James Griswold Clayton was born in Tahoka, Texas on June 29, 1919 and resided in O’Donnell, Texas. Clayton entered military service with the 124th Cavalry in January 1941. Clayton later joined the First Special Service Force (FSSF) and trained with Canadian forces in jump and mountain warfare training in Helena, Montana. The FSSF landed in Naples, Italy in 1943 and Clayton was wounded in the shoulder as the FSSF captured Mount La Defensa in December 1943. After hospitalization, Clayton rejoined the FSSF in defending the Anzio beachhead where he was again wounded in the leg. With the Allied invasion of Europe in June 1944, the FSSF captured Rome, Italy. After securing the southern French coast, the FSSF was deactivated in December 1944 due to a lack of trained replacements. After Germany was defeated in 1945, Clayton was sent to Norway to protect Germans from the Norwegians. James G. Clayton died in 2006.
Sources: “James G. Clayton - Special Forces - Roll of Honour”.
The James G. Clayton Papers, 1941-2000, consist largely of letters from his time with the 124th Cavalry in Texas through his service with the First Special Service Force. The collection also includes photographic prints, maps, and a few official military documents.
The papers are arranged into 4 series:
This collection is open for research use.
Clayton (Jame G.) Papers, 1941-2000, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
This collection was processed by Evan Usler, November 2010.