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{{short description|American general (1896–1984)}} | |||
{{other people|Mark Clark}} | |||
{{For|the later U.S. general named Mark Clark|Mark A. Clark (general)}} | |||
{{other people|Mark Clark}}{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}{{Use American English|date=December 2024}} | |||
{{Infobox military person | {{Infobox military person | ||
| |
| name = Mark W. Clark | ||
| image = General Mark W. Clark (cropped).jpg | |||
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1896|5|1}} | |||
| image_size = | |||
|birth_place=Madison Barracks, ], New York | |||
| alt = | |||
|death_date= {{death date and age|1984|4|17|1896|5|1}} | |||
| caption = Clark in 1945 | |||
|death_place=] | |||
| nickname = "American Eagle"<br />"Wayne"<br />"Contraband" (while at West Point)<ref name=Atkinson_p44/> | |||
|placeofburial = ]<br>] | |||
| birth_date = {{birth date|1896|05|01|df=y}} | |||
|image=Mark Wayne Clark 1943.jpg | |||
| birth_place = ], ], New York, U.S. | |||
|caption= American major general Mark Wayne Clark in 1943 | |||
| death_date = {{death date and age|1984|04|17|1896|05|01|df=y}} | |||
|nickname=Contraband <small>(while at West Point)</small><ref name=Atkinson_p44/> | |||
| death_place = ], U.S. | |||
|allegiance={{flag|United States of America|1912}} | |||
| placeofburial = ], Charleston, South Carolina | |||
|branch={{army|USA}}] | |||
| allegiance = United States | |||
|serviceyears=1917 – 1953 | |||
| |
| branch = ] | ||
| serviceyears = 1917–1953 | |||
|commands=]<br>]<br>] | |||
| rank = ] | |||
|unit= | |||
| servicenumber = 0–5309 | |||
|battles=]<br>]<br>] | |||
| unit = ] | |||
|awards= ]<br>]<br>] | |||
| commands = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />3rd Battalion, ] | |||
|laterwork=], President | |||
| battles = {{tree list}} | |||
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{{tree list/end}} | |||
| awards = ]<br />] (4)<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />] | |||
| spouse = {{marriage|Maurine Doran|1924|1966|end=died}} | |||
| relations = | |||
| laterwork = ], President | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Mark Wayne Clark''' (May |
'''Mark Wayne Clark''' (1 May 1896 – 17 April 1984) was a ] ] who saw service during ], ], and the ]. He was the youngest four-star ] in the US Army during World War II. | ||
During |
During World War I, he was a ] and served in ] in 1918, as a 22-year-old ], where he was seriously wounded by ]. After the war, the future ], General ], noticed Clark's abilities.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/general_mark_clark.htm |title= General Mark Clark |work=www.historylearningsite.co.uk }}</ref> During World War II, he commanded the ], and later the ], in the ]. He is known for leading the Fifth Army when it captured ] in June 1944, around the same time as the ]. He was also the head of planning for ], the largest seaborne invasion at the time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holland |first=James |author-link=James Holland (author) |title=The Savage Storm: The Battle for Italy 1943 |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-8021-6160-4 |pages=49 |language=en |chapter=}}</ref> | ||
}}</ref><!--If Berlin is the other, which is the third? Tokyo was occupied after the war.--> Clark became the youngest American to be promoted to general in 1945. | |||
General ] considered |
On 10 March 1945, at the age of 48, Clark became one of the youngest American officers promoted to the rank of four-star ].<ref name="Generals of World War II">{{cite web|url=https://generals.dk/general/Clark/Mark_Wayne/USA.html|title=Biography of General Mark Wayne Clark (1896–1984), USA|website=generals.dk}}</ref> ], a close friend, considered Clark to be a brilliant ] and trainer of men.<ref>{{citation |url=http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA471368 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717062452/http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA471368 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 17, 2011 |title=From Salerno to Rome: General Mark W. Clark and the Challenges of Coalition Warfare |access-date=2009-05-07 }} Abstract of master's thesis</ref> | ||
Throughout his thirty-six years of military service, Clark was awarded many medals, the ] (DSC), the US Army's second-highest decoration, being the most notable. | |||
A legacy of the "Clark Task Force," which he led from 1953 to 1955 to review and to make recommendations on all federal intelligence activities, is the term "]."<ref name=USICRS>{{cite web|title=US Intelligence Community Reform Studies Since 1947|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/US%20Intelligence%20Community%20Reform%20Studies%20Since%201947.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612222435/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/US%20Intelligence%20Community%20Reform%20Studies%20Since%201947.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 12, 2007 |publisher=CIA|access-date=12 December 2014|author=Michael Warner|author2=Kenneth McDonald |page=4}}</ref> | |||
==Early life and career== | ==Early life and career== | ||
Clark was born in Madison Barracks, ], ], but spent much of his youth in ], while his father, a career ] officer, was stationed at ].<ref>{{cite web | Clark was born in ], ], ], but spent much of his youth in ], while his father, Charles Carr Clark, a career ] ] in the ], was stationed at ].<ref>{{cite web | ||
|work=HistoryLink.org |
|work=HistoryLink.org | ||
|location=Seattle, Washington | |location=Seattle, Washington | ||
|title=Clark, General Mark Wayne ( |
|title=Clark, General Mark Wayne (1896–1984) | ||
|url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9004 | |url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9004 | ||
| |
|access-date=2012-02-10 | ||
|quote=..grew up in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb near Fort Sheridan... | |quote=..grew up in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb near Fort Sheridan ... | ||
}}</ref> |
}}</ref> His mother, Rebecca "Beckie" Ezekkiels, was the daughter of ]; Mark Clark was ] ] as a cadet at the ] at ].<ref name=Atkinson_p44>] (2002), p.44.</ref><ref name="Blumenson9−15">Blumenson, pps. 9–15</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Satloff |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Satloff |date=2017-10-30 |title=The Vichy Corruption |url=https://mosaicmagazine.com/response/history-ideas/2017/10/the-vichy-corruption/ |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=mosaicmagazine.com}}</ref> | ||
Clark gained an early appointment to the USMA in June 1913 at the age of 17, but lost time from frequent illnesses.<ref name="Blumenson16">Blumenson, p. 16</ref> Known as "Contraband" by his classmates, because of his ability to smuggle sweets into the barracks,<ref name=Atkinson_p44/> while at West Point, he met and befriended ], 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 ], both formed a friendship. Clark graduated from West Point on 20 April 1917, exactly two weeks after the ], and six weeks before schedule, with a class ranking of 110 in a class of 139, and was ] as a ] in the ].<ref name="Blumenson16"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., from its establishment, in 1802 : |url=https://digital-library.usma.edu/digital/collection/p16919coll3/id/17625 |website=digital-library.usma.edu |access-date=2023-08-19 |archive-date=2023-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819152421/https://digital-library.usma.edu/digital/collection/p16919coll3/id/17625 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Taaffe|2013|p=59}} He graduated alongside young men such as ], ], (both of whom later became ]) ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. All of these men would, like Clark himself, rise to high command and become generals.<ref name="Blumenson18">Blumenson, p. 18</ref> | |||
Like his father, he decided to join the ]. He was assigned to the ], which later became part of the ] when it was activated in December, where he became a ] in Company 'K' of the 3rd Battalion, 11th Infantry, with ] ] serving as a ] in his company.<ref name="Blumenson18"/> In the rapid expansion of the U.S. Army during the war, he rose quickly in rank, promoted to first lieutenant on 15 May and ] on 5 August 1917.<ref name=Bio-Citadel /><ref name=":0" /> | |||
