Clifton A. Lowder - Private to Staff Sergeant.

Served with distinction in the Hq1 Light Machine Gun Platoon from October 1942 to September 1945.  A magnificent soldier,  loyal comrade,  and a trusted friend.

Clifton Lowder was a Hq1 "Hell's Half Acre" survivor  (See  Chapter II,   Combat Operations – Normandy).

Cliff’s outstanding career qualifies him as one of the “Greatest of the Greatest Generation." 

Cliff Lowder entered military service in Charleston, South Carolina. He was sent to Fort Jackson, SC where he volunteered for airborne training, expecting to be sent to the Parachute School at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Instead, Cliff was shipped to Camp Blanding, Florida where the 508^th Parachute Infantry Regiment was scheduled to be activated.

Cliff was present when the regiment was formed and he was assigned to Hq1 -- which was the first company with a cadre of "qualified" parachutists.  Almost the next day, Cliff started basic training and pre-parachute school physical training.

Clifton Lowder served his entire military career in Hq1.  He participated in all the 508^th PIR campaigns and later served with the regiment’s honor guard and security force supporting  General Eisenhower's headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.

Clifton Lowder was a courageous soldier and a magnificent leader. During WW II he earned:
·        Bronze Star Medal 
·        Purple Heart Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters
·        Combat Infantry Badge 
·        Invasion Arrowhead
·        Four Battle Stars
·        Parachutist qualification badge with two combat jump stars
·        Presidential Unit Citation
·        French and Belgium Fourrageres
·        Orange Lanyard of the Royal Netherlands Army 
·        Numerous defense medals including the Occupation Medal with Germany Bar