View source for Mark W. Clark

{{short description|American general (1896–1984)}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Mark Clark (baseball)]] or [[Mark A. Clark (general)]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Mark W. Clark
| image         = General Mark W. Clark (cropped).jpg
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = Official portrait, 1945
| nickname      = "American Eagle"<br />"Wayne"<br />"Contraband" (while at West Point)<ref name=Atkinson_p44/>
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1896|05|01|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Madison Barracks]], [[Sackets Harbor]], New York, U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1984|04|17|1896|05|01|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Charleston, South Carolina]], U.S.
| placeofburial = [[The Citadel]], Charleston, South Carolina
| allegiance    = United States
| branch        = [[United States Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1917–1953
| rank          = [[General (United States)|General]]
| servicenumber = 0–5309
| unit          = [[Infantry Branch (United States)|Infantry Branch]]
| commands      = [[United Nations Command]]<br />[[Sixth United States Army]]<br />[[15th Army Group]]<br />[[Seventh United States Army]]<br />[[Fifth United States Army]]<br />[[II Corps (United States)|II Corps]]<br />3rd Battalion, [[11th Infantry Regiment (United States)|11th Infantry Regiment]]
| battles       = {{tree list}}
* [[World War I]]
* [[World War II]]
** [[North African campaign]]
*** [[Operation Torch]]
**** [[Operation Flagpole (World War II)|Operation Flagpole]]
** [[Italian campaign (World War II)|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]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards        = [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]]<br />[[Army Distinguished Service Medal]] (4)<br />[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]<br />[[Legion of Merit]]<br />[[Bronze Star Medal]]<br />[[Purple Heart]]
| spouse        = {{marriage|Maurine Doran|1924|1966|end=died}}
| relations     = 
| laterwork     = [[The Citadel]], President
}}
'''Mark Wayne Clark''' (1 May 1896 – 17 April 1984) was a [[United States Army]] [[officer (armed forces)|officer]] who fought in [[World War I]], [[World War II]], and the [[Korean War]]. He was the youngest four-star [[General (United States)|general]] in the U.S. Army during World War II.

During World War I, he was a [[company commander]] and served in [[Western Front (World War I)|France]] in 1918, as a 22-year-old [[captain (United States)|captain]], where he was seriously wounded by [[artillery|shrapnel]]. After the war, the future [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|US Army Chief of Staff]], General [[George C. Marshall]], 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 [[United States Army North|United States Fifth Army]], and later the [[15th Army Group]], in the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|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.<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>

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 (United States)|general]].<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> [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], a close friend, considered Clark to be a brilliant [[staff (military)|staff officer]] 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 [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|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 "[[Wikt:intelligence community|intelligence community]]."<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==
Clark was born in [[Madison Barracks]], [[Sackets Harbor]], [[New York (state)|New York]], but spent much of his youth in [[Highland Park, Illinois]], while his father, [[Charles Carr Clark]], a career [[infantry]] [[officer (armed forces)|officer]] in the [[United States Army]], was stationed at [[Sheridan Reserve Center|Fort Sheridan]].<ref>{{cite web
  |work=HistoryLink.org
  |location=Seattle, Washington
  |title=Clark, General Mark Wayne (1896–1984)
  |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 ... 
}}</ref> His mother, Rebecca "Beckie" Ezekkiels, was the daughter of [[Romanian Jews]]; Mark Clark was [[baptism|baptized]] [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]] as a cadet at the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York]].<ref name=Atkinson_p44>[[#Atkinson|Atkinson]] (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://ideas.tikvah.org/mosaic/essays/responses/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 [[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 [[The class the stars fell on|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 [[Officer (armed forces)|commissioned]] as a [[Second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] in the [[Infantry Branch (United States)|Infantry Branch]].<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 : [Supplement, volume VI-B 1910-1920] |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 [[Matthew Ridgway]], [[J. Lawton Collins]], (both of whom later became [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|U.S. Army Chief of Staff]]) [[Ernest N. Harmon]], [[William W. Eagles]], [[Norman Cota]], [[Laurence B. Keiser]], [[John M. Devine]], [[Albert C. Smith (United States Army officer)|Albert C. Smith]], [[Frederick Augustus Irving|Frederick A. Irving]], [[Charles H. Gerhardt]], [[Bryant Moore]] and [[William Kelly Harrison Jr.|William K. Harrison]]. All of these men would, like Clark himself, rise to high command and become generals.<ref name="Blumenson18">Blumenson, p. 18</ref>