In late April 1918, shortly before Clark's 22nd birthday and over a year after his graduation from West Point, he arrived on the ], to join the ] (AEF).<ref name="Blumenson20">Blumenson, p. 20</ref> Arriving with his company at the ] port of ] on 1 May, his 22nd birthday, the next few weeks were spent in training in ] under the tutelage of the ] and soon afterwards the division was inspected by ] ], the AEF's ] (C-in-C).<ref name="Blumenson20"/> Serving in the ], the ] (CO) of the regiment's 3rd Battalion, Major R. E. Kingman, fell ill and Clark was promoted to acting battalion commander on 12 June 1918, with O'Daniel taking over command of Clark's company.<ref name="Blumenson20"/> Two days later, when Clark's division was relieving a French division in the trenches, he was ] by ] ] 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.<ref name="Blumenson21">Blumenson, p. 21</ref> | |||
Captain Clark recovered from his injuries within six weeks, but was graded unfit to return to the infantry,<ref name="Blumenson21"/> being transferred to the Supply Section of the newly formed ]. In this position he served with ] ], and supervised the daily provision of food for the men of the First Army, which earned Clark recognition at the higher levels of command.<ref name="Blumenson22">Blumenson, p. 22</ref> He stayed in this post until the end of hostilities on ]. He then served with the ] in its ] and returned to the United States in June 1919, just over a year after he was sent overseas.<ref name="Blumenson22"/><ref name=":0" /> | |||
==Interwar period== | |||
Clark gained an early appointment to the military academy at age 17, but lost time from frequent illnesses. Known as "Contraband" by his classmates because of his ability to smuggle sweets into the barracks,<ref name=Atkinson_p44/> Clark graduated from West Point in April 1917, with a class ranking of 110th in a class of 139, and was commissioned a ] of Infantry. In the rapid expansion of the United States Army during World War I he rose rapidly in rank, promoted to ] on May 15 and ] on August 5, 1917.<ref name=Bio-Citadel /> He served in ] during ] in the ], part of the ], and was ] in the ]. As a result of his convalescence, Captain Clark was transferred to the General Staff Headquarters of the ] until the end of hostilities, then served with the ] in its occupation duties in Germany. | |||
], Chief of Staff, Second Army; ], Chief of Staff, Third Army; ], Commander Second Army; ], Commander Third Army; ], Commander Army Ground Forces]] | |||
During the ], 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 ]. In 1925, he completed the professional officer's course at the ] and then served as a ] with the ] at ] in ], ]. His next assignment was as a training instructor to the ],<ref name=Bio-Citadel /> in which he was promoted to ] on 14 January 1933, more than 15 years after his promotion to captain. | |||
Major Clark served as a deputy commander of the ] district in ], in |
Major Clark served as a deputy commander of the ] district in ], in 1935–1936, between tours at the ] in 1935 and the ] in 1937. Among his classmates there were Matthew Ridgway, ] and ], all of whom he would serve with during ].{{sfn|Blackwell|2012|p=116}} | ||
Assigned to ], ], Clark was selected by ] ], the newly promoted ], to instruct at the U.S. Army War College in March 1940, where he received a promotion to ] on 1 July.<ref name="Generals of World War II"/> Clark and ] ], later the commander of ], selected the thousands of acres of unused land in ] for military maneuvers in the ].<ref name=Robertson>{{cite web|last=Robertson|first=Rickey|title=Remembering the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941|url=http://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/4916.asp|publisher=SFA Center for Regional Heritage Research|access-date=25 June 2013}}</ref> On 4 August 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 ] (G-3) at General Headquarters, United States Army, in ]<ref name=Bio-Citadel /><ref name="Generals of World War II"/> | |||
On August 4, 1941, Clark was promoted two grades to ] as the United States Army geared up for entry in World War II, and made Assistant Chief of Staff (G-3) at General Headquarters, United States Army, in Washington, D.C.<ref name=Bio-Citadel /> | |||
==World War II== | ==World War II== | ||
In January 1942, a month after the American entry into |
In January 1942, a month after the ] ] and the American entry into World War II, Clark was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of ] (AGF), commanded by ] ], and in May 1942 became its Chief of Staff.<ref name=Bio-Citadel>{{cite web|title=Biography (Mark W. Clark)|url=http://www3.citadel.edu/museum/Clark_Biography.pdf|publisher=The Citadel Archives & Museum|access-date=24 June 2013|archive-date=21 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821202251/http://www3.citadel.edu/museum/Clark_Biography.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
===Service in Europe and North Africa=== | |||
In June 1942, he went to England as commanding general of ], and the next month moved up to Commanding General, Army Forces ], promoted to ] on August 17, 1942. In October 1942, Clark became deputy commander in chief of the Allied Forces in the North African Theater. Clark's duties in this succession of assignments was to plan and direct the training of units for the invasion of North Africa known as ]. Part of the preparation for the invasion involved spiriting him into North Africa by the ] weeks before the invasion (]) to negotiate the surrender or cooperation of the ] at ] on October 21–22, 1942. | |||
], Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, and Mr. ] of the ].]] | |||
On 17 April 1942, Clark was temporarily promoted to the ] of ].<ref name="Generals of World War II"/> 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 ] (CG) of ], and the next month moved up to CG, Army Forces in the ] (ETO). Along with Eisenhower, he was sent to work out the feasibility of a cross-channel invasion of ] that year, based on the ] which had been agreed on by American and ] and political leaders the year before if the United States were to enter the conflict. In England Clark first met the ], ], who was much impressed by Clark, referring to him as "The American Eagle,"<ref>Blumenson, p. 63</ref>{{sfn|Taaffe|2013|p=59}} along with ] ], the ] (CIGS, the professional head of the British Army), and ] ], then commander of the ]. After a cross-channel invasion was ruled out for 1942, attention was turned to planning for an ] invasion of ], given the codename of Operation Gymnast, later ]. In October, Clark was assigned to the ] (MTO) as deputy to Eisenhower, who was now the ] in the ], 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 ]) to meet with pro-Allied officers of the ] forces. | |||
After the negotiations, Clark was promoted to ] on November 11, 1942. When the United States created its first field army overseas, the ], Clark was made its commanding general and given the task of training units for the invasion of Italy (]) in September 1943. According to ], Clark was subsequently criticized by British historians and critics, for the near-failure of the landings at ], as a result of perceived poor planning.<ref name=Baxter_p58-9>] (1999), p.58-9.</ref> | |||
] during the landings at Salerno, Italy, 12 September 1943 |
] during the landings at ], Italy, 12 September 1943]] | ||
===Fifth Army and service in Italy=== | |||
Clark gave orders for the bombing destruction of the Abbey of ] based on direct orders from his superior during the ], February 15, 1944.<ref>Clark may be seen introducing the John Huston 1945 film, "The Battle of San Pietro" on various sites, including </ref> Clark and his chief of staff Major General ] remained unconvinced of the “military necessity”. When handing over the U.S. II Corps position to the ], Brigadier-General Frederic Butler, deputy commander of ], had said "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".<ref name=Majdalany>{{cite book|last=Majdalany|first=Fred|title=The Battle of Cassino|year=1957|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|page=140}}</ref> The commander of the 4th Indian division urged the bombing of the entire massif with the heaviest bombs available.<ref>Holmes (2001) p113</ref> Clark pinned down the Commander-in-Chief ], General Sir ]: “I said, 'You give me a direct order and we’ll do it,' and he did."<ref>Hapgood & Richardson, p. 173</ref> | |||
{{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 ] on 11 November 1942,<ref name="Generals of World War II"/> three days after the Torch landings. He was the youngest ] general in the U.S. Army. On 5 January 1943, the United States created its first ] overseas, the ], with Clark as its CG, although neither Clark nor Fifth Army saw service in the ]. Many officers, most notably Major General ], who was both older and senior to Clark, and was then commanding ], 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.<ref>Blumenson, p. 3</ref> 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 ].<ref>Blumenson, p. 131</ref> 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 ].<ref>Blumenson, p. 113</ref> His permanent rank was upgraded to brigadier general on 1 September 1943.<ref name="Generals of World War II"/> | |||
