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Maj. Gale W. (Buck) Cleven

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GALE W. "BUCK" CLEVEN
ORIGINAL 100TH PILOT
350TH BOMB SQUADRON COMMANDING OFFICER

ORGINAL 350TH SQ COMMANDER, WENT OVERSEAS WITH CREW #A-3 IN AC #42-29738. POW 8 OCT 43 BREMEN (INFO ON MISSION BELOW). ESCAPED AND RETURNED TO THORPE ABBOTS APRIL 1945, STANDARD PROCEDURES PROHIBITED HIS RETURN TO OPERATIONS.

MAJ GALE W. CLEVEN PILOT (CO 350TH BOMB SQUADRON)
CAPT RICHARD A. CAREY PILOT (350TH BS OPERATIONS OFFICER)
M/SGT LOUIS A. HAYS PARACHUTE RIGGER
M/SGT HARRY H. McMILLION LINE CHIEF
M/SGT ALBERT S. STRAIN FLIGHT CHIEF
M/SGT WILLIAM M. JACKSON RADIO
T/SGT LAWRENCE BOWA BOMB SIGHT MAINT.
MAJ LAURENCE S. JENNINGS GROUP SURGEON
LT ROBERT V. KAISER CO-PILOT

LT RONALD HOLLENBECK STATES: CLEVEN BUZZED THE TOWER WITH MY AIRPLANE WITH ALL FOUR ENGINES FEATHERED. THAT’S THE KIND OF GUY CLEVEN WAS. I HAD JUST GOTTEN A COUPLE ENGINE REPLACEMENTS, AND HE DIDN'T GET TO FLY TOO MUCH BEING SQUADRON CO, SO HE COMES OVER AND SAYS; "HOLLENBECK LET ME FLY YOUR AIRPLANE FOR YOU, I'LL PUT SOME SLOW TIME ON IT" AND THE NEXT THING I KNEW, IS THIS GODD--N B-17 WAS COMING ACROSS JUST ABOUT 25 FEET OFF THE RUNWAY AND I LOOKED UP AND ALL 4 ENGINES WERE FEATHERED. HE (Cleven) SAID "I WANTED TO DO THAT ALL MY LIFE."
Interview with Ron Hollenbeck by Kevin Gray and Dave Webster 11/29/1993

REGENSBURG: AUGUST 17, 1943
Crew #13 Aircraft #42-30068 "Phartzac"
MAJ GALE "BUCK" CLEVEN COMM P POW 8 OCT 43 BREMEN
CAPT NORMAN H. SCOTT P XFR -- BOVINGDON
(indoctrinate new Combat Crews)
2ND LT KENNETH I. MENZIE CP CPT -- XFR TO 482 BOMB GROUP
(Pathfinders)
1ST LT DONALD L. STROUT NAV XFR -- BOVINGDON
(indoctrinate new Combat Crews)
1ST LT NORRIS G. NORMAN BOM CPT 18 MAR 44 LANDSBURG
T/SGT JAMES E. PARKS TTE CPT 18 MAR 44 LANDSBURG
T/SGT NORMAN M. SMITH ROG KIA 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
S/SGT LEWIS D. MILLER BTG CPT -- XFR TO 482 BOMB GROUP
(Pathfinders)
S/SGT BLAZIER PADDY TG CPT 18 MAR 44 LANDSBURG
PVT BRITTON I. SMITH WG CPT 18 MAR 44 LANDSBURG
CPL JEROME E. FERROGGIARO WG POW 8 OCT 43 BREMEN

On the now famous Regensburg shuttle mission, this crew, with Squadron C.O. Buck Cleven, led the low squadron of six aircraft. Only two of the six reached North Africa and "Phartzac", the aircraft flown by this crew was badly mauled as detailed in the often quoted article, "I Saw Regensburg Destroyed" by Colonel Beirne Lay! Jr. (Saturday Evening Post November 6, 1943):

"…Now, nearing the target battle damage was catching up with him (Cleven) fast. A 20-mm cannon shell penetrated the right side of his airplane and exploded beneath him, damaging the electrical system and cutting the top-turret gunner in the leg. A second 20-mm entered the radio compartment, killing the radio operator, who bled to death with his legs severed above the knees. A third 20-mm.shell entered the left side of the nose, tearing out a section about two Feet Square tore away the right-hand-nose-gun installations and injured the bombardier in the head and shoulders. A fourth 20-mm shell penetrated the right wing into the fuselage and shattered the hydraulic system, releasing fluid all over the cockpit. A fifth 20-mm shell punctured the cabin roof and severed the rudder cables to one side of the rudder.

