Apr 14 2023 65 mins
Mr. Clanton, our previous guest for Episode 5, joins us for Episode 37 to discuss his upcoming trip to Normandy, Belgium, and Germany in June of this year. This week, we met with Reid and Carolynn Clanton to present their day-by-itinerary. Also, we surprised Mr. Clanton with Mike Tarr's extensive research, which allowed us to pinpoint several dates and locations for Mr. Clanton's major battles during the war.
Currently a resident of San Antonio, Texas, Mr. Clanton was raised in West Texas, where he grew up on a farm in a very poor household, common during the Great Depression. Mr. Clanton was asked to leave home at age eleven, as his parents could no longer afford to take care of him. With only a fourth grade education under his belt, he was hired by a local farmer and was eventually drafted into the U.S. Army. Mr. Clanton was assigned to the 84th Infantry Division (Railsplitters) and soon deployed to Europe.
Mr. Clanton landed on Omaha Beach, France and fought through Belgium and Germany, before eventually reaching the Elbe River, where General Eisenhower halted the Allied advance to allow the Russians to enter Berlin. Mr. Clanton fought along the Siegfried Line, where his division punched through the stout defensive line. When Germany attacked during the Battle of the Bulge, Mr. Clanton’s division was forced to travel overnight to Marche, and after brutal fighting, stopped the advancing German forces and kept the Allied lines from totally collapsing. Following victory in Marche, the 84th Division resumed its’ advance crossing the Roer and Rhine rivers, eventually reaching the Elbe.