Clemens J. Rosen was born on November 10, 1919, in Saint Rose, Clinton County, Illinois. He was the son of Anton M. Rosen and Louise A. Liening Rosen. He was married to Esther Plummer Rosen. He served in the United States Air Force as a Technical Sergeant and Flight Engineer of a B-24 Bomber during World War II.

Clemens flew 13 missions and survived being shot down twice. Following the second incident on August 26, 1944, he was captured and spent nine months as a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft IV in Braunau, near Krems, Austria. He survived the infamous "Death March" across Germany, an 83-day journey in which many of his comrades perished.

Clemens retired from Caterpillar Tractor Co. as a tool development manager in 1981 and was active in his church and community. He died on October 29, 2016, and is now buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery, East Peoria, Tazewell County, Illinois, USA.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com