West Virginia Pioneers

Delbert Andrew Click

Male 1918 - 1997  (79 years)


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  • Name Delbert Andrew Click 
    Born 30 Jan 1918  Jackson County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Died 12 Oct 1997  [2
    Buried Wood County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 

    • U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
      Name: Delbert A Click
      Birth Year: 1918
      Race: White, citizen (White)
      Nativity State or Country: West Virginia
      State of Residence: West Virginia
      County or City: Wood
      Enlistment Date: 17 Jun 1942
      Enlistment State: West Virginia
      Enlistment City: Huntington
      Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
      Branch Code: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
      Grade: Private
      Grade Code: Private
      Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
      Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
      Source: Civil Life
      Education: 4 years of high school
      Marital Status: Single, without dependents
      Height: 71
      Weight: 156

      The Jackson Herald
      World War II Military Service News from the Years 1943, 1944 and 1945.

      The War Department has notified Mr. and Mrs. Ray Click, of Mt. Alto, WV., that their son, Delbert Click, has been seriously wounded on a bombing mission in the Italian theatre of the war and is now in an army hospital where he is being treated. Further details have not been revealed. Young Click had been serving in the Army Air Force and was a bombardier on a heavy bomber and had several missions to his credit until his ill-fated flight during which a German shell struck the bomber on which he was serving and he was seriously wounded but the pilot brought the badly damaged ship to an Allied base where it landed and the wounded crewmen were taken to hospitals. Click had served in the same squadron with Captain Clark Gable, noted film star, who served overseas for several months before being transferred back to the states. He spent several months training at air stations in this country and had been overseas several months. Indications are that if he survives his wounds he will be transferred back to a hospital in this country. The parents and the many friends of the young man are hopeful that the next news will bring encouragement to all who hope for his recovery. (Friday, March 24, 1944)

      How a Mt. Alto youth narrowly escaped death when his bombing plane went out of control and crashed while on a mission over German territory was told this week in a letter received by the parents, Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Click, who are living at the present time in Parkersburg, and which brought back by the young man's captain who returned home and was then mailed to the parents. He is now on the island of Corscia in the Mediterranean. The event which he describes in the letter happened last February 13 and he was listed as wounded in action. He is a Staff Sergeant. His letter is as follows: "Dear Mother: I will write you a few lines, Captain Gellman is going home tomorrow and I will send the letter by him. He was my navigator coming over and Lt. O'Toole is coming home also. He was my co-pilot. I will tell you about my experience when I was injured. When we were sent over the target we got a direct hit in the bomb bay. The gas line caught fire and our hydraulic system was shot out so there was no way to put out the fire with our bomb bay doors open and the rear hatch wouldn't come all the way out and I got stuck in it. The heat melted the aluminum but I was held fast. My face, arms and hands were burned. Everybody but me left the ship, and I was held fast. The bomber finally went out of control and as it turned over and over somehow I was thrown out. I still knew enough to pull my parachute and lucky for me it opened and I landed in the sea. A PT boat picked me up about an hour and a half later. It hurt considerable for a week and then I was o.k. My face was dark for a couple of months but it has all cleared up now and I am o.k. Don't worry, Love, Delbert" (Friday, May 26, 1944)

      U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
      Name: Delbert Andrew Click
      [Delbert A Click]
      SSN: 234263191
      Gender: Male
      Race: White
      Birth Date: 30 Jan 1918
      Birth Place: Cottageville, West Virginia
      Father Name: Robert R Click
      Mother Name: Lula B Patterson
      Death Date: 12 Oct 1997
      Type of Claim: Original SSN.
      Notes: Dec 1939: Name listed as DELBERT ANDREW CLICK; 18 Oct 1997: Name listed as DELBERT A CLICK

      U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
      Name: Delbert A. Click
      SSN: 234-26-3191
      Last Residence:
      26101 Parkersburg, Wood, West Virginia, USA
      BORN: 30 Jan 1918
      Died: 12 Oct 1997
      State (Year) SSN issued: West Virginia (Before 1951)

