An Exercise in Humility

Another book signing last night, though I doubt John Grisham or J.K. Rowling have the same experiences. The manager of the book department at a large bookseller here in town asked me to do a signing about a month ago. I'm not a big fan of these, but they are part of the contract with the publisher and they are a good way to get the book out there, so I said yes.



The last two times I did signings, they were advertised on the store's marquee, which is on the busiest street in town. I noted this week that there was no advertising--not an auspicious start.



When I showed up last night, it dawned on me that they had entirely forgotten I was coming. There was no table, no chair, no pens. Luckily, they did have books on the shelf.



I was supposed to sign from five to eight, but packed up and went home at 7:30 after selling six books. Granted, those six people were happy to get them, but the lack of effort on the part of the store, coupled with the fact that Idaho Falls is not much of an aviation town, doomed my signing to failure.



In any case, this will keep me very humble.



Below is a photo of people lined up to get a signed copy of my book 'Untold Valor'. Pushing and shoving was not a problem this evening.

An Overdue Wyoming Tribute

As a former resident of the great state of Wyoming, which remains the best place I've ever lived, I was saddened to receive a letter a few weeks ago from Scott Nelson, a farmer/rancher/aviation artist from North Dakota, who became friends with the late Gale 'Buck' Cleven, of the 100th Bomb Group.

Scott wrote me: "When Buck passed away in Sheridan, Wyoming, I tried to get the papaer there to run an obituary on him--Buck always considered himself as a Wyoming native and I thought it would be nice if the state would recognize him. No luck. Guess they figured he wasn't 'important' enough.

I then contacted the small Lemmon, South Dakota paper and they thought it was very important and they ran it, with some errors. This is the only obituary run of Buck that I know of--unfortunately, this small paper is not on the AP wire so the story went no further."

Time to rectify that situation, Scott. What follows is the obituary for Dr. Gale W. 'Buck' Cleven in its entirety, though it may take me a while to type it all. Because, Buck, you were and are an American hero and you deserve it.

'Dr. Gale W. 'Buck' Cleven passed from this life on November 17, 2006. Born December 27, 1919 in the Lemmon (SD) area, he moved to the Casper, Wyoming area where he worked on drilling crews and worked his way through the University of Wyoming. Dr. Cleven received degrees from Harvard and his geological doctorate degree at George Washington University. Dr. Cleven led a very accomplished life including fighting in three wars (WWII, Korea, and Vietnam), held a post at the Petnagon and was in charge of EDP information at Hughes Aircraft. Later, Dr. Cleven reorganized staffing and leadership at Webber University in Florida. Dr. Cleven retired in Dickinson, North Dakota and later at the Sugarland Ridge Retirement Center in Sheridan, Wyoming, where he resided until his death.

There are several books and web site postings of Buck's service in WWII including Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany. In Masters of the Air, author Donald Miller credits Cleven, Eighth Air Force Squadron Commander, for giging the 100th Bomb Group its personality. Miller's book retells Major Cleven's story: 'On October 8, 1943, Major Buck Clevens (sic) was shot down over Bremen by three Luftwaffe fighters when they flew out of the sun and tore into his fortress, knocking out three engines, blowing holes in the tail and nose, sheering of a good part of the left wing. The situation hopeless, Cleven ordered the crew to jump. He was the last man out of the plane. When he jumped the bomber was only about 2,000 feet from the ground. Hanging from his parachute, Cleven saw he was going to land near a small farm house. He spun out of control and went flying through the open back door and into the kitchen, knocking over furniture and a small iron stove. The farmer's wife and daughter began screaming hysterically and, in a flash, the farmer had a pitchfork pressed against Cleven's chest. 'In my pitiful high school German I tried to convince him I was a good guy. But he wasn't buying it.'

Buck was taken to a prison camp where he spent about 18 months before escaping to Allied lines. Cleven escaped while being marched to Moosburg's Stalag VIIA. Among his many accomplishments during his time of service, Buck earned a Distinguished Service Cross, and Silver Star, Bronze Star. The DFC was for his heroic participation in the 'double-strike' of Regensburg and Schweinfurt on August 17, 1943. Sixty bombers and almost 600 men were lost. The aircraft factories and ball bearing plants were being guarded by the most formidable aerial defenses in the world at the time. Cleven was in the vulnerable low squadron--so called the Coffin Corner, the last and lowest group in the bomber stream. Cleven's plane was being shredded by enemy fighters. Cleven's co-pilot panicked and prepared to bail out. Cleven ordered his co-pilot to stay put. His words were heard over the interphone and had a magical effect on the rest of the crew. They stuck to their guns. His actions that day at Regensburg were said to 'electrify the base'. Lt. Col. Bierne Lay (who would later write the famous 'Twelve O'Clock High) recommended Cleven for a Medal of Honor. This was downgraded to a DFC, but Cleven never went to pick up the medal, claiming he didn't deserve it. He was quoted as saying, "Medal, hell, I needed an aspirin".

