Clifford Hebner was born in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, son of Frank and Minnie May Hebner and husband of Vera Hebner. He was second in a family of five boys and five girls. He attended school until Grade VIII and worked for a time in farming. He left Manitoba in 1928 and soon found work as a furnace man in a smelter in Trail, British Columbia where he worked for eight years. In 1937, he moved to Calgary and was a service station operator for Imperial Oil.
Clifford enlisted in the 7th Field Squadron in London, Ontario in November 1939. He was living in Sarnia, Ontario and was unemployed at the time, but listed his occupation as stoker. He completed his basic sapper training in Camp Petawawa, Ontario. He married in April 1940 and was shipped to the UK in September 1940 with his company. By July 1941 he was qualified Carpenter Class II Group 'B' and appointed Lance Corporal in May 1942. He qualified as a driver in July and He participated in the Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942. He was promoted to Corporal in May 1943.
He disembarked in France on 6 July 1944 with the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. On 6 August 1944, he was awarded the Military Medal for high courage and outstanding leadership under fire and promoted to Acting Sergeant that same month.
Sergeant Hebner was killed during the night of 5 October while neutralizing mines in the Antwerp suburb of Merkxen where the civilian population was working to dig itself out of the rubble. He is buried in the Schoonselhof Cemetery in Antwerp, Belgium.
Note: Clifford's brother, Gunner Chester Hebner, fought on D-Day and was killed in Normandy while serving with the Royal Canadian Artillery. He is buried in the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery.
Return to Part 5: Tributes to the Fallen Sappers of the Scheldt