Gruber, Lt. Col. Clinton A. 90 01/17/1921 03/12/2011 Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Clinton A. Gruber passed away March 12, 2011, at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. He was 90. Clint was raised in Silver Lake, a tiny ranching community in the Oregon high desert. Entering Pacific University on a scholarship in 1938, he concurrently enrolled in the university's Civilian Pilot Training Program at Hillsboro Airport. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor plunged America into the Second World War, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet, graduating as a Second Lieutenant in the class of 43-C. Assigned to a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber crew as a copilot, he went to England to join the 93rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, based at Norwich. Temporarily posted to North Africa, he and his crew flew combat missions out of desert bases near Benghazi and Tunis, striking enemy targets in Italy and Austria. Back in England, he flew more missions to strategic targets in Germany. On Nov. 1, 1943, on approach to a target near Solingen, Germany, Nazi fighters attacked, knocking out two of the four engines on his plane and killing the tail gunner. Clint and surviving crew members bailed out at 18,000 feet. He landed in a snowy field, injuring his leg. Nevertheless, he evaded capture for two days. He was interrogated and sent to Stalag Luft I prison camp on the Baltic Sea, where he remained a prisoner of war until liberated by Russian forces shortly before the German surrender in May 1945. Clint resumed his studies at Pacific University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1947, then landed a job as an announcer for what would become Oregon Public Broadcasting. He later worked for KOIN radio for many years, serving as its program director. He then became executive director of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and finally served as deputy director of the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs. He continued service in the Air Force Reserve and the Oregon National Guard until his retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1972. In his memoirs he recalled, "I am forever grateful to have been of an age to actively experience the war years, and to have been allowed to serve my country in World War II as a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force. I am proud of that service, and thankful that I was spared to see the fruits of our victory." Lt. Col. Gruber is survived by his wife, Doris of Beaverton; and son, Dwight of Portland. A service with military honors will be at 1 p.m. Friday, March 25, 2011, in Skyline Memorial Gardens. Memorial donations may be sent to the Oregon Trail chapter of the American Red Cross.
Published in The Oregonian on March 20, 2011
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