William E. Patman

William E. Patman, 94.  Our country lost a hero on Nov. 13, 2016, as Bill passed away peacefully in the home of his daughter in Orlando, Florida with his family present.  Last year, his wife of 63 years, Helena DeKay Townsend, won their long race to reach heaven first.  Bill was born in Clarendon on March 15, 1922, where he was raised by his parents, William Marvin Patman and Charlie Mae Taylor.  Bill was the last living relative to have known his great uncle, Texas Trailblazer, Charlie Goodnight, who, Bill recounted, he and his best friend feared.  Bill warmed to his great uncle after Charlie periodically opened his hand, presenting Bill with the choice of a nickel or dime.  Bill always selected the larger coin, much to his Uncle Charlie’s amusement.

Bill will be remembered as a by-the-book man, maybe with one exception.  In 1943, a typical placid day in the Texas panhandle was rudely disrupted.  A speck appeared just above Hwy. 287 north of Clarendon, preceded by a dull vibration, growing in intensity.  As it approached mid-town, 100 feet above the centerline of the highway, the shadow grew into the shape of a B-24 Liberator, the bomber’s 4 engines, throttles open, roaring.  As it crossed the town center, rising in a banking turn, an object was dropped from the B-24 by its bombardier.  The object opened under a small crude parachute which was snagged on a phone line.  The fire department was called out.  By ladder, they retrieved the package, a hollow casing of a .50 caliber machine gun round tied to the parachute.  Tucked inside was Bill’s brief handwritten note to his mother, Charlie Mae, to whom it was promptly delivered.  The B-24 returned safely to Pueblo, Colorado with Bill’s training crewmembers sworn to secrecy about the inadvertent breach of flight regulations.  The shell, parachute and the note are still safely in the hands of Bill’s family.

Bill was called to serve in 1943 while attending college at West Texas A&M University. First Lieutenant Patman served 36 missions in enemy territory as the bombardier of a B-24 Liberator while stationed at Old Buckenham Airfield in England with the 453d Bomber Group of the USAAF (along with his Group Executive Officer, Jimmy Stuart).  Having finished their required 35 missions, Bill and his eight crewmembers volunteered for yet one more bombing mission so they could finish together with their 10th crewmate who, while ill, had missed one mission.

Bill recounted that each of his crewmates were given a small token-size bottle of scotch after each mission.  Bill saved his up.  He only opened them after his last mission.  Bill was not known to be much of a drinker, maybe with one exception.  On the evening of his crew’s last mission, Bill – who had adeptly navigated his plane to its targets with the top-secret precision of a Sperry bombsite – found himself incapable of navigating his legs around the corner of the tavern.  Two days before his passing, Bill mustered the strength to phone and chat with his one surviving B-24 combat crewmate and friend, Willard Bardwell, who resides in Slidell, La., a mere 20 miles from Bill’s Mandeville, LA home.

After the war, Bill recounted, without equivocation, that he flipped a coin to decide whether to buy a new car or to return to college at the Colorado School of Mines, where he had been accepted for a second degree.  He drove an old Model A Ford to Golden Colorado where he obtained a degree in geological engineering.  He worked his entire career as a geologist with Chevron, prospecting in remote locations such as Sudan and Venezuela.  He lived primarily in Mandeville, LA where he and Helena raised their family.

Bill was preceded in death by his brothers, Ardis and Alan.

He is survived by his sister, Ruth Word Robinson, of Clarendon, his son, Larry, of Pass Christian, MS, and his daughter, Lisa Kelly, of Orlando Florida.  He leaves two grandsons, Connor and Colin Kelly, both of Orlando, FL.

Bill will rest peacefully with his bride, brothers, and parents, and a few wild turkeys, in Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon where a service was held at on Saturday, Nov. 19.