      Findagrave.com
      Delbert A Click
      Birth: Jan. 30, 1918
      Death: Oct. 12, 1997
      Burial:
      Sunset Memory Gardens
      Parkersburg
      Wood County
      West Virginia, USA
      Plot: Chapel of Peace Mausoleum
      Created by: Adam McDonald
      Record added: Jun 08, 2012
      Find A Grave Memorial# 91600612

      Inscription
      Delbert A Click
      Staff Sergeant US Air Force
      Dist Flying Cross and Silver Star
      Jan 30, 1918 - Oct 12, 1997
    Person ID I110036  WVPioneers
    Last Modified 2 Oct 2015 

    Father Robert Raymond Click,   b. 13 Dec 1893, Jackson County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 18 Nov 1968, Wood County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 74 years) 
    Mother Lulu Patterson,   b. Nov 1896, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1982  (Age ~ 85 years) 
    Married 1 Jan 1917  Jackson County, West Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Notes 

    • Marriage Record
      Date: 1/1/1917 license 12/29/1916
      Place: Jackson, West Virginia, United States
      Robert Click, 23, Jackson Co, Millwood
      Lula Patterson, 19, Penn, Millwood WV

      1920 Union, Jackson, WV
      Click, Robert R 26 WV WV WV
      Lula B wife 22 WV WVWV
      Delbert A son 1 11/12 WV WV WV
      Laura M da 5/12 WV WV WV

      1930 Union, Jackson, WV
      Click, Robert R 35 md age 22 WV WV WV
      Lula B wife 32 md age 19, WV MO WV
      Delbert A son 12 WV WV WV Delbert Andrew 1/30/1918
      Laura M da 10 WV WV WV Laura May 8/3/1919
      Agnes G da 7 WV WV WV 12/6/1922

      The Jackson Herald
      World War II Military Service News from the Years 1943, 1944 and 1945.

      The War Department has notified Mr. and Mrs. Ray Click, of Mt. Alto, WV., that their son, Delbert Click, has been seriously wounded on a bombing mission in the Italian theatre of the war and is now in an army hospital where he is being treated. Further details have not been revealed. Young Click had been serving in the Army Air Force and was a bombardier on a heavy bomber and had several missions to his credit until his ill-fated flight during which a German shell struck the bomber on which he was serving and he was seriously wounded but the pilot brought the badly damaged ship to an Allied base where it landed and the wounded crewmen were taken to hospitals. Click had served in the same squadron with Captain Clark Gable, noted film star, who served overseas for several months before being transferred back to the states. He spent several months training at air stations in this country and had been overseas several months. Indications are that if he survives his wounds he will be transferred back to a hospital in this country. The parents and the many friends of the young man are hopeful that the next news will bring encouragement to all who hope for his recovery. (Friday, March 24, 1944)

      How a Mt. Alto youth narrowly escaped death when his bombing plane went out of control and crashed while on a mission over German territory was told this week in a letter received by the parents, Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Click, who are living at the present time in Parkersburg, and which brought back by the young man's captain who returned home and was then mailed to the parents. He is now on the island of Corscia in the Mediterranean. The event which he describes in the letter happened last February 13 and he was listed as wounded in action. He is a Staff Sergeant. His letter is as follows: "Dear Mother: I will write you a few lines, Captain Gellman is going home tomorrow and I will send the letter by him. He was my navigator coming over and Lt. O'Toole is coming home also. He was my co-pilot. I will tell you about my experience when I was injured. When we were sent over the target we got a direct hit in the bomb bay. The gas line caught fire and our hydraulic system was shot out so there was no way to put out the fire with our bomb bay doors open and the rear hatch wouldn't come all the way out and I got stuck in it. The heat melted the aluminum but I was held fast. My face, arms and hands were burned. Everybody but me left the ship, and I was held fast. The bomber finally went out of control and as it turned over and over somehow I was thrown out. I still knew enough to pull my parachute and lucky for me it opened and I landed in the sea. A PT boat picked me up about an hour and a half later. It hurt considerable for a week and then I was o.k. My face was dark for a couple of months but it has all cleared up now and I am o.k. Don't worry, Love, Delbert" (Friday, May 26, 1944)
    Family ID F27974  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Sources 
    1. [S3] Birth Records, Jackson Co, WV.

    2. [S399] SSDI.

    3. [S17] Marriage Records, Jackson Co, WV.