Mark Clark
| Surname | Clark |
| Given Name | Mark |
| Born | 1 May 1896 |
| Died | 17 Apr 1984 |
| Country | United States |
| Category | Military-Ground |
| Gender | Male |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseMark Wayne Clark was born in Madison Barracks, New York, United States and grew up in Illinois. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1917 and immediately served in WW1 in France with the US 11th Infantry at the rank of captain. During the inter-war years, he 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.
ww2dbaseIn WW2, Clark was the Deputy Commander for Operation Torch, which was the Allied invasion of North Africa. Over the night of 21-22 Oct 1942, he covertly landed at Cherchell, Algeria to meet with Vichy French commander Charles Mast to secure cooperation. In 1943, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, and was the younger officer to have done so. His close working relationship with George Marshall (who was a possible cousin of his) and Dwight Eisenhower allowed the superiors to discover his leadership talents readily, giving him a quick rise through the ranks. In Sep 1943, he led the US 5th Army during the Salerno landings in Italy. In Dec 1944, he was assigned overall command of the 15th Army Group, or in other words giving him operational control of the entire Allied operations in the Italian campaign. He became Commander of Allied Forces in Italy before the end of the war.
ww2dbaseDuring the years following the European War, Clark was the US High Commissioner of Austria.
ww2dbaseDuring the Korean War, Clark took over command of the United Nations forces on 12 May 1952. He signed the cease fire agreement with North Korea in the following year.
ww2dbaseClark retired from the army following the Korean War and served as the president of the military college The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina until 1966. Clark passed away in 1984 and now rests in peace at The Citadel.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: Jan 2007
Mark Clark Interactive Map
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Mark Clark Timeline
| 1 May 1896 | Mark Clark was born. |
| 1 Jan 1944 | General Mark Clark became the commander of US Fifth and Seventh Armies. |
| 17 Apr 1984 | Mark Clark passed away. |
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Visitor Submitted Comments
15 Mar 2012 01:14:42 PM
How can I find out if my father served under Clark?
25 Apr 2012 08:31:22 AM
My uncle, Robert Eugene Gleason from Palmyra, NY served as a medic in Mark Clark's Fifth Army. He was wounded and bled to death somewhere near Monte Cassino after he refused evacuation in order to treat other wounded soldiers in a farmhouse after a battle. Ken Hughes of Palmyra was there at the time, but has passed away and never was able to tell us any details. I would like to contact anyone who may know about this event, particularly the families of those whom my uncle hmay have treated in his final days. I can be contacted through e-mail
kguererri@mac.com
19 Oct 2020 06:48:02 PM
My name is Keith Salter.
My father, Frank Salter, fought in the 3rd Battalion, the 361st Infantry.
Does anyone have a living relative who knew my father?
Thank you
19 Oct 2020 06:55:56 PM
My father, Frank Salter, fought with the 3rd Battalion, 361st Infantry under Mark Clark.
Does anyone have a relative who knew my father?
kjv1611salt@sbcglobal.net
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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23 Jul 2008 04:47:03 AM
Clark's US 5th Army would liberate Rome on the 4th June 1944. This has event has however, been the subject of much controversy as Clark took it upon himself to divert his army from cutting off the retreat of the beaten German 10th Army to take the glory of being the first Allied formation to enter the Holy City. According to General McGreery, Alexander was livid to hear of Clark's actions, but overall the liberation of Rome proved to be a boost to the morale of those troops awaiting to take part in the Normandy landings, as well as gaving encouragement to the many of the millions of people across Europe who were still living under German occupation.