Humble hero at a hundred

Garfield man served in both WWII, Korean War 

By Julie Parent

Jim Clermont served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946 and from 1950 to 1951. Photo contributed 

Decorated veteran Jim Clermont of Garfield, Minn., does not know why he has lived for 100 years or why he became an important part of American history. It’s “just one of those things,” he said.

Jim was born on April 2, 1925.

“My mother held off so I wouldn’t be born on April 1, which is April Fool’s Day,” he said.

Jim, his younger sister, and their two brothers grew up in Minneapolis during the Depression. Jim’s father was absent a lot, assumptively looking for work. Jim was a sickly child. He suffered from polio and other illnesses.

Jim listened to his father tell stories about being in World War I. From the time he was about five years old, Jim knew he wanted to join the U.S. Navy. When he was 17 years old, his mother gave him permission to enlist. Jim believed he would leave home after his scheduled high school graduation, but the Navy needed him sooner than expected. Jim refers to those four and a half years as a “humongous adventure,” partly because he got to travel all over the world. He said some of the places he went to were “France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Russia, Bermuda, Egypt, Malta, Italy, and the Panama Canal.”

In the Navy, Jim excelled as a fire controlman. Simply put, fire controlmen controlled the firing of guns. He was able to acquire this position because he received a good education in Minnesota. Some of the people he tested with to determine what job they would get in the Navy, particularly from southern states, could barely read and write at that time. Later, he was trained to be the main battery director pointer for the general quarters.

The first time Jim left Minnesota was when he boarded a train for bootcamp at the Farragut Naval Training Station in Idaho. Jim enjoyed spending time with all his comrades, who he has outlived, on the Herndon II (DD-638) destroyer. The seas in the Atlantic Ocean were rough. Jim said the ship would steer straight into hurricanes.

Jim bravely fought in World War II for three years and in the Korean War for one-and-a-half years. He was at Omaha Beach on D-day on June 6, 1944, when Normandy, France was occupied by Nazi Germany. He said the day of the attack is imprinted on his mind. He and another sailor kept a record of what transpired.

“A lot of noise and confusion,” he said. “Destroyers could shoot right in the pillboxes, which are concrete enclosures with people inside.”

James E. Clermont FC 3/C courageously fought on the USS Herndon II (DD 638) on D-Day. Photo contributed.

According to Jim, the Herndon II eliminated all the targets they were assigned. Other vessels were not as successful, and thousands of men were wounded or killed.

In 1945, the Herndon II escorted U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s cruiser, the USS Quincy, when he was on his way to Yalta.

A few months later, Jim sailed to Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. When they arrived, Jim saw ships that were still tipped over and floating on their side in the harbor.

“Pearl Harbor was a disappointment to me,” he said. “The famed beach was small and rough. The lake beaches in Minneapolis were much better. The hula girls were not at all like the movies.”

Decades later he went back to see the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, which was a sobering experience.

Visitors can tour another ship, the USS Missouri, which is currently docked at Pearl Harbor. The ship was decommissioned for the final time in 1992. Ironically, Jim was one of the people who had tied the USS Missouri up to the dock in the Brooklyn Navy Yard when it was commissioned in 1944. Jim did not get to board the ship when he was in the Navy, but he was invited to go on years later.

While he was in the Navy, Jim’s sister checked his service star displayed in the window daily. She knew if it was blue instead of gold, it meant he was still alive.

Since joining the Navy, Jim has been in the same room as many famous people, such as: Nancy Pelosi, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Harry James, Lawrence Welk, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman, and the Mills Brothers. One day, he saw a woman he thought was cute with curlers in her hair wearing slacks. He briefly flirted with her. Later, he watched her sing wearing a beautiful gown. While he was in the audience, she said from the stage, “Do I look any better now sailor?” Jim thinks the performer was Helen O’Connell. After hearing Doris Day sing Sentimental Journey, he penned her a letter, but did not receive a reply.

Jim Clermont (third from right) and his comrades sitting on a gun on the USS Herndon II (DD 638). Photo contributed.

At one point, Jim thought about transferring to a submarine until he got a whiff of how badly it smelled inside. Knowing he could have been a high-ranking officer, Jim considered re-enlisting.

