Lubbock's Jim Bill Clark, from the South Plains to hiding from Nazis, Part 3
Jim Bill Clark documented his vivid recollections of his life growing up on the South Plains during the Great Depression, evading German capture during his time serving his country in World War II.
Larry Williams, the veterans liaison with the South Plains Honor Flight, recently reviewed Clark's documents to share his recollections from his early years as well as his adventures during World War II and beyond.
Portions Jim Clark's journals are being shared in a three-part series in the Avalanche-Journal. This is part two. See part three in Monday's A-J.
In Sunday's edition, Clark recalled being shot down during a bombing mission over France. He and some of his fellow crew members were being aided by French citizens as they worked to allude capture. Jim's story continues
Aided by the French Underground
“Farmers contacted the French Underground, and they came for us that afternoon. They parked their Renault at the edge of the forest, and I was carried to the car. I still could not walk. There were two French Underground men and six of us packed into a tiny Renault. We came to a crossroads in the middle of a French town, and it looked like we had run into the whole German Army. A German guard stopped us. That almost caused my heart to stop beating. We sat there for 15 or 20 minutes with the engine idling, and the little car started heating up. The crazy Frenchman that was driving the car charged right through the column. German whistles blew, but that was all that happened.“We were taken to a home in a small town. I don’t know how they knew we were coming. It was decided that we would try and get back to our own forces. We went several miles, stopped, and hid by the side of the road. Soon, a car came by and stopped where we were. Our guide instructed us to get in the car. It was well organized, but we flat got lost that night. We ended up in a tavern in the country where more Frenchmen waited.“The next morning, they took us to a big old stone house where we stayed a few more days. I got my first toothbrush there since being shot down. You cannot believe how much you appreciate such a common thing as that until you have done without it for a while."
Another Temporary Home
“We landed in a small town by the name of Vitré and went to a three-story home which belonged to the local banker. The man greeted us as we came in and said, ‘My home is your home.’ They went elsewhere to stay, leaving all their personal belongings in the house. The Chief of Police in Vitré was also the Chief of the French Underground.
The Allies Go on the Offensive
“The Americans sent about 1,000 airplanes to bomb Germans and made a major breakthrough. The Germans figured it out and ran right through Vitré, where I was. I sat at the window where we were staying and watched them retreat. The Germans were coming through by the thousands. We took off about 8 a.m. on the third day. We walked ‘til about noon and came to a farmhouse. We were picked up by a man about 65 years old who would be our guide from there.
Finding Allied Forces
“The old man went out to the highway by himself and when he returned, he said, ‘I saw American tanks on the highway. Let’s go out to meet them!’ We did, whooping and hollering all the way like a bunch of kids on a picnic. In just a few minutes, along came a whole column of American tanks headed in the opposite direction. We were still in those raggedy, dirty French clothes we had been wearing for over a month. We jumped up and down on the roadway trying to get the tanks to stop, but they just kept creaking along, ignoring us.“Col. Stalnaker jumped out to the center of the road and stood in front of the next tank, arms crossed, and scowled at the tank commander. The commander jumped down. Livid with rage, he rushed up to Stalnaker, about to throw him off the road. Stalnaker shouted ‘Captain!’ The man was stunned to hear that voice coming out of the rags. ‘Captain, I am a Colonel in the Air Corps. You will stand at attention and listen to me!’ Reaching into his clothing, he pulled out his West Point graduation ring and pushed it into the captain’s face. That ring saved our lives! The next day, they took us to a small town in the American Zone that had just been liberated.
Heading Home
“We spent three days in a small town in the American Zone being interrogated by the CIC Intelligence Corps (Army). We were flown back to our base at Matching Green, Essex, England, where we received great welcomes from our friends who thought we were dead. Shortly after, I was shipped back home, and that was the end of that.”
Shortly after being discharged, Jim returned to Lubbock. He married Berta Ray Reed in 1947. They had two children, Steve and Susan. Jim settled into life as a used car dealer. Daughter Susan recalled, “He came back home and bought a car. He loved working on cars and started dirt racing near Buffalo Lake. I remember him buying and selling cars to earn extra money. He used to buy wrecked cars from a guy in San Angelo, fix them up, and sell them for a profit. He also owned a Buick dealership at one time.”
Return to France
On July 26, 1984, 40 years after being shot down in France, Jim and his B-26 crew were invited to return to the small village where they were taken in by the French. Pilots George Stalnaker and Eugene Squier, Jim Clark, Navigator and Stanley Miller, Engineer-Gunner, made the trip from the U.S. After years of corresponding with the Bodard family, they had a happy reunion. “Because of the war, we are now like family,” said Stanley Miller. A local eyewitness said, “I saw the men parachute from the sky, like birds, and then only an enormous ball of fire when their plane exploded.”
Epilogue
Madame Geffard, whose parents hid the fliers in Poligné spoke at the reunion.
“In France, you left many friends who will always have a special place for you in their hearts. Four men came back where they fell from their “flying machine.” Silently, they testified to the precious gift they brought forty years earlier, freedom….”Jim passed away on Jan. 26, 1989, only five years after his return trip to France. The legacy of his courage lives on in his family and in several small towns in France, where he and his fellow aviators will forever be remembered and honored.
Special thanks to Jim’s daughter, Susan Kincaid, and grandson, Kris Kincaid, for lending the author access to Jim’s documents and photos for this article.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock's Jim Bill Clark, from the South Plains to hiding from Nazis, Part 3
