Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Clyde Burnette

WWII | 713th Squadron, 448th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

Liberated and well fed once again, ex-POW Clyde Burnette tried to return to the States with his unit, but his records were gone when he got to England so he had to wait. He had a space on the Queen Mary, but was bumped by officers so he wound up crossing the Atlantic on an LST. A small reward was once again getting billeted in a hotel in Miami Beach. (6:05)
Continuing his Air Force career after the war in Europe, Clyde Burnette became a flight engineer ferrying retired aircraft. After a short discharge and reenlistment, he served in the Berlin Airlift. When they asked for a position check on one flight near the East German border, they didn't get a position but they were told to immediately make a 180 degree turn. (8:01)
The mission was photo reconnaissance and Clyde Burnette maintained the modified F-51's that flew the daily flights over North Korea. It was a miserable place to work, he recalls, as they had to maintain the aircraft with no hangars or sheds, just tents for shelter. (8:07)
After serving in World War II and the Korean War, Clyde Burnette was stationed in the Philippines as the Vietnam War began to heat up. He nearly got sent there but returned to the States to finish his career which included prepping aircraft for possible use in the Cuban Missile Crisis. (4:48)
Clyde Mathe

WWII | 34th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

On his very first mission as a waist gunner on a B-17, Clyde Mathe's crew found themselves lost over the Atlantic Ocean. After getting low on fuel and hit by artillery fire, they had to make a crash landing on the water. (5:19)
Clyde Mathe describes the precautions his B-17 crew took to make sure they got enough warmth and oxygen during their flights in the non-pressurized aircraft. He also recalls an incident during one mission when he became disconnected from his oxygen line. (1:54)
Clyde Mathe remembers a close call with flak shrapnel, and how nearby aircraft could disappear from flak damage in the blink of an eye. (1:44)
Clyde Milam

WWII | USS Crowley (DE-303), USS Straus (DE-408)

On a visit to Miami, Clyde Milam saw Navy personnel training and immediately sought out a recruiter. He was very young, but he was ready. It was 1943 and he was eager to contribute. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (5:08)
Clyde Milam was assigned to a brand new ship, a destroyer escort named USS Crowley. Tonsilitis put him in the hospital at Pearl Harbor, and by the time he got out, his ship was gone. Soon, he was on another destroyer escort, the USS Straus, with the same job, signalman striker. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (5:07)
What were the responsibilities of a signalman striker on a destroyer escort? Clyde Milam gives the rundown, along with some other jobs on the bridge. (This interview made possible with the support of COL ROBERT W. RUST, USMCR (ret.) in honor of LtGen Lawrence Snowden & LtGen George Christmas.) (3:12)