TODAY’S STORY FEATURES THE SON OF A POLICE OFFICER BORN IN A SMALL COMMUNITY IN OKLAHOMA WHICH WAS SO SMALL THAT IT NO LONGER EXISTS. OUR HERO JOINED THE MARINES BEFORE WORLD WAR TWO TO SEE THE WORLD AND BOY, DID HE, AT LEAST UNTIL HE DISAPPEARED IN A SOUTH PACIFIC BATTLE ALONG WITH OVER 500 OF HIS FELLOW MARINES.

IF YOU KNOW WHERE CLOUD CHIEF, OKLAHOMA IS, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND…HMMM…I DON’T SEE ANYBODY WAVING THEIR ARMS. THAT’S REALLY NOT SURPRISING BECAUSE, CLOUD CHIEF, OKLAHOMA IS NO LONGER A RECOGNIZED TOWN…IT EVEN LOST ITS POST OFFICE IN 1964.

BUT TODAY, WE RECOGNIZE PROBABLY IT’S MOST HEROIC AND FORGOTTEN SON…SGT CLYDE CLAYTON MITCHELL BORN IN CLOUD CHIEF ON SEPTEMBER 1, 1916.

Clyde's father, Walter D. Mitchell, was employed as a Oklahoma State Highway Patrolman before he died in 1937 when Clyde was 21 years old.

BUT, AS YOU WILL SEE LATER ON IN THE EPISODE, THE FATHER MAY STILL HOLD THE CLUE TO SOLVING CLYDE'S DISAPPEARANCE.

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0255 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.

TODAY’S STORY HAS SO MANY UNIQUE ASPECTS THAT WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHERE TO START. THE SUBJECT OF OUR PODCAST WAS A VETERAN OF WORLD WAR ONE. HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE CANADIAN ARMY. HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY. HE JOINED THE UNITED STATES MARINES AND WAS STATIONED IN CHINA BETWEEN THE WARS, HENCE EARNING HIS UNOFFICIAL DESIGNATION AS A "CHINA MARINE."  HIS DEATH DURING WORLD WAR TWO ON TARAWA IN 1943 WAS WITNESSED BY MANY MEMBERS OF HIS COMPANY…AND HE IS THE OLDEST MARINE FROM THE BATTLE OF TARAWA WHO IS STILL MISSING IN ACTION OVER 75 YEARS LATER.

AT 0800 HOURS ON 10 MARCH 1942, CAPT JOSEPH POTTER McLaughlin EASED HIS 5 FOOT, 5 INCH FRAME INTO THE COCKPIT OF A P-40 E KITTYHAWK FIGHTER PLANE IN Canberra, AUSTRALIA on A PLANNED return flight TO HIS HOME BASE AT LAVERTON FIELD ABOUT 255 MILES AWAY. He did not inform anyone of the direction he was heading when he took off. HE ALSO DID NOT PLAN ON FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD ON THIS FLIGHT…BUT HE DID.

PILOTS ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE A GRIM SAYING ABOUT AIRCRAFT CRASHES USUALLY CAUSED BY PILOT ERROR IN FLYING TOO LOW TO THE GROUND…PILOTS REFER TO IT AS “FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD.” HISTORY IS FULL OF FAMOUS DEATHS CAUSED BY PILOTS “FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD”…ACTRESS CAROLE LOMBARD, SINGER PATSY CLINE, AND EVEN MORE RECENTLY…KOBE BRYANT.

AFTER OVER 60 YEARS, CAPTAIN McLAUGHLIN WAS IDENTIFIED AS A THE VICTIM OF FINDING THAT INFAMOUS “ROCK IN A CLOUD” DURING WORLD WAR II. THE QUESTION IS "WAS IT REALLY CAPTAIN McLAUGHLIN THAT WAS FOUND?"

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0411 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.

PILOTS ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE A GRIM SAYING ABOUT AIRCRAFT CRASHES USUALLY CAUSED BY PILOT ERROR IN FLYING TOO LOW TO THE GROUND…PILOTS REFER TO THESE TRAGEDIES AS “FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD.” HISTORY IS FULL OF FAMOUS DEATHS CAUSED BY PILOTS “FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD”…ACTRESS CAROLE LOMBARD (THE WIFE OF ACTOR CLARK GABLE), SINGER PATSY CLINE, AND EVEN MORE RECENTLY…KOBE BRYANT.

TODAY’S STORY HAS A TWIST…

AFTER OVER 60 YEARS, AN AMERICAN ARMY AIR CORPS OFFICER WAS FINALLY IDENTIFIED AS THE VICTIM OF FINDING THAT INFAMOUS “ROCK IN A CLOUD” DURING WORLD WAR II.

BUT WAS IT REALLY THE PERSON IDENTIFIED OR SOME OTHER UNFORTUNATE PILOT WHO FOUND THE ROCK?

STAY TUNED FOR PART ONE OF A TWO PART SERIES IN THIS AMAZING INVESTIGATION.

BY ALL DESCRIPTIONS, ED AULT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST UNLIKELY OF ALL CANDIDATES TO BECOME A MISSING MARINE HERO DURING WORLD WAR TWO. HE WAS A 33 YEAR OLD MARRIED BUSINESSMAN WHOSE PROFESSION WAS AS A WHOLESALE FLORIST. ED WAS A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OFFICER WITH AN ACTIVE SOCIAL LIFE IN HIS COMMUNITY WHEN HE CHOSE TO ENLIST…LITTLE DID HE KNOW THAT A JAPANESE BULLET AWAITED HIM THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY…AND LITTLE DID HIS FAMILY KNOW THAT HE WOULD REMAIN MISSING FOR ALMOST 80 YEARS.