Clark's conduct of operations in Italy is controversial, particularly his actions during the Battle of the ]. ] thanked Clark for liberating Rome.<ref></ref> The American military historian ] called Clark's decision to take Rome "as militarily stupid as it was insubordinate".<ref>Holmes, Richard ''Battlefields of the Second World War'' "Cassino" 2001 BBC Worldwide p 126</ref> Although Clark described a "race to Rome" and released an edited version of his diary for the official historians, his complete papers became available after his death.<ref>Holmes (2001) p 127.</ref> | |||
] (left) chats with Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark who presented him with the ] for his conspicuous gallantry under fire, Baia e Latina, Italy, 29 November 1943]] | |||
Flying over ] on June 10, 1944, Clark's pilot failed to see the cable of a barrage balloon. The cable entwined the wing, forcing the Piper Cub into a rapid downward spiral. The plane broke free of the cable after the third time around, leaving a large section of the wing behind. The fuel tank ruptured, spraying the fuselage with the flammable liquid. Miraculously, the pilot managed to land safely in a cornfield. "I never had a worse experience," wrote Clark to his wife.<ref name=Holland>{{cite book|last=Holland|first=James|title=Italy’s Sorrow: A Year of War, 1944-1945|year=2008|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=1429945435|pages=213–4}}</ref> | |||
] by ] ] in ], Sicily, Italy, 13 December1943]] | |||
In December 1944 Clark took Alexander's position as overall command of Allied ground troops in Italy, renamed as ] - Alexander, now a ], had become Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Headquarters in the Mediterranean - by that time an international coalition of numerous diverse cultures with often conflicting interests.<ref name=Katz_p27>] (2003), p.27.</ref> | |||
On 9 September 1943, the Fifth Army, composed of the ], under Major General ]—who was a decade older than Clark and about whom Clark had doubts—and the ], under ] ]—to whom Clark later scornfully referred as a "feather duster"—under Clark's command ] (codenamed Operation Avalanche). The invasion, despite good initial progress, was nearly defeated over the next few days by numerous German ]s, and Major General Dawley, the VI Corps commander, was sacked and replaced by Major General ], who himself was later sacked and replaced after his perceived failure during ]. Clark was subsequently criticized by historians and critics for this near-failure, blamed on poor planning by Clark and his staff.<ref name=Baxter_p58-9>] (1999), p.58-9.</ref> Despite this Clark was later awarded the ] (DSC), the citation for which reads: | |||
Clark was promoted to ] on March 10, 1945. After accepting the German surrender in Italy in May, he became Commander of Allied Forces in Italy as the war in Europe ended. | |||
{{Blockquote|The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress 9 July 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/6051 | title=Mark Clark – Recipient – }}</ref>}} | |||
==Between World War II and the Korean War== | |||
Later in 1945, as ] of Occupation in ], Clark gained experience negotiating with Communists, which he would put to good use a few years later. | |||
The Fifth Army, by now composed of five American divisions (the ], ], ] and ], along with the ]) and three British divisions (], ] and ]), operating alongside the ], under General Bernard Montgomery, subsequently advanced up the spine of Italy, and captured the Italian city of ] on 1 October 1943, and crossed the ] 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 ], which was to hold the Allies up for the next six months. | |||
Clark served as deputy to the ] in 1947, and attended the negotiations for an Austrian treaty with the ] in ] and ]. In June 1947, Clark returned home and assumed command of the ], headquartered at the ] in San Francisco, and two years later was named chief of Army Field Forces.<ref name=Bio-Citadel /> | |||
], June 1944. Sat behind Clark is Major General ] while to Gruenther's left is Major General ].]] | |||
On October 20, 1951, he was nominated by ] to be the ]. Clark later withdrew his nomination on January 13, 1952, following protests from ] ] ] and ] groups. | |||
During the ], Clark ordered the bombing of ] on 15 February 1944. This was under direct orders from his superior, British ] ], ] (C-in-C) of the ] (AAI).<ref>Clark may be seen introducing the John Huston 1945 film, "The Battle of San Pietro" on various sites, including </ref> Clark and his ], Major General ], remained unconvinced of the military necessity of the bombing. When handing over the U.S. II Corps position to the ], under Lieutenant General ], the Assistant Division Commander (ADC) of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, ] ], 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."<ref name=Majdalany>{{cite book |last=Majdalany |first=Fred |title=The Battle of Cassino |year=1957 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |page=140}}</ref> The commander of the ], ] ], urged the bombing of the entire massif with the heaviest bombs available.<ref>Holmes (2001) p113</ref> 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."<ref>Hapgood & Richardson, p. 173</ref> | |||
==During and after the Korean War== | |||
During the ], he took over as commander of the ] on May 12, 1952, succeeding General ]. | |||
], ], Mark W. Clark, and ].]] | |||
From 1954 until 1965, after retiring from the Army, General Clark served as president of ], the prestigious military college located in Charleston, South Carolina,.<ref>http://www.citadel.edu/root/presidents</ref> | |||
From 1954 to 1955 Clark was head of the so called "Clark Task Force" to study and make recommendations on all intelligence activities of the Federal government.<ref>Michael Warner; Kenneth McDonald. "US Intelligence Community Reform Studies Since 1947". CIA. p. 15. Retrieved 28 June 2013.</ref> The task force had been created 1953 by the second Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, a.k.a. the ] because it was chaired by Herbert Hoover. | |||
Clark's conduct of operations in the ] is controversial, particularly during the actions around the German Gustav Line, such as the ]'s ] in January 1944, which failed with 1,681 casualties in the 36th Infantry Division. American military historian ] called Clark's choice to take the undefended Italian capital of Rome, after ] and the ], in early June, rather than focusing on the destruction of the ], "as militarily stupid as it was insubordinate".<ref>However, other historians have rightly pointed out that the German 10th Army did not use Route 6 (the Via Casilina) in the Liri Valley as its escape route and that it retreated toward the Adriatic instead, beyond the reach of Clark's forces and the British Eighth Army. By turning directly for Rome, the Fifth Army actually inflicted more casualties on the Nazis than would have otherwise occurred. Holmes, Richard ''Battlefields of the Second World War'' "Cassino" 2001 BBC Worldwide p 126</ref> 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.<ref>Holmes (2001) p 127.</ref> | |||
Members of the Clark Task Force were Adm. ], USN (Ret), a former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations; ], the speaker pro tempore of South Carolina’s House of Representatives; California businessman Henry Kearns; ], World War I flying ace and president of Eastern Air Lines;and ], a former Assistant Secretary of State. The staff director was Maj. Gen. James G. Christiansen, USA (Ret). The task force first met early November 1954 and in May 1955 submitted one Top Secret report for the President, and another unclassified for the Hoover Commission and Congress.<ref>ibid</ref> The Clark task force coined the term ] to describe “...the machinery for accomplishing our intelligence objectives.” <ref>The Clark report, "Intelligence service. A Report to the Congress". Volume 2, 76 pages, 13, 17–18.</ref> | |||
] | |||
