• Aug. 28, 1918 – Jan. 19, 1945
• Newport, Tennessee
• Raised in Greeneville, Tennessee
• Business Adm. – 1941
  • Aviation student with the Civil Aeronautics Authority
• Major – Army Air Corps
  • Enlisted in October 1941
  • Fort Worth, Texas, and Randolph Field, San Antonio, Texas
  • 2nd Lt. as first commission
• First Combat order in the Pacific with the 49th Fighter Group, flying Curtis P-40E Warhawks
  • Flew 100 combat missions by the end of June 1943
• Second Combat Tour in Europe
  • P-47D Thunderbolt with the 510th Fighter Squadron, 405th Fighter Group in November 1944
  • Promoted to Major in December 1944after shooting down a ME-109 over Trier
• 510th Fighter Sqn, 405th Fighter Grp. KIA. P-47 was hit with flak; chute failed to deploy. DFC and Silver Star.
  • Supporting ground forces in the Diekirch area of Luxembourg
• Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Lorraine, France

Clyde Vernon Knisley Jr. (Aug. 28, 1918 – Jan. 19, 1945) was born in Newport, Tennessee, and raised in Greeneville, Tennessee. He attended the University of Tennessee and graduated with a degree in Business Administration in 1941. While a student, Knisley was a member of UT’s Cheerleading team and was also an aviation student with the Civil Aeronautics Authority. He enlisted after graduation in October 1941 before the United States formally entered the war. His flying experience made him a natural fit for the Army Air Corps, and he was trained down in Texas at Fort Worth and San Antonio. He was first commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, and his first combat order at the start of the war was in the Pacific Theater with the 49th Fighter Group. He flew Curtis P-40E Warhawks that flew missions against the Japanese and escorted American convoys from bases in Australia and New Guinea. By the end of June 1943, Lt. Knisley had flown 100 combat missions and was approaching the end of his combat tour. He volunteered to serve a second combat tour in 1944 and was reassigned to the European Theater flying a P-47D Thunderbolt for the 510th Fighter Squadron, 405th Fighter Group. In December 1944, Knisley was promoted to Major for gallantry during a dogfight with German ME-109 Fighter planes over Trier, Germany. He was killed in action on January 19, 1945, while flying a mission supporting Allied ground forces in the Diekirch area of Luxembourg. His P-47D was hit by flak, and his chute failed to deploy when he attempted to bail out of the plane. He was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. He is memorialized at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Lorraine, France.

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