Frank Burr Clemons Jr
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Object Number - UPL 21281 - Franklin Clemons - Bettendorf, 306th BG, KIA
Shot down 15 May 1943 in B-17 42-29744 'Battling Bee'. Plane crashed into North Sea between Neuwerk Island and Cuxhaven, in shallow water. Pilot Lt. Clemons was the last to bail out, low altitude and landed in North Sea. Body was recovered from the shore near Cuxhaven, Ger. Appeared to have drowned. No physical evidence of wounds. Positively identified by the Navigator, Lt. Louis Means while convalescing at the Naval Hospital in Cuxhaven. Buried in Cuxhaven Military Cemetery with military honors. (MACR lists 'Clemens. ' Correct spelling is Clemons). His remains were recovered from Cuxhaven and interred in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupré, Belgium. In 1949, per request of the family, his remains were transferred to his home state of Iowa and buried with military honors at Pleasant Valley Cemetery in May 1949.
AM PH
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 07002327
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: T-000085
- Highest Rank: Flight Officer
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16037798
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39095792
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18069325 at enlistment, then O-732618
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Battling Bee
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 15 May 1943
Places
![A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group wave to Picture Post Girls in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24471) nicknamed "Four of a Kind" at Thurleigh in December 1942. Image stamped on reverse: '"Picture Post" [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 11 Dec 1942.' [stamp], '238038.' [Censor no.] Handwritten in censor's blue pencil on reverse: 'American Flying Fortress crew are introduced to the girls they will meet at Picture Post Xmas Party.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379028.jpg.webp?itok=6Gc6iR0j)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bedford
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Bettendorf, Scott County, Iowa | 19 July 1920 | |
|
Enlisted |
23 January 1942 | Ft Des Moines, Iowa | |
|
Other Killed In Action (KIA) |
15 May 1943 | in the loss of B-17 ≠42-29744 near Cuxhaven, Germany | |
| Bettendorf, Scott County, Iowa | |||
|
Buried |
Cuxhaven military cemetery | ||
|
Buried |
after the war, his remains were brought to the Temporary Cemetery in Neupré, Belgium | ||
|
Buried |
Remains brought back to the US. Frank Clemons rests at the Pleasant Valley Cemetery, Pleasant Valley, Scott County, Iowa |
Revisions
MACR 15512
NARA WWII Enlistment record
WWII Air Force Casualties for Scott County, Iowa
Source from Louis Means' memoir "The Quality of Mercy" pg. 41.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15512 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / nephew, Steve Clemons; MACR 15512, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol I by Bishop & Hey, p. 122, NARA
