Dawsie Cline

Dawsie S. Cline, age 99 and a World War II Veteran, passed away Thursday, December 3, 2020, here in Hobbs, New Mexico.  He was born on November 28, 1921 to Seburn and Ella Mae Cline (Harrison) in Lubbock County, Texas.

When he was in the 8th grade, he told many of his classmates that they would not be finishing high school due to a World War.  He entered the US Army Air Core on August 28, 1941 and wore the Army olive-green Class A uniform.  Following his basic training he was transferred to Keesler Field in Biloxi, Mississippi, where he graduated the Airplane Mechanics Course 1st and 2nd echelon in maintenance of the B-24 and the R1830-43 engine.  He sent his mother a newspaper clipping from the Panama City, Florida, paper dated February 11, 1944, that stated “Dawsie S. Cline today wears the silver wings of an aerial gunner and the chevrons of a sergeant in the Army Air Forces.”  In March of 1944 he was station overseas and flew a total of 51 missions as a flight engineer, an arial gunner, and inflight maintenance engineer.  (The required 50 missions plus 1 to fill in for someone who had become ill.)  He separated from the Army Air Force on September 15, 1945, as a highly decorated Tech Sergeant.  His medals included the Distinguished Flying Cross, 3 Campaign ribbons (European, African, Middle Eastern Theaters) four Bronze Battle Stars, 2 Oakleaf Clusters, Good Conduct Medal, and a Purple Heart.  On June 26, 1946, he re-entered the US Air Force as a Tech Sergeant and wore the new Air Force blue Class A uniform.  He separated on June 28, 1949 at Walker Airforce Base in Roswell, NM.  After his separation from the US Air Force he worked for the Civilian Conversation Camp in the Carlsbad Caverns on an explosives crew and laid trails in the caverns and the parking lot.  He later became a house-mover and moved buildings in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona until he retired.

On May 2, 1945 he married Laura Mae Jones who he had met at the local skating rink while he was stationed in Biloxi, Mississippi, and they moved to Hobbs, New Mexico, after he separated from the Army Air Force.  Dawsie is survived by his five children:  Patsy Hess of Lovington, NM; Carolyn Weaver of Hobbs, NM; Robert Cline Sr (wife Kevin Cline) of Dawson, TX; Linda Jolly (husband Joseph Jolly) of Charlotte, NC; and Donna Pilkington (husband Charles Pilkington) of Cherokee, AL; 10 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, and 6 great-great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Seburn Cline and Ella Mae Harrison, his wife Laura Mae Cline, both of his brothers C.D. Cline and Glydon D. Cline, and a grandson Glynn E. Cline.

Donations in honor of Dawsie Cline may be made The Gideons International, P O Box 1481, Hobbs, NM 88241.