 Cline was born on January 8, 1947 in Buffalo, New York and died on September 14, 2007 at his home in Jersey City, New Jersey at the age of 60.He was drafted into the U.S. Army when he was 20 years old, arriving in Vietnam in August 1967 and serving in the 25th Infantry Division as a rifleman and machine gunner.During his tour, he was wounded three times, the third time seriously enough to be sent back to the army hospital at Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1968.