The Harold Kline Story

Harold Kline was an American airman who died on 18 August 1944 when his plane was shot down over Pézenas. On Tuesday 19 August 2014 we attended an ecumenical service in Pézenas to mark the 70th anniversary of his funeral. Until that Tuesday there was little information about Harold Kline, but Tim Woolmer of our congregation, who was born on the very day that Mr Kline died, received, on his birthday, some information about him from his cousin in the USA. Here is Harold Kline's story, as we know it now.

Harold Eugene Kline was born on February 14, 1918 in Deschutes, Oregon. His mother was Mable Harriet (Marcy) Kline and his father was Harold R Kline and they were born in South Dakota.

In 1930 he was living with his grandparents, Byron C Kline and Anna H Kline, and his sister, Anna E Kline in Oregon. Byron was from Iowa, and Anna was from Pennsylvania, and Byron was a general farmer. They may have been Swiss. In 1935 he was living with his parents in Mcminnville, Yamhill, Oregon.

In 1940, Harold was living in Bend, Oregon (Tim's cousin has been there and says it's beautiful) and was 22 years old. He was married to Erdia (this is a hand-written census record and the spelling might be wrong), who was 21. She also grew up in Oregon. At that time he was working 60 hours a week in his father's pool hall, "Palace Billiards", as a bartender. He had three years of college, but didn't finish it. There were many other Klines in Bend at that time, including one who was a pastor, and a sister who was older and divorced. He probably had a fairly large family in the area.

Harold went to train as a pilot in Indiana and graduated Class 43-H (presumably that means the year and level). He crash-landed his plane in Italy on 3 July 1944 because of engine failure, but survived.

On 18 August 1944, three days after the start of operation "Dragoon", the invasion of southern France, Harold Kline died when he was shot down in combat over Pézenas. He crashed his P38 Lightning on the Pioch de Conas, near the D13 to Agde that is now named "Avenue Harold Kline" after him. At 11 am the next day he was buried in Pézenas cemetery, in a Catholic ceremony, although it was not known what his religious affiliation was, if any. He was buried in a tomb lent by the Arcon family, said to be active in the Resistance. Three years later his body was repatriated to the USA by US forces.

What happened to his wife is not known because US census records are not available to the public post-1940. After he died, it was probably his father, who settled in California, who applied for a bronze marker for a headstone for him in Long Beach, California. The application, as well as his war records, indicates he was with the 71st Squadron.

There was a ceremony on Monday 18 August 2014, the 70th anniversary of his death, to unveil his name, newly inscribed on that rather striking war memorial in the little gardens at Place Frédéric Mistral. At that ceremony a man from Caussiniojouls, quite unexpectedly, presented a silver bracelet with "Harold E Kline" inscribed on it, presumably taken from the crash site 70 years ago. The hope is that this can be returned to his family one day.

After the church service on the following day there was a procession to the cemetery where a revised plaque to Harold Kline was unveiled because the original was inaccurate in several respects.