James Howard Clopton was born December 21, 1920 in Dayton, Sebastian Co. Ar. to Marion Aquilla & Minerva Elizabeth Coward Clopton. October 26 1940 James, residing in Huntington, Sebastian Co., Ar. married Faye Sanderson from Barber Logan Co., Ar. No draft registration card has been found for James. According to his enlistment paper he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps September 8, 1942 at Little Rock, Arkansas. His emlistment paper also says he completed 2 years of high school and his occupation is general farmer. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File says his enlistment date was October 9, 1963, Apparently he stayed in the Air Corps as his discharge date was 31 Aug 1966. No information was found about him between these two dates. To find out what the 451st that he served in was doing in the time he served Click HERE In all of the listings of medals awarded to Ssgt Clopton below he is identified in each one as being from Huntington, Ar. He is a Ssgt in each one. 05/20/1944 Air Medal - The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. 05/20/1944 Air Medal (AM)1 Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC) An An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a specific set of decorations and awards of the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, and Department of the Air Force. 06/27/1944 Air Medal (AM) 2Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC) 06/27/1944 Air Medal (AM) 3Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC) 06/27/1944 Air Medal (AM)4 Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC) 07/08/1944 Air Medal (AM) 5 Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC) After serving many years in the Air Corps, later Air Force, James Howard Clopton passed away 26 Aug 2004 at Fort Worth, Tarrant, Texas. He was buired at Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park at Colleyville, Tarrant County, Texas. This is the plane used by the 451st in WWII < Fort Worth Star-Telegram August 28, 2004