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McClure Homer R.

Name:
Homer R. McClure
Rank:
First Lieutenant
Serial Number:
O-668017
Unit:
555th Bomb Squadron, 386th Bomb Group
Date of Death:
1944-01-26
State:
Oklahoma
Cemetery:
Cambridge American Cemetery, United Kingdom
Plot:
D
Row:
6
Grave:
73
Decoration:
Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Hear
Comments:

Homer McClure was born on March 25, 1917, and grew up in the small town of Carnegie, Oklahoma. As a member of the Boy Scouts, he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. McClure played football in high school and continued his football career in college, playing fullback at Oklahoma Baptist University three of the four years he attended college.

McClure graduated from OBU in 1940 with an education degree in general science and coaching and earned his teacher certification later that year.

After graduation, McClure married his college sweetheart, Bonnie Holbert, and entered the Army Air Force in December 1942, earning his wings at Ellington Field outside of Houston, Texas. McClure was transferred to England in September 1943 just two months before the birth of his twin son and daughter.

McClure served as both pilot and copilot for the B-26 Marauders based in Essex, England. The B-26 Marauder was used to conduct bombing raids over Nazi-occupied France, Belgium, and Holland. He and his comrades of the 386th Bomber Group were known as The Crusaders. Based out of Great Dunmow, Essex, the 555th Bomber Squadron was a vital component to the air war prior to the launch of Operation Overlord, the codename for the Normandy landings. The Crusaders led bombing missions across Nazi-occupied Europe and attacked V-1 and V-2 rocket sites in France and Belgium.

Taking off in deplorable weather the morning of January 26, 1944, bombers from the 552nd and 555th divisions, including the 386th Squadron, left Great Dunmow and set a course for a V-1 launch site in France called LS A-28. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Lockhart piloted the lead plane.

A total of 144 aircraft were in formation and flying en route to France when the weather took a turn for the worse. Ice began to form on the planes and visibility was near zero. The mission was aborted and all planes were ordered back to base. One pilot reported that as the planes turned back toward England the B-26 known as Hell’s Belle, piloted by McClure, had taken on too much ice and crashed into the ground, exploding. There were no survivors.

1Lt McClure is now buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

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