CLIFTON J VICKNAIR

His Granddaughter writes:

I do not have a copy of his obituary but...he died from complications of cancer of the esophagus.  He was diagnosed in June of 2004 and it quickly took a toll on him.  Other than that, he was as fit as a horse and wanted to get two new knees after he beat the cancer.  He was always in good spirits and that is what I loved and remember most about him.  Anyway, he died at River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace, Louisiana on the night of October 2, 2004.  He joined my grandmother, Lena Stein Vicknair who passed away in the summer of 1997.  Together they had six children.  A boy who was born still born, a daughter Cynthia, a daughter Mary Trudy, a son David, another daugher Iris (my mom) and yet another daughter Loretta.  Together they had nine grandchildren.  Clifton was able to see his first two greatgrandchildren, as they were each born about two years before he passed.  He was born and raised in Reserve, Louisiana which is in the parish of St. John the Baptist.  After being discharged from the Army he began working at Godchaux-Henderson Sugar Refinary in Reserve, Louisiana.

With regard to his military history, he did not talk about it much at all.  The information I do have is from a record from the American Legion post and the VFW post that he was active in. He enlisted on August 20, 1941 at the age of 23 and was discharged on July 3, 1945 as a Corporal.  Other than being a Bushmaster, I don't have anything on a specific company.  For battles and campaigns, he fought in New Guinea, WD GO 33 45 (I have yet to get a reliable explaination for those numbers).  He was awarded a Good Conduct Medal; AR-600-68; an American Defense Medal with 1 Bronze Star; APTO Medal; and ATO Medal.

My grandfather never said anything about getting a Bronze Star and up until recently when I became interested in his military career, no one in my family knew either.  I had my mom ask my aunts and uncle and none of them recall him talking about it or seeing it.  I am trying to get information on his actions that led to his nomination however NARA is having trouble locating his records and that leads me to believe that the documents were lost in the fire. Thank you for your help.  I'm just hoping to find someone that may remember my grandfather.  I don't want the history of his military career to die along with him.  His bravery and courage deserve to live on just as all of the other memories.