Go to Men of the 16th / Colson interview / Sound & picture file: part one (very large file)

Motion picture bonus: mortar squad in action

Colson in his Junior year of High School.

Colson's dog tags.

Colson, standing right, at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, probably 1942. Clarence believes that the man standing at the far left is Robert E. Emerson. Kneeling at left, Clarence believes is, James E. Croft.

A map of France Colson carried with him until the end of the war. "I don't know why," he says, "I could never make sense of it."

Colson's DSC and  citation. As Colson says in the interview, the citation writer didn't get the facts straight: Colson didn't cut barbed wire on Omaha beach (that was Sgt. Colwell).

ABOVE AND BELOW: Hometown hero. The three articles below were clipped by Colson's mother on the home front.
The reproduction quality, unfortunately, is not high.  

The articles, based on the Army's release, credit Colson for cutting the barbed wire. The last article below also misprints DFC for DSC.

BELOW: Clarence Colson in 2000. Unless otherwise noted, photos are by Chuck Solomon.

With his old Ford tractor.

Clarence and Edith Colson.

At the local train station, South Dayton, New York.

BELOW: Clarence Colson after receiving the Normandy Medal, 24 September 2000. (This was thanks to efforts by his local American Legion. Colson's buddy, Scotty Zieckler, received a Normandy medal as well.)
(Photos below are family snapshots.)

Colson and Scotty Zieckler (left) with their Normandy medals, 24 Sept. 2000.

Local news article on the award.

Colson after  receiving his High School diploma, 6 June 2001.

SOUND CLIPS:

Low sound quality recordings

1) On Streczyk: "He wasn't West Point material but I'll tell you what: there wasn't a braver man that walked the ground."

2) Death of Richard Sims (Hürtgen)

3) On Wozenski: "Nobody could keep up with him. He was the best." Note: This file is more than a minute long, and will be slow to download.