== World War I ==
Clark, like his father, decided to join the [[Infantry Branch (United States)|Infantry Branch]]. He was assigned to the [[11th Infantry Regiment (United States)|11th Infantry Regiment]], which later became part of the [[5th Infantry Division (United States)|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#United States|First Lieutenant]] [[John W. O'Daniel]] serving as a [[platoon|platoon commander]] 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 [[Captain (United States O-3)|captain]] 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 [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], to join the [[American Expeditionary Forces]] (AEF).<ref name="Blumenson20">Blumenson, p. 20</ref> Arriving with his company at the [[France|French]] port of [[Brest, France|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 in World War I|French Army]] and soon afterwards the division was inspected by [[General (United States)|General]] [[John J. Pershing]], the AEF's [[Commander-in-chief|Commander-in-Chief]] (C-in-C).<ref name="Blumenson20"/> Serving in the [[Vosges|Vosges mountains]], the [[Commanding officer|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.<ref name="Blumenson20"/> Two days later, when Clark's division was relieving a French division in the trenches, he was [[wounded in action|wounded]] by [[Imperial German Army|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.<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 [[First United States Army|First Army]]. In this position he served with [[Colonel (United States)|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.<ref name="Blumenson22">Blumenson, p. 22</ref> He stayed in this post until the end of hostilities on [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|11 November 1918]]. He then served with the [[United States Army Central|Third Army]] in its [[Allied occupation of the Rhineland|occupation duties in Germany]] 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==
[[File:Eisenhower Krueger.jpg|thumb|left|Senior officers during the Louisiana maneuvers. Left to right: Mark W. Clark, Chief of Staff, Army Ground Forces; [[Harry J. Malony]], Chief of Staff, Second Army; [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], Chief of Staff, Third Army; [[Ben Lear]], Commander Second Army; [[Walter Krueger]], Commander Third Army; [[Lesley J. McNair]], Commander Army Ground Forces]]

During the [[interwar period]], Clark served in a variety of staff and training roles. From 1921 to 1924, he served as an aide in the office of the Assistant [[US Secretary of War|Secretary of War]]. In 1925, he completed the professional officer's course at the [[US Army Infantry School]] and then served as a [[staff (military)|staff officer]] with the [[30th Infantry Regiment (United States)|30th Infantry Regiment]] at [[Presidio of San Francisco|The Presidio]] in [[San Francisco]], [[California]]. His next assignment was as a training instructor to the [[Indiana Army National Guard]],<ref name=Bio-Citadel /> in which he was promoted to [[Major (United States)|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 [[United States Army Command and General Staff College|U.S. Army Command and General Staff School]] in 1935 and the [[United States Army War College|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]].{{sfn|Blackwell|2012|p=116}}

Assigned to [[Fort Lewis (Washington)|Fort Lewis]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], Clark was selected by [[General (United States)|General]] [[George C. Marshall]], the newly promoted [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Army Chief of Staff]], to instruct at the U.S. Army War College in March 1940, where he received a promotion to [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] on 1 July.<ref name="Generals of World War II"/> Clark and [[Brigadier general (United States)|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]].<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 [[Chief of staff|Chief of Staff]] (G-3) at General Headquarters, United States Army, in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=Bio-Citadel /><ref name="Generals of World War II"/>

==World War II==
In January 1942, a month after the [[Empire of Japan|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 (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[Lesley J. McNair]], 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===
[[File:USA-MTO-NWA-p266.jpeg|thumb|right|Negotiations at Algiers, 13 November 1942. From left to right: Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Admiral [[François Darlan]], Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, and Mr. [[Robert Daniel Murphy|Robert D. Murphy]] of the [[United States Department of State|US. State Department]].]]