“I could have been a warrant officer,” he said, but he wanted to return home to be with his wife Dorothy. The military is “no place for a married person,” he added.

Jim and Dorothy met when they went on a double date. However, he was on the date with another woman, and she was on the date with his friend. They got married approximately three months before he left for the Korean War. Their union lasted for over 60 years. Jim is extremely proud of their two daughters, Debbie and Nancy, who keep an eye on him.

“Their mother raised them right,” he said.

After he was discharged, Jim did a lot of odd jobs. He remembers working at Minnesota mobster Isadore “Kid Cann” Blumenfeld’s house. He recalled Kid Cann had a beautiful home with plush carpet. Kid Cann put a five dollar bill in Jim’s pocket and told him to buy a cigar. Since people made about 60 cents an hour then, five dollars was a lot of money.

Jim has also worked in a warehouse, as a painter, for an aluminum extrusion company, and as a five-state traveling salesman.

When Debbie and Nancy were younger, Jim didn’t talk much about his Navy experiences.

“I just put the bad out of my mind,” he said, like looking for men who fell overboard who were never found. At reunions, Jim would tell family members stories about his deceased shipmates.

“That was a nice gift you gave them,” Debbie said.

According to his granddaughter Carly, Jim Clermont inspires people to, “Keep fighting and never give up.” Photo by Julie Parent

Jim has traveled to Normandy for the 70th and 75th anniversaries. When he was asked to speak at the 75th anniversary ceremony, his bus was delayed. Behind the scenes multiple people did everything they possibly could to rush him to the stage. After his speech, the large crowd gave him a standing ovation. During that trip, a young French boy unexpectedly approached and saluted him. A Frenchman said to Jim, “Without you guys, we would probably be speaking German.” Afterward, Jim appeared on Boyd Huppert’s Land of 10,000 Stories on KARE 11.

When asked about how wars are fought today, Jim said it’s a “whole new ball game,” because everything is high tech. However, the result is the same, there is a winner and a loser.

Jim is grateful he was never exposed to Agent Orange, which was used in chemical warfare during the Vietnam War because of its serious health consequences. It got “sprayed over the ships,” he said.

Today, Jim lives a quiet life. He finds being the oldest person he knows a little unnerving, but that doesn’t discourage him from doing his daily exercise routine for one hour. Although Jim can no longer do as many physical things as he’d like, he said he reads, writes stories, watches military television shows, and complains. He makes good memories with his close-knit family members, and tries to keep a positive attitude, too.

Being over 90 years old does have some advantages, like being able to fish in Minnesota without paying for a fishing license. Jim was fishing by himself on a lake when a Department of Natural Resources enforcement officer told him he needed to have a throwable flotation device in his boat.

“Who’s going to throw it?” Jim said.

“You got a point,” the officer said, leaving him to fish alone without issuing a ticket.

Jim doesn’t drive a vehicle anymore, but he does have a driver’s license for identification. The last time he renewed it, the people standing in line behind him at the Department of Motor Vehicles cheered for him.

Jim Clermont reflects on his U.S. Navy memories at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. Photo contributed

He also heard a lot of cheering when he was the grand marshal in the 2025 Memorial Day Parade in Alexandria, Minn. Jim said the military jeep he rode in “wasn’t comfortable, but they treated me really nice.” Two days prior, Minnesota Governor Walz proclaimed May 24, 2025 “Jim Clermont Day.”

When asked what Jim’s view of the country is today, he thinks it is completely different now than it used to be. Life used to be simpler, and people didn’t need to have locks on their doors. They were more caring and they “looked out for each other.” Nowadays, Jim said there are people who oddly “don’t know their next-door neighbor.” In addition, there are a lot more ways to get information quickly.

Jim does not regret the years he spent in the Navy. Jim said the only thing he didn’t like was when there was a lot of “pomp and circumstance onshore.” He recommends single people, especially those who need discipline, join the military because “it gave me confidence.” For many years, Jim was involved with various groups that support and honor veterans.

As a centenarian, Jim’s advice to others is to “live each day as best as you can. We all make mistakes along the way. Fortunately, mine weren’t fatal.” Luckily, Jim has a supportive family. Looking back on his life, he feels very fortunate. 

“I’ve done most everything I’ve wanted to do,” he said.