Clement Arthur Sullivan (1917 - 1988)

Born 27 Dec 1917 in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, United States

Died 14 Sep 1988 at age 70 in Denver, Colorado, United States

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War of the Revolution: POW - 18,152

War of 1812: POW - 20,000 -

Indian Wars (US): POW - 339

Indian Wars (Native American): POW - 2,958

Civil War - Union: POW/MIA - 194,743

Civil War - Confederacy: POW/MIA - 214,865

Spanish-American War: POW - 8

World War I: POW/MIA - 7,470

World War II:

Cold War Era: POW - Classified

Korean War: POW - 7,140

Vietnam War: POW - 766

Grenada: MIA - 4

Somalia: POW - 6

Hanian, China - POW's-24(Decision Pending)

Hundreds of thousands uniformed Americans were captured by the enemy and kept in prison for long period of times some died from starvation, some from the confinement conditions, many were beaten to death few survived, they were Prisoners of War (POW) while standing behind the enemy lines and will never be forgotten.

Biography

Second Lieutenant Clement Sullivan was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1917 to Francis D. & Catherine (Murphy) Sullivan. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on January 31, 1942, at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He listed himself as single, without dependents on his enlistment paperwork, but married a woman named Shirley Dell Rex at some point after his enlistment. In the Air Corps, he served as a Navigator on at least 2 B-17s. The B-17 that he served on last was B-17 Sack Time AKA Roger Wilco 42-5914. On August 17, 1943, Sack Time, piloted by Lt. Col. Leslie Reichardt was flying in a mission to bomb Regensburg, Germany, along with 20 other B-17s. Sack Time and its crew went Missing in Action and was last sighted in Regensburg, so they likely made it to the target. They were reportedly hit by enemy aircraft and ended up crashing Southwest of Darmstadt, Germany. The entire 10-man crew survived but were unfortunately taken as Prisoners of War.

Clement was most likely held at Stalag Luft 3 Sagan-Silesia Bavaria (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser) 49-11 until the end of the war, when he returned home to Missouri. Clement Passed away in Denver, Colorado, in 1988 at the age of 70. He is buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, City and County of Denver, Colorado, USA. His wife Shirley joined him on the other side in 2005 at the age of 81.

The 9 other men from B-17 42-5914 Sack time, that went MIA on August 17,1943, were;

Lt. Col. Leslie L Reichardt Pilot

2nd Lt. Bruno M Roti Co-Pilot

2nd Lt. John E Zavisho Bombardier

Major Donald Biggs Top-Turret Gunner

TSGT Edward J Cohan Waist Gunner

SSGT Robert M Currie Waist Gunner

SSGT John J Kelaner Tail Gunner

TSGT Michael Khoury Radio Operator

SSGT Ben H Phelper Ball-Turret Gunner

B-17 Sack time 42-5914 was a part of the 385th Bomb Group, as well as the 548th Bomb Squadron.

The 385th Bomb Group, who took the nickname "Van's Valiants" after their first Commanding Officer Brigadier General Elliot Vandevanter, flew B-17s from Great Ashfield, Suffolk. The Group led the famous attack on the Focke-Wolfe aircraft factory at Marienburg on 9 October 1943, during which only two out of one hundred B-17s were lost and all of the buildings on the site were damaged or destroyed. They won two Distinguished Unit Citations. The first, awarded to all 4th Bomb Wing Groups, was for accurately dropping their pay load on an aircraft factory at Regensburg, on 17 August 1943 and the Group's second was awarded after leading a difficult long-range mission to destroy an aircraft repair works at Zwickau, south-west Germany, on 12 May 1944.

Clement participated in the following 6 missions as a Navigator;

Mission No. 1 – 17 July – Target Amsterdam – 21 a/c flown.

Led by Lt. Col. Vandevanter, 21 of our ships set out for Nazi works in Amsterdam early this morning, and 21 ships returned,some slightly damaged by flak. Unfortunately, a heavy overcast prevented dropping bombs on the target.

Clement was in Sack Time 42-5914 that day and returned to base safely.

Mission No. 3 – 25 July – Target Warnemunde – 28 a/c flown. The mission objective was the fighter plant at Warnemunde, near Rostock – and not far from Berlin. .Led by Lt. Col. Vandevanter, the bombs were salvoed but Col. Vandevanter wasn’t entirely satisfied, because was sure that the intended targets hit. Overcast entirely obscured the target again. Despite some hellacious flak and fighter opposition, all returned safely..

