Sponsored by:Paul Webber
Sgt Clemente Moran Barboza Veteran
1924 – 1944 Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial
- Birth
-
San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, USA
- Death
- 11 May 1944 (aged 19)
Chateaudun, Departement d'Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France
- Burial
-
Epinal, Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France Add to Map
- Plot
- Plot A, Row 21, Grave 27
- Memorial ID
- 56371049 View Source
He graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in San Antonio in 1942. His photo in the school's 1942 Los Recuerdos yearbook is accompanied by this entry:
------------
CLEMENTE BARBOZA
An ambitious young man who will travel far.
Print Shop assistant foreman, 2nd. Lt. R.O.T.C.,
Reporter, Secretary and President of Print Shop.
------------
He registered for the draft at San Antonio on June 30, 1942. He was 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 116 pounds, and had brown eyes and black hair. At that time he worked for a printing company in San Antonio. He worked in a semiskilled occupation in the preparation of meat products and was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, on August 4, 1943. He completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery training, and was assigned as ball turret gunner on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Doyle L. Simons in the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group.
The Simons crew completed B-24 crew training with the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 41-29479 'The Big Bad Wolf' from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived at Lavenham by mid-April 1944.
The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. After the Group arrived in England, Lt Simons was grounded with appendicitis and was replaced as First Pilot by 2/Lt Lorin D. McCleary Jr. Here is Lt McCleary's crew roster on May 11, 1944:
B-24H 42-52444 – 838th Bomb Squadron
• McCleary, Lorin D – 2/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• McCoy, Ernest E – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Kramer, Victor S – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Perry, Joseph D – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Owens, Harold E – S/Sgt – Engineer – POW
• McKee, Eugene – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Frey, Arthur C – Sgt – Nose Turret – KIA
• Churm, Paul K – Sgt – Top Turret – KIA
• Barboza, Clemente M – Sgt – Ball Turret – KIA
• Knapp, Dale L – Sgt – Tail Turret – KIA
On May 11, 1944, the McCleary crew took off from Lavenham in B-24H 42-52444 on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Chaumont, France. The secondary target was Troyes. The 487th Bomb Group formation never reached the target. Navigational error resulted in the formation flying over accurate German flak guns guarding the airfield at Chateaudun, France. Sgt Barboza and eight of his crewmates were killed in action when their aircraft was shot down by flak over Chateaudun. Sgt Cosme Marquez, a friend of Sgt Barboza, was flying with Lt Olen Huff's crew in B-24 41-29525 off McCleary's right wing. He said:
"McCleary's plane was hit 25 or 30 yards to our left. I saw the waist gunners struggling to get out. I was yelling, 'Bail out! Bail out!' but they didn't make it. Barboza was on his fifth mission and was killed in the ball turret."
The aircraft took a direct flak hit in the nose and flight deck and started burning at the engines. It went into a dive, exploded in the air, and crashed three kilometers east of Varize near Bazoches-en-Dunois. One man, Staff Sergeant Harold E. Owens, survived. He wrote:
"At approximately 1145 we were hit by flak in the nose, which resulted in the death of Lt Victor Kramer, navigator, Sgt Paul Churm, top turret gunner, and S/Sgt Eugene McKee, radio operator. The plane immediately burst into flames, we were flying at an altitude of approximately 11,000 feet, a few seconds later the plane started into a dive, and exploded in mid air, with the result that I was blown clear of the plane. I managed to pull my ripcord and landed eight miles north of Chateaudun, France. I made a safe landing and at a distance of one quarter of a mile I saw the plane completely wrecked and on fire. I was the only member of the crew who parachuted to safety. I did not go near the plane because I knew the bombs had not exploded. I hid in the woods and about five minutes later the bombs exploded."
The dead were recovered by German troops, who buried them at the Grand Cimetière in Orleans, France. After the war, Sgt Barboza's remains were interred at Epinal American Cemetery, France, in Plot A, Row 21, Grave 27.
A memorial plaque was dedicated to the McCleary crew at Varize, Eure-et-Loire, Centre, France on May 9, 2015. The plaque was made possible through the efforts of Jean Pierre and Forced Landing Association, in collaboration with the municipalities of Varize and Bazoches-en-Dunois, France. The plaque is mounted in an entry alcove of the thirteenth-century Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (Eglise Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul) on Place de l'Église, Varize, France (map coordinates 48.096472°N, 1.513639°E).
