Clarence B. Stanley was born in 1922 in South Dakota. He resided in Perkins County, South Dakota prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on April 3, 1942 at Fort Meade, South Dakota. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being Single, without dependents. Clarence served as a Second Lieutenant and Co-Pilot on B-24D #42-40845, 425th Bomber Squadron, 308th Bomber Group, Heavy, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

B-24D #42-40845 took off, with a crew of 10, from Kunming, China on a combat mission over Hankow, China. They were shot down by Japanese fighter planes. The crew was given the order to bailout due to extreme damage. Six members of the crew were lost. Clarence was declared "Missing In Action" on this mission during the war. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

2Lt Stanley was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov