Mark W. Clark

Clark was born in Madison Barracks, Sackets Harbor, New York, but spent much of his youth in Highland Park, Illinois, while his father, Charles Carr Clark, a career infantry officer in the United States Army, was stationed at Fort Sheridan.[7] His mother, Rebecca "Beckie" Ezekkiels, was the daughter of Romanian Jews; Mark Clark was baptized Episcopalian as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.[1][8]

Clark gained an early appointment to the USMA in June 1913 at the age of 17, but lost time from frequent illnesses.[9] Known as "Contraband" by his classmates, because of his ability to smuggle sweets into the barracks,[1] while at West Point, he met and befriended Dwight D. Eisenhower, who lived in the same barracks division and was his company cadet sergeant. Although Eisenhower was two years senior to him and had graduated as part of the West Point class of 1915, both formed a friendship. Clark graduated from West Point on April 20, 1917, exactly two weeks after the American entry into World War I, and six weeks before schedule, with a class ranking of 110 in a class of 139, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry Branch.[9][10][11] He graduated alongside young men such as Matthew Ridgway, J. Lawton Collins, (both of whom later became U.S. Army Chief of Staff) Ernest N. Harmon, William W. Eagles, Norman Cota, Laurence B. Keiser, John M. Devine, Albert C. Smith, Frederick A. Irving, Charles H. Gerhardt, Bryant Moore and William K. Harrison. All of these men would, like Clark himself, rise to high command and become generals.[12]

Like his father, he decided to join the Infantry Branch. He was assigned to the 11th Infantry Regiment, which later became part of the 5th Division when it was activated in December, where he became a company commander in Company 'K' of the 3rd Battalion, 11th Infantry, with First Lieutenant John W. O'Daniel serving as a platoon commander in his company.[12] In the rapid expansion of the U.S. Army during the war, he rose quickly in rank, promoted to first lieutenant on May 15 and captain on August 5, 1917.[13][14]

In late April 1918, shortly before Clark's 22nd birthday and over a year after his graduation from West Point, he arrived on the Western Front, to join the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF).[15] Arriving with his company at the French port of Brest on 1 May, his 22nd birthday, the next few weeks were spent in training in trench warfare under the tutelage of the French Army and soon afterwards the division was inspected by General John "Blackjack" Pershing, the AEF's Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C).[15] Serving in the Vosges mountains, the Commanding Officer (CO) of the regiment's 3rd Battalion, Major R. E. Kingman, fell ill and Clark was promoted to acting battalion commander on June 12, 1918, with O'Daniel taking over command of Clark's company.[15] Two days later, when Clark's division was relieving a French division in the trenches, he was wounded by German artillery in the right shoulder and upper back, knocking him unconscious; the soldier standing next to him, Private Joseph Kanieski, was killed. They were two of the first casualties suffered by the 5th Division during the war.[16]

Captain Clark recovered from his injuries within six weeks, but was graded unfit to return to the infantry,[16] being transferred to the Supply Section of the newly formed First Army. In this position he served with Colonel John L. DeWitt, and supervised the daily provision of food for the men of the First Army, which earned Clark recognition at the higher levels of command.[17] He stayed in this post until the end of hostilities on November 11, 1918. He then served with the Third Army in its occupation duties in Germany and returned to the United States in June 1919, just over a year after he was sent overseas.[17][18]

Senior officers during the Louisiana maneuvers. Left to right: Mark W. Clark, Chief of Staff, Army Ground Forces; Harry J. Malony, Chief of Staff, Second Army; Dwight D. Eisenhower, Chief of Staff, Third Army; Ben Lear, Commander Second Army; Walter Krueger, Commander Third Army; Lesley J. McNair, Commander Army Ground Forces.

During the interwar period, Clark served in a variety of staff and training roles. From 1921 to 1924, he served as an aide in the office of the Assistant Secretary of War. In 1925, he completed the professional officer's course at the US Army Infantry School and then served as a staff officer with the 30th Infantry Regiment at The Presidio in San Francisco, California. His next assignment was as a training instructor to the Indiana Army National Guard,[13] in which he was promoted to major on January 14, 1933, more than 15 years after his promotion to captain.