More history of Dr. Cleven's leadership at Hughes Aircraft is detailed in The King and the Seven Dwarfs, by Barney Oldfield.

Dr. Cleven is survived by his wife Lee Cleven of Ooltwah, TN, his sister Doris Shaw and one nephew of Dallas, TX. He was proceeded in death by his first wife Marge Cleven. His remains were laid to rest in Sante Fe, New Mexico."

Rest in peace, Buck. Wyoming honors you.

Remembering Gale 'Buck' Cleven, 100th Bomb Group

In artist Scott Nelson's painting, Gale Cleven mans the left seat as his plane goes down over Germany and his crewmates bail out.

I recently bought an outstanding art print by North Dakota artist Scott Nelson. Scott knew 100th Bomb Group commander Gale 'Buck' Cleven quite well through a mutual friend, and Mr. Cleven told Scott his story. Scott in turn made a painting of the shooting down of Cleven's B-17, which was made into a limited edition print and signed by both.

When Scott sent me this print, he also sent more information about Mr. Cleven. As a former Wyoming resident with strong ties to the state, I was suprised to learn that Cleven was a Wyoming native, from the Sheridan area. And I was disturbed to find that when Scott sent the Wyoming papers an obituary about the passing of this great WWII veteran, none of the Wyoming papers ran the obituary, ostensibly because they had never heard of him and didn't think the obit was of any interest.

As a former Wyomingite, I am going to try to rectify this great wrong to a good man by running his story here. I will be adding the obituary Scott wrote in a day or so, plus more photos of Mr. Cleven.


GALE W. "BUCK" CLEVEN

ORIGINAL 100TH PILOT

350TH BOMB SQUADRON

COMMANDING OFFICER

ORGINAL 350TH SQ COMMANDER

WENT OVERSEAS WITH CREW #A-3 IN AC #42-29738. POW 8 OCT 43 BREMEN (INFO ON MISSION BELOW). ESCAPED AND RETURNED TO THORPE ABBOTS APRIL 1945, STANDARD PROCEDURES PROHIBITED HIS RETURN TO OPERATIONS.

Medals:Distinguished Service Cross- Sept. 10, 1943 for Regensburg Mission August 17, 1943 Distinguished Flying Cross- Nov 30, 1943 for Paris Mission Sept 3, 1943 Air Medal-Aug 6, 1943 OLC to Air Medal-Aug 22, 1943 OLC to Air Medal-Sept 24, 1943 OLC to Air Medal-Oct 20, 1943 Major Gale Cleven passed away on Nov 17, 2006 at the age of 87 years old.
-end-

Survivor Remembers Pearl Harbor--Dec. 7, 1941

Survivors Remember Pearl Harbor

by Audrey McAVOY

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — Everett Hyland was ferrying ammunition to an anti-aircraft gun aboard the USS Pennsylvania on Dec. 7, 1941, when a bomb hit, throwing him down.
"I never heard anything. The only thing I knew I was flat on my face and my arms were extended in front of me and they were all purple and bleeding," Hyland said. "I ended up pretty well banged up."

On Friday, Hyland joined some 50 survivors and hundreds more family members and officials at a Pearl Harbor pier overlooking the USS Arizona Memorial to honor the attack's victims.
The crowd observed a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the time of the attack on Dec. 7, 1941, and Chinook helicopters flew over in formation, followed by a B-2 stealth bomber.

The USS Pennsylvania was among the last ships hit by Japanese bombs 66 years ago as it was dry-docked and not sitting in Battleship Row. The vessel escaped with moderate damage and set sail again after being repaired. Even so, 15 men aboard were killed and 38 men were wounded. Fourteen were judged missing in action.

The casualties added to the overall Pearl Harbor attack toll of 2,388 dead and 1,178 wounded. The shocking assault thrust the United States into World War II.