Clement was in The Grim Reaper 42-30179 that day and returned to base safely.

Mission No. 6 – 29 July – Target Warnemunde – 16 a/c flown.

Captain Richard led what Lt. Col. Vandevanter has called our most successful mission to date. We went to the fighter factory at Warnemunde again, and we doubt that there’ll ever be occasion to go there again. The plant that was there early this morning, tonight Is a smoking ruin. Superbombing led by Captain Ross, coupled with excellent evasive maneuvers on the part of Captain Richard brought all of our bombing planes home; the crews are well and happy. Grodi. 42-30270, The Old Shillelagh, ditched and all were recovered safely.

Clement was in Sack Time 42-5914 that day and returned to base safely.

Mission No. 8 – 12 August – Target Bonn. 21 a/c flown

Captain McDonald led the Group today. Captain Lewis went along as an observer. All twenty-one a/c returned without casualties. The principal target was a large 100 – octane gasoline reflnerv in Wesseling. but overcast prevented hitting that target. Instead our bombs were well dropped on the secondary target, the town of Bonn, near Cologne.

Clement was in Sack Time 42-5914 that day and returned to base safely.

Mission No. 9 – 15 August – Target Vitry En Artois – 21 a/c flown.

Stone, 42-30598, ditched in the English Channel, 10 KIA, MACR 267.

Clement was in Sack Time 42-5914 that day and returned to base safely.

Mission No. 10 – 17 August – Target Regensburg – 21 a/c flown.

Reichardt, 42-5914, Sack Time, crashed in Germany. 10 POWs, MACR 387B.

Sommers, 42-5886, The Jolly Roger, crashed in Belgium, 6 KIA, 3 POW, 1 evaded capture, MACR 387A.

Keeley in 42-3388, Sleepytime Girl, ditched in the Mediterranean Sea, the emergency radio was damaged and useless, but Sam Rochester, the radio operator, and Lt. Keeley were the only ones who knew that. Sam kept operating the radio as if it were working for the morale of the others. The crew was rescued after about 24 hours spending the night in the dinghy. They returned to England.

The 385th BG as part of the 4th Bombardment Wing, earned its first Distinguished Unit Citation for this shuttle mission as later specified in General Orders 36, War Dept. 1 May 1944. This was the less-than-successful shuttle mission flying from Great Ashfield to the target, then on to Telergma, in North Africa to land. Conditions and support facilities in North Africa left much to be desired. Shuttle logistics were a nightmare. Not enough material or correct personnel were available to properly service the aircraft. Shuttle missions were never repeated.

Clement was in Sack Time 42-5914 that day and failed to return to base. This was his last mission.

Sources

• https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/aircraft/42-5914

https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/clement-sullivan

https://www.385thbga.com/records/database/

https://www.385thbga.com/records/index-mission-number-to-date-and-target-2/mission-summaries/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3373931/clement-a-sullivan

"United States Census, 1920", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8HX-WT3 : Wed Dec 20 00:30:58 UTC 2023), Entry for Frank D Sullivan and Catherine Sullivan, 1920.

"United States Census, 1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7WB-CF7 : Fri Mar 08 12:51:39 UTC 2024), Entry for Clement A Sullivan, 1940.

"Missouri, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLX1-K9NQ : Sat Feb 10 00:45:50 UTC 2024), Entry for Clement Arthur Sullivan and Francis J Sullivan, 16 Oct 1940.

"United States World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KMNN-7F4 : 5 December 2014), Clement A Sullivan, enlisted 31 Jan 1942, Ft Leavenworth, Kansas, United States; citing "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946," database, The National Archives: Access to Archival Databases (AAD) (http://aad.archives.gov : National Archives and Records Administration, 2002); NARA NAID 1263923, National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

"Missouri, Reports of Separation Notices, 1941-1946", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2Q4-VBKZ : Fri Dec 08 04:15:23 UTC 2023), Entry for Clement A Sullivan, 07 Jan 1946.

"United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JYB4-XMR : 10 January 2021), Clement A Sullivan, 14 Sep 1988; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

"United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KWS-MZVF : 10 February 2023), Clement Arthur Sullivan, .