Clark led the Fifth Army, now much reduced in manpower, having given up both the U.S. VI Corps and the ] (CEF) for ], the Allied invasion of Southern France (which Clark had always opposed), throughout the battles around the ]. For the offensive, Clark's Fifth Army (now composed only of the II Corps—with the 34th and ]s—under Major General ], and the ]—with the ] and ]s—under Major General ] and the ] in reserve) was reinforced by the ], under Lieutenant General ]. The initial stages went well until the autumn weather began and, as it did the previous year, the advance bogged down. | |||
], shortly after the liberation of Rome, June 1944]] | |||
Early on the morning of 28 January 1944, a ] carrying Clark to the Anzio ], six days after the Anzio landings, was mistakenly fired on by ] vessels. Several sailors were killed and wounded around him.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1944-01-28 |title=28 January 1944: General Mark Clark survives 'friendly fire' |url=http://ww2today.com/28-january-1944-general-mark-clark-survives-friendly-fire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422222559/http://ww2today.com/28-january-1944-general-mark-clark-survives-friendly-fire |archive-date=2017-04-22 |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=ww2today.com}}</ref> 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.<ref>Brigadier C.J.C. Molony, Captain (RN) F.C. Flynn, Major General H.L. Davies and Group Captain T.P. Gleave, ''The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume V; The Campaign in Sicily 193 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944'' (History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series) (2004), page 695, U.K. Naval & Military Press. {{ISBN|1-84574-069-6}}.</ref> A few months later, on 10 June, he again narrowly escaped death when, while flying over ] in a ], his pilot, Maj. John T. Walker, failed to see the cable of a ], 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.<ref name=Holland>{{cite book|last=Holland|first=James|title=Italy's Sorrow: A Year of War, 1944–1945|year=2008|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1429945431|pages=213–4}}</ref> | |||
] ], the commander of ], meets General Clark, Lieutenant General ] and Lieutenant General ] at ] Headquarters, where the Germans received instructions regarding the unconditional surrender of German forces in Italy and West Austria, May 1945]] | |||
===15th Army Group=== | |||
In December 1944 Clark succeeded Alexander as commander of the AAI, renamed the ], and Alexander was made the Supreme Commander of the AFHQ in the Mediterranean, replacing ] ], who himself was called to Washington to replace Field Marshal ] as head of the ].<ref name=Katz_p27>] (2003), p.27.</ref> Succeeding Clark as commander of the Fifth Army was Lieutenant General ], who had previously commanded VI Corps and, before that, the 3rd Division. Clark was promoted to the ] of acting ] on 10 March 1945, aged 48, the youngest in the United States Army. His permanent rank was upgraded to major general on 7 October 1944.<ref name="Generals of World War II"/> | |||
Clark led the 15th Army Group throughout the final months of the Italian campaign, although no major offensives took place, due mainly to a critical shortage of manpower throughout the ranks of both the Fifth and Eighth Armies along with the worsening winter weather. After much retraining and reorganizing, Clark then led the army group in the ], codenamed Operation Grapeshot, which brought the war in Italy to an end, and he afterwards accepted the German surrender in Italy in May and became Commander of the Allied Forces in Italy at the ]. | |||
==Post-war era== | |||
Later in 1945, as ] of Occupation in ], Clark gained experience negotiating with communists, which he would put to good use a few years later. Clark served as deputy to the ] in 1947 and attended the negotiations for an Austrian treaty with the ] in ] and ]. In June 1947, Clark returned home and assumed command of the ], headquartered at the ] in ] and two years later was named chief of Army Field Forces.<ref name=Bio-Citadel /> On 20 October 1951, he was nominated by President ] to be the ]. Clark withdrew his nomination on 13 January 1952, after protests from ] ] ] and from ] groups.<ref name=Catholic>{{cite journal|last1=O'Brien|first1=William|title=General Clark's Nomination as Ambassador to the Vatican: American Reaction|journal=The Catholic Historical Review|date=January 1959|volume=44|issue=4|pages=421–439|jstor=25016458}}</ref> | |||
==Congressional inquiry== | |||
{{further|Battle of Rapido River}} | |||
It was announced on 20 January 1946 that the ] Veterans' Association had unanimously called for a ] into Clark's actions during the 36th Infantry Division's disastrous crossing of the ] (erroneously identified as the Rapido) on the night of 20 January 1944. The petition read: | |||
<blockquote>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.<ref>The Tuscaloosa News, January 20, 1946, </ref></blockquote> | |||
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."<ref name="Rapido River Disaster">{{cite web |title=Military.com Content |url=http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=PRrapido |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122214525/http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=PRrapido |archive-date=2015-01-22}}</ref> | |||
Clark was absolved of blame by the House of Representatives but never commented on the Rapido River episode.<ref name="Rapido River Disaster"/> | |||
==Korean War== | |||
] on 27 July 1953.]] | |||
During the ], he took over as commander of the ] on 12 May 1952, succeeding General ], a close friend and a fellow graduate of the West Point class of 1917.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} In this capacity he also served as ], overseeing all U.S. forces in the postwar ]. Clark commanded the UN forces in Korea until the armistice was signed on 27 July 1953, and retired from the Army on 31 October that year. He retained his position as SCAP and governor of the ] until 7 October, when he was succeeded by ]. | |||
] | |||
===Later career=== | |||
From 1954 to 1965, after retiring from the Army, Clark served as president of ], the Military College of ] in ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citadel.edu/root/presidents |title=Presidents – the Citadel 2012 – Charleston, SC |access-date=2012-06-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517172210/http://www.citadel.edu/root/presidents |archive-date=2012-05-17 }}</ref> | |||
From 1954 to 1955, Clark was head of the Clark Task Force to study and make recommendations on all intelligence activities of the Federal government.<ref name="task force p. 15">Michael Warner; Kenneth McDonald. "US Intelligence Community Reform Studies Since 1947." CIA. p. 15. Retrieved 28 June 2013.</ref> The task force had been created in 1953 by the second Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, or the ], which had been chaired by ].{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} | |||
Members of the Clark Task Force were Admiral ], a former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations; ], the speaker pro tempore of South Carolina's House of Representatives; California businessman Henry Kearns; ], World War I flying ace and president of Eastern Air Lines; and ], a former Assistant Secretary of State. The staff director was Major General James G. Christiansen. The task force first met in early November 1954 and in May 1955 submitted a top-secret report for the president and another that was unclassified for the Hoover Commission and Congress.<ref name="task force p. 15"/> The Clark task force coined the term ] to describe "the machinery for accomplishing our intelligence objectives."<ref>The Clark report, "Intelligence service. A Report to the Congress.*Volume 2, 76 pages, 13, 17–18.</ref> | |||
Clark wrote two memoirs: ''Calculated Risk'' (1950)<ref>Clark, Mark W. ''Calculated Risk''. New York: Harper, 1950. {{OCLC|358946}}.</ref> and ''From the Danube to the Yalu'' (1954).<ref>Clark, Mark W. ''From the Danube to the Yalu''. New York: Harper, 1954. {{OCLC|178967}}.</ref> His wife, Maurine, also wrote a memoir: ''Captain's Bride, General's Lady'' (1956).<ref>Clark, Maurine Doran. ''Captain's Bride, General's Lady: The Memoirs of Mrs. Mark W. Clark''. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1956. {{OCLC|1362519}}.</ref> | |||
Clark wrote two memoirs: ''Calculated Risk'' (1950) and ''From the Danube to the Yalu'' (1954). | |||
In 1962, Clark was elected an honorary member of the South Carolina ] in recognition of his outstanding service to his country.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} | |||
==Retirement and death== | |||
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, at age 87. 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. | |||
