Clabe, Leora, and Doris began visiting the cemetery every Sunday to put flowers on Junior’s grave. It still didn’t seem possible to any of them.
A letter arrived from Nordheim, Texas:
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Dear Mr. and Mrs. Wilson,
My name is O.A. Stirl. I’m a farmer from Nordheim, Texas and I witnessed your son’s plane crash. I felt it my duty to send you the information I have because of the supreme sacrifice your son has paid for his country.
Your son’s plane was in a three-plane formation. One of them left a smoking trail. A flame appeared and the plane began to circle downward but seemed like it was under control. Between 500 and 1000 feet, a terrific explosion tore the plane apart.
The nose of the plane was buried nearly five feet in a cornfield and the rest of the plane was in flames. Help arrived in just a few minutes. I did not see a parachute, but I assumed that your son had bailed out in time until I learned of his death in the local paper.
Here is the clipping:
The Nordheim View: Army Plane Crashes at Tick City
“Flight officer Claiborne J. Wilson, 20, of Perry, Iowa, was killed Thursday when his P-40 training plane crashed on a combat training flight 10 miles southwest of Yorktown, near Nordheim. The accident occurred at approximately 10:15.
“The son of Mr. and Mrs. C.D. Wilson of Perry, Iowa, Flight Officer Wilson graduated from Aloe Field in class 45-A.
“A board of officers have been appointed to determine the cause of the accident.
“Residents of Tick City, Nordheim residents, and Boy Scouts assisted Army officials from Aloe Field in the search for the body of the young flyer which fell about a hundred yards from the crash.
“Gus Pargmann found the body in a thicket not far from the crash.”
Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II by Joy Neal Kidney, with Robin Grunder, is the story of the Wilson brothers who are featured on the Dallas County Freedom Rock. Five brothers served. Only two came home.
Also on Audible as an audiobook.