A letter of condolence written by Frank W. Burks, member of the house of delegates from Bedford county, to William L. McClure, of Indianapolis, Ind., father of Lieut. William Carson McClure, U. S. army, who lost his life in the plane crash on the Peaks of Otter, February 2, began an interesting and touching correspondence between the two men. Sympathy for the bereaved parents moved Mr. Burks, who formally lived in Indianapolis and who has a son serving overseas, to begin the correspondence.
The elder McClure who is day assistant managing editor of the Indianapolis Star, wrote, "I was first lieutenant in 1917-1918, flying as an aerial observer early in 1918 and taking an infantry company through the Argonne and across the Rhine. My oldest daughter was born while I was in France. Bill was the first child when we had a home of our own."
A new account of the accident and an editorial in the Indianapolis paper told of the high esteem in which the young man was held in his home city, where he was a reporter for the Star. "The editorial said in part, "No finer man than young Bill McClure ever joined The Star’s staff. Starting as a copy boy, he worked his way up to a position as an efficient and dependable reporter while he was still a student at Butler University. Life had every thing to offer him, yet months before this country entered the war, he began quietly and industriously to prepare to do his share, and more, for what he believed was right. He has gone from a world that sorely needs young men of his caliber."
Among young McClure’s intimate friends, comrades at Butler University, where they were members of the Sigma Nu fraternity, was Lieut. D. F. Shadinger, who was killed in California on the same day McClure lost his life. Lieuts. Shadinger and McClure were in Indianapolis on leave at the same time in December, the paper stated and spent much of their time together.
The following is taken from a letter from the elder McClure to Mr. Burks, "Perhaps it will interest you to know that the escort officer who came with our son’s body, was his best friend in the bombardment squadron, who had gone with him through all the schools in the long training which gave them their wings, December 13, and had been designated previously by Bill for that sad duty."
A letter to Mr. Burks, last week, says in part; "not a token of any description has come to me since the fatal accident. Could the destruction have been so complete as to have consumed every last means of identification? The remains of a watch, a fountain pen, a pilot’s emblem would mean so much to us, can you refer me to the investigating officer or some person who might help me secure something of the kind?"