Sources:
1. 487th Bomb Group Association
2. 1910 US Census; Texas; Comal County; Justice Precinct 2. Barbosa, Blas. 2 May 1910 (Blas Barboza, his father's father)
3. 1920 US Census; Texas; Bexar County. Barboza, Clementz [sic]. 27 Jan 1920 (Clemente V. Barboza, his father)
4. 1930 US Census; Texas; Bexar County. Barbosa, Clements [sic]. 7 Apr 1930 (Clemente V. Barboza, his father)
5. 1940 US Census; Texas; Bexar County; San Antonio; 1012 South Trinity Street. Barbosza, Clemente [sic]. 13 Apr 1940 (Clemente V. Barboza, his father)
6. American Battle Monuments Commission
7. B24BestWeb. B-24H 41-29479 'The Big Bad Wolf'
8. Chamberlain, Mark. Memorial Ceremony Photos – Varize, France, 9 May 2015. (Photos of the plaque dedication ceremony for the Lorin D. McCleary Jr crew)
9. Clemente Moran Barboza (1924 – 1944) in Jamison Family Tree (ancestry.com)
10. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004
11. Enlistment Record of Clemente M. Barboza (His first name is misspelled and his race is listed incorrectly; he was of Hispanic descent.)
12. Forced Landing Association, Eure-et-Loire, France. Point of contact: Jean Pierre
13. HQ, 359th Combat Crew Training School, Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. Special Orders Number 71. 11 March 1944 (487th Bomb Group flight echelon order to proceed from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Herington, Kansas during the deployment to England.)
14. Marquez, Cosme P. Personal Communication. June 2003 (Gunner and Engineer on the crew of Olen F. Huff and Roy M. Webber, 838th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, Dec 1943 – Sep 1944)
15. Social Security Death Index
16. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997
17. Texas Death Records, 1964-1998
18. Texas Deaths, 1890-1976
19. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 4782
20. U.S. Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942–1949 (ancestry.com)
21. U.S. National World War II Memorial Registry. Clemente M. Barboza Jr (honored by Ms. Adelina Moralez, his sister)
22. U.S. Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939–1945
23. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900–1999. Los Recuerdos [yearbook]. San Antonio TX: Sidney Lanier High School, 1942 (ancestry.com)
24. U.S. War Department. World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel. Washington, D.C., June 1946
25. U.S. World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940–1947 (ancestry.com)
26. World War II Draft Registration of Clemente Vasquez Barboza. 16 Feb 1942 (his father)
Research by:
Paul Webber
Find A Grave member ID 47577572
He graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in San Antonio in 1942. His photo in the school's 1942 Los Recuerdos yearbook is accompanied by this entry:
------------
CLEMENTE BARBOZA
An ambitious young man who will travel far.
Print Shop assistant foreman, 2nd. Lt. R.O.T.C.,
Reporter, Secretary and President of Print Shop.
------------
He registered for the draft at San Antonio on June 30, 1942. He was 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 116 pounds, and had brown eyes and black hair. At that time he worked for a printing company in San Antonio. He worked in a semiskilled occupation in the preparation of meat products and was single when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, on August 4, 1943. He completed Army Air Forces aerial gunnery training, and was assigned as ball turret gunner on the heavy bomber crew of Lt Doyle L. Simons in the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group.
The Simons crew completed B-24 crew training with the 487th Bomb Group at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 41-29479 'The Big Bad Wolf' from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Lavenham, England via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived at Lavenham by mid-April 1944.
The 487th Bomb Group was based at Army Air Forces Station 137 near Lavenham, Suffolk, England, and was part of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force in Europe. After the Group arrived in England, Lt Simons was grounded with appendicitis and was replaced as First Pilot by 2/Lt Lorin D. McCleary Jr. Here is Lt McCleary's crew roster on May 11, 1944:
B-24H 42-52444 – 838th Bomb Squadron
• McCleary, Lorin D – 2/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• McCoy, Ernest E – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Kramer, Victor S – 2/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Perry, Joseph D – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Owens, Harold E – S/Sgt – Engineer – POW
• McKee, Eugene – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Frey, Arthur C – Sgt – Nose Turret – KIA
• Churm, Paul K – Sgt – Top Turret – KIA
• Barboza, Clemente M – Sgt – Ball Turret – KIA
• Knapp, Dale L – Sgt – Tail Turret – KIA
On May 11, 1944, the McCleary crew took off from Lavenham in B-24H 42-52444 on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Chaumont, France. The secondary target was Troyes. The 487th Bomb Group formation never reached the target. Navigational error resulted in the formation flying over accurate German flak guns guarding the airfield at Chateaudun, France. Sgt Barboza and eight of his crewmates were killed in action when their aircraft was shot down by flak over Chateaudun. Sgt Cosme Marquez, a friend of Sgt Barboza, was flying with Lt Olen Huff's crew in B-24 41-29525 off McCleary's right wing. He said:
"McCleary's plane was hit 25 or 30 yards to our left. I saw the waist gunners struggling to get out. I was yelling, 'Bail out! Bail out!' but they didn't make it. Barboza was on his fifth mission and was killed in the ball turret."
