Clifford M. Sterrenberg was born in Charlotte, Illinois on May 25, 1919. He learned to fly in 1937 and received his Commercial and Instrument pilot ratings at the age of 19 through the famous Parks Air College.
In 1940 he began work as an Army flight instructor through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. He worked as an instructor throughout the war in Alabama and South Carolina, spending more than 3,000 hours in the air teaching future Army pilots to fly in the PT-17, PT-13, and PT-19.