Service Above & Beyond

Eternally Missing In Action: Clifton High School Freshman Honors English class organizes memorial for three Bosque County soldiers lost and not recovered in World War II; raise funds for Project Recover

CLIFTON – Hearing a waterfall of words about one’s loved one like “lasting recognition,” “solemn gratitude and deepest respect,” “honor their memory and bravery,” “enduring appreciation,” “sincere thanks for their honorable service,” “their service should never be forgotten,” “ultimate sacrifice for their country’s freedom,” “valor,” “bravery,” “valiant spirit,” “unwavering courage,” “dedication to duty and patriotism,” “inspiration to future generations,” “deepest sympathy for your loss,” must have been a soothing salve on the unseen scars left by the uncertainty of a loved one, missing in action during a war.

Together with the Clifton High school Freshman Honors English class, teacher Gaye Lynn Seawright organized a memorial at the Clifton Independent School District Performance Arts Center on May 5 at 6 p.m. for three Bosque County soldiers missing in action at the tail end of World War II. The three veterans are S. Sargent John Fletcher Coston (Army Air Force), Seaman 1st Class Robert H. Walsleben (Navy Reserves), and S. Sargent Roland Ludvig Zander (Army Air Corps). Coston and Walsleben were lost in the Pacific arena, while Zander was lost in Europe, in the English Channel. The “Honor our Heroes” ceremony was free of charge and open to the public.

At the event, Cousin Robin Hill and his wife Kim and their dog Sofia were in attendance to receive the certificates of honor for Sgt. Coston. Representing the Walsleben family were nephew Joe Kirby Smith and his sister Cindy Bowen. Zander was represented by his sister Glenda Bowen and nephew James Zander. They clearly found solace, consolation and comfort in the warm love, respect and recognition they and their family members received on that grey and dreary Sunday evening.

No stone was left unturned in the recognition of people and organizations that supported, participated and facilitated this substantial freshman English class project – schoolboard members, the CISD administration and administrative staff, IT department for their help in the technical aspects of the project, teachers, fellow students, the maintenance department, the Bosque Film Society for producing the National Anthem video, the press for previewing and covering the event, and Project Recover’s help and support.

“This all began at the beginning of the semester when Mrs. Seawright came into my office, asking ‘do you have a minute?’” CHS Principal Jimmy Jackson said. “And here we are. When Mrs. Seawright asks for a minute she has big plans and so we are very proud that our students took this endeavor on; and I am proud of our staff for giving our students this opportunity. This is just one example of the kind of things that we do here at Clifton to help our students appreciate our country, our freedoms and the men and women who sacrifice more than we can say.”

Each part of the extensive program was introduced by one of Seawright’s students, and explaining their research and findings of the three Bosque County MIAs – from the “Missing Man” table, full of powerful symbols for soldiers missing in action on display in the venue’s entry way to the extensive background information of the three Bosque County MIA’s.

The single chair at the MIA table is empty, the seat unclaimed. The inverted glass symbolizes the inability to share a toast. The round table shows the everlasting concern for those missing in action, while the white table cloth symbolizes the purity of their motives when answering the call to serve. A slice of lemon symbolizes their bitter fate, missing in a foreign land and the pinch of salt symbolizes the tears shed by family and friends, sometimes for decades of uncertainty. The Bible represents the strength gained through faith. The three red roses reminded those present of the three Bosque County WWII soldiers still missing in action and their loved ones and friends who keep the faith while seeking answers. The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes the continued determination to account for the missing and wanting to welcome them home while the lighted candle symbolizes the everlasting hope for their return, alive or dead.

Another impactful moment in the ceremony was the reading author of a mother’s prayer; a prayer so pure, forgiving, altruistic and full of hope. The slide on the big screen showed a handwritten prayer from an unknown author, but handwritten by Roland Zander’s mother – provided by his sister Glenda Bowen.