On 17 April 1942, Clark was temporarily promoted to the [[two-star rank]] of [[Major general (United States)|major general]].<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 [[Commanding officer|Commanding General]] (CG) of [[II Corps (United States)|II Corps]], and the next month moved up to CG, Army Forces in the [[European Theater of Operations, United States Army|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 [[Europe first|Germany first strategy]] which had been agreed on by American and [[British Armed Forces|British military]] and political leaders the year before if the United States were to enter the conflict. In England Clark first met the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]], [[Winston Churchill]], 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 [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Sir Alan Brooke]], the [[Chief of Staff of the General Staff (United Kingdom)|Chief of the Imperial General Staff]] (CIGS, the professional head of the British Army), and [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant General]] [[Bernard Montgomery]], then commander of the [[Aldershot Command|South Eastern Command]]. 

After a cross-channel invasion was ruled out for 1942, attention was turned to planning for an [[Allies of World War II|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 (warfare)|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 (World War II)|Operation Flagpole]]) to meet with pro-Allied officers of the [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] forces.

[[File:Mark w clark 1943.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Clark on board [[USS Ancon (AGC-4)|USS ''Ancon'']] during the landings at [[Salerno]], Italy, 12 September 1943]]

===Fifth Army and service in Italy===
{{See also|Italian campaign (World War II)}}

Eisenhower greatly appreciated Clark's contributions. Clark, at the age of 46, was promoted to the temporary rank of [[Lieutenant general (United States)|lieutenant general]] on 11 November 1942,<ref name="Generals of World War II"/> three days after the Torch landings. He was the youngest [[three-star rank|three-star]] general in the U.S. Army. On 5 January 1943, the United States created its first [[field army]] overseas, the [[United States Army North|Fifth Army]], with Clark as its CG, although neither Clark nor Fifth Army saw service in the [[Tunisia Campaign|fighting in North Africa]]. Many officers, most notably Major General [[George S. Patton|George S. Patton Jr.]], who was both older and senior to Clark, and was then commanding [[I Armored Corps (United States)|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.<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 [[Allied invasion of Sicily|invasion of Sicily]].<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 [[Spanish protectorate in Morocco|Spanish Morocco]].<ref>Blumenson, p. 113</ref> His permanent rank was upgraded to brigadier general on 1 September 1943.<ref name="Generals of World War II"/>

[[File:David C Waybur and Mark W Clark.jpg|thumb|right|Lieutenant [[David C. Waybur]] (left) chats with Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark who presented him with the [[Medal of Honor]] for his conspicuous gallantry under fire, Baia e Latina, Italy, 29 November 1943]]

[[File:Mark Clark being awarded Distinguished Service Cross cph.3c35299.jpg|thumb|left|Clark being awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]] by [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in [[Castelvetrano]], Sicily, Italy, 13 December1943]]

On 9 September 1943, the Fifth Army, composed of the [[VI Corps (United States)|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 [[X Corps (United Kingdom)|British X Corps]], under [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant General]] [[Richard McCreery|Sir Richard L. McCreery]]—to whom Clark later scornfully referred as a "feather duster"—under Clark's command [[Allied invasion of Italy#Salerno landings|landed at Salerno]] (codenamed Operation Avalanche). The invasion, despite good initial progress, was nearly defeated over the next few days by numerous German [[counterattack]]s, 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 [[Battle of Anzio|Operation Shingle]]. 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>[[#Baxter|Baxter]] (1999), p.58-9.</ref> Despite this Clark was later awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]] (DSC), the citation for which reads:

{{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>}}

The Fifth Army, by now composed of five American divisions (the [[3rd Infantry Division (United States)|3rd]], [[34th Infantry Division (United States)|34th]], [[36th Infantry Division (United States)|36th]] and [[45th Infantry Division (United States)|45th Infantry]], along with the [[82nd Airborne Division|82nd Airborne]]) and three British divisions ([[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|7th Armoured]], [[46th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|46th]] and [[56th (London) Infantry Division|56th Infantry]]), operating alongside the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|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.

