1LT Clyde R. Tidrick

courtesy of Mike and Bushy Hartman

1LT Clyde R. Tidrick was born in 1921, probably in Beloit, Kansas. He was the only son and youngest of the 3 children of Otis Clyde and Ella Elizabeth (McFarland) Tidrick. The family had moved to Kansas City, Missouri by 1930 and his father was working as a plasterer. The family lived at 1005 Summit Street. It appears that his parents had separated by 1940 and Clyde, his sisters and mother had moved to 7th Street Traffic Way. His sisters were supporting the family Maxine working as a stenographer in a law office and Georgia (widowed with a 2-year old child) clerked in a credit office. Clyde had only just left school after completing high school and begun work, apparently in automobile manufacture.

However, just a couple of months later he had enlisted in the Army and, after taking the officer candidacy tests, was selected as an officer candidate. After that training he probably had several other assignments before being assigned as an additional officer for the D-Day landings to A Company 116th Infantry on 1 Jun 1944. 5-days later he was taking part in the greatest amphibious attack in history at Omaha Beach on the coast of Normandy. He was killed in action shortly after his LCVP dropped its ramp.  His death was thus described: Lieutenant Edward (sic) Tidrick on boat #2 was hit in the throat as he jumped from the ramp into the water. He went on to the sands and flopped down 15 feet from Private Leo J. Nash (Pfc). He raised up to give Nash an order. Nash saw him bleeding from the throat and heard his words: “Advance with the wire cutters !” It was futile. Nash had no wire cutters, and in giving the order, Tidrick had made himself a target for just an instant, and Nash saw MG bullets cleave him from head to pelvis. 

1LT Tidrick rests forever with many other casualties of that day in the Normandy American Cemetery.