Clancy A. Jordan
Biography: Clancy Albert Jordan was born on June 29, 1923, in Jefferson, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Charles Clement Jordan and Nella Agnes Murray. He attended local schools through the 12th grade and the worked as a carpenter, prior to the war.
Service Time: Clancy entered the Army on January 27, 1943, at Pittsburgh, PA. After his initial training, he would have been placed in the enlisted men’s replacement system and sent overseas to join a unit in need of men. At some point, Clancy was assigned to Company B of the 813th Tank Destroyer Battalion.
The 813th had shipped out from the New York port on August 5, 1942, and arrived in England on the 17th. After four months of additional training, they boarded ship and sailed for North Africa, arriving on January 17, 1943. While there, they supported British, French, and American troops in Tunisia and re-equipped with M10 tank destroyers after the end of hostilities.
The battalion sent six officers and 400 men to Sicily to handle POWs. Two platoons served briefly in southern Italy before the battalion sailed back to the United Kingdom in November, 1943, arriving in December. Clancy could have joined the unit in Sicily or after they were back in England. Six months later, they were loaded on transports and disembarked at Utah Beach on June 27, 1944.
The unit joined the drive to Le Mans and then turned north to Alencon, at the Falaise Gap. They were the first armored unit to cross the Seine River and entered Belgium September 2nd. They then moved south and fought around the Foret de Parroy in October.
Official documents identify that on October 21st, one M10 of 2nd Platoon was knocked out by enemy tank or anti-tank fire and one crew member, Pvt. Clancy A. Jordan was killed. Four other members of the crew were seriously wounded. Clancy was just 21 years old.
He was ultimately brought back to the U.S. and buried in the Jefferson Cemetery in Jefferson, PA. I want to thank Clancy’s relative, Eric, for providing the information used in this tribute. I also want to thank Billion Graves contributor, “folkreligion”, for the use of the grave marker photo.