==Major assignments== | |||
In 1962 Clark was elected an honorary member of the South Carolina ] in recognition of his outstanding service to his country. | |||
*Deputy Commander, ] – October 1942 to 4 January 1943 | |||
*Commanding General, ] – 5 January 1943 to 15 December 1944 | |||
*Commanding General, ] – 16 December 1944 to 26 June 1945 | |||
*Commander, US Occupation Forces in Austria – 27 June 1945 to June 1947 | |||
*Commanding General, ] – June 1947 to 30 September 1949 | |||
*Chief, ] – 1 October 1949 to 5 May 1952 | |||
*Commander in Chief, ] in Korea – 12 May 1952 to 7 October 1953 | |||
*Commander in Chief, ] – 12 May 1952 to 7 October 1953 | |||
==Awards and decorations== | ==Awards and decorations== | ||
Line 87: | Line 182: | ||
|] | |] | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number= |
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=oak|ribbon=Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} | ||
|] with oak leaf cluster | |] with three ]s | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service ribbon.svg|width=60}} | |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service ribbon.svg|width=60}} | ||
Line 108: | Line 203: | ||
|] | |] | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=American Defense Service ribbon.svg|width=60}} | |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} | ||
|] | |] | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number= |
|{{ribbon devices|number=7|type=service-star|ribbon=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|width=60}} | ||
|] | |] with 7 ]s | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} | |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} | ||
Line 123: | Line 218: | ||
|] | |] | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number= |
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=60}} | ||
|] | |] with 3 campaign stars | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon= |
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Legion Honneur GC ribbon.svg|width=60}} | ||
|], Grand Cross (]) | |||
|] | |||
|- | |||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=BEL Kroonorde Grootofficier BAR.svg|width=60}} | |||
|], Grand Officer (]) | |||
|- | |||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of the Southern Cross Grand Officer (Brazil) Ribbon.png|width=60}} | |||
|], Grand Officer (]) | |||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=TCH Rad Bileho Lva 1 tridy (pre1990) BAR.svg|width=60}} | |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=TCH Rad Bileho Lva 1 tridy (pre1990) BAR.svg|width=60}} | ||
|], First Class (]) | |], First Class (]) | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon= |
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Cavaliere di gran Croce Regno SSML BAR.svg|width=60}} | ||
|], Grand Cross ( |
|], Grand Cross (Italy) | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Cavaliere di gran croce OMS BAR.svg|width=60}} | |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Cavaliere di gran croce OMS BAR.svg|width=60}} | ||
|], Grand Cross (]) | |], Grand Cross (]) | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon= |
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=MAR Order of the Ouissam Alaouite - Grand Cross (1913-1956) BAR.png|width=60}} | ||
|], Grand Cross ( |
|], Grand Cross – First Class (]) | ||
|- | |||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of Suvorov 106x30.png|width=60}} | |||
|] (])<ref>{{citation |last=Empric |first=Bruce E. |title=Uncommon Allies: U.S. Army Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World War II |publisher=Teufelsberg Press |page=46 |year=2024 |isbn=979-8-3444-6807-5}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of the Bath (ribbon).svg|width=60}} | |||
|] (]) | |||
|- | |||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon.svg|width=60}} | |||
|] (]) | |||
|- | |||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=BEL Kroonorde Grootofficier BAR.svg|width=60}} | |||
|], Grand Officer (]) | |||
|- | |||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=BRA - Order of the Southern Cross - Grand Officer BAR.svg|width=60}} | |||
|], Grand Officer (]) | |||
|- | |||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=BRA Ordem do Merito Militar Grande Oficial.png|width=60}} | |||
|], Great Officer (]) | |||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Valor militare silver medal BAR.svg|width=60}} | |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Valor militare silver medal BAR.svg|width=60}} | ||
|] (Italy) | |] (Italy) | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Virtuti Militari |
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=POL Virtuti Militari Srebrny BAR.svg|width=60}} | ||
|], Krzyż Srebrny/Silver Cross (]) | |], Krzyż Srebrny/Silver Cross (]) | ||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon= |
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=60}} | ||
|] | |||
|], Grand Cross - First Class (]) | |||
|} | |||
==Dates of rank== | |||
{|class="wikitable" style="background:white" | |||
! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date | |||
|- | |- | ||
|align="center" |No insignia || ] || ] || 14 June 1913 | |||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon.png|width=60}} | |||
|- | |||
|] (]) | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || ]|| 20 April 1917 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Regular Army|| 15 May 1917 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || National Army|| 5 August 1917 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Regular Army|| 7 November 1919 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Regular Army|| 14 January 1933 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Regular Army|| 1 July 1940 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || ]|| 4 August 1941 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Army of the United States|| 17 April 1942 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Army of the United States|| 11 November 1942 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Regular Army || 14 September 1943 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Regular Army || 7 October 1944 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Army of the United States|| 10 March 1945 | |||
|- | |||
|align="center" |] || ] || Retired list|| 31 October 1953 | |||
|- | |- | ||
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of Suvorov 106x30.png|width=60}} | |||
|], First Class (]) | |||
|} | |} | ||
==Personal life== | ==Personal life== | ||
Clark married Maurine Doran, daughter of Mr. |
Clark married Maurine Doran, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Doran of Muncie, Ind., 17 May 1924. Mrs. Clark died 5 October 1966. Their son was Maj. William Doran Clark, U.S.A. (Ret.),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?pid=176275879|title=WILLIAM CLARK Obituary – Washington, DC – The Washington Post|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> and their daughter Patricia Ann (Mrs. Gordon H. Oosting).<ref>http://www3.citadel.edu/museum/Clark_Inventory.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730041730/http://www3.citadel.edu/museum/Clark_Inventory.pdf |date=2017-07-30 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> Later in life he married Mary Dean.<ref> from ''Chicago Tribune'', 18 October 1967, retrieved 29 July 2017</ref> 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 ] Freemasonry<ref>{{cite web | url = https://pub.acgl.eu/index.php/freemasonry/information | title = Famous men members of Masonic Lodges | website = American Canadian Grand Lodge ACGL | language = en | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181117142833/https://pub.acgl.eu/index.php/freemasonry/information | archive-date = November 17, 2018 | url-status = live}}</ref> in the Mystic Tie Lodge No. 398, Indianapolis, IN, receiving the 33rd and highest degree.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.matawanlodge.org/famous.htm | title = Celebrating more than 100 years of the Freemasonry: famous Freemasons in the history | language = en | website = Mathawan Lodge No 192 F.A. & A.M., New Jersey | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080510153526/http://www.matawanlodge.org/famous.htm | archive-date = May 10, 2008 | url-status = live}}</ref> | |||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
An interstate spur (I-526) in the suburbs of Charleston, South Carolina, was named ] in his honor |
An interstate spur (I-526) in the suburbs of Charleston, South Carolina, was named ] in his honor. | ||