Major Clark served as a deputy commander of the Civilian Conservation Corps district in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1935–1936, between tours at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School in 1935 and the U.S. Army War College in 1937. Among his classmates there were Matthew Ridgway, Walter Bedell Smith and Geoffrey Keyes, all of whom he would serve with during World War II.[19]

Assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington, Clark was selected by General George C. Marshall, the newly promoted Army Chief of Staff, to instruct at the U.S. Army War College in March 1940, where he received a promotion to lieutenant colonel on July 1.[4] Clark and Brigadier General Lesley J. McNair, later the commander of Army Ground Forces, selected the thousands of acres of unused land in Louisiana for military maneuvers in the Louisiana Maneuvers.[20] On August 4, 1941, Clark, skipping the rank of colonel, was promoted two grades to the temporary rank of brigadier general as the U.S. Army geared up for entry into World War II, and made Assistant Chief of Staff (G-3) at General Headquarters, United States Army, in Washington, D.C.[13][4]

In January 1942, a month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the American entry into World War II, Clark was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of Army Ground Forces (AGF), commanded by Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair, and in May 1942 became its Chief of Staff.[13]

Service in Europe and North Africa

Negotiations at Algiers, November 13, 1942. From left to right: Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Admiral François Darlan, Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, and Mr. Robert D. Murphy of the US. State Department.

On April 17, 1942, Clark was temporarily promoted to the two-star rank of major general.[4] Two weeks before his 46th birthday he was the youngest major general in the U.S. Army. In June, Clark, along with Major General Dwight Eisenhower, was sent to England as Commanding General (CG) of II Corps, and the next month moved up to CG, Army Forces in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). Along with Eisenhower, he was sent to work out the feasibility of a cross-channel invasion of German-occupied Europe that year, based on the Germany first strategy which had been agreed on by American and British military and political leaders the year before if the United States were to enter the conflict. In England Clark first met the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who was much impressed by Clark, referring to him as "The American Eagle,"[21][11] along with General Sir Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS, the professional head of the British Army), and Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery, then commander of the South Eastern Command. After a cross-channel invasion was ruled out for 1942, attention was turned to planning for an Allied invasion of French North Africa, given the codename of Operation Gymnast, later Operation Torch. In October, Clark was assigned to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) as deputy to Eisenhower, who was now the Supreme Allied Commander in the theater, relinquishing command of II Corps. Clark's duty was to prepare for Operation Torch. Clark also made a covert visit to French North Africa (see Operation Flagpole) to meet with pro-Allied officers of the Vichy French forces.

Clark on board USS Ancon during the landings at Salerno, Italy, September 12, 1943.

Fifth Army and service in Italy

See also: Italian campaign (World War II)

Eisenhower greatly appreciated Clark's contributions. Clark, at the age of 46, was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant general on November 11, 1942,[4] three days after the Torch landings. He was the youngest three-star general in the U.S. Army. On January 5, 1943, the United States created its first field army overseas, the Fifth Army, with Clark as its CG, although neither Clark nor Fifth Army saw service in the fighting in North Africa. Many officers, most notably Major General George S. Patton Jr., who was both older and senior to Clark, and was then commanding I Armored Corps, came to resent him, believing he had advanced too quickly. Patton, in particular, believed Clark was "too damned slick" and believed Clark was much too concerned with himself.[22] In the presence of senior commanders Patton and Clark were friendly, although Patton, in his journal, wrote "I think that if you treat a skunk nicely, he will not piss on you—as often", referring to Clark after both he and General Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, visited Patton's headquarters as the latter explained his plans for the upcoming invasion of Sicily.[23] Clark, for his part, claimed he found it difficult to command men who had been his senior, and he proved reluctant to remove those commanders if they failed in battle. The Fifth Army's initial mission was preparing to keep a surveillance on Spanish Morocco.[24] His permanent rank was upgraded to brigadier general on September 1, 1943.[4]

Lieutenant David C. Waybur (left) chats with Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark who presented him with the Medal of Honor for his conspicuous gallantry under fire, Baia e Latina, Italy, 29 November 1943.

Clark being awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Castelvetrano, Italy, December 13, 1943.

