Alvin “Jack” Cline was born in Davenport, on the fifth of September, 1918. Jack was very played the trumpet, and at the age of 12 he played in his older brother’s jazz band here in Davenport. Jack’s musical talents, had him get drafted into the Iowa 34th Division Medical Regimental Band. Although he was drafted for the band, he wouldn’t stay there. 

“One of our group tried to get into pilot training but failed the test,” Jack said in an interview with the Dispatch and Rock Island Argus promoting his memoir “As I Remember It.” “When we gave him a hard time about it, he bet us that none of the rest of us could pass it either. I rose to the challenge.” Jack became a pilot, on a whim! It was a good thing as well, because the 34th Division Medical Regiment Band was deployed to the “D-Day” invasion in June of 1944, and only three of them would come home.

Jack and his crew would be sent to Algeria, a country in northern Africa, as a base to fly bombing mission in his Boeing B-17. A B-17, or a “flying fortress,” is a four-engine bomber that was used in bombing raids in World War 2 in both against the Axis powers. He nicknamed his B-17 “The Mickey Joy,” after his wife Mavis, who he called Mickey. 

“He was going to marry my mother in town,” His son said. “But he was stationed down in Georgia and gave his wings to another lady.” “He not thinking that it meant that they were engaged. Both of his grandmothers found out and ‘went ballistic’ to get him back so he could marry Mavis.” It is common practice for service members to give a token to a sweetheart. It is meant to be a “good luck” charm, because the service member is supposed to come back for it. 

Jack would fly 50 missions in World War II. He would earn the nickname “Lucky Jack” for never losing anyone and always landing safely. “Lucky Jack wasn’t the only nick name he got during the War, he would also be called “Lefty, the Throttler,” because he could land his plane by using just the left throttle, even after an uncontrollable dive on autopilot. After World War 2, Jack would stay in the Reserves and have command over the 9686th Squadron, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

After his time in the Army Air Corps that became the Air Force, he taught high school band for 12 years in the schools of Clinton County. He also played trumpet and percussion instruments (e.g., drums) for the Tri-City Symphony. He became an avid golfer and rarely talked about the war. So much so, that his family never saw a picture of the Mavis Joy until around 2020, after Jack’s grandson found a picture of it online when a family member of Jack’s crew uploaded it.

Alvin “Jack” Cline passed away on March 30, 1998, at the age of 79. He was survived by his wife Mavis, Cynthia Partington, Joyce Mermet, Janet Cline, and a son Jack R. Cline a sister Jeanette Fletcher, and seven grandchildren. He is buried in Plot Section T Site 106 at the Rock Island Arsenal.


ALVIN G CLINE

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