Mark Clark Hall on the ] in ], is named in General Clark's honor. | |||
The ] in ], is named in Clark's honor. | |||
From 1949 to August 17, 2010, the ] in ] connected ] with the adjacent town of ] on the mainland. It was then superseded by the Camano Gateway Bridge, and the Mark Clark Bridge was demolished the following month. | |||
]'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 ]. | |||
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 ] as the reason for the Abel character going to World War II. | |||
Two locations in the ]ian state of ]—the ] in ], and a street in ]—have been named after Clark. | |||
The Agulhas Negras Military Academy Stadium, Brazil ( AMAN ), is named General Mark Clark.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.aman.eb.mil.br/ultimas-noticias/675-desafio-internacional-agulhas-negras-2022|title=Desafio Internacional Agulhas Negras 2022|access-date=2022-04-25|date=2022-04-18}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> | |||
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.<ref>{{citation |url=https://guiamapa.com/rj/sao-goncalo/barro-vermelho/rua-general-mark-clark |title=Mapa Rua General Mark Clark |access-date=2022-04-25}}</ref> | |||
==In film== | ==In film== | ||
Clark was portrayed by ] in the film '']''. | Clark was portrayed by ] in the 1968 film '']''. The film is about the exploits of the ], commanded by ] ], which came under Clark's command in the Italian Campaign. | ||
Clark was portrayed by ] in the 1968 war film '']'', under the pseudonym “General Carson”. | |||
Clark was portrayed by ] in the 1979 television miniseries '']''. | |||
General Clark was referred to in the television series '']'', ], episode 3: "Foreign Affairs". In the episode, he created a program that awarded an enemy soldier $100,000 and U.S. citizenship. | |||
== See also == | |||
* {{Portal-inline|Biography}} | |||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
{{Reflist}} | |||
{{Portal|World War I|Biography|World War II}} | |||
{{Reflist|2}} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
;Bibliography | ; Bibliography | ||
*{{cite book|author=Atkinson, Rick|title=Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943|publisher=Holt Paperbacks|year=2002|isbn=0-8050-8724-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/armyatdawn00rick}} | |||
*{{cite book | |||
*{{cite book|first=Edward L.|last=King|title=From Salerno to Rome: General Mark W. Clark and the Challenge of Coalition Warfare - War College Series|isbn=978-1298474124|year=2015|publisher=War College Series}} | |||
|author= Atkinson, Rick | |||
*{{cite book|author= Atkinson, Rick|title=The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944|publisher=Holt Paperbacks|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8050-8861-8}} | |||
|title=Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 | |||
*{{cite book|first=Colin F.|last=Baxter|title=Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1887–1976: A Selected Bibliography|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1999|isbn=978-0-313-29119-7}} | |||
|publisher=Holt Paperbacks | |||
*{{cite book|first=Ian|last=Blackwell|title=Fifth Army in Italy, 1943−1945: A Coalition at War|isbn=978-1-84884-487-2|year=2012|publisher=Pen and Sword Military}} | |||
|year=2002 | |||
*{{cite book|first=Martin|last=Blumenson|title=Mark Clark|author-link=Martin Blumenson|isbn=0-224-02299-7|year=1984|publisher=Cordon & Weed}} | |||
|isbn=0-8050-8724-9 | |||
*{{cite book|last= Clark|first= Mark W.|title=Calculated Risk, The War Memoirs of a Great American General|publisher=Enigma Books|year=2007|isbn=978-1-929631-59-9}} (first edition 1950) | |||
}} | |||
*{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Mark W.|title=From the Danube to the Yalu |publisher=Harper|year=1954|oclc=178967}} | |||
*{{cite book | |||
*{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Maurine Doran|title=Captain's Bride, General's Lady; The Memoirs of Mrs. Mark W. Clark|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1956|oclc= 1362519}} | |||
|author= Atkinson, Rick | |||
*{{citation |last=Empric |first=Bruce E. |title=Uncommon Allies: U.S. Army Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World War II |publisher=Teufelsberg Press |year=2024 |isbn=979-8-3444-6807-5}} | |||
|title=The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 | |||
*{{cite book|last1=Hapgood|first1=David|last2=Richardson|first2=David |title=Monte Cassino: The Story of the Most Controversial Battle of World War II|publisher=Da Capo|location=Cambridge Mass.|year=2002|edition=repr.|orig-year=1984|isbn=0-306-81121-9}} | |||
|publisher=Holt Paperbacks | |||
*{{cite book|first=Robert|last=Katz|title=The Battle for Rome|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7432-1642-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/battleforrome00robe }} | |||
|year=2008 | |||
*{{cite book|last=Taaffe|first=Stephen R.|title=Marshall and His Generals: U.S. Army Commanders in World War II|year=2013|location=]|publisher=]|isbn=978-0-7006-1942-9|oclc=840162019|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u8nDEAAAQBAJ}} | |||
|isbn=978-0-8050-8861-8 | |||
}} | |||
*{{cite book|first=Colin F.|last=Baxter |title=Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1887-1976: A Selected Bibliography|publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-313-29119-7}} | |||
*{{cite book | |||
|author= Clark, Mark W. | |||
|title=CALCULATED RISK, The War Memoirs of a Great American General | |||
|publisher=Enigma Books | |||
|year=2007 | |||
|isbn=978-1-929631-59-9 | |||
}} | |||
*{{cite book|first=Robert|last=Katz |title=The Battle for Rome|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7432-1642-5}} | |||
*{{cite book|last1=Hapgood|first1=David|last2=Richardson| first2=David| title=Monte Cassino: The Story of the Most Controversial Battle of World War II|publisher=Da Capo |location=Cambridge Mass.|year=2002|edition=reprint|origyear=1984|isbn=0-306-81121-9}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{wikiquote}} | |||
* | |||
{{Commons category|Mark Wayne Clark}} | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | * | ||
* from General Clark (some statements with German translation) | * from General Clark (some statements with German translation) | ||
* |
* | ||
* |
* – ] magazine cover of July 7, 1952 | ||
* {{YouTube|tkDhryFy3SU|General Clark explains military situation in Italy, 1943}} Footage | |||
* Three Monkeys Online | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730041730/http://www3.citadel.edu/museum/Clark_Inventory.pdf |date=2017-07-30 }} The Citadel Archives & Museum | |||
* Footage | |||
* Sidney T. Mathews: ''General Clark's Decision to drive on Rome''. In: ''Command Decisions'' (editor: ], 2000). CMH Pub 70-7-1; partly edited already in 1960. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726232433/http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_14.htm |date=2009-07-26 }} (p. 351–364) | |||
* The Citadel Archives & Museum | |||
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|NAME= Clark, Mark Wayne | |||
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|DATE OF BIRTH= May 1, 1896 | |||
|PLACE OF BIRTH= Madison Barracks, ], New York | |||
|DATE OF DEATH= April 17, 1984 | |||
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Latest revision as of 18:59, 16 December 2024
American general (1896–1984) For the later U.S. general named Mark Clark, see Mark A. Clark (general). For other people named Mark Clark, see Mark Clark (disambiguation).Mark W. Clark | |
---|---|
Clark in 1945 | |
Nickname(s) | "American Eagle" "Wayne" "Contraband" (while at West Point) |
Born | (1896-05-01)1 May 1896 Madison Barracks, Sackets Harbor, New York, U.S. |
Died | 17 April 1984(1984-04-17) (aged 87) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
Buried | The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina |
Allegiance | United States |
Service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1917–1953 |
Rank | General |
Service number | 0–5309 |
Unit | Infantry Branch |
Commands | United Nations Command Sixth United States Army 15th Army Group Seventh United States Army Fifth United States Army II Corps 3rd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment |
Battles / wars | |
Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Army Distinguished Service Medal (4) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal Purple Heart |
Spouse(s) |
Maurine Doran
(m. 1924; died 1966) |
Other work | The Citadel, President |
Mark Wayne Clark (1 May 1896 – 17 April 1984) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the US Army during World War II.
