US Army Corporal Clarence John Wallenfelsz was born in Marietta, Ohio on January 21. 1909, the son of Carl C. Wallenfelsz (1874-1971) and Maggie Helen Doyle (1881-1951). He would spend his childhood and early adult life in Liberty, Ohio where his farmer was a farmer. His graduated from high school in Marietta in 1929. He would appear in Pensacola on or before 1934 where he was living at 34 East Chase Street. Two years later he was the assistant manager of the ISIS movie theater on the northeast corner of Palafox and Garden Street. Two years later he had taken a job as a salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine company. By 1940, he was living in the Springhill area of Mobile, Alabama and working for a friend of his, Floyd Fletcher.
He would enlist in the US Army on June 18, 1942, in Mobile, Alabama and was sent to Ft. McClellan, Alabama for processing. There he was assigned to the 313th Infantry Regiment who was attached to the 79th Infantry Division. The regiment began accepting new recruits as soon as they were initially processed and sent to Camp Pickett, Virginia. In approximately two weeks, 15,000 men had been received and classified. As soon as basic training was over, they boarded a train on August 24, 1942 heading for Camp Blanding, Florida. After participation in the "Tennessee Maneuvers" they boarded another train for Camp Laguna, Yuma, Arizona. Pulling in on August 12, 1943; the regiment found themselves in the middle of the desert. After their hot, dry training was complete there was more train travel as the regiment headed two thousand miles eastward to Camp Phillips, Kansas on November 18, 1943. Their advance party arrived on November 22 knowing that anything was better than Camp Laguna!
Finally, with all their training behind them it was time to head for the battlefield. The regiment boarded their trains, arriving at Camp Myles Standish located near Taunton, Massachusetts and was the main staging area for the Boston Port of Embarkation. There, they began boarding the British steamer, SS Strathmore on April 6, 1944. The ship would finally dock at Glasgow, Scotland where the troop debarked twelve days later. Then, on the morning of June 6 came word that troops were going ashore at Normandy and that D-day had finally begun. On June 10, the entire regiment moved by motor from to Dunster, England. Here they entrained for Crown Hill Camp, Plymouth, England, a marshalling area for their landing on Utah Beach. Even thought there was no enemy opposition, but they could hear the sounds of spasmodic enemy shelling and bombing. They were now in the war!
August 16th found the regiment near Nogent-le-Roi, France where they were ordered to cross the Eure River and assemble near Coulombe. Throughout the day waves of German aircraft attempted to strafe the troops causing little damage. Then came the crossing of the Seine River where the Regiment encountered no enemy opposition then or during its occupation of the high ridge that ran to the east and southeast of Vetheuil. The division crossed the Seine River with three regiments abreast: the 313th Infantry on the north; the 314th in the center; the 315th to the south, in the general vicinity of St. Martin. Afterwards, the division remained in a defensive position for a nine-day period. However, by August 21, it became evident that the Germans were moving up to attack. The enemy tried desperately to retake the positions that the division had already established. It was more than obvious that the establishment of a bridgehead north of the Seine River constituted a serious threat to the enemy, and as a result four desperate attacks were launched against the positions held by the division. But all enemy efforts failed and although the positions were held it not without cost to our forces in dead and wounded. It was during these attacks that Clarence Wallenfelsz was mortally wounded from an enemy artillery attack.
His mother was notified of his death and his body rests today in the St. James Cemetery in Manche, France.
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