On September 9, 1943, the Fifth Army, composed of the U.S. VI Corps, under Major General Ernest J. Dawley—who was a decade older than Clark and about whom Clark had doubts—and the British X Corps, under Lieutenant General Sir Richard L. McCreery—to whom Clark later scornfully referred as a "feather duster"—under Clark's command landed at Salerno (codenamed Operation Avalanche). The invasion, despite good initial progress, was nearly defeated over the next few days by numerous German counterattacks, and Major General Dawley, the VI Corps commander, was sacked and replaced by Major General John P. Lucas, who himself was later sacked and replaced after his perceived failure during Operation Shingle. Clark was subsequently criticized by historians and critics for this near-failure, blamed on poor planning by Clark and his staff.[25] Despite this Clark was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the citation for which reads:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Lieutenant General Mark Wayne Clark (ASN: 0–5309), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while Commanding the 5th Army, in action against enemy forces on 14 September 1943 at Salerno, when the FIFTH Army's bridgehead was threatened by an enemy counterattack. General Clark personally instilled determination and courage in his men, under artillery and machine gun fire at the front line. He discovered 18 Nazi tanks approaching, located an anti-tank unit and gave the orders which brought about the destruction of six tanks and the repulse of the rest. By his magnificent display of leadership, courage and determination during a critical phase of the battle, front line troops were inspired to hold at all costs and subsequently to initiate steady advance. Lieutenant General Clark's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 5th Army, and the United States Army.[26]

The Fifth Army, by now composed of five American divisions (the 3rd, 34th, 36th and 45th Infantry, along with the 82nd Airborne) and three British divisions (7th Armoured, 46th and 56th Infantry), operating alongside the British Eighth Army, under General Bernard Montgomery, subsequently advanced up the spine of Italy, and captured the Italian city of Naples on October 1, 1943, and crossed the Volturno Line in mid-October. Progress, however, soon began to slow down, due to German resistance, lack of Allied manpower in Italy, and the formidable German defenses known as the Winter Line, which was to hold the Allies up for the next six months.

Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark riding in a jeep through the recently-liberated Italian capital of Rome, June 1944. Sat behind Clark is Major General Alfred Gruenther while to Gruenther's left is Major General Harry H. Johnson.

During the Battle of Monte Cassino, Clark ordered the bombing of the Abbey on 15 February 1944. This was under direct orders from his superior, British General Sir Harold R. L. G. Alexander, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Allied Armies in Italy (AAI).[27] Clark and his chief of staff, Major General Alfred Gruenther, remained unconvinced of the military necessity of the bombing. When handing over the U.S. II Corps position to the New Zealand Corps, under Lieutenant General Sir Bernard C. Freyberg, the Assistant Division Commander (ADC) of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, Brigadier General Frederic B. Butler, claimed "I don't know, but I don't believe the enemy is in the convent. All the fire has been from the slopes of the hill below the wall."[28] The commander of the 4th Indian Infantry Division, Major General Francis Tuker, urged the bombing of the entire massif with the heaviest bombs available.[29] Clark finally pinned down the Commander-in-Chief, Alexander, recounting that "I said, 'You give me a direct order and we'll do it' and he did."[30]

From left to right, Alfred Gruenther, Donald W. Brann, Mark W. Clark, and Guy Garrod.

Clark's conduct of operations in the Italian campaign is controversial, particularly during the actions around the German Gustav Line, such as the U.S. 36th Infantry Division's assault on the Gari river in January 1944, which failed with 1,681 casualties in the 36th Infantry Division. American military historian Carlo D'Este called Clark's choice to take the undefended Italian capital of Rome, after Operation Diadem and the breakout from the Anzio beachhead, in early June, rather than focusing on the destruction of the German 10th Army, "as militarily stupid as it was insubordinate".[31] Although Clark described a "race to Rome" and released an edited version of his diary for the official historians, his complete papers became available only after his death.[32]

Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark looks toward the shoreline from the PT boat carrying him to the beachhead near Anzio, Italy, 22 January 1944.

Clark led the Fifth Army, now much reduced in manpower, having given up both the U.S. VI Corps and the French Expeditionary Corps (CEF) for Operation Dragoon, the Allied invasion of Southern France (which Clark had always opposed), throughout the battles around the Gothic Line. For the offensive, Clark's Fifth Army (now composed only of the II Corps—with the 34th and 85th Infantry Divisions—under Major General Geoffrey Keyes, and the IV Corps—with the 88th and 91st Infantry Divisions—under Major General Willis D. Crittenberger and the 1st Armored Division in reserve) was reinforced by the British XIII Corps, under Lieutenant General Sidney Kirkman. The initial stages went well until the autumn weather began and, as it did the previous year, the advance bogged down.

Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark inspecting members of the 34th Infantry Division of the II Corps, shortly after the liberation of Rome in June, 1944.

Early on the morning of January 28, 1944, a PT boat carrying Clark to the Anzio beachhead, six days after the Anzio landings, was mistakenly fired on by U.S. naval vessels. Several sailors were killed and wounded around him.[33] Next month, during the air raid he ordered on Monte Cassino abbey, 16 bombs were mistakenly dropped at the Fifth Army headquarters compound then 17 miles (27 km) away from there, exploding yards from his trailer while he was at his desk inside.[34] A few months later, on June 10, he again narrowly escaped death when, while flying over Civitavecchia in a Stinson L-5, his pilot, Maj. John T. Walker, failed to see the cable of a barrage balloon, which embedded itself into one of the wings, forcing the plane into a rapid downward spiral around the cable. The plane broke free after the third time around, leaving the outer section of the wing behind. Miraculously, Walker managed to crash-land in an open meadow and the two men escaped uninjured. "I never had a worse experience" wrote Clark to his wife.[35]

Generalleutnant Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin, the commander of XIV Panzer Corps, meets General Clark, Lieutenant General Sir Richard McCreery and Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr. at 15th Army Group Headquarters, where the Germans received instructions regarding the unconditional surrender of German forces in Italy and West Austria, May 1945.

Later in 1945, as Commander in Chief of US Forces of Occupation in Austria, Clark gained experience negotiating with communists, which he would put to good use a few years later. Clark served as deputy to the US Secretary of State in 1947 and attended the negotiations for an Austrian treaty with the Council of Foreign Ministers in London and Moscow. In June 1947, Clark returned home and assumed command of the Sixth Army, headquartered at the Presidio in San Francisco and two years later was named chief of Army Field Forces.[13] On October 20, 1951, he was nominated by President Harry S Truman to be the US emissary to the Holy See. Clark withdrew his nomination on January 13, 1952, after protests from Texas Senator Tom Connally and from Protestant groups.

It was announced on 20 January 1946 that the 36th Infantry Division Veterans' Association had unanimously called for a congressional inquiry into Clark's actions during the 36th Infantry Division's disastrous crossing of the Gari River (erroneously identified as the Rapido) on the night of 20 January 1944. The petition read:

Be it resolved, that the men of the 36th Division Association petition the Congress of the United States to investigate the river Rapido fiasco and take the necessary steps to correct a military system that will permit an inefficient and inexperienced officer, such as General Mark W. Clark, in a high command to destroy the young manhood of this country and to prevent future soldiers being sacrificed wastefully and uselessly.[37]

Two resolutions were heard in the House of Representatives, one of which claimed the incident was "one of the most colossal blunders of the Second World War... a murderous blunder" that "every man connected with this undertaking knew... was doomed to failure."[38]

Clark was absolved of blame by the House of Representatives but never commented on the Rapido River episode.[38]

Clark signing the Korean Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953.

During the Korean War, he took over as commander of the United Nations Command on May 12, 1952, succeeding General Matthew Ridgway, a close friend and a fellow graduate of the West Point class of 1917. Clark commanded the UN forces in Korea until the armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, and retired from the Army on October 31 of the same year.

Clark's signature on the Korean Armistice Agreement.

General Clark retired in 1965 when he stepped down as president of The Citadel. He lived in Charleston, South Carolina, in retirement and died there on April 17, 1984, shortly before his 88th birthday. He was the last surviving American officer who had held four-star rank during World War II. He was buried on the campus of The Citadel.

• Deputy Commander, Allied Force Headquarters, October 1942 to 4 January 1943
• Commanding General, Fifth Army, 5 January 1943 to December 1944
• Commanding General, 15th Army Group, December 1944 to June 1945
• Commander, US Occupation Forces in Austria, 27 June 1945 to June 1947
• Commanding General, Sixth Army, June 1947 to 30 September 1949
• Chief, Army Field Forces, 1 October 1949 to 5 May 1952
• Commander in Chief, United Nations Command in Korea, 12 May 1952 to 7 October 1953
• Commander in Chief, Far East Command, 12 May 1952 to 7 October 1953

Clark married Maurine Doran, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Doran of Muncie, Ind., May 17, 1924. Mrs. Clark died October 5, 1966. Their son was Maj. William Doran Clark, U.S.A. (Ret.),[45] and their daughter Patricia Ann (Mrs. Gordon H. Oosting).[46] Later in life he married Mary Dean.[47] Patricia Ann did not have any children. William had 5 children: Louise Clark Goddard, Doran Clark Abrams, D'Wayne Clark Waterman, Helen Clark Atkeson, and Larry Clark.

Mark W. Clark was initiated to the Scottish Rite Freemasonry[48] in the Mystic Tie Lodge No. 398, Indianapolis, IN, receiving the 33rd and highest degree.[49]

An interstate spur (I-526) in the suburbs of Charleston, South Carolina, was named Mark Clark Expressway in his honor.

