Early Life
Earle C. Clements was born in Morganfield, Kentucky on October 22, 1896. He was the youngest of two sons and four daughters born to Aaron Waller and Sallie Anna (Tuley) Clements. His father was a popular county judge and sheriff in Union County, but Clements at first shunned a political career. He obtained his early education in the public schools, and graduated from Morganfield High School in 1915. Later in 1915, he enrolled at the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture. In 1915 and 1916, he played center on the football team, and was named to the "All-Southern Team" in 1916. He was also a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
Clements' studies were interrupted by World War I. On July 9, 1917, he enlisted as a private in Company M of the Kentucky National Guard. The company was ordered to Camp Taylor near Louisville, Kentucky where they were mustered into the infantry of the U.S. Army. Clements first served as a guard at Camp Taylor and later entered the Officers Training School at Fort Benjamin Harrison near Indianapolis, Indiana. He graduated with the rank of first lieutenant and remained stateside as a professor of military science. He served for a total of 28 months, attaining the rank of captain, and was discharged on September 12, 1919.
After the war, Clements worked as a rigger in the oil fields of east Texas. In 1921, however, his father's health began to fail, and he returned to Kentucky to help him on the farm and served as his deputy sheriff. As a hobby, he also coached football at his high school alma mater. One of his assistant coaches, Rodes K. Myers, would go on to be lieutenant governor under Keen Johnson. On January 18, 1927, Clements married Sara M. Blue. Their only child, Elizabeth (Bess) Hughes Clements Abell, became social secretary to Lady Bird Johnson and Walter Mondale.
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