CAN A MAP WE FOUND SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF ED AULT’S DISAPPEARANCE IN 1943?

STAY TUNED AS WE EXPLORE “THE CASE OF THE MISSING FLORIST.”

IN 1945, THE FAMOUS WRITER F. SCOTT FITZGERALD WROTE: "SHOW ME A HERO AND I’LL WRITE YOU A TRAGEDY."

WHICH MAKES US PONDER WHETHER OR NOT HIS FAMOUS QUOTE WAS INSPIRED BY A REAL NAVAL HERO IN 1945, CAPTAIN CHARLES BUTLER MCVAY III, WHOSE SHIP, THE USS INDIANAPOLIS, DELIVERED THE COMPONENTS OF THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB WHICH EFFECTIVELY ENDED WORLD WAR II. THE TRAGEDY THAT ENSUED WHEN THE INDIANAPOLIS WAS SUNK, WITH THE LOSS OF 879 SAILORS AND MARINES AND THE SUBSEQUENT COURTS MARTIAL OF CAPTAIN McVAY, IS ONE OF HISTORY’S MILITARY MYSTERIES THAT PREVAILS TO THIS DAY.

WE DEDICATE THIS EPISODE TO A BRYCE MATTESON OF HAVEN, KANSAS. BRYCE WAS A FORMER JOURNALIST WHO NEVER FORGOT THE IMPACT OF THE LINKAGE BETWEEN HEROES AND TRAGEDIES. A LIFE LONG BEST FRIEND, BRYCE PASSED AWAY JUST BEFORE EASTER 2021.

HE WAS A HERO IN MANY, MANY WAYS AND HIS PASSING IS A TRAGEDY FOR MANY, MANY PEOPLE WHO KNEW AND LOVED HIM.

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.

A YOUNG MARINE, ON THE EVE OF GOING INTO BATTLE FOR THE FIRST TIME, WROTE HIS MOTHER TO SAY:

"I AM THINKING OF WHAT I AM ABOUT TO DO FOR MY COUNTRY...NO MATTER WHAT THE COST IS, IT IS WELL WORTH IT."

IT WASN’T THE FIRST TIME, THE YOUNG MARINE HAD TOLD HIS MOTHER THAT HE WOULDN’T BE COMING HOME. IN TODAY’S EPISODE, WE WILL LET YOU HEAR THE MOTHER’S ANGUISH IN HER OWN HANDWRITTEN LETTERS TO THE GOVERNMENT AFTER THE BATTLE WHEN THE SON FULFILLED HIS PREDICTION OF NOT COMING HOME.

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0271 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SO SURE OF SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID “I’D BET THE HOUSE…” ON WHATEVER YOU THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE A SLAM DUNK?

LIKE “I’D BET THE HOUSE THE RANGERS WILL WIN THE WORLD SERIES THIS YEAR.  WELL, MAYBE THAT WOULD NOT BE A SMART BET. NOT EVEN MY MOM, THE MOST DIEHARD RANGERS FAN IN THE WORLD, WOULD HAVE SAID THAT!

BUT OCCASIONALLY, ALONG THE ROAD OF LIFE , COMES A SURE THING, A SLAM DUNK, A CAN’T MISS, DEFINITE, ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, IN THE BAG…WELL, YOU GET THE IDEA.

IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE’RE GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT ONE OF THOSE KIND OF BETS THAT MY MOM WOULD HAVE MADE IN HER WORDS…”JUST AS SURE AS THE SUN WILL COME UP TOMORROW…”

SOMETIMES, AS YOU WILL FIND OUT IN TODAY'S EPISODE, THE HOME TEAM DOES WIN!

YA' JUST GOTTA BELIEVE!

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0122 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. WE START TODAY’S PROGRAM WITH A TRIVIA QUESTION. WHERE IS FAMOUS WORLD WAR II GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON Jr.  BURIED? IF YOU GUESSED ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY OR WEST POINT, YOU’D BE WRONG. IN FACT, IF YOU GUESSED ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES, YOU’D BE WRONG. HOW ABOUT NEAR A LONG FORGOTTEN BATTLEFIELD IN EUROPE? NOW YOU JUST MIGHT BE GETTING WARMER WITH YOUR GUESS.

WE DEDICATE THIS EPISODE TO THE FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENTS AT WILLIAM F. HALLORAN SCHOOL NUMBER 22 IN ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY. AS YOU LISTEN TO THIS INCREDIBLE EPISODE OF NO HOME FOR HEROES, YOU WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHY WE MAKE THIS DEDICATION AND THE SCHOOL’S LINK TO GENERAL PATTON AND MANY OF HIS COMMAND WHO GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE TO INSURE OUR LIBERTY.

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0487 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.

IT’S A STORY THAT WAS PROBABLY REPEATED BY THE THOUSANDS DURING WORLD WAR II AND COULD EASILY BE TITLED, “COME HOME TO ME, JOHN”, “COME HOME TO ME, BOB”, OR JUST ABOUT ANY OTHER FIRST NAME OF A SCHOOL SWEETHEART GOING OFF TO WAR. IN FACT, OUT PRODUCTION ENGINEER CINDY SUGGESTED WE JUST NAME THE EPISODE “COME HOME TO ME.”

BUT TODAY’S STORY HAS A CLOSER AND MORE SPECIAL MEANING, AS YOU WILL SOON HEAR.