A sixth 20-mm shell exploded in the #3 engine, destroying all controls to the engine. The engine caught fire and lost its power, but eventually the fire went out…."

Exactly what transpired in the cockpit at this point is probably known only to Bucky Cleven and Norm Scott. Beirne Lay admitted in his article that the situation was such that abandonment of the plane was justified and that Scott and others wanted to bail out. According to Lay however, Cleven "using blunt language" overruled the bail-out idea and "the B-17 kept on".

ACCORDING TO "THEY NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD" PAGE 75; LT MENZIE JOINED THE 1OOTH AS A REPLACEMENT PILOT WITHOUT A CREW IN JULY 1943. (This we have determined to be false, Lt Menzie came to the 100th BG as part of Lt Amiero's original Crew…mpf 2005). SAME SOURCE, "THEY NEVER HAD IT SO GOOD" PAGE 81; DESCRIBING ACTION ABOARD A B-17 FLOWN ON THE 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG MISSION SAYS, "BULLETS WERE EVERYWHERE, SOME PASSED CLOSE TO LT MENZIE'S POSITION WHERE HE STOOPED, FIRING WITHOUT PAUSE." (That action took place in the nose section on Phartzac. On that day, Major Gale "Buck Cleven rode in the Left seat, Capt. Scott in the Right, and Maj Cleven moved the CP that day, Lt Menzie down into the nose of the plane where he manned one of the 50 cal, cheek guns. This was confirmed by Gale Cleven in a telephone conversation in Dec 2005…mpf

MISSIONS OF MAJ. GALE W. (BUCKY) CLEVEN
(per Paul Andrews notes for Frank Murphy book)
(*note that Maj Cleven flew 22 missions, only 18 can be positively identified at this time – 12/22/05)
Number Date Target
01 25/06/43 BREMEN
02 28/06/43 ST NAZAIRE ("FLAK CITY")
03 10/07/43 LE LeBOURGET
04 17/07/43 HAMBURG
05 24/07/43 TRONDHEIM, NORWAY
06 25/07/43 WARNEMUNDE
07 26/07/43 HANOVER
08 28/07/43 OSCHERSLEBEN
09 12/08/43 WESSELING, SYNTHETIC OIL, BONN (ST)
10 17/08/43 REGENSBURG
11 24/08/43 BORDEAUX-MERIGNAC -REGENSBURG CREWS
12 03/09/43 PARIS
13 15/09/43 PARIS
14 16/09/43 BORDEAUX
15 23/09/43 VANNES
16 02/10/43 EMDEN
17 04/10/43 HANAU
18 08/10/43 BREMEN

CREW ON 8 OCT 43 MISSION TO BREMAN
MAJ. GALE W. "BUCK" CLEVEN COMM P POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
CAPT BERNARD A. DeMARCO P POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
F/O JAMES P. THAYER CP POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
1ST LT JOHN W.DOWNS NAV POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
1ST LT FRANCIS C. HARPER BOM POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
S/SGT JEROME FERROGGIARO TTE POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
T/SGT THORNTON STRINGFELLOW ROG POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
T/SGT BENJAMIN J. BARR WG POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
S/SGT WILLIAM WILLIAMS BTG POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
S/SGT WILLIAM WOODBURY WG POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN
S/SGT HARRY C. CALHOUN TG POW 08 OCT 43 BREMEN

FLEW AC "OUR BABY" #23233 LN-R

LEON CASTRO HAD BEEN SHIPPED BACK TO THE STATES FOR CADET TRAINING PRIOR TO 8 OCT 43; HE WAS REPLACED BY JEROME FERROGGIARO FROM THE N.H. SCOTT CREW. LEO FREITAS AND LEO CALLAHAN WERE RECOVERING FROM WOUNDS RECEIVED ON THE 6 SEP 43 (STTUTGART) MISSION AND WERE REPLACED BY WILLIAM J. WILLIAMS OF THE CARNELL CREW AND WILLIAM R. WOODBURY, A REPLACEMENT GUNNER. GALE W. (BUCKY) CLEVEN, 350TH CO, FLEW AS COMMAND PILOT. FLAK AND FIGHTERS OVER TARGET. THIS SHIP LEADING THE 350TH. HIT BY FLAK & FIGHTERS AND FORCED TO LEAVE FORMATION. THREE MEN INJURED, ALL ELEVEN (11) BAILED OUT AND LANDED NEAR ESSEN, GERMANY. TAKEN TO FRANKFURT FOR INTERROGARTION. DOWNS (LT JOHN W. DOWNS) SAYS BAILED OUT NEAR OLDENBURG. CLEVEN (MAJ. GALE W. CLEVEN) SAYS BAIL OUT NEAR OSNABRUCK. (NOTE from..jb)

Maj Gale "Buck" Cleven’s personal account of October 8, 1943 Target: BREMEN
The following was written by Maj Gale Cleven, 350th Bomb Squadron C.O. 100th Bomb Group shortly after arriving at Stalag Luft III in late October 1943. New parts were added by Maj Cleven in Feb 2004 and appear in parenthesis ().

Take off and assembly of the group was routine on the morning of October 8, 1943 for a bombing raid on Bremen,Germany. The component parts of the Eighth Air force gradually combined to string out in a line towards the enemy coast. As the groups closed in battle formation, a steady climb was begun to enable the units to be at altitude before reaching enemy territory. Before reaching the IP (Initial Point), the door panel on the Ball Turret sprung causing a malfunction, hence necessitating stowing of the guns. Flak over the target was intense, which caused the High Squadron of which we were leading to break up leaving our wingmen. The leader of the group at this time made a violent turn to the left releasing his bombs in that attitude, then turning sharply to the right aborted down and out of the group with number three engine smoking. We flew straight ahead firing flares to reassemble the Group but during the confusion, the remaining ships had flown down to the low group thus leaving us alone. Turning to the right as briefed, three fighters at 10:00 high, out of the sun, attacked immediately causing considerable damage. 20mm shells hit number two engine forcing it to freeze and throw oil over the left side of the plane. A gas line was ruptured permitting a large flow to whip under the left wing. The controls to number three were shot away leaving a loss in power and no way to vary that power. The cowling and lower cylinders were shot away on number four putting it on the inoperative list. Information from the radio gunner disclosed that the dorsal fin and rudder was split open vertically by exploding shells and that the air flow was widening the opening rapidly. The horizontal stabilizers were punched thoroughly by the same cause. Many control cables including all the trim tab controls were severed, in the waist position, the lines were hanging limp, thus hampering the movements of the gunners. By this same attack approximately 8 to 10 feet of the left wing was blown off and small caliber shells ripped through the left side of the nose continuing on to underneath the co-pilots seat causing a fire in the blankets stowed there.

The plane was cleared of all loose articles and ammunition to lighten the load in a futile attempt to fly (Buck was trying to get to the boarder and into Holland before they bailed out) but as decent was gradually forced, hovering fighters set number one engine afire thus forcing bail out immediately. The Navigator (Lt Downs) set the hour to be at this time approximately 5:15pm. I left the ship at about two thousand feet landing approximately five to ten miles northeast of Osnabruck surrounded by irate farmers. (Maj Cleven left the ship via the nose hatch and pulled his ripcord after he saw the tail go by his head. Buck remembered swinging tow or three times in his chute then going fright threw the front door of a German farm house ending up in the kitchen and ruining the stove. The Mama was crying and calling Buck a Luftgangster and a Terrorflieger. The Papa had Buck lying on his back with a pitchfork up against his chest. Buck was trying to explain in his collage German thqat he was really a helluva nice fella but wasn’t getting very far.) Since Benny (Capt. DeMarco, pilot) and I fell close together we were promptly taken to a Luftwaffe station just west of the city where our crew gradually filtered in. We stayed overnight under guard and at noon boarded a train going south traveling through Munster, Essen, and Dusseldorf to Koln, changing trains at that point, we continued onto Frankfurt arriving at 1:00 AM. On October 10, slept in the station until 7:00 AM at which time we traveled via train to Quackenbruck in the outskirts of Frankfurt. Transferred to street care and at 10:00AM came to Dulag Luft Uberossel. Remained in solitary overnight and was interrogated by the Germans the morning of Oct 11. Left there at 4:00PM and walked a short distance to another section where personal articles were returned; then we moved to the center of Frankfurt that evening. Oct 11-Oct 20 at Dulag and at 6:00 PM on the latter was transported via street cars to the railroad station where we boarded freight cars. Forty-three men to a car plus three guards. Spent three nights and two days going by the way of Erfurt and Leipzig to Sagan. Arrived at Stalag Luft III on Sunday Morning the 23rd of October at 9:00 AM.

