Staff Sgt. Clyde S. Barr

Clyde S. Barr

Staff Sgt. Clyde Smith Barr (35777925) was a gunner. He was born on 17 April 1922 in Northfork, WV, the son of coal miner Millard Smith Barr (1889-1964) and Eva (Hankley) Barr (1890-1962). After graduating from high school, he worked as a meat packer at Swift Company. On 12 November 1941, 19-year-old Barr married 18-year-old Inez Rose Beavers (1923-1972). On 11 January 1944, he was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, IN. After boot camp, he went to San Antonio, TX to gunnery school. After a one week leave home, he traveled to Lincoln, NE for more training and then to Boise, ID where their crew was formed. In late 1944, the crew flew to Italy and became part of the 824th Bomb Squadron of the 484th Bomb Group. On his 17th mission his aircraft was shot down, he parachuted to the ground and captured German Alpine troops. The crew were scattered across 10 miles near Vienna, Austria. He was thrown into a concrete cellar basement with no food for a day and a sprained left ankle and hip. During the next several days, the entire crew came together again and were shipped by train to Nurenburg. After reaching Mooseburg, he recalled, "My tail gunner and I decided to escape." They never did because troops commanded by General George S. Patton liberated the camp. Barr recalled he was sitting on a gate post at the entrance to the camp when Patton entered and he was just five feet from the infamous general. Barr finally made it to Camp Lucky Strike in France, took a troop ship back to the States and by train to San Antonio. He was honorably discharged on 30 October 1945. After the war he started working for the railroad.

He retired after 48 year as an engineer with the Norfolk Southern Railroad. On 27 May 2004, he was interviewed on the Washington Mall by the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project about his experience during the war. The 13 minute audio interview can be heard at:

https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.12929/sr0001001.stream

Barr "passed away peacefully at his home" in Bluefield, WV on Sunday 18 October 2020. He was 98 years old and was buried in Monte Vista Park Cemetery in Bluefield, WV.

Crash of B-24F Liberator 42-52041 MACR 12462