Hyland spent nine months in the hospital recovering from the blast. Shrapnel tore through his left leg and he lost part of his left elbow and bicep. He suffered flash burns that seared skin off his arms and legs.

"I got a quick facial out of it," joked Hyland, 84. His brother, after visiting the burn unit where Hyland was staying, "said we looked like roast turkeys lined up."

This year, survivors and their family members are dedicating a new memorial for the USS Oklahoma, which lost 429 sailors and Marines — the second greatest loss of life among any of the battleships in Pearl Harbor.

About 18 of the estimated 90 living survivors who were aboard the USS Oklahoma were expected to join Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and other dignitaries for the dedication of the $1.2 million memorial.

The monument includes 429 white marble standards, each with the name of a fallen sailor or Marine, surrounded by black granite panels etched with a silhouette of the battleship and notable quotes from World War II-era figures that were selected by some of the survivors, said retired Navy Rear Adm. Greg Slavonic, co-chair of the USS Oklahoma Memorial Committee.
The Oklahoma was hit with the first torpedo of the morning assault. It capsized after being struck by eight more, trapping 400 men in its overturned hull. About 30 of the trapped men were later rescued by Pearl Harbor Navy Yard workers who hammered their way through the ship's metal.

Retired Navy Cmdr. Tucker McHugh, who co-chaired the USS Oklahoma Memorial Committee, said he thinks the memorial will bring some sense of closure to those who survived and even to those who perished.

"I think there's been a void in the minds and hearts of these shipmates that their shipmates were never honored with a lasting memorial," McHugh said. "Total closure might come when the last survivor passes away and they're all reunited together.

"Even though 429 soldiers and Marines died, I believe they're still with us. I think they're looking down and saying, 'Thank you.'"

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who witnessed the Pearl Harbor attack as a 17-year-old high school senior and who later received the Medal of Honor for fighting in Europe, said he hoped the ceremony would prompt people to think of those serving today.

"There are over 1.4 million in many countries, not just Iraq and Afghanistan, serving us, ready to stand in harms way for us," Inouye told The Associated Press this week. "And there are an equal number of families, children and wives and husbands spending time at home thinking about them."

Inouye has regularly participated in annual Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremonies since he became a U.S. senator in the 1960s. But he's missing this year's event because of Senate business.

Organizers expected about 2,500 people to attend Friday's ceremony. But it was likely to be smaller than the 65th anniversary, which drew some 500 survivors and their families.
Associated Press writer Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.

Outstanding B-24 Video: Watch it Here

My friend Marilyn Walton, whose father was a B-24 crewman, emailed me about this outstanding B-24 tribute on Youtube. I checked it out. It is outstanding. Watch it by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_0GnJ9T2Fc

If this incredibly powerful video does not choke you up, nothing will.

These were brave men.

Emotional Video Tribute to 8th Air Force B-17 Crews

There is a fantastic tribute to 8th Air Force B-17 crews on Youtube. I only wish it were dedicated to all WWII airmen, of all Air Forces. The 15th Air Force also participated heavily in Europe, as did the 9th Tactical Air Force.



View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLcGKnbm5BA



The painting accompanying this blog entry is by one of my new favorite aviation artists, a self-taught North Dakotan by the name of Scott Nelson. It shows Gale 'Buck' Cleven's B-17, of the 100th Bomb Group, going down. Scott's prints are excellent and affordable. All are co-signed by the subject of the painting, after careful research and dicussion with the individual. I recommend buying them now before they begin to go up in value. I am the proud owner of this particular piece.

Check out some of Scott's other works here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZscott-nelson

Honoring the Fallen at Christmas Time--Arlington National Cemetery

My friend Frank Irgang , himself a veteran of the D-Day landing and of the violent struggle across Europe in World War Two, sent me a poignant email today showing wreaths on the graves of our honored dead at Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, DC.

The email forwarded by Frank reads:

"Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.

Know the line has held, your job is done.

Rest easy, sleep well.

Others have taken up where you fell,

the line has held.

Peace, peace, and farewell...

Readers may be interested to know that these wreaths -- some 5,000 -- are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington , Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He's done this since 1992. A wonderful guy. Also, most years, groups of Maine school kids combine an educational trip to DC with this event to help out. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that Harrington is in one the poorest parts of the state.

God bless you, Mr. Worcester.