carolina on April 24, 1920.  He grew up in Hartsville, South Carolina. His parents, Rufus Randolph McLeod, Sr., and Sue DeChamps McLeod, had four children, including his sisters Blanche, Lillian, and Sue. His father, a veteran of World War I, worked as a lawyer, served in the state legislature, and became the postmaster for the town.  

First Lieutenant McLeod, nicknamed Black Dog in the Hartsville High School yearbook, participated in various activities, including the Glee Club and the Commercial Club. He listed motorcycling as his hobby.  

After graduating from high school in 1937, he majored in General Sciences and attended Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, now known as Clemson University. While at Clemson, he was a member of Scabbard and Blade, Sigma Phi, served as a graduation marshal, and was named an honor military graduate.

Homefront

Hartsville, South Carolina, was the largest town in Darlington County. The population in 1930 was over 5,000 people. During the Great Depression, Hartsville benefited from several Works Progress Administration projects, including the creation of Lawson Park.  The town faced a significant change with the end of rail service in 1940.

Hartsville relied on cotton and tobacco farming before World War II. Most people in town either owned farms or worked as farm laborers. The town was home to Sonoco Products, a company that created paper and cardboard containers.  

World War II production provided an economic boost to the town. Cotton was in demand, and the military used Sonoco containers and tubing for munitions, barracks, and water. The company received national recognition for its employees’ purchase of war bonds.

The Hartsville Army Airport opened in 1943. Built for bombers, the airport was designed for A-20 Havocs and A-26 Invaders. Home to the 82^nd Complement Squadron, the airport served a military purpose until it was turned over to civilian control in 1945.

Military Experience

Rufus Randolph McLeod enlisted in the U.S. Army at Camp Croft in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on June 20, 1941.  He received his flight training in Texas at Hicks Field, Goodfellow Field, and Foster Field in 1942. He was a member of the Fighting Crows, the 60^th Fighter Squadron, 33^rd Fighter Group. He was stationed at Bolling Field in Washington, D.C., before the squadron’s deployment to North Africa in late 1942.

During his time at Bolling Field, McLeod married Marjorie Conwell. She was from Georgia and attended Brenau College before the wedding. Lieutenant George Neal, Jr., served as the best man. The couple lived in the Washington, D.C. area until McLeod deployed to North Africa. 

McLeod flew a P-40 with the Fighting Crows. The unit provided bomber support, close-air support to ground forces, and bombing and strafing attacks against enemy targets. First Lieutenant McLeod was killed when his plane crashed on December 7, 1942, almost a year after the United States entered the war.

Commemoration

First Lieutenant McLeod was the first pilot of the Fighting Crows to die in North Africa. His wife remarried after his death, and she transferred responsibility to his parents for his final resting place.  

Initially, his father sought to bring his body back to the United States. In a series of letters between 1943 and 1947, he vigorously argued for his son’s return to Hartsville. His frustration with the lack of information reflected the challenges of the military in meeting the wishes of families after the war. In 1948, the family decided to bury First Lieutenant McLeod in the North Africa American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia.

First Lieutenant Rufus Randolph “Black Dog” McLeod posthumously received the Purple Heart. He trained to be a pilot in college and achieved that goal in the first year of the war. His death illustrated the dangers pilots faced outside of combat. His final resting place highlights the Army Air Corps pilots’ sacrifice for their country in World War II.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

“The best place in Hartsville, Manhattan Coffee Shoppe, where tourists meet, Hartsville, South Carolina. Photograph.”  South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina. 1938. https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/sclvispc/id/3569.

Clemson University Yearbook, 1941. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012. https://ancestry.com. 

Cotton Market in Hartsville. Photograph. 1930s. South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina. https://www.knowitall.org/photo/cotton-market-hartsville-history-sc-slide-collection. 

The Cotton Mill. Postcard. South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina. 1937. https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/sclvispc/id/3452.

Hartsville High School (1943). Postcard. Get Archive. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/media/hartsville-high-school-1943-4ac3f3.

Hartsville High School Yearbook, 1937. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012. https://ancestry.com. 

Hartsville Passenger Station, Facade-Trackside. Photograph. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. https://schpr.sc.gov/index.php/Detail/properties/12106.

Henry A. Dubay Collection. Personal Narrative. Veterans History Project, Library of Congress (AFC/2001/001/107638). https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.107638/. 

Lawton Park and Pavilion, Lawton Park Bridge. Photograph. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/darlington/S10817716036/.

“Lt. McLeod, Hartsville, Dies in Crash.” The State [Columbia, SC], January 17, 1943. https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/rufus-randolph-mcleod-jr/. 

“McLeod Rites Conducted at Hartsville.” Columbia Record [Columbia, SC], February 23, 1952.  Newspapers.com (745139288).

“Miss Conwell Becomes Bride of Lieut. McLeod.” Atlanta Journal [Atlanta, GA], August 24, 1942. Newspapers.com (974685423).

Printing machine at Sonoco Products Company, Hartsville. Photograph. South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina (wpatgp218). https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/wpaplp/id/652.

Rufus R. McLeod, Jr. Individual Deceased Personnel File, Department of the Army. National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.

Rufus Randolph McLeod. South Carolina, Births, 1915-1920. Digital image. https://ancestry.com.

Rufus Randolph McLeod. South Carolina, Delayed Birth Records, 1766-1900. Digital image. https://ancestry.com.

South Carolina. Darlington County. 1930 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestry.com.

South Carolina. Darlington County. 1940 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestry.com.

Unloading tobacco sled, stringing at barn, sharecropper family near Hartsville, S.C. Photograph. July 1938. South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina (wpatgp067). https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/wpaplp/id/676.

Secondary Sources

“1LT Rufus Randolph McLeod Jr.” Find a Grave. Updated June 28, 2009. Accessed January 2, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38826758/rufus-randolph-mcleod. 

“60^th Fighter Squadron.” 33^rd Fighter Wing. Accessed February 15, 2025. https://www.33fw.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Article/3145827/60th-fighter-squadron/.

“Bonded: Supporting the War Effort.” Sonoco. Updated January 31, 2024. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://www.sonoco.com/insights/bonded-supporting-war-effort.

“Coker College.” South Carolina Encyclopedia. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/coker-college/.

“Coker Farms National Historic Landmark.” City of Hartsville. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.hartsvillesc.gov/coker-farms-national-historic-landmark/21.

Craven, Wesley and Cate, James. The Army Air Forces in World War II. University of Chicago Press, 1958.

“Hartsville.” South Carolina Encyclopedia. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/hartsville/.

Hughes, Michael. P. “Sonoco Products Company: A case study of growth through mergers and acquisition.” Journal of Case Research in Business and Economics 5 (December 2014): 1-18. https://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/141982.pdf.

Legislative Manual – General Assembly of South Carolina. General Assembly of South Carolina: 1921. https://books.google.com/books?id=UddCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA126&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false.

“Rufus R. McLeod Jr.” American Battle Monuments Commission. Accessed February 26, 2025. https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/mcleod%3Drufus-0.  

“Rufus Randolph McLeod, Jr.” The Clemson Corps.  Accessed February 21, 2025. https://soh.alumni.clemson.edu/scroll/rufus-randolph-mcleod-jr/.

“World Class Safety: Setting the Bar for Safety in Manufacturing.” Sonoco.  Accessed January 25, 2025. https://www.sonoco.com/insights/world-class-safety-setting-bar-safety-manufacturing.

This profile was researched and created through the Researching Silent Heroes program, sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission.