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Ward gets deserved recognition
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| Willcox native Clopton Ward, with a display case of well-deserved and long-overdue medals from his military service in World War II. His family made the presentation to him on Father's Day 2006. (CAROL BROEDER/File Photo/ARN) |
By Carol Broeder/Arizona Range News
Willcox native Clopton Ward is a veteran of five major campaigns during World War II, including the invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge.
He was in the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, and spent 18 months overseas from March 31, 1943 to Oct. 7, 1945.
Ward lied about his age and joined the Army at 16, he told the Range News.
He left Willcox on March 31, 1943, for San Pedro, Calif.
From there Ward went to basic training at Camp Robinson in Little Rock, Ark., and then to Fort Benning, Ga., where he joined the paratroopers.
In January of 1944, he was shipped to Scotland, joining the 2nd Infantry Division.
"They shipped us over to Wales. We were there about two weeks," Ward said.
"We boarded a ship to the English Channel. The invasion of Normandy started on June 6, 1944."
"We landed on Omaha Beach the second day, or D-Day plus one," he said. "We battled it out."
Ward was wounded on June 16, 1944, while attacking Hill 192 in Normandy.
To this day, he still has three pieces of shrapnel in his lung.
"I remember the chaplain giving me the last rites, and the next thing I knew I was in the field hospital on the coast," he said.
Ward was flown to England, where he was in the hospital for a little over a month before being sent back to the platoon.
At that time, they were in the campaign for Brest, a major support on the western coast of France, which the Germans were using as a submarine base.
"There was a big battle right there," Ward said.
"We were going to attack, and then 100,000 Germans surrendered in September of 1944," he said.
By mid-September, the Americans had taken Brest.
Ward's company was sent to Paris to guard the supply depot.
"Frenchmen unloading the thing caught American officers stealing stuff. They would put two of us on to guard the train. Then we had to find our way back," he said. "We made four trips guarding trains besides all the other ones we made. The FBI took over after we left. After that, we went back to the front lines."
Ward and his company returned to the Ardennes Forest.
Ward said that one day his feet began to hurt.
"The next morning I couldn't walk," he said.
He was treated for frostbite - Ward's toes are numb to this day - and sent back to the line.
Called the Ardennes Battle by the military, the public knows it as the Battle of the Bulge.
It began on Dec. 16, 1944, and was the largest land battle in World War II in which the United States participated. More than a million men fought in this battle, including some 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans, and 55,000 British.
The casualties were 81,000 Americans, with 19,000 killed; 1400 British with 200 killed; and 100,000 Germans killed, wounded, or captured.
"We went on the attack again," Ward said. "The Germans had run out of fuel. We kept attacking, and the Germans started giving up - 350,000 had given up.
Ward said his company was loaded onto trucks. They had already crossed the Rhine River on March 21, 1945, but were stopped from crossing the River Elbe, right outside of Berlin.
"We stayed there for a week," he said. "We couldn't figure out why they wouldn't let us go in. Later we found out they were waiting for the Russians."
The U.S. Army met the Russians on April 25, 1945, at Tongue on the River Elbe.
Ward's company was taken to Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, which the troops liberated from the Nazis on May 6, 1945.
"We were there for a week, when we got the news the war had ended on May 8, 1945," he said. "You want to talk about hollering! They brought us beer, vodka, whatever. We were there about 10 days."
They were shipped to LeHavre, France, and put on an American ship, the USS Monticello. "We didn't know where we were going," he said. "When we found out we were coming back home to the U.S., there was more hollering."
"Sometimes it seems to me like yesterday; I don't know why I'm here," Ward said.
"I was just lucky. My platoon had 30 men. After the Battle of the Bulge, only five of us came home."
Ward came home to Willcox and life went on. He married Frances Miranda, and later they had a son, Dennis. The couple became heavily involved in the school and sports activities of their child, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
In 2006, that family made sure that Ward received some long overdue recognition of his military service in World War II.
Though he already had the medals he received right after the war - the Presidential unit citation, good conduct medal, and stripes for 18 months overseas - Ward had never applied for the other medals he had earned.
Trevor had obtained his grandfather's discharge papers, and then turned to a service called "Medals of America," which requires the DD2-14. A company employee later told Trevor, "'your grandfather has medals he doesn't even know about.'"
"He even had the Bronze Star," Trevor said.
After the presentation made on Father's Day that year, Ward said, "I sure appreciated it. I couldn't believe it. It never dawned on me to do that. I appreciate what they did."
"Grandpa's not the type to brag on himself, but what he did for this country - what his generation did for this country - is unbelievable," said Trevor. "He deserves the recognition."
He was in the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, and spent 18 months overseas from March 31, 1943 to Oct. 7, 1945.
Ward lied about his age and joined the Army at 16, he told the Range News.
He left Willcox on March 31, 1943, for San Pedro, Calif.
From there Ward went to basic training at Camp Robinson in Little Rock, Ark., and then to Fort Benning, Ga., where he joined the paratroopers.
In January of 1944, he was shipped to Scotland, joining the 2nd Infantry Division.
"They shipped us over to Wales. We were there about two weeks," Ward said.
"We boarded a ship to the English Channel. The invasion of Normandy started on June 6, 1944."
"We landed on Omaha Beach the second day, or D-Day plus one," he said. "We battled it out."
Ward was wounded on June 16, 1944, while attacking Hill 192 in Normandy.
To this day, he still has three pieces of shrapnel in his lung.
"I remember the chaplain giving me the last rites, and the next thing I knew I was in the field hospital on the coast," he said.
Ward was flown to England, where he was in the hospital for a little over a month before being sent back to the platoon.
At that time, they were in the campaign for Brest, a major support on the western coast of France, which the Germans were using as a submarine base.
"There was a big battle right there," Ward said.
"We were going to attack, and then 100,000 Germans surrendered in September of 1944," he said.
By mid-September, the Americans had taken Brest.
Ward's company was sent to Paris to guard the supply depot.
"Frenchmen unloading the thing caught American officers stealing stuff. They would put two of us on to guard the train. Then we had to find our way back," he said. "We made four trips guarding trains besides all the other ones we made. The FBI took over after we left. After that, we went back to the front lines."
Ward and his company returned to the Ardennes Forest.
Ward said that one day his feet began to hurt.
"The next morning I couldn't walk," he said.
He was treated for frostbite - Ward's toes are numb to this day - and sent back to the line.
Called the Ardennes Battle by the military, the public knows it as the Battle of the Bulge.
It began on Dec. 16, 1944, and was the largest land battle in World War II in which the United States participated. More than a million men fought in this battle, including some 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans, and 55,000 British.
The casualties were 81,000 Americans, with 19,000 killed; 1400 British with 200 killed; and 100,000 Germans killed, wounded, or captured.
"We went on the attack again," Ward said. "The Germans had run out of fuel. We kept attacking, and the Germans started giving up - 350,000 had given up.
Ward said his company was loaded onto trucks. They had already crossed the Rhine River on March 21, 1945, but were stopped from crossing the River Elbe, right outside of Berlin.
"We stayed there for a week," he said. "We couldn't figure out why they wouldn't let us go in. Later we found out they were waiting for the Russians."
The U.S. Army met the Russians on April 25, 1945, at Tongue on the River Elbe.
Ward's company was taken to Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, which the troops liberated from the Nazis on May 6, 1945.
"We were there for a week, when we got the news the war had ended on May 8, 1945," he said. "You want to talk about hollering! They brought us beer, vodka, whatever. We were there about 10 days."
They were shipped to LeHavre, France, and put on an American ship, the USS Monticello. "We didn't know where we were going," he said. "When we found out we were coming back home to the U.S., there was more hollering."
"Sometimes it seems to me like yesterday; I don't know why I'm here," Ward said.
"I was just lucky. My platoon had 30 men. After the Battle of the Bulge, only five of us came home."
Ward came home to Willcox and life went on. He married Frances Miranda, and later they had a son, Dennis. The couple became heavily involved in the school and sports activities of their child, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
In 2006, that family made sure that Ward received some long overdue recognition of his military service in World War II.
Though he already had the medals he received right after the war - the Presidential unit citation, good conduct medal, and stripes for 18 months overseas - Ward had never applied for the other medals he had earned.
Trevor had obtained his grandfather's discharge papers, and then turned to a service called "Medals of America," which requires the DD2-14. A company employee later told Trevor, "'your grandfather has medals he doesn't even know about.'"
"He even had the Bronze Star," Trevor said.
After the presentation made on Father's Day that year, Ward said, "I sure appreciated it. I couldn't believe it. It never dawned on me to do that. I appreciate what they did."
"Grandpa's not the type to brag on himself, but what he did for this country - what his generation did for this country - is unbelievable," said Trevor. "He deserves the recognition."
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