“My boy has gone away to war, God, and only you know how he will come back. I will try and be patient until that time, and these are what I ask for him when he comes back. Let him come back, God, not hating anyone. If there must be hate in his heart, let it be only the fine, clean hatred of war itself; not hatred of any of thy people, God, whatever the color or nation. Let him come back without bitterness and without fear. Let him have the courage to seek his place in the changed world that he will find, and to fit into it without envy or resentment. Don’t let the terrifying influence of war black out the dreams in his eyes. Let him still hold fast to a few of the best of them. Don’t let disillusionment foul the hope now dwelling in his young heart, nor dull a vision of a world still good, where a man may look at the stars and sing at his work while he builds towards the future. But most of all, God, oh, most of all, help him keep his faith. Help him to forever hold his faith in you, in himself, in his brother man, and the country he has gone so eagerly to serve. This is my prayer, God. This is my plea.”

Not on the official program was honoring World War II veteran Sgt. 1st Class (ret.) David Conrad for his service in as a radar operator in an anti-aircraft unit in allied occupied Germany at the close of the war.

While researching Sgt. Coston, student Shea O’Reilly found out she and her family were living in his grandfather Thomas Cecil Coston’s house. Thomas was a physician in Bosque County, as is Shea’s mother. His brother John Eli Coston is John Fletcher Coston’s dad. John was born in Valley Mills in 1917 to John Eli and Mary Evangeline Lynch-Coston.

John attended Cranfills Gap High School and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps when he was 24 in January 1942. He was in the military about a year, before declared missing in action on Feb. 12, 1943. He was part of the infamous “Jolly Rogers” heavy bombers group of the 90th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces operating in the South Pacific, flying B-25 D 412417 Mitchell aircraft. He served in New Guinea, Hawaii and Australia.

Coston and the crew were on a reconnaissance mission or a mission to locate the enemy’s location over a Japanese base on Papua New Guinea. Coston earned the Air Medal and the Purple Heart, and is memorialized at the Wall of the Missing at the Manila American cemetery in the Manila, the Philippines along with 36,300 other MIA’s.

Son of Otto and Pearl Walsleben, Robert Herman Walsleben was born on Aug. 12, 1924 in Valley Mills, and graduated from VM high school in 1937 to become a gas station attendant and mechanic. His siblings were Billy Joe and Laverne. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy to become Seaman 1st Class in the Navy Reserve. Serving in Africa and Leyte in the Philippines as a gunner on a PB 4 wide 24 Liberator heavy bomber, as part of the VBP 111 Squadron reconnaissance group.

On a routine patrol, the plane went down near the Ryukyu Islands and the crew were missing in action Feb. 5, 1945. Through their research, the students were able to connect with the pilot’s niece Charlene Weaver. This resulted in her sending a photo of the crew of the fateful plane.

Walsleben was awarded an Air Medal and Purple Heart. While he was memorialized in the Court of the Missing in Honolulu, Hawaii, he never received a memorial service or funeral in Texas, and his family still waits for his return.

Army Air Corps Staff Sgt. Roland Ludvig Zander was born on March 30, 1923 to proud parents Mary Elle and Alexander Zander. At high school Zander was an accomplished athlete, recognized for his football ability. After graduation in 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was deployed to Europe as a tail gunner in the 8th Army Air Force Division, 571st Bomber Squadron and then the 190th Bomber Group Heavy, flying missions to enemy territory from Framlingham, England with pilot Hugh Pickle in the B-17 Flying Fortress plane named the Pickle Dropper Four, including Czechoslovakia and Berlin.

Zander’s plane was damaged by flack on a mission to Boulogne, France on June 5, 1944, just prior to D-Day in Normandy the next day. The plane with a flaming engine dropped out of formation and eight parachutes were seen leaving the downed aircraft above the English Channel.

Zander received the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He is memorialized at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupre, Belgium.

There was a three-volley salute from the Clifton VFW and American Legion posts as a farewell for the fallen soldiers heard from outside the PAC. District 22 Texas Senator Brian Birdwell’s own family had two grandfathers that served in WWI, a father and an uncle that served in WWII, an uncle that served in Korea, and an uncle that served in between WWII and Korea.