During World War I, he was a company commander and served in France in 1918, as a 22-year-old captain, where he was seriously wounded by shrapnel. After the war, the future US Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, noticed Clark's abilities. During World War II, he commanded the United States Fifth Army, and later the 15th Army Group, in the Italian campaign. He is known for leading the Fifth Army when it captured Rome in June 1944, around the same time as the Normandy landings. He was also the head of planning for Operation Torch, the largest seaborne invasion at the time.
On 10 March 1945, at the age of 48, Clark became one of the youngest American officers promoted to the rank of four-star general. Dwight D. Eisenhower, a close friend, considered Clark to be a brilliant staff officer and trainer of men.
Throughout his thirty-six years of military service, Clark was awarded many medals, the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the US Army's second-highest decoration, being the most notable.
A legacy of the "Clark Task Force," which he led from 1953 to 1955 to review and to make recommendations on all federal intelligence activities, is the term "intelligence community."
Early life and career
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. 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.
Clark gained an early appointment to the USMA in June 1913 at the age of 17, but lost time from frequent illnesses. Known as "Contraband" by his classmates, because of his ability to smuggle sweets into the barracks, 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 20 April 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. 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.
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. In the rapid expansion of the U.S. Army during the war, he rose quickly in rank, promoted to first lieutenant on 15 May and captain on 5 August 1917.
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). 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 J. Pershing, the AEF's Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C). 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 12 June 1918, with O'Daniel taking over command of Clark's company. 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.
Captain Clark recovered from his injuries within six weeks, but was graded unfit to return to the infantry, 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. He stayed in this post until the end of hostilities on 11 November 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.
Interwar period
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, in which he was promoted to major on 14 January 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.
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 1 July. 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. On 4 August 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.
World War II
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.
Service in Europe and North Africa
On 17 April 1942, Clark was temporarily promoted to the two-star rank of major general. 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," 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.
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 11 November 1942, three days after the Torch landings. He was the youngest three-star general in the U.S. Army. On 5 January 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. 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. 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. His permanent rank was upgraded to brigadier general on 1 September 1943.
On 9 September 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. 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 9 July 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.
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 1 October 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.
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). 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." The commander of the 4th Indian Infantry Division, Major General Francis Tuker, urged the bombing of the entire massif with the heaviest bombs available. 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."
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". 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.
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.
Early on the morning of 28 January 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. 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. A few months later, on 10 June, 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.
15th Army Group
In December 1944 Clark succeeded Alexander as commander of the AAI, renamed the 15th Army Group, and Alexander was made the Supreme Commander of the AFHQ in the Mediterranean, replacing Field Marshal Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, who himself was called to Washington to replace Field Marshal Sir John Dill as head of the British Joint Chiefs of Staff. Succeeding Clark as commander of the Fifth Army was Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott, who had previously commanded VI Corps and, before that, the 3rd Division. Clark was promoted to the four-star rank of acting general on 10 March 1945, aged 48, the youngest in the United States Army. His permanent rank was upgraded to major general on 7 October 1944.
Clark led the 15th Army Group throughout the final months of the Italian campaign, although no major offensives took place, due mainly to a critical shortage of manpower throughout the ranks of both the Fifth and Eighth Armies along with the worsening winter weather. After much retraining and reorganizing, Clark then led the army group in the final offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, which brought the war in Italy to an end, and he afterwards accepted the German surrender in Italy in May and became Commander of the Allied Forces in Italy at the end of World War II in Europe.
Post-war era
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. On 20 October 1951, he was nominated by President Harry S Truman to be the US emissary to the Holy See. Clark withdrew his nomination on 13 January 1952, after protests from Texas Senator Tom Connally and from Protestant groups.
Congressional inquiry
Further information: Battle of Rapido RiverIt 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.
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."
Clark was absolved of blame by the House of Representatives but never commented on the Rapido River episode.
Korean War
During the Korean War, he took over as commander of the United Nations Command on 12 May 1952, succeeding General Matthew Ridgway, a close friend and a fellow graduate of the West Point class of 1917. In this capacity he also served as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, overseeing all U.S. forces in the postwar occupation of Japan. Clark commanded the UN forces in Korea until the armistice was signed on 27 July 1953, and retired from the Army on 31 October that year. He retained his position as SCAP and governor of the Ryukyu Islands until 7 October, when he was succeeded by John E. Hull.
Later career
From 1954 to 1965, after retiring from the Army, Clark served as president of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina in Charleston.
From 1954 to 1955, Clark was head of the Clark Task Force to study and make recommendations on all intelligence activities of the Federal government. The task force had been created in 1953 by the second Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, or the Hoover Commission, which had been chaired by Herbert Hoover.
Members of the Clark Task Force were Admiral Richard L. Conolly, a former Deputy Chief of Naval Operations; Ernest F. Hollings, the speaker pro tempore of South Carolina's House of Representatives; California businessman Henry Kearns; Edward V. Rickenbacker, World War I flying ace and president of Eastern Air Lines; and Donald S. Russell, a former Assistant Secretary of State. The staff director was Major General James G. Christiansen. The task force first met in early November 1954 and in May 1955 submitted a top-secret report for the president and another that was unclassified for the Hoover Commission and Congress. The Clark task force coined the term Intelligence Community to describe "the machinery for accomplishing our intelligence objectives."
Clark wrote two memoirs: Calculated Risk (1950) and From the Danube to the Yalu (1954). His wife, Maurine, also wrote a memoir: Captain's Bride, General's Lady (1956).
In 1962, Clark was elected an honorary member of the South Carolina Society of the Cincinnati in recognition of his outstanding service to his country.
Retirement and death
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, at age 87. 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.
