Claude Lindsey Lumpkin was born at Handley, Tarrant County, Texas on January 11, 1924. He was one of five children of Herbert Lindsey Lumpkin (25 Aug 1886 – 1 Sep 1954), who was born at Rockdale, Milam County, Texas; and Claudia Ella 'Claudie' (Sewell) Lumpkin (6 Jan 1890 – 14 Jan 1972), who was born in Texas. His parents married about 1909.
His siblings were Alton Wilson Lumpkin (1913 – 1984), Carroll Lumpkin (1915 – 1937), Stanley Sewell Lumpkin (1925 – 2002), and Edward William Lumpkin (1927 – 1962). By 1924 the family lived at Handley, Tarrant County, Texas, an eastern suburb of Fort Worth. His father was a tailor who became an electric railway operator for Northern Texas Traction Company on the route between Fort Worth and Dallas; and was later a bus driver for Fort Worth Transit Company.
He completed elementary school, and registered for the draft at Fort Worth, Texas on June 30, 1942. He was 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighed 140 pounds, and had blue eyes and brown hair. At that time he lived with his parents and was employed by Gillespie Engineering Company, a petroleum engineering company in Handley, Texas.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army by 1943 and completed Army Air Forces aerial gunner training. He was assigned to the heavy bomber crew of 2/Lt Thomas Womer. In December 1943 the Womer crew began B-24 crew training at Davis-Monthan Field in Tucson, Arizona. In January 1944 the Womer crew was assigned to the 838th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. There they completed B-24 crew training, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. Claude Lumpkin is not listed on Lt Womer's aircrew roster during the deployment. He probably traveled overseas with the 487th Bomb Group ground echelon, which crossed the Atlantic aboard the troop ship Duchess of Bedford. 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 arrival at Station 137, S/Sgt Lumpkin and four of his original crewmates (Musser, Boyd, Kussy, and Rosenberger) were reassigned to the crew of Lt Arthur D. Erwin in the 838th Bomb Squadron.
S/Sgt Lumkin and seven of his crewmates were killed in action on June 20, 1944 when their aircraft, B-24H 42-95217, was shot down by flak on the mission to bomb an oil refinery at Misburg near Hannover, Germany. Just after bombs away, the aircraft received a direct flak hit which tore off the tail. The aircraft spun to the ground in flames and crashed five kilometers north of Hannover. The bodies of eight crew members were found in the wreckage. The dead were buried initially at the military cemetery in Hannover-Limmer. S/Sgt Ross, the tail gunner, was able to bail out and landed at Mecklenheide near Hannover. He was captured there and became a prisoner of war.
S/Sgt Lumkin's remains were returned to the United States and reinterred with military honors at Rose Hill Burial Park, Fort Worth, Texas in July 1949.
B-24H 42-95217 crew:
• Erwin, Arthur D – 2/Lt – Pilot – KIA
• Mass, Rubie R – 2/Lt – Copilot – KIA
• Mackie, Thomas S – 2/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Musser, Elmer G – S/Sgt – Engineer – KIA
• Boyd, Leslie L – S/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Lumpkin, Claude L – S/Sgt – Nose Turret Gunner – KIA
• Kussy Jr, Leroy S – Sgt – Top Turret Gunner – KIA
• Rosenberger, Jearold F – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – KIA
• Ross, Albert L – S/Sgt – Tail Turret Gunner – POW
Source of information: Paul M. Webber, www.findagrave.com