Clifford Porter “Dink” Nance was born on December 30, 1915 in Collin County, Texas. He was the second of eight children of Hope Roseman Nance (20 May 1892 – 16 Aug 1968) and Ella May 'Ellie' (Brady) Nance (10 Sep 1895 – Feb 1981) who were born in Texas. The family home was on Frankford Road in Collin County, Texas, just west of Plano, Texas.

He completed two years of high school, and worked as a semiskilled motor vehicle mechanic and repairman. He was also a painter. He was single, without dependents, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at Fort Sam Houston, Texas on January 7, 1941. He was 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighed 151 pounds, had brown eyes and brown hair, and wore size 8D shoes. He was assigned to Barksdale Air Base, Louisiana for one month. Then from February to September 1941 he was assigned to Scott Field, Illinois, where he might have completed Army Air Forces radio operator training.

By October 1941 he was assigned to the 79th Bomb Squadron of the 45th Bomb Group at Grenier Field, Manchester, New Hampshire. This was an Atlantic coastal defense and training unit. By October 1942 his unit was in Miami, Florida. On November 29, 1942 the 79th Bomb Squadron was designated the 8th Antisubmarine Squadron of the 26th Antisubmarine Wing, and was equipped with the B-24 'Liberator' heavy bomber. With headquarters at Miami, Florida, Squadrons of the 26th Antisubmarine Wing flew B-24 antisubmarine patrols from bases in Florida, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, British Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, and Ascension Island.

On October 1, 1943 the 8th Antisubmarine Squadron was designated the 839th Bomb Squadron, and was assigned to the newly formed 487th Bomb Group. The Squadron moved temporarily to Pueblo, Colorado; and on November 17, 1943 it moved to the 487th Bomb Group's base at Bruning Army Air Base, Nebraska. In December 1943 the 839th Bomb Squadron moved with the 487th Bomb Group to Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico. Some of the veterans of antisubmarine patrol were assigned to the other three Squadrons in the Group. T/Sgt Nance was assigned to the heavy bomber crew of Lt Edward J. Brodsky in the 838th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group. The Brodsky crew completed B-24 crew training at Alamogordo, and deployed with the Group to England in March 1944. They flew B-24H 42-52581 overseas via the southern Atlantic ferry route—a journey of about 10,000 miles—and arrived in England 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.

On May 11, 1944, T/Sgt Nance flew with then Captain Edward J. Brodsky's lead crew in B-24H 42-52763, in the deputy lead position of the 838th Bomb Squadron.

On May 16, 1944, five of the dead, including T/Sgt Nance, were buried as unknowns at the Saint Cheron Communal Cemetery in Chartres, Eure et Loir, France. In May 1947 T/Sgt Nance's remains were exhumed and moved to the U.S. Military Cemetery Blosville, France (near Carentan), where they were examined and reburied in June 1947. In May 1949 the identity of his remains was officially confirmed. On August 9, 1949 his remains were permanently reinterred at Normandy American Cemetery, France.

B-24H 42-52763 crew:
• Brodsky, Edward J – Capt – Pilot – POW
• Roberts, John W – Capt – Copilot – POW
• Weiss, Lester – 1/Lt – Navigator – KIA
• Johnson, Lee G – 2/Lt – Navigator – POW
• Pearce, Thomas W – 1/Lt – Bombardier – KIA
• Simoni, Walter – T/Sgt – Engineer – KIA
• Nance, Clifford P – T/Sgt – Radio Operator – KIA
• Tollett, Elton – S/Sgt – Ball Turret Gunner – MIA
• Lipskas, Bronis D – S/Sgt – Tail Gunner – MIA
• Murphy, William J – S/Sgt – Top Turret Gunner – KIA

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