Gordon Giles Clausen
Graduating
Class of 1942
Served in
World War II
Sergeant
Gordon Giles Clausen
Army
725th Bomber Squadron
451st Bomber Group
Hometown
Madison, WI
Date of Birth
Location of Death
Austria
Date of Death
Location of Burial
Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, Saint-Avold, France
More About Sergeant Clausen
Sergeant Gordon Giles Clausen enlisted into the US Army Air Forces on Jan. 20, 1942, at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He rose to the rank of staff sergeant and became the nose gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber. He flew missions out of Italy with the 725th Bomb Squadron, 451st Bomb Group. On Dec. 11, 1944, S/Sgt Clausen and his crew took off on a bombing mission over Vienna, Austria. Shortly after they dropped their bombs, enemy flak hit directly in their open bomb bay. The B-24 disintegrated in the air and only two of the eleven crew survived. Prior to his death, S/Sgt Clausen had flown 10 missions.
He was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. He is buried at Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Lorraine, France.