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Upon his return home, Clete experienced difficulty eating food for an extended period of time. He had

lost significant amount of weight. He never spoke much about his experience. One story shared was

the prisoners trying to escape. They took turns digging a tunnel using their meal spoons. They would

dig small amounts at a time and place the dirt in their pockets and toss the dirt on the ground when

they were allowed to go outside. The tunnel was so small they would squeeze through and crawl on

their belly. A few days before they were near the end of their digging they were liberated. His wife

shared “one night when we were dating, he talked for hours into the night, until 3:00 A.M., about his

military service but that was about the only time he talked about the war”. Together he and his wife

would periodically visit with former soldiers and POWs. He never spoke of being mistreated as a

prisoner, but as one reads his diary and reads of the battles and conditions he experienced from

other sources, it is obvious he made many sacrifices for our country and for the generations to follow.

He, and his comrades, will forever be remembered as heroes.