The aircraft took a direct flak hit in the nose and flight deck and started burning at the engines. It went into a dive, exploded in the air, and crashed three kilometers east of Varize near Bazoches-en-Dunois. One man, Staff Sergeant Harold E. Owens, survived. He wrote:
"At approximately 1145 we were hit by flak in the nose, which resulted in the death of Lt Victor Kramer, navigator, Sgt Paul Churm, top turret gunner, and S/Sgt Eugene McKee, radio operator. The plane immediately burst into flames, we were flying at an altitude of approximately 11,000 feet, a few seconds later the plane started into a dive, and exploded in mid air, with the result that I was blown clear of the plane. I managed to pull my ripcord and landed eight miles north of Chateaudun, France. I made a safe landing and at a distance of one quarter of a mile I saw the plane completely wrecked and on fire. I was the only member of the crew who parachuted to safety. I did not go near the plane because I knew the bombs had not exploded. I hid in the woods and about five minutes later the bombs exploded."
The dead were recovered by German troops, who buried them at the Grand Cimetière in Orleans, France. After the war, Sgt Barboza's remains were interred at Epinal American Cemetery, France, in Plot A, Row 21, Grave 27.
A memorial plaque was dedicated to the McCleary crew at Varize, Eure-et-Loire, Centre, France on May 9, 2015. The plaque was made possible through the efforts of Jean Pierre and Forced Landing Association, in collaboration with the municipalities of Varize and Bazoches-en-Dunois, France. The plaque is mounted in an entry alcove of the thirteenth-century Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (Eglise Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul) on Place de l'Église, Varize, France (map coordinates 48.096472°N, 1.513639°E).
Sources:
1. 487th Bomb Group Association
2. 1910 US Census; Texas; Comal County; Justice Precinct 2. Barbosa, Blas. 2 May 1910 (Blas Barboza, his father's father)
3. 1920 US Census; Texas; Bexar County. Barboza, Clementz [sic]. 27 Jan 1920 (Clemente V. Barboza, his father)
4. 1930 US Census; Texas; Bexar County. Barbosa, Clements [sic]. 7 Apr 1930 (Clemente V. Barboza, his father)
5. 1940 US Census; Texas; Bexar County; San Antonio; 1012 South Trinity Street. Barbosza, Clemente [sic]. 13 Apr 1940 (Clemente V. Barboza, his father)
6. American Battle Monuments Commission
7. B24BestWeb. B-24H 41-29479 'The Big Bad Wolf'
8. Chamberlain, Mark. Memorial Ceremony Photos – Varize, France, 9 May 2015. (Photos of the plaque dedication ceremony for the Lorin D. McCleary Jr crew)
9. Clemente Moran Barboza (1924 – 1944) in Jamison Family Tree (ancestry.com)
10. de Jong, Ivo. The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H). Paducah KY: Turner Publishing, Oct 2004
11. Enlistment Record of Clemente M. Barboza (His first name is misspelled and his race is listed incorrectly; he was of Hispanic descent.)
12. Forced Landing Association, Eure-et-Loire, France. Point of contact: Jean Pierre
13. HQ, 359th Combat Crew Training School, Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. Special Orders Number 71. 11 March 1944 (487th Bomb Group flight echelon order to proceed from Alamogordo, New Mexico to Herington, Kansas during the deployment to England.)
14. Marquez, Cosme P. Personal Communication. June 2003 (Gunner and Engineer on the crew of Olen F. Huff and Roy M. Webber, 838th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, Dec 1943 – Sep 1944)
15. Social Security Death Index
16. Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997
17. Texas Death Records, 1964-1998
18. Texas Deaths, 1890-1976
19. U.S. Army Air Forces Missing Air Crew Report 4782
20. U.S. Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942–1949 (ancestry.com)
21. U.S. National World War II Memorial Registry. Clemente M. Barboza Jr (honored by Ms. Adelina Moralez, his sister)
22. U.S. Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939–1945
23. U.S. School Yearbooks, 1900–1999. Los Recuerdos [yearbook]. San Antonio TX: Sidney Lanier High School, 1942 (ancestry.com)
24. U.S. War Department. World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel. Washington, D.C., June 1946
25. U.S. World War II Draft Cards, Young Men, 1940–1947 (ancestry.com)
26. World War II Draft Registration of Clemente Vasquez Barboza. 16 Feb 1942 (his father)
Research by:
Paul Webber
Find A Grave member ID 47577572
Inscription
CLEMENTE M. BARBOZA
SGT 838 BOMB SQ 487 BOMB GP (H)
TEXAS MAY 11 1944
Gravesite Details
Entered the Service from Texas.
Other Records
See more Barboza memorials in:
- Maintained by: Paul Webber
- Originally Created by: War Graves
- Added: Aug 7, 2010
- Find a Grave Memorial ID:
-
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56371049/clemente_moran-barboza: accessed ), memorial page for Sgt Clemente Moran Barboza (1 Jun 1924–11 May 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56371049, citing Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial, Epinal, Departement des Vosges, Lorraine, France; Maintained by Paul Webber (contributor 47577572).