Advertisement

Clair John Juhl

Advertisement

Clair John Juhl Veteran

Birth
Kearney, Buffalo County, Nebraska, USA
Death
4 Mar 2001 (aged 48)
Kearney, Buffalo County, Nebraska, USA
Burial
Riverdale, Buffalo County, Nebraska, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
3 August 1970 -- Clair enlisted in Marine Corps

12 November 1974 -- Claire released from Marine Corps


An older cousin's memory:

Clair was a handsome, charming, and lovable young man who loved the outdoors. He was an outstanding wrestler in high school. He was a hard worker.

My Navy Master Chief career husband was stationed on Treasure Island while Clair, a Marine, was stationed on the USS Enterprise at Alameda. Clair gave us a tour in 1972 and showed us his duty station, protecting the nuclear missile house. While stationed on the USS Intrepid, my husband duties included inspecting the nuclear missile house which stored the "A" bomb.

He appeared to have a lot of friends and buddies. When my mother-in-law died in Ohio in August 1972, Clair along with several fellow Marines came to visit us and give support. It made quite an impression. I was so proud of him.

More about the USS Enterprise:

USS Enterprise (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is an inactive United States Navy aircraft carrier. She was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth United States naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed "Big E". At 1,123 ft (342 m), she is the longest naval vessel ever built. Her 93,284-long-ton (94,781 tonnes) displacement ranked her as the 12th-heaviest supercarrier, after the 10 carriers of the Nimitz class and the USS Gerald R. Ford. Enterprise had a crew of some 4,600 service members.[9]

The only ship of her class, Enterprise was, at the time of inactivation, the third-oldest commissioned vessel in the United States Navy after the wooden-hulledUSS Constitution and USS Pueblo. She was originally scheduled for decommissioning in 2014 or 2015, depending on the life of her reactors and completion of her replacement, USS Gerald R. Ford, but the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 slated the ship's retirement for 2013, when she would have served for 51 consecutive years, longer than any other U.S. aircraft carrier.

Enterprise's home port was Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia as of September 2012. Her original home port was Naval Air Station Alameda until its closure in 1997. When in port at NAS Alameda, she was visible to those crossing the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. She was the flagship of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz while he lived in Berkeley, California until his death in 1966. Her final deployment, the last before her inactivation, began on 10 March 2012 and ended 4 November 2012. She was inactivated on 1 December 2012, with her official decommissioning taking place sometime in 2016[16] after the completion of an extensive terminal offload program currently underway.The name has been adopted by the future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrierUSS Enterprise (CVN-80).

A brother's memory in 2006:
Glad to try and fill you in with what I know about Clair.

It all comes down to the first tattoo that Clair got after boot camp in 1970. The largest one he had, proudly displayed on his left upper arm. USMC and underneath the phrase Death Before Dishonor with an eagle between.

Clair went to Camp P during late 1972. He was the squad leader for the Camp Pendelton Honor Squad during 1973 for the All Marine Corps Honor Squad Competition that was held in Quantico VA during summer of 1973. The Camp P squad came in second place that year.

Clair got into trouble when he buried an M-16 during a march and later went back to get it and send it to Nebraska in a locked seabag. How did he come to bury an M-16 you ask? He told me he had a squad member pass out during a march in the hills of Camp P, during the medivac this Marine's M-16 was left behind and only Clair knew where. This was not one of the Honor Squad's hikes. Clair reported the missing weapon and reported that he had done a search of the area, and I am certain he became a suspect at that point. As a squad leader you would know where each of your men and their weapons are at every moment.

Clair was known for picking up anything that was left loose and making it his own. I think all of his peers knew he filled seabag after seabag with anything he found (other peoples dirty clothing, military gear, anything) and would send it home in-care of our mother who was not curious and never once opened a bag. Clair did this from the USS Enterprise too. Clair came home once before the trouble and opened one of the sea bags and mom was discussed that he had not washed some of the things before he packed them. She told me this the next year we came home to visit.

The NIS sent a team to Amherst, they asked mom if they could search for a missing weapon at the farm and she said yes. They found the missing weapon and lots of other curious stuff out in an old trailer behind the house where we all stored junk.

