Mark Wayne Clark

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Mark Wayne Clark United States Army
(May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984)

Place of birth	Madison Barracks, New York
Place of death	Charleston, South Carolina
Allegiance	United States Army
Years of service	1917 - 1953
Rank	General
Commands	United Nations Forces Korea Fifth Army
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Korean War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross,Distinguished Service Medal

Mark Wayne Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984) was an American general during World War II and the Korean War.

1 Early life and career
2 World War II
3 During and after the Korean War
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early life and career

Clark was born in Madison Barracks, New York, but spent much of his youth in Illinois. He was a possible cousin of General George Marshall.

Clark graduated from West Point in 1917. He had gained an early appointment to the military academy, but lost time from illnesses. He was appointed to the rank of captain in the infantry in 1917 and served in France during World War I in the U.S. 11th Infantry, where he was wounded.

Between the wars, Clark served as a deputy commander of the Civilian Conservation Corps district in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended the Command and General Staff School in 1935 and the Army War College in 1937.

[edit] World War II

During World War II, he was the Deputy Commander for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. He landed by submarine weeks before the invasion to negotiate with the Vichy French at Cherchell on October 21–22, 1942.

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

Clark was the youngest officer to become lieutenant-general in 1943, and was given command of the US Fifth Army shortly before the Salerno landings in Italy in September 1943. In December 1944 he assumed command of the 15th Army Group, putting him in command of all Allied ground troops in Italy. His conduct of operations remains controversial, particularly the attack on Monte Cassino, the slow progress of conquering Italy, and the failure to entrap and capture German units during the Battle of the Winter Line, when Clark sent his units towards Rome, in an attempt to be the first to enter the city, rather than to exploit a gap in the German positions. As a result of Clark's actions, the Gothic Line was not broken for another year, and the provisional governments and safe areas which the Allies had encouraged the Italian Partisans to set up were smashed by the German Army, at great loss to the partisans.

At the war's end Clark was Commander of Allied Forces in Italy and, later, U.S. High Commissioner of Austria. Returning home, he commanded the U.S. Sixth Army.

[edit] During and after the Korean War

During the Korean war, he took over as commander of the United Nations forces on May 12, 1952, succeeding General Matthew Ridgway. It was Clark who signed the cease-fire agreement with North Korea in 1953.

After retiring from the army, General Clark served (1954 to 1966) as president of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, in Charleston, South Carolina. An Interstate spur (I-526) connecting North Charleston and Mount Pleasant bears his name. He wrote two volumes of memoirs: Calculated Risk (1950) and From the Danube to the Yalu (1954).

Mark Clark's quick rise from field officer through general officer ranks has been attributed to his relationship with Generals George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower.

Among his awards and decorations are the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Grand Croix Légion d'honneur

Clark is buried at The Citadel. 1231