“The uncle that served was at the liberation of Dachau, and after that service came home and for the next 45 years of his life poured himself into a bottle because of what he had seen as a 19-year-old man at one of the death camps in Germany,” Birdwell said. It showed how hard it was to come back from the horrors of war without scars. “Service is hard, but what is harder is not knowing the whereabouts of your loved one during a time of war.”

Birdwell thanked all the parties involved in the event to “render honor to whom honor is due,” especially for the work the students put into the event. “We’re here to recognize the scar; just as Thomas in his encounter with Christ needed to see the scars to believe,” Birdwell said. “For the same reason we put up a brown sign at the side of the road that recognizes a fallen law enforcement officer or other public servant; it’s so that you see the scar of the cost of service. And here we recognize the scar; sometimes the seen and the unseen.”

He asked the Lord to bless each of the families present, for the loss they sustained, and for allowing those present to look and pick at the scars they have with regards to their loved ones missing in action, “so that we will always remember, particularly as we come to next Memorial Day, when we will render honor to whom honor is due.”

Birdwell’s stepfather enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 straight after graduating high school and was a mechanic on B-17’s in England at the time Sgt. Zander was a gunner on a B-17. That information evoked the 2024 television series “Masters of the Air” that follows the actions of the 100th Bomb Group in the 8th Air Force in Eastern England that flew the B-17 Flying Fortresses in dangerous day-time bombing missions over Europe and Germany, and the heavy losses they sustained.

“Dad didn’t fly, but may well have worked on Sgt. Zander’s aircraft,” Birdwell said. After Birdwell’s father-in-law came home and before he passed, he never spoke much about his time in WWII but there were a lot of men and women he knew; aircraft came back shot up, some didn’t come back at all. Some of his friends became Prisoners of War and others that would not come home and would be buried in various cemeteries of honor in the European theater.

One time, Birdwell spoke to parents of a soldier captured in Iraq in 2004, when his fate was not yet known. In this case, the soldier’s remains were recovered in 2008, at least giving his family no matter how painful peace about his fate and closure.

“It’s the not knowing and the waiting; it could be tomorrow, it could be a decade,” Birdwell said. “It’s the not knowing that takes so long. The challenge these families face in not knowing the status of their loved one, where their loved one will be, but in the faith and hope they will see their loved one on the Great Resurrection Day when the Lord calls us into eternity.”

As a token from a grateful nation, the families received a flag which had flown over the nation’s capitol in Washington D.C. and a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from U.S. Congressman John Carter’s field representative Michael McCloskey.

“These men fought on the battlefields for this very flag and the freedom it represents,” McCloskey said. “Without those who chose to serve, our nation would not be a beacon of liberty across the globe."

“May the flag serve as a lasting tribute to their noble legacy and a comfort to those who love and cherish them,” Carter’s certificate read. “We stand united in our enduring appreciation for the freedom secured through their bravery.”

Much to her surprise and emotions leaving her at a loss for words, Seawright surrounded by her 25 students also received a flag and a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from Carter. McCloskey shared that he honors his grandfather Sgt. Oscar Tucker who served in North Africa and Italy in WWII, and his father Capt. Edwin McCloskey who served during the airlift of Berlin in the early 1960s.

“The families of those still missing live with the reality of the unknown, but we can hope today that we can honor these three heroes and can bear our thanks for heir service,” McCloskey said.

The families also received certificates from the CHS students, the North Texas Patriot Guard Riders, and from the Robert E. Binford Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8553 in Clifton.

In the spirit of loyalty to their fallen brothers, Clifton VFW post Commander William Murdoch commemorated National Loyalty Day May 1,^,which was instated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958. On this day, people are encouraged to look back on the country’s history and understand how valuable the gift of freedom is.

“Today’s ceremony honors this commitment to understanding the price of freedom,” Murdoch said. “The three men who are being honored today and the many thousands of other Americans like them are that price.”

