Joseph Clyde Haney was born in Dakota, Minnesota in 1912, and grew up in Madison and Richland Center, Wisconsin.  Everybody always called him Clyde. In 1940 he married Vera Wolferman, the daughter of Chauncey and Mabel.  Vera was a Madison Symphony violinist and University of Wisconsin student. 

Clyde, Vera, and son Richard who was born in 1940, moved to Janesville, Wisconsin where Clyde worked in advertising for the Fox Theater Corporation. 

During World War II, Clyde raised over half of Rock County's Red Cross contributions and organized War Bond Drives.  His favorite hobbies were fishing, hitting golf balls at a local driving range, playing ball with his young son, cooking, and decorating the Christmas tree. 

194th Infantry Regiment

17th Airborne Division

He was drafted into the Army in February 1944, and completed Intelligence Reconnaissance training at Camp Blanding, Florida.  After being shipped to England, he volunteered for the Army's elite 17th Airborne Division, 193/194 Glider Infantry Regiments, and was stationed at Camp Chiseldon, England.  He was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge near Bastogne, Belgium during the fighting along Dead Man's Ridge. 

Clyde Haney was killed on 24 March 1945 during the air drop over the Rhine River at Wesel, Germany, when the glider in which he was riding was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed.  He earned two Purple Hearts, Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star for bravery, and a Victory Medal.  His widow Vera and son Richard returned to Madison, Wisconsin after the war to be closer to her parents. 

Son Richard later became a university history professor, and authored "When Is Daddy Coming Home?  An American Family During World War II", a book about his parent's wartime lives published in 2005 by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. 

Joseph Clyde Haney is buried in the United States Military Cemetery, Plot D, Row 15, Grave 9.

Margraten, The Netherlands

Sources and Acknowledgements:
Mr. Richard Haney
Mr. Haney's book can be bought through the Wisconsin Historical Society

Directions to Margraten American Military Cemetery

If you have any suggestions, comments or additional information, please contact me.

This website is dedicated to the men and women who died and/or are buried in The Netherlands during World War II.

 

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