Born in Newton when cars, airplanes, movies, radios, recorded music, and the Red Sox did not yet exist and telephones and electric lights were new luxuries for only the very rich, Clarence Meredith Cutler came of age as those modern changes spread, spoke in 1910 as valedictorian about the opportunities awaiting his classmates at Medfield High School, and became an ardent Red Sox fan. After the United States entered World War I in 1917, he enlisted in the Army's new Air Corps and trained new pilots, many of whom later saw action on the Western Front. He loved flying, remained in military service after the war, logged over 3,000 flying hours, and was killed in January 1921 when his DeHaviland DH-4 crashed near Irlich, Germany, close to the Rhine River. Funeral services were held for him first in Europe and then at Town Hall, followed by burial with full military honors in Vine Lake Cemetery.