Captain Clifford Jenner was a young officer in World War I, serving on active duty until 1926. He was reactivated in World War II and served in the Camp Algona system for most of its existence. While on post, he was in charge of the Day Room, theater, and worked with the USO to get shows into Algona. His family lived in Algona and his twin sons, James and Jerry, went to the local grade school.

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He also served as the commander of two different branch camps. Ortonville, Minnesota was a small camp on the border of Minnesota and South Dakota. He also commanded the camp at Bena, which is located in the north woods of Minnesota.