HALL OF FAME TANK ACE Clifford Elliott

Elliott entered military service on 19 Mar., 1941 and underwent basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant on 1 Jan.1943. He was shipped overseas in May,1944 and was soon after assigned as a Platoon Leader in E Co. 2/33 Armor 3rd Armored Division
He participated in all 5 European campaigns to include the closing of the Falaise-Argentan Gap and the Battle of the Bulge. He saw heavy fighting at Trois Pont, Belgium, against the 1st SS Panzer "Adolph Hitler" Division and participated in one of the longest one day drives in the history of armored warfare; 104 kilometers from Marburg to Ober Marburg.
Indicative of Lt. Elliot's skill, leadership, and courage are his actions at Fleron, Belgium, in Sept. 1944. Robert Casey, in his book, "This Is Where I Came In" recounts the results of that action. "From where I stood I could count at least 150 German vehicles burned or demolished.
On the corner, only fifty yards from the nearest tank was a self-propelled eighty-eight still smoking ... it didn't look to me as if there could be any explanation under the law of averages why Lt. Elliott was still alive." In the 8 months he served with the 3rd armored Division, his tank destroyed over 250 pieces of German equipment to include tanks, trucks, artillery pieces, antitank guns, and even a train. His platoon was credited with capturing over 1000 enemy soldiers. Lt. Elliott was wounded four times and was knocked out of 8 tanks.
For his wartime actions, Lt. Elliott received the Bronze Star Medal and 4 Purple Hearts. He was discharged from the Army in Feb. 1946, recalled in Nov. 1950 for the Korean War, and discharged upon completion of service in Aug, 1952.
The exemplary actions of Lt. Elliott so many years ago, recently won him the distinction of being inducted into the Army Hall of Fame, Fort Knox, Ky.. as a "TANK ACE."

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