Mark Clark Hall on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, is named in General Clark's honor.

The General Mark W. Clark National Guard Armory in North Charleston, South Carolina, is named in Clark's honor.

From 1949 to August 17, 2010, the Mark Clark Bridge in Washington connected Camano Island with the adjacent town of Stanwood on the mainland. It was then superseded by the Camano Gateway Bridge, and the Mark Clark Bridge was demolished the following month.

Fort Drum's Clark Hall is named after him. Fort Drum is near Clark's Madison Barracks birthplace, and Clark Hall is used for administrative in processing and out-processing soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division.

The term "intelligence community" was created by the federal intelligence-review "Clark Task Force," which he headed from 1953 to 1955. The term remains in use by the US government and by civilians.

He was used in the 1979 novel Kane and Abel as the reason for the Abel character going to World War II.

Two locations in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro—the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras in Resende, and a street in São Gonçalo—have been named after Clark.

The Agulhas Negras Military Academy Stadium, Brazil ( AMAN ), is named General Mark Clark.[50]

In the neighborhood of Santa Catarina, in the city of São Gonçalo, located in the State of Rio de Janeiro – Brazil, there is a street called Gen. Mark Clark.[51]

Clark used to live on the 12th floor of the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina. You can now stay in his suite starting at $500 a night.

Clark was portrayed by Michael Rennie in the film The Devil's Brigade. The film is about the exploits of the 1st Special Service Force, commanded by Colonel Robert T. Frederick, which came under Clark's command in the Italian Campaign.

Clark was portrayed by William Schallert in Ike: The War Years.

Clark is portrayed by Robert Ryan in Anzio (film) under the pseudonym “General Carson”.

General Clark was referred to in the MASH television series, season 11, episode 3: Foreign Affairs. In the episode he created a program that awarded an enemy soldier $100,000 and US citizenship.

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Bibliography

• Atkinson, Rick (2002). Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943. Holt Paperbacks. ISBN 0-8050-8724-9.
• King, Edward L. (2015). From Salerno to Rome: General Mark W. Clark and the Challenge of Coalition Warfare - War College Series. War College Series. ISBN 978-1298474124.
• Atkinson, Rick (2008). The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944. Holt Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-8050-8861-8.
• Baxter, Colin F. (1999). Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1887–1976: A Selected Bibliography. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-29119-7.
• Blackwell, Ian (2012). Fifth Army in Italy, 1943−1945: A Coalition at War. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-84884-487-2.
• Blumenson, Martin (1984). Mark Clark. Cordon & Weed. ISBN 0-224-02299-7.
• Clark, Mark W. (2007). Calculated Risk, The War Memoirs of a Great American General. Enigma Books. ISBN 978-1-929631-59-9. (first edition 1950)
• Clark, Mark W. (1954). From the Danube to the Yalu. Harper. OCLC 178967.
• Clark, Maurine Doran (1956). Captain's Bride, General's Lady; The Memoirs of Mrs. Mark W. Clark. McGraw-Hill. OCLC 1362519.
• Hapgood, David; Richardson, David (2002) [1984]. Monte Cassino: The Story of the Most Controversial Battle of World War II (repr. ed.). Cambridge Mass.: Da Capo. ISBN 0-306-81121-9.
• Katz, Robert (2003). The Battle for Rome. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-1642-5.
• Taaffe, Stephen R. (2013). Marshall and His Generals: U.S. Army Commanders in World War II. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1942-9. OCLC 840162019.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Mark W. Clark.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mark Wayne Clark.

• United States Army Officers 1939–1945
• Generals of World War II
• Papers of Mark W. Clark, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• Finding aid for the Mark W. Clark Oral History, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• Historical Sound from General Clark (some statements with German translation)
• Biography from the Korean War Encyclopedia
• General Mark W. Clark – TIME magazine cover of July 7, 1952
• From the Liberation of Rome to the Korean Armistice – General Mark Wayne Clark interview – 1975 Three Monkeys Online
• General Clark explains military situation in Italy, 1943 on YouTube Footage
• Mark W. Clark Collection Archived 2017-07-30 at the Wayback Machine The Citadel Archives & Museum
• Sidney T. Mathews: General Clark's Decision to drive on Rome. In: Command Decisions (editor: Center for Military History, 2000). CMH Pub 70-7-1; partly edited already in 1960. Chapter 14 Archived 2009-07-26 at the Wayback Machine (p. 351–364)
• Newspaper clippings about Mark W. Clark in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW