Three Sons of John Cromer Went Off To War
John Cromer
of Doe Run had three sons: Charles, Cliff (a/k/a "Red" or "Cotton")
and Dave (a/k/a "Crumb"). All three
sons wore uniforms during World War II.
CLIFF
CROMER
Cliff finished Jr. College of Flat River in
1940 and married Ella Vallance from Patterson in January of 1942. Uncle Sam sent greetings and Cliff was inducted
into service October 30, 1942 through Jefferson Barracks, and was assigned to the Army Air
Corps.
During the first year in the service, Cliff
completed three Air Force technical schools - Airplane Mechanics at Lincoln, Electrical at
Chanute Field, B-29 Armorers at Lowry Field - and Factory Training Course conducted by
Boeing Aircraft Company. Upon completion of
this training, Cliff was assigned to the 20th Air Force as an airplane electrical
specialist to inspect and make repairs to B-29 (Super Flying Fortress - Heavy Bomber)
electrical equipment.
While at Smokey Hill Air Force Base in Kansas,
Cliff was sold a line about the wonderful and exciting adventures of becoming a gunner on
the B-29. The pay was 50 percent more and
"Greater chance to gain more stripes (more money)". There were at least 26 times over enemy targets
that that line of excitement and pay sounded hollow. So
after agreeing to become an airman, Cliff spent about nine months at Clovis Air Force Base
in New Mexico training on how to get killed.
On the 16th of October, 1944, Cliff's crew flew
out of West Palm Beach to world's unknown - South America, Africa, and arrived in India. Flight crews ferried gas and bombs across the
"Hump" to China and when enough bombs and gas for 18 hours flying time were
stockpiled, bombing missions were made on the
mainland of Japan. This was an ineffective way
to bomb Japan, so the 20th Air Force was moved to the Pacific Ocean area - The Marianas
Group of Islands, Tinian, Guam and Saipain. Cliff's
group was assigned to Tinian. Total airtime to
and from Japan now only about 15 hours.
Cliff added 21 more bombing missions to his
China-Burma-India (CBI) Record for a total of 26 completed bomb runs against the enemy. Last bombing mission was Hikari Naval Arsenal
August 14, 1945.
While on Tinian, Cliff learned that his
brother, Dave, was with the Second Marines on Saipan Training for Invasion of Japan. Cliff's Commanding Officer, gave him permission to
go see Dave, and even made an inter-island boat available to get there. This was a very happy meeting. But neither expected to ever see the other again.
After Japan surrendered, Cliff flew one more
mission - A Mission of Mercy. The Japanese
held Prisoners of War in Korea. A B-29 Bombay
was loaded with food, clothing, etc. and these were dropped into the P.O.W. camps.
Cliff landed at Mather Air Force Base in
California October 16, 1945 - exactly one year from departure at West Palm Beach, Florida.
Cliff went by rail to Lincoln, Nebraska where he was discharged October 24, 1945.
A reporter recently asked Cliff, "What
event do you remember the most? Was it when
you received your Air Medal and Two Oak Leaf Clusters?
Or, how about your receipt of the Distinguished Flying Cross? Or, How about that emergency landing in China when
the gas tanks were empty? Or the wheels up
landing in Clovis? Or, what about those
missions over Japan, especially Tokyo? Tell
me, what was the most exciting?"
"Well,"
Cliff said, "after the war, I tried to erase the memories. While I have the medals, I don't remember receiving
them. I have a record of the missions, but
dimly remember. But the joy of meeting Dave on
Saipan will always be remembered fondly. Yes,
we both came home from the war without a scratch.
But I owe that to the faithful prayers of my
wife, mother and father and all who loved us."
Cliff and Ella live on a high spot on
Wolf Mountain near Grass Valley, California with a view of God's Beautiful Mountains and
Valleys.
David
(Crum) Cromer
David Cromer, the son of John and Bessie
Cromer, served as a Cpl. with the 2nd Marine Division from March 1944 to August of 1946. He served in the South Pacific and the occupation
of Japan.
Cromer was stationed on the Island of Saipan
and his brother Clifford was on Tinian and while there Clifford was able to come over and
visit with him. Cromer was in the clean up
crew at Nagasaki.
Charles
Cromer
Charles Cromer, the son of John and
Bessie Cromer served as a Staff Sgt. with the United States Army. He was with HQ 322nd Ord. BN from November of 1940
to October of 1945. Cromer served in the
European Theatre of Occupation and was stationed in England.
While there he married an English girl, Sybil Rodbounn. She came to the States on a boat with other war
brides about three months after he arrived home. |
