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Lt. Col. Clyde East: luckiest man in the world
By AMANDA WINSTEAD/Special to the Star-Tribune
Wednesday, September 3, 2008 10:36 AM EDT
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Clyde East prepares for take-off.
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Lt. Col. Clyde East: World War II veteran Air Force pilot, flew P-1 Mustangs and F-84s in over 300 missions, the most decorated soldier by the time he retired from the military in 1965.
The above accomplishments are known by many, but what of the man behind the medals?
East was born and raised in the Sheva community near Chatham. He recalls that his childhood was pleasant although his family was dirt poor and laughed that "since church was only 150 yards from the house, there was no excuse to not go."
His family's house was destroyed by fire in August 1925.
They immediately began building a new house, but his family found themselves literally snuggling under blankets of snow on Christmas morning because the roof had not been built yet.
From the time East was able to read, his favorite stories were those that centered around World War I, and his passion for joining the military had begun.
On Independence Day in 1937, during his third year of high school, he rode in an airplane for the first time, and his desire to be a pilot for the United States Air Force grew even stronger.
Upon graduating from high school in 1938, he attempted to enlist in the military, but was not eligible for training because he did not meet the educational requirements.
Although the initial door to his dreams had been closed, an alternate route had been shown and instilled hope within him once again.
Just as he was beginning to think that his dream was not going to be a possibility, East received word that some men who also did not meet U.S. military requirements but wanted to enlist had gone to Canada for training.
Not wanting to go alone, he spent the rest of a year working while waiting for a friend to accompany him on the journey.
"When it came time to go, we hit the road and thumbed rides all the way from Virginia to Canada," East recalled. "Neither one of us had a car, and I had all of 10 bucks in my pocket."
Upon arrival in Canada, East discovered that he and his friend were not the only ones who had heard of the training. As it turned out, over 5,000 men from the U.S.A. had also traveled to Canada and had been or were being trained for the same purpose.
While training in Canada, he met the sister of one of his bunkmates. East and Margaret Ann felt something special between them, and they began dating.
The U.S. military was becoming much more involved in World War II just as East finished his training. Due to the severity of war and the need for soldiers, the military lowered its educational requirements, which meant that he was now able to enlist.
Because of this, East credits World War II with making his first dream - that of being in the military - a reality.
"If it weren't for the war, the education requirements would've never been lowered, and I'd never have been able to enlist. Although I really don't like war, I'm lucky that it happened," he said.
His second dream - that of being a fighter pilot - was made a reality when East got his wings in 1942 in England.
While living his dream as a fighter pilot in WWII, East's passions were obvious in comparison to the states of mind of many of the other pilots.
"Most guys just wanted to fly their missions then go home," he said. "For me, it was never a concern to me to want to go home. I was never worried about making it out alive. I was flying, so I was happy."
East's passions for flying and the military were so strong that he was distraught when he received the message that the war was over, and his immediate thought was, "So what are we going to do now?"
During WWII, East and Margaret Ann kept in touch through weekly letters, and their love had grown stronger. Because of this, he knew what was to be done now that the war was over: Margaret Ann was to become Mrs. Clyde East.
Back in the states, East was stationed in California. Margaret Ann joined him, and they soon were married.
While living in California, he and Margaret Ann had two children: Dennis and Kenneth.
East was then stationed in South Carolina, and he and his wife had their two daughters, Penny and Jenny.
At the age of 29, a mere couple of months after Jenny was born, East was deployed to Italy with his family joining him.
In Italy he assisted the Italian military in changing its propeller engines into jet engines.
Additionally, he was promoted to squadron commander and was in charge of 160 planes and the soldiers who flew them.
Also in Italy, Margaret Ann gave birth to the last two children they would have together: Becky and Susie.
The Easts stayed in Italy for over a decade, until Clyde was called back to the United States.
Becky and Susie - citizens of Italy, as they were born in that country - were given the choice to remain Italian citizens or to be Americans. They chose to be Americans, and the entire family moved back to California.
In 1965, East was offered the position of military consultant for the Rand Corporation, and he promptly retired from the Air Force, as this offer was "too good to pass up."
For the following approximately 20 years, he worked for Rand until his retirement in the mid-1980s, around the time that the Ronald Reagan Museum opened in California.
Reagan had been one of East's favorite presidents and, since each employee who worked a total of 1,000 hours at the museum got to meet President Reagan and receive an autographed photo with the former president, East could not pass up this opportunity either.
However, as he was about to reach the hours required for meeting the president, Reagan's Alzheimer's disease got the worst of him and made him incapable of conversation and photographs.
East wrote a letter to First Lady Nancy Reagan and informed her of the situation and how upsetting this was for him, as he had taken the job partially for the opportunity to meet her husband.
The First Lady sent a letter back to him, thanking him for his hard work and service and his praise for President Reagan, saying that it touched her heart to know how much people care for him and wished she could do something to make it up to East.
He promptly framed the letter and hung it on the wall of his living room.
East, now 87, continues to reside in California today.
Although he retired from working at the Ronald Reagan Museum, he still volunteers there.
He also volunteers in transporting cancer patients to and from their appointments with various doctors, clinics and hospitals.
He is also in the process of completing an autobiography which is anticipated to be available for publishing in approximately two years.
East continues to enjoy every aspect of his life and careers, and he insists that he "has to be the luckiest guy in the world."
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