Gale "Buck" Cleven on Maj John Egan:
IN AN INTERVIEW WITH BUCK CLEVEN (JAN 2001), HE REVEALED THAT HIM AND EGAN WERE ROOMATES THROUGHOUT FLYING SCHOOL. IN FACT, IT WAS EGAN WHO GAVE GALE CLEVEN HIS NICKNAME "BUCK". SEEMS THAT MAJ EAGAN HAD A FRIEND IN WISCONSIN THAT WAS NAMED BUCK WHO LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE CLEVEN. EVERYTIME EGAN INTRODUCED CLEVEN TO PEOPLE; HE SAID "HERE IS MY FRIEND "BUCK" CLEVEN. CLEVEN SAID THAT EVEN THOUGH HE DID NOT LIKE IT, THE NICKNAME STUCK AND FROM THAT POINT ON, HE WAS "BUCK" CLEVEN. CLEVEN SAID THAT JOHN WAS A QUITE PERSON WHO WAS QUICK WITTED AND A GOOD DRINKER. A VERY LIKEABLE INDIVIDUAL. BOTH OF THEM SPENT TIME IN SEBRING FLYING B-24 SUBMARINE PATROL. JOHN ALSO BOUGHT HIS FAMOUS FLEECE LINED FLYING JACKET WHILE TRAINING PILOTS AT SAN ANGELO TX. SEEMS IT WAS ARMY AIR CORP ISSUE AND WAS BEING DISCONTINUED. JOHN LOVED THAT JACKET AND IS SEEN IN MOST PICTURES WEARING IT, CLEVEN THOUGHT IT ALWAYS LOOKED DIRTY. BOTH MEN REMAINED CLOSE FRIENDS AFTER THE WAR, UNFORTUNATELY JOHN PASSED AWAY FROM A HEART ATTACK AROUND 1961 AT THE AGE OF 45. HE HAD TWO DAUGHTERS AND WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM THEM.

Egan at Stalag Luft III
Upon John's shoot down over Munster (led the mission to avenge his frind Gale Cleven being shot down two days earlier) and arrival at Stalag Luft III, the first thing Cleven said to Egan was "What the Hell took you so Long" and he replied, "That's what I get for being sentimental"! John was my roommate in Primary pilot training; we were Squadron Commanders in the same group and roommates in POW camp.

POW's
"You could tell a new POW because all they talked about was Woman, long time POW's talked about FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!"

MISSIONS OF MAJ. GALE W. (BUCKY) CLEVEN (per Paul Andrews Appendix for Frank Murphy book "Luck of the Draw" and Gale W. Cleven's Form 5's)

1. 25/06/43 BREMEN
2. 28/06/43 STNAZAIRE ("FLAK CITY")
3. 10/07/43 LELeBOURGET
4. 17/07/43 HAMBURG
5. 24/07/43 TRONDHEIM ,NORWAY
6. 25/07/43 WARNEMUNDE
7. 26/07/43 HANOVER
8. 28/07/43 OSCHERSLEBEN (RECALL, COUNTED AS A MISSION)
9. 29/07/43 WARNEMUNDE
10. 12/08/43 WESSELING/BONN (ST) (LtCol Beirne Lay Jr. flew as CP)
11. 17/08/43 REGENSBURG DSC(Distinguished Service Cross)
12. 24/08/43 BORDEAUX-MERIGNAC REGENSBURG CREWS
13. 02/09/43 KERLIN-BASTARD MISSION ABANDONED AT FRENCH COAST
14. 03/09/43 PARIS DFC(Distinguished Flying Cross)
15. 06/09/43 STUTTGART
16. 07/09/43 WATTEN, FRANCE
17. 09/09/43 BEAUVAIS-TILLE, AF  
18. 16/09/43 BORDEAUX
19. 23/09/43 VANNES
20. 02/10/43 EMDEN
21. 04/10/43 HANAU
22. 08/10/43 BREMEN MIA

Medals:

 Distinguished Service Cross- Sept. 10, 1943 for Regensburg Mission August 17, 1943
Distinguished Flying Cross- Nov 30, 1943 for Paris Mission Sept 3, 1943
Air Medal-Aug 6, 1943
OLC to Air Medal-Aug 22, 1943
OLC to Air Medal-Sept 24, 1943
OLC to Air Medal-Oct 20, 1943

Major Gale Cleven passed away on Nov 17, 2006 at the age of 87 years old.

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