Keith Jerald Clinton
MilitaryAssigned to 652BS, 25BG, 8AF USAAF. On 9-May-44 the mission to the Azores was routine until the last leg. Just out from Land's End when all hell broke loose. There was a terrible metal ripping sound and some explosions. Bullets and 20mm shells ripped into the rear fuselage wounding 2 crew. Crew fought off 4 x Ju88's, downing one and forcing a second to trail off homewards with smoke from one engine. RAF spitfire escort, responding to the ships mayday, pointed out the damaged undercarriage, whilst the two failed engines also became apparent. Clary Stephenson bellied landed Lands End. 3 x WIA, 5 x RTD. Wounded in Action (WIA). Crashed fatally on take off for weather recon to Azores 6-Jun-44 Returned to Duty (RTD).
Awards: AM (4OLC); PH, GC, WWII Victory, EAME (4 x Battle star), American Campaign Medal.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Reconnaissance
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 25th Bomb Group 652nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15110085 / O-754300
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 25th Bomb Group 652nd Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Ada, Michigan | 16 October 1922 | Son of Glenn Louis and Lois S. [Katz] Clinton. |
Enlisted |
Kalamazoo, MI, USA | 22 January 1943 | Kalamazoo, Michigan |
Other Wounded in Action (WIA) |
Lands End, Cornwall, UK | 9 May 1944 | Wounded in head by Ju88 attack, patched up by radio Op and aided into ball turret to fight off attackers. (WIA). |
Other Survived fatal crash |
Watton, Thetford IP25, UK | 6 June 1944 | Survived fatal crash on take off for weather recon to Azores 6-Jun-44 Returned to Duty (RTD). |
Died |
7 July 2016 | ||
Buried |
7 May 2018 | Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Virginia Section 55 Site 4072 | |
Based |
Watton | Assigned to 652BS, 25BG, 8AF USAAF. | |
Buried |
Ada Cemetery Ada, Kent County, MI | Memorialised Ada Cemetery Ada, Kent County, Michigan |
Revisions
Norman Malayney, "The 25th Bomb Group (Rcn) in WWII" Schiffer Publications Ltd. 2011.
https://www.fold3.com/page/89752134-keith-j-clinton/facts
She Called Him Raymond: A True Story of Love, Loss, Faith and Healing By Ray O'Conor
https://rafwatton.info/she-called-him-raymond-a-true-story-of-love-loss…
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self; Aerial Intelligence of the 8th Air Force, pg 38