Baseball in Wartime - Clarence Clayton

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Those Who Died That Others Might Be Free

World War II Hero of the Minor Leagues

Clarence Clayton

Date and Place of Birth: 1926 Middletown, Ohio
Date and Place of Death: May 1, 1945 Czechoslovakia
Baseball Experience: Minor League
Position: Second Base
Rank: Private First Class
Military Unit: 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division US Army
Area Served: European Theater of Operations

Clarence W. Clayton was born in 1926 in Middletown, Ohio. The son of Mr. and Mrs. George Clayton of 718 Fifteenth Avenue, Clayton was an outstanding ballplayer at Middletown High School and signed with the Red Sox organization upon graduation in June 1944.

Clayton joined Boston's farm team in his home town, the Middletown Red Sox of the Class D Ohio State League who were managed by Red Barnes, an outfielder with the Washington Senators in the late 1920s. Batting second in the line-up and playing second base Clayton appeared in 101 games and hit .246 with 40 RBIs. He led the league's second basemen with a .923 fielding percentage and played for the Ohio State League all-star team in July when they walloped Newark, 19-3. Clayton went 1-for-2 in the game.

Clayton's career was short-lived, however. He entered military service in October 1944 and was soon in Europe with the 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division.

On May 1, 1945 - just one week before the end of the war in Europe - Private First Class Clayton was killed in action in Czechoslovakia. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart and is buried at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France.

Added January 9, 2011.

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