Claude Walter McCrocklin was born on January 15, 1921 near Fouke, Arkansas and was the eldest of three brothers and one sister. His father was employed in the oil field that required the family to move every few years over a four state area (Kansas, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana). Most of his childhood was spent on his grandfather’s farm in southwest Arkansas at a place called Sylvernio, a community just north of Fouke and a little south of Texarkana, Arkansas. It was here that Claude learned to hunt, fish, and, involuntarily, farm.

His high school years were spent in a town in east Texas named Overton. Being a little over six-foot in height with an athletic build, Claude excelled in sports. He was an all-star fullback on the football team when it was time for his father to move once again and follow the booming oil field, Claude decided to remain in Overton and finish high school staying with the coach’s family.

Claude was in Overton at the time of the New London school explosion on March 18, 1937 and was one of many athletes recruited to go the school to help. New London was a few miles from Overton when on the afternoon of the 18th, a gas explosion ripped through the school killing around 300 students, teachers, and workers. Upon arrival, the Overton athletes were fortunately turned away by men working the gruesome catastrophe. What he briefly viewed would haunt him for a number of years to come.

Upon graduation from Overton, he received a scholarship in football and began classes in 1940 at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Claude’s immediate family and ancestors have fought in a number of wars for the United States. His father was in the Army during the Philippine-American War 1899/1913 and served through World War I. It was through his father that Claude knew of life as a foot soldier during war that helped in his decision to join the Air Corp.

His Great-Grandfather fought for the Confederacy and was captured at Battle of Port Hudson. He was interred at the Union Prisoner of War camp Johnson’s Island in Ohio throughout the remainder of the War. Claude heard recounts at an early age, of life as a prisoner of war. In some of his presentations, he mentions that he was carrying on family tradition by becoming a prisoner of war himself.

Another notation that should be made is that during World War II, the Army Air Corp was manned solely by volunteers. It had strict guidelines for enlistment and a rigorous
training program. At any time should an enlistee fail, they would be transferred to the regular service. Many volunteers did not succeed.

After training, the crews assembled at Davis Montham Army Air Base in Tuscon, Arizona for crew assignments. It was at this base that each crew was assigned to a B-24. The flight crews were chosen by superior officers. However, a Pilot could replace a crew member with one of his choice if he desired to. Claude persuaded the Pilot, William Terrell, to replace a crew member with a childhood friend, Warren Stuckey, after being asked to do so by Warren’s sister whom Claude had dated before attending college. Warren’s sister was certain that if her brother were with Claude, he would safely return home after the war.

Claude returned home in September of 1945 and settled down in Shreveport, Louisiana with his wife Marilynn. With war reparation money received from Germany he built a house he still lives in at the time of this writing.

Shortly after the war, he became a cattle buyer for a packing plant in Shreveport. He traveled over a five state area purchasing cattle never being able to settle down to a desk job, though offered many times by the various companies he worked for. The confinement of the prison camp still hung over him and he enjoyed and felt comfort in the open air and freedom of travel.

Claude flew with the reserves at Barksdale Air Force Base until the Korean War. He was asked to become active again, but his wife could not let her husband march off to another war. Obeying her wishes, he remained at home and reluctantly let go of military life.

He began to recount his experiences to audiences after being asked by cadets of the Centenary College Reserve Officer Training Corp in the middle 1980’s. An excerpt from this speech can be viewed on the last page of this memoir.

While recounting his experience helped at first, the haunting of what he had done and seen began to become ever stronger. Never shrinking away from anything he felt compelled to do, he continued to recount his story and especially felt satisfaction when sharing his experience with airmen of the modern air force, most of whom, have benefited from his knowledge. Like so many veterans, the demons of war never fully let go, and the war continues in the mind. Claude received a 100% disability pension from the Veteran’s Administration for the experiences he encountered during the war.

He retired from cattle buying in the early eighties and took up archaeology as a hobby. Today, he is a well respected avocational archaeologist in three states having found and documented well over 600 sites with the help of his field secretary Ruth Rainey. He is fully retired now and spends his time between home and facilities at Barksdale Air Force Base located in Bossier City, Louisiana.

This is one story of many that has been told of the war. Many fought in it and have never fully shared their experience. It is sad that history is lost in this manner when it could be shared and helpful to future generations, especially for those who may, someday, find themselves in a similar situation and, having learned from such shared knowledge, discovered something that may save their life or make their experience less traumatic. It is our hope that the reader has found this memoir informative and educational.