[[File:Clark a Piazza San Pietro.jpg|thumb|right|Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark riding in a jeep through the recently liberated Italian capital of [[Rome]], June 1944. Sat behind Clark is Major General [[Alfred Gruenther]] while to Gruenther's left is Major General [[Harry H. Johnson]].]]

During the [[Battle of Monte Cassino]], Clark ordered the bombing of [[Monte Cassino|the Abbey]] on 15 February 1944. This was under direct orders from his superior, British [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold R. L. G. Alexander]], [[Commander-in-chief|Commander-in-Chief]] (C-in-C) of the [[Allied Armies in Italy]] (AAI).<ref>Clark may be seen introducing the John Huston 1945 film, "The Battle of San Pietro" on various sites, including [https://archive.org/details/battle_of_san_pietro.]</ref> 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 [[2nd New Zealand Division|New Zealand Corps]], under Lieutenant General [[Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg|Sir Bernard C. Freyberg]], the Assistant Division Commander (ADC) of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, [[Brigadier general (United States)|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."<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 Infantry Division (India)|4th Indian Infantry Division]], [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[Francis Tuker]], 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>

[[File:Gruenther, Brann, Clark, Garrod cph.3c35296.jpg|thumb|left|From left to right, [[Alfred Gruenther]], [[Donald W. Brann]], Mark W. Clark, and [[Guy Garrod]].]]

Clark's conduct of operations in the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]] is controversial, particularly during the actions around the German Gustav Line, such as the [[36th Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 36th Infantry Division]]'s [[Battle of Rapido River|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 [[Battle of Anzio#Breakout|breakout from the Anzio beachhead]], in early June, rather than focusing on the destruction of the [[10th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 10th Army]], "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>

[[File:Mark Clark SC 185793.jpg|thumb|right|Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark looks toward the shoreline from the PT boat carrying him to the beachhead near Anzio, Italy, 22 January 1944]]

Clark led the Fifth Army, now much reduced in manpower, having given up both the U.S. VI Corps and the [[French Expeditionary Corps (1943–44)|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 Division (United States)|85th Infantry Division]]s—under Major General [[Geoffrey Keyes]], and the [[IV Corps (United States)|IV Corps]]—with the [[88th Infantry Division (United States)|88th]] and [[91st Division (United States)|91st Infantry Division]]s—under Major General [[Willis D. Crittenberger]] and the [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]] in reserve) was reinforced by the [[XIII Corps (United Kingdom)|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.

[[File:Força Expedicionária Brasileira - Expedicionário escreve carta aos seus familiares, Itália (12).jpg|thumb|left|Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark inspecting members of the 34th Infantry Division of the  [[II Corps (United States)|II Corps]], shortly after the liberation of Rome, June 1944]]

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 [[United States Navy|U.S. naval]] 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&nbsp;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 [[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.<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>

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

===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 (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Henry Maitland Wilson|Sir Henry Maitland Wilson]], who himself was called to Washington to replace Field Marshal [[John Dill|Sir John Dill]] as head of the [[British Defence Staff – US|British Joint Chiefs of Staff]].<ref name=Katz_p27>[[#Katz|Katz]] (2003), p.27.</ref> 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 (United States)|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.<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 [[Spring 1945 offensive in Italy|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]].

==Cold War==
Later in 1945, as [[Allied Commission#Austria|Commander in Chief of US Forces]] of Occupation in [[Occupation of Austria (aftermath of World War II)#Allied occupation|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 United States Army|Sixth Army]], headquartered at the [[Presidio of San Francisco|Presidio]] in [[San Francisco]] and two years later was named chief of Army Field Forces.<ref name=Bio-Citadel /> On 20 October 1951, he was nominated by President [[Harry S Truman]] to be the [[United States Ambassador to the Holy See|US emissary to the Holy See