Early May 1974 the NIS and FBI made the mistake of trying to arrest Clair in an Oceanside bar after he had been drinking, he walked out of the bar with the four officers and then preceded to walk away from them and they could not stop him. Clair told me this story with a smile on his face from the less desirable side of the San Diego County jail cell. They tried one at a time to physically stop him, after picking themselves up they tried as a group one with a night stick. Clair said he first found out about the night stick when he was hit from behind with it. He said that made him mad and as he turned around to confront the guy about to take another swing with the stick he just reached out and grabbed the nearest arm (FBI agent) and put the arm between himself and the moving night stick. Resulting in the compound fracture of the FBI agent's forearm. This was followed by lots of noise and confusion so he walked away. Only then did one of the four pull a weapon and threaten to shoot. Then is when Clair was arrested and cuffed. It is reported the first night in the County jail he attempted or at least indicated he wanted to commit suicide.

I was a 2nd Lieutenant at this time and was travelling to Pensacola, Florida to begin flight training. How the USMC got word to me is still a puzzle but they did and wife and I were sent to San Diego to talk with Clair. Other than the smile on his face when he told me the story of his arrest he was very depressed. I visited with him three days in a row and spoke with and introduced Clair to the military attorney that was going to represent him. By the end of the third visit I was convinced he was over his desire to die, and that he would fight the charge as much as he could and look for any kind of DEAL he could get. Of the original 23 charges, all were dropped except one, theft of an M-16, he pleaded guilt and was dishonorably discharged and sent home. This all took about 90 days, and he spent all of those days in the SD Co jail.

He was never quite right after that. He could not let go of the fact that he had dishonored Country and Corps and himself. It did not seem to be a big deal to his family and friends in Amherst, in fact many of his friends thought him a hero, and still do unfortunately.
He could not forgive himself.

On 1 March the year he died he told mom that he would not see his 50th birthday. His 50th birthday was just 15 days away, on the Ides of March. He managed to commit suicide by Cop just one week prior to his 50th birthday.

Now you know the rest of the story.

--------------
Incarcerated

Nebraska State Prison
Sentence start was 5 February 1982
Released 1December 1984

Federal Prison
Released. 16 October 1987

Nebraska State Prison
Sentence Start 20 June 1988
Sentence Released Date 27 December 1995
3 August 1970 -- Clair enlisted in Marine Corps

12 November 1974 -- Claire released from Marine Corps


An older cousin's memory:

Clair was a handsome, charming, and lovable young man who loved the outdoors. He was an outstanding wrestler in high school. He was a hard worker.

My Navy Master Chief career husband was stationed on Treasure Island while Clair, a Marine, was stationed on the USS Enterprise at Alameda. Clair gave us a tour in 1972 and showed us his duty station, protecting the nuclear missile house. While stationed on the USS Intrepid, my husband duties included inspecting the nuclear missile house which stored the "A" bomb.

He appeared to have a lot of friends and buddies. When my mother-in-law died in Ohio in August 1972, Clair along with several fellow Marines came to visit us and give support. It made quite an impression. I was so proud of him.

More about the USS Enterprise:

USS Enterprise (CVN-65), formerly CVA(N)-65, is an inactive United States Navy aircraft carrier. She was the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth United States naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed "Big E". At 1,123 ft (342 m), she is the longest naval vessel ever built. Her 93,284-long-ton (94,781 tonnes) displacement ranked her as the 12th-heaviest supercarrier, after the 10 carriers of the Nimitz class and the USS Gerald R. Ford. Enterprise had a crew of some 4,600 service members.[9]

The only ship of her class, Enterprise was, at the time of inactivation, the third-oldest commissioned vessel in the United States Navy after the wooden-hulledUSS Constitution and USS Pueblo. She was originally scheduled for decommissioning in 2014 or 2015, depending on the life of her reactors and completion of her replacement, USS Gerald R. Ford, but the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 slated the ship's retirement for 2013, when she would have served for 51 consecutive years, longer than any other U.S. aircraft carrier.

