Mark W. Clark

Mark W. Clark
Clark in 1945
Nickname(s)	"American Eagle" "Wayne" "Contraband" (while at West Point)[1]
Born	(1896-05-01)May 1, 1896 Madison Barracks, Sackets Harbor, New York, U.S.
Died	April 17, 1984(1984-04-17) (aged 87) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Buried	The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1953
Rank	General
Service number	0–5309
Unit	Infantry Branch
Commands held	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	World War I World War II North African campaign Operation Torch Operation Flagpole Italian campaign Operation Husky Allied invasion of Italy Operation Avalanche Barbara Line Bernhardt Line Battle of Monte Cassino Battle of Anzio Battle of Cisterna Gothic Line Battle of Monte Castello Winter Line Battle of San Pietro Infine Battle of Rapido River Operation Grapeshot Occupation of Austria Korean War
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 (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

Clark has been heavily criticized for ignoring the orders of his superior officer, British General Sir Harold Alexander, commanding the Allied Armies in Italy (AAI), and for allowing the German 10th Army to slip away, in his drive to take Rome, the capital of Italy but not strategically important. Clark ordered Lucian Truscott, commanding U.S. VI Corps, to select Operation Turtle (moving towards Rome) rather than Operation Buffalo (moving to cut Route 6 at Valmontone), which Alexander had ordered. Clark had, however, left Operation Turtle as an option if Operation Buffalo ran into difficulty. The German 10th Army then joined the rest of the German army group at the Trasimene Line.^[4] Clarke's failure to follow orders and the perceived waste of lives as a result led correspondent Alan Whicker to observe; "if he had been German, Hitler would have had him shot".

On March 10, 1945, at the age of 48, Clark became one of the youngest American officers promoted to the rank of four-star general.^[5] Dwight D. Eisenhower, a close friend, considered Clark to be a brilliant staff officer and trainer of men.^[6]

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."^[7]