Jim
Clemons was born James Clifford Clemons, Jr. on September 8, 1926, Marshalltown,
Iowa. His mother was a school teacher and also taught piano. His father was a
successful farmer.
James C. Clemons, Jr. WWII Veteran, ETO
Jim
Clemons was born James Clifford Clemons, Jr. on September 8, 1926, Marshalltown,
Iowa. His mother was a school teacher and also taught piano. His father was a
successful farmer.
Jim graduated from Newton High School, Newton, Iowa, May, 1944 and immediately went to Des Moines to enlist in the Army Air Corps. However, the Army Air Corps, a few days later, decided the prior fracture to his left elbow was reason to cancel the enlistment. Jim was drafted in the Army following his 18th birthday at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, and sent to Camp Robinson, Arkansas for combat infantry training. He subsequently shipped out to Europe from Camp Miles Standish, Boston on the Mariposa, a Matson liner then used as a troop ship.
Following arrival at CP#2, Marseilles, France in late April, 1945, Jim was with a large group of infantry replacements sent by troop train made up of '40 and 8' (40 men, eight horses, WWI) style box cars to the temporary replacement depot, Worms, Germany. Worms was a rather devastated city from artillery fire and bombings. From Worms he, and others, went by convoy to Innsbruck, Austria and assigned first to the 103rd Infantry Division operating in the Vorarlberg region; then to the 42nd Rainbow Division which controlled the Salzburg-Linz regions of Austria and then Vienna, a Four-Power city, much like Berlin of that day.
Jim was discharged in Vienna, Austria in August, 1946 to accept employment with HQ, US Forces Austria where he was briefly employed as a clerk-typist, then in G-3 handling DP/refugee data, then as an admin aide with the Counter Intelligence Branch where he also participated as an 'observer' and on several occasions, clad in local style men's wear of the day, rode a bicycle about, at night, in certain areas of interest in the Soviet zone of Vienna, 'observing'. When Iowa Lad and Vienna Girl married in July, 1948, they returned to the US and came to Washington, D.C. to work for the government; Jim to attend university under the GI Bill. Jim also joined the U.S. Army Ready Reserves with ratings as intelligence specialist and logistics specialist, E-7, but never recalled to active duty, apparently because of his employment in sensitive areas with the State Department foreign affairs community. Over the years as a federal employee Jim, and his family, had rather adventuresome job assignments in Rome and Palermo, Italy, at Nicosia, Cyprus, and at Bonn, Germany. His last overseas job assignment was at Monrovia, Liberia and, of course, Washington, D.C when not overseas. Jim was variously employed in crypto/COMSEC management, as an investigator, logistics specialist, and tech writer and sometimes as a translator. After his 1979 retirement Jim was employed by Defense support contractors as logistics support specialist, tech writer and project manager for a number of years. He was awarded an "outstanding employee" with a modest bonus while on one project.
Jim and Trudy, their three children, all successful in life, one of them has already retired, lived in Dale City beginning with the late 1960s. They are duplicate bridge players and have belonged to a duplicate bridge club here in Fredericksburg for many years. Since relocating to Falls Run in 2005, Jim was appointed Memorials Officer for the 42nd Rainbow Division Veterans Foundation, Inc. and is responsible for arranging annual wreath laying events at a number of 42nd Infantry memorial sites in the United States and in France. Among them are the MacArthur Memorial Museum in Norfolk, the MacArthur statue at West Point, the War Museum in Indianapolis, the WWI Camp Miles Memorial in Long Island, NY and at several sites in France. He also manages special events such as the Purple Heart Jewel event held here in Fredericksburg, June 2008, and the recent 42nd POW Memorial plaque at the National Park Service POW Museum, in Andersonville, GA. Jim is also Veterans Chair for the Colonel Fielding Lewis Chapter of the Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution, Fredericksburg. As a hobby he writes articles, stories and vignettes, has been active with Little Theater groups since 1963 and was once an extra in a Hollywood film. He graduated from University College, University of Maryland, business and personnel management studies with a journalism/ theater/radio/TV minor. One of his dreams was being an Indy or Formula 1 race car driver or exploring unknown areas just as he explored the wooded areas bordering his farm home near the North Skunk River in Iowa as a youth.
By Jim Clemons 10/14/08