Murdoch and the VFW post members extended their deepest sympathies to the families, and offered the consolation that their grief is shared by all those privileged to serve in peace and in war.

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott sent a specially prepared two-minute video message for the event. He commended congratulated all the CHS students and teachers involved in organizing this meaningful event, stating “honoring those who were missing in action and never received a proper memorial service, truly is a noble endeavor. We should never let the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform be forgotten.”

First responders like local law enforcement, Emergency Medical Technicians, volunteer firemen were all invited to the event, but due to the extensive flooding after heavy rainfall they had worked through the night with emergency and disaster management. Initially the event was to start at 2 p.m. but was postponed until 6 p.m. to allow flood waters to recede somewhat and open up some roads leading into Clifton.

The student project started after Seawright’s freshman English Honors Class saw the documentary “Expedition Unknown” by Josh Gates, featuring the works of Project Recover in the South Pacific. The documentary follows the non-profit organization on a series of dives hoping to recover downed United States WWII aircraft in the deep. This led to identification of the service men on the plane’s last mission and recovery of their remains to bring them home to their families.

The class wanted to provide a memorial service of these three, and help Project Recover with a fundraiser. And as it fit the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills requirements Seawright started with the planning with her students.

Seawright herself is a Gold Star MIA family member. While doing research on her husband’s relative on his mother’s side Walsleben, she saw the documentary in Dec. 2023 about a Project Recover mission in Micronesia. Seawright was fascinated to learn that through the serial number and tail numbers on the plane, the team could identify who the victims would have been. At that point, she went to the web address and saw how she could improve her own research.

Besides the research into the MIA soldiers, the event organization and preparation, each student, dressed in their Sunday best, presented one or more parts of the extensive program.

The students worked on speeches, articles, flyers and posters, certificates and every other facet of event production for this very special memorial ceremony like inviting dignitaries, elected officials, active military, members of the Bosque River Valley Daughters of the American Revolution, the Bosque County Genealogical and Historical Society, first responders like Emergency Medical Technicians, Police Departments, Volunteer firefighters, members from Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, and the families of the MIA soldiers.

Project Recover’s Director of Community and Donor Relations Michelle Abbey flew in from her home base Oregon. She brought Project Recover T-shirts with her for all the students involved in the project. Abbey admitted to never have been part of such a well-researched and excellently executed event before. She was particularly impressed by the attention to detail, from the floral arrangements, to the program, to the slide show and everything in between.

“A really important thing to Project Recover is education,” Abbey said. “And with this event, I see the connection between the present – what we’re doing today, our missions to search for and bring home our MIAs. We are preserving and honoring the past, the valued history of their service and sacrifice. And we are passing on that knowledge to our future generations, these students today, who have done an excellent job all semester and Mrs. Seawright. We cannot thank them enough for what they’ve done.”

Besides memorials for the three MIA soldiers, the audience viewed the full-length documentary “To What Remains” about the 10-year search to find tail gunner and SSgt Jimmy Doyle’s Arnett B-24 that was downed near the Palau Islands. The documentary is the perfect way to educate the public on Project Recover’s incredible efforts and the impact on families of veterans missing in action they have been able to recover.

Project Recover has been the nation’s leading citizen-led, non-profit organization to search, locate, document, recover, and repatriate the over 81,500 American service members missing in action of which over 4,100 are Texas solders still MIA. For example, there are still 52 WWII submarines and their crews “still on patrol,” with families uncertain about their final resting place.

In his prayer at the beginning of the event, Chaplain for the Clifton VFW post Stephen Cariotis thanked God for “giving us the time that we have. We know that this time is the most precious of commodities, and because it is perishable give us the wisdom that is needed to use it prudently.”

For the families of soldiers missing in action, time with their loved ones ran out prematurely, and it left deep, invisible scars. Knowing where they lay, or bringing them home will offer some solace and closure.

“Put wind into their sails, let your holy spirit carry them along, guiding and guarding them in their efforts,” said Cariotis of Project Recovery fulfilling their promise of bringing the fallen soldiers home.