Enterprise's home port was Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia as of September 2012. Her original home port was Naval Air Station Alameda until its closure in 1997. When in port at NAS Alameda, she was visible to those crossing the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. She was the flagship of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz while he lived in Berkeley, California until his death in 1966. Her final deployment, the last before her inactivation, began on 10 March 2012 and ended 4 November 2012. She was inactivated on 1 December 2012, with her official decommissioning taking place sometime in 2016[16] after the completion of an extensive terminal offload program currently underway.The name has been adopted by the future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrierUSS Enterprise (CVN-80).

A brother's memory in 2006:
Glad to try and fill you in with what I know about Clair.

It all comes down to the first tattoo that Clair got after boot camp in 1970. The largest one he had, proudly displayed on his left upper arm. USMC and underneath the phrase Death Before Dishonor with an eagle between.

Clair went to Camp P during late 1972. He was the squad leader for the Camp Pendelton Honor Squad during 1973 for the All Marine Corps Honor Squad Competition that was held in Quantico VA during summer of 1973. The Camp P squad came in second place that year.

Clair got into trouble when he buried an M-16 during a march and later went back to get it and send it to Nebraska in a locked seabag. How did he come to bury an M-16 you ask? He told me he had a squad member pass out during a march in the hills of Camp P, during the medivac this Marine's M-16 was left behind and only Clair knew where. This was not one of the Honor Squad's hikes. Clair reported the missing weapon and reported that he had done a search of the area, and I am certain he became a suspect at that point. As a squad leader you would know where each of your men and their weapons are at every moment.

Clair was known for picking up anything that was left loose and making it his own. I think all of his peers knew he filled seabag after seabag with anything he found (other peoples dirty clothing, military gear, anything) and would send it home in-care of our mother who was not curious and never once opened a bag. Clair did this from the USS Enterprise too. Clair came home once before the trouble and opened one of the sea bags and mom was discussed that he had not washed some of the things before he packed them. She told me this the next year we came home to visit.

The NIS sent a team to Amherst, they asked mom if they could search for a missing weapon at the farm and she said yes. They found the missing weapon and lots of other curious stuff out in an old trailer behind the house where we all stored junk.

Early May 1974 the NIS and FBI made the mistake of trying to arrest Clair in an Oceanside bar after he had been drinking, he walked out of the bar with the four officers and then preceded to walk away from them and they could not stop him. Clair told me this story with a smile on his face from the less desirable side of the San Diego County jail cell. They tried one at a time to physically stop him, after picking themselves up they tried as a group one with a night stick. Clair said he first found out about the night stick when he was hit from behind with it. He said that made him mad and as he turned around to confront the guy about to take another swing with the stick he just reached out and grabbed the nearest arm (FBI agent) and put the arm between himself and the moving night stick. Resulting in the compound fracture of the FBI agent's forearm. This was followed by lots of noise and confusion so he walked away. Only then did one of the four pull a weapon and threaten to shoot. Then is when Clair was arrested and cuffed. It is reported the first night in the County jail he attempted or at least indicated he wanted to commit suicide.

I was a 2nd Lieutenant at this time and was travelling to Pensacola, Florida to begin flight training. How the USMC got word to me is still a puzzle but they did and wife and I were sent to San Diego to talk with Clair. Other than the smile on his face when he told me the story of his arrest he was very depressed. I visited with him three days in a row and spoke with and introduced Clair to the military attorney that was going to represent him. By the end of the third visit I was convinced he was over his desire to die, and that he would fight the charge as much as he could and look for any kind of DEAL he could get. Of the original 23 charges, all were dropped except one, theft of an M-16, he pleaded guilt and was dishonorably discharged and sent home. This all took about 90 days, and he spent all of those days in the SD Co jail.

He was never quite right after that. He could not let go of the fact that he had dishonored Country and Corps and himself. It did not seem to be a big deal to his family and friends in Amherst, in fact many of his friends thought him a hero, and still do unfortunately.
He could not forgive himself.

On 1 March the year he died he told mom that he would not see his 50th birthday. His 50th birthday was just 15 days away, on the Ides of March. He managed to commit suicide by Cop just one week prior to his 50th birthday.

Now you know the rest of the story.

--------------
Incarcerated

Nebraska State Prison
Sentence start was 5 February 1982
Released 1December 1984

Federal Prison
Released. 16 October 1987

Nebraska State Prison
Sentence Start 20 June 1988
Sentence Released Date 27 December 1995


Sponsored by Ancestry

Advertisement