Clyde C. Tongate was born March 25, 1917, in New Franklin, Missouri, the son of Clyde C. and Mary Elizabeth (Gonder) Tongate. By 1920 his father was out of the picture, and Clyde was living with his mother, her second husband Edward Holtkamp, and his half-brother Eugene, in Audrain, Missouri. His mother died not long after, and by 1930, at the age of 13, he was living with a brother-in-law- A. Wayne Shores, and his wife Fannie, in Sedalia, Missouri.
In the post WWII years from 1946 to 1954, Clyde was a sailor, working primarily as an assistant bosun on such ships as the Mesa Verde, Frank A. Munsey, P and T Forester, Granville S. Hall, and the Flying Scud. He cris-crossed the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Yokohama, Japan; Yokohama to Portland; Oregon, Shanghai to Honolulu; and up and down the west coast from Los Angeles to Seattle and Vancouver. By the mid 1950's he was employed on ships plying the Atlantic between New York City, Boston, and Rotterdam, such as the American Counselor and the Jurist.
Clyde C. Tongate died December 6, 1989, at St. Vincents-Manhattan, and was buried on Hart Island.
Sources: U.S. Social Security Death Index; U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007; 1920 and 1930 U.S. Federal Censuses; Massachusetts, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963; New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957; Washington, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1961; Oregon, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1888-1963; California, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1959; Honolulu, Hawaii, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959.