Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haifi Leonard E. Rea a ranar 14 ga Maris, 1897, a Auburn a New York, kuma, bayan kammala karatunsa daga makarantar sakandare, ya yanke shawarar shiga cikin Rundunar Sojan Ruwa ta Amurka a ranar 19 ga Afrilu, 1917. Bayan horo na asali, an sanya Rea zuwa 17th Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, wanda aka kafa a Philadelphia Navy Yard. Ya bar Faransa kusan nan da nan bayan kunnawa na rundunar kuma ya isa Saint-Nazaire a watan Yulin 1917. An ba Rea mukamin babban jami'in soja kuma an ba shi lambar yabo ta Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal don aikinsa na aikin soja. An aika da shi zuwa sansanin soja na Toulon kusa da Verdun a watan Maris na 1918 kuma daga bisani ya shiga cikin
Yaƙe-yaƙe na Belleau Wood da Soissons.