Major assignments
- Deputy Commander, Allied Force Headquarters – October 1942 to 4 January 1943
- Commanding General, Fifth Army – 5 January 1943 to 15 December 1944
- Commanding General, 15th Army Group – 16 December 1944 to 26 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
Awards and decorations
Dates of rank
Insignia | Rank | Component | Date |
---|---|---|---|
No insignia | Cadet | United States Military Academy | 14 June 1913 |
Second lieutenant | Regular Army | 20 April 1917 | |
First lieutenant | Regular Army | 15 May 1917 | |
Captain | National Army | 5 August 1917 | |
Captain | Regular Army | 7 November 1919 | |
Major | Regular Army | 14 January 1933 | |
Lieutenant colonel | Regular Army | 1 July 1940 | |
Brigadier general | Army of the United States | 4 August 1941 | |
Major general | Army of the United States | 17 April 1942 | |
Lieutenant general | Army of the United States | 11 November 1942 | |
Brigadier general | Regular Army | 14 September 1943 | |
Major general | Regular Army | 7 October 1944 | |
General | Army of the United States | 10 March 1945 | |
General | Retired list | 31 October 1953 |
Personal life
Clark married Maurine Doran, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. A. Doran of Muncie, Ind., 17 May 1924. Mrs. Clark died 5 October 1966. Their son was Maj. William Doran Clark, U.S.A. (Ret.), and their daughter Patricia Ann (Mrs. Gordon H. Oosting). Later in life he married Mary Dean. 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 in the Mystic Tie Lodge No. 398, Indianapolis, IN, receiving the 33rd and highest degree.
Legacy
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.
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.
In film
Clark was portrayed by Michael Rennie in the 1968 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 Robert Ryan in the 1968 war film Anzio, under the pseudonym “General Carson”.
Clark was portrayed by William Schallert in the 1979 television miniseries Ike: The War Years.
General Clark was referred to in the television series M*A*S*H, season 11, episode 3: "Foreign Affairs". In the episode, he created a program that awarded an enemy soldier $100,000 and U.S. citizenship.
See also
Notes
- ^ Atkinson (2002), p.44.
- "General Mark Clark", www.historylearningsite.co.uk
- Holland, James (2023). The Savage Storm: The Battle for Italy 1943. Atlantic Monthly Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-8021-6160-4.
- ^ "Biography of General Mark Wayne Clark (1896–1984), USA". generals.dk.
- From Salerno to Rome: General Mark W. Clark and the Challenges of Coalition Warfare, archived from the original on 17 July 2011, retrieved 7 May 2009 Abstract of master's thesis
- Michael Warner; Kenneth McDonald. "US Intelligence Community Reform Studies Since 1947" (PDF). CIA. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
- "Clark, General Mark Wayne (1896–1984)". HistoryLink.org. Seattle, Washington. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
..grew up in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb near Fort Sheridan ...
- Blumenson, pps. 9–15
- Satloff, Robert (30 October 2017). "The Vichy Corruption". mosaicmagazine.com. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ Blumenson, p. 16
- ^ "Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., from its establishment, in 1802 : [Supplement, volume VI-B 1910-1920]". digital-library.usma.edu. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
- ^ Taaffe 2013, p. 59.
- ^ Blumenson, p. 18
- ^ "Biography (Mark W. Clark)" (PDF). The Citadel Archives & Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- ^ Blumenson, p. 20
- ^ Blumenson, p. 21
- ^ Blumenson, p. 22
- Blackwell 2012, p. 116.
- Robertson, Rickey. "Remembering the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941". SFA Center for Regional Heritage Research. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
- Blumenson, p. 63
- Blumenson, p. 3
- Blumenson, p. 131
- Blumenson, p. 113
- Baxter (1999), p.58-9.
- "Mark Clark – Recipient –".
- Clark may be seen introducing the John Huston 1945 film, "The Battle of San Pietro" on various sites, including
- Majdalany, Fred (1957). The Battle of Cassino. Houghton Mifflin. p. 140.
- Holmes (2001) p113
- Hapgood & Richardson, p. 173
- However, other historians have rightly pointed out that the German 10th Army did not use Route 6 (the Via Casilina) in the Liri Valley as its escape route and that it retreated toward the Adriatic instead, beyond the reach of Clark's forces and the British Eighth Army. By turning directly for Rome, the Fifth Army actually inflicted more casualties on the Nazis than would have otherwise occurred. Holmes, Richard Battlefields of the Second World War "Cassino" 2001 BBC Worldwide p 126
- Holmes (2001) p 127.
- "28 January 1944: General Mark Clark survives 'friendly fire'". ww2today.com. 28 January 1944. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
- Brigadier C.J.C. Molony, Captain (RN) F.C. Flynn, Major General H.L. Davies and Group Captain T.P. Gleave, The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume V; The Campaign in Sicily 193 and The Campaign in Italy 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944 (History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series) (2004), page 695, U.K. Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-069-6.
- Holland, James (2008). Italy's Sorrow: A Year of War, 1944–1945. Macmillan. pp. 213–4. ISBN 978-1429945431.
- Katz (2003), p.27.
- O'Brien, William (January 1959). "General Clark's Nomination as Ambassador to the Vatican: American Reaction". The Catholic Historical Review. 44 (4): 421–439. JSTOR 25016458.
- The Tuscaloosa News, January 20, 1946, Texas Troops Ask Inquiry
- ^ "Military.com Content". Archived from the original on 22 January 2015.
- "Presidents – the Citadel 2012 – Charleston, SC". Archived from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- ^ Michael Warner; Kenneth McDonald. "US Intelligence Community Reform Studies Since 1947." CIA. p. 15. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
- The Clark report, "Intelligence service. A Report to the Congress.*Volume 2, 76 pages, 13, 17–18.
- Clark, Mark W. Calculated Risk. New York: Harper, 1950. OCLC 358946.
- Clark, Mark W. From the Danube to the Yalu. New York: Harper, 1954. OCLC 178967.
- Clark, Maurine Doran. Captain's Bride, General's Lady: The Memoirs of Mrs. Mark W. Clark. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1956. OCLC 1362519.
- Empric, Bruce E. (2024), Uncommon Allies: U.S. Army Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World War II, Teufelsberg Press, p. 46, ISBN 979-8-3444-6807-5
- "WILLIAM CLARK Obituary – Washington, DC – The Washington Post". The Washington Post.
- http://www3.citadel.edu/museum/Clark_Inventory.pdf Archived 2017-07-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Gen Mark W Clark Married to Widow from Chicago Tribune, 18 October 1967, retrieved 29 July 2017
- "Famous men members of Masonic Lodges". American Canadian Grand Lodge ACGL. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018.
- "Celebrating more than 100 years of the Freemasonry: famous Freemasons in the history". Mathawan Lodge No 192 F.A. & A.M., New Jersey. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008.
- Desafio Internacional Agulhas Negras 2022, 18 April 2022, retrieved 25 April 2022
- Mapa Rua General Mark Clark, retrieved 25 April 2022
References
- 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.
- Empric, Bruce E. (2024), Uncommon Allies: U.S. Army Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World War II, Teufelsberg Press, ISBN 979-8-3444-6807-5
- Hapgood, David; Richardson, David (2002) . 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.
External links
- United States Army Officers 1939–1945
- 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
- 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
Military offices | ||
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Preceded byNewly activated organization | Commanding General II Corps June – October 1942 |
Succeeded byLloyd Fredendall |
Preceded byNewly activated organization | Commanding General Fifth Army 1943–1944 |
Succeeded byLucian Truscott |
Preceded bySir Harold Alexander | Commanding General Fifteenth Army Group 1944–1945 |
Succeeded byPosition abolished |
Preceded byGeorge Price Hays | Commanding General Sixth Army 1947–1949 |
Succeeded byAlbert Coady Wedemeyer |
Preceded byMatthew Ridgway | Supreme Commander, United Nations Command 1952–1953 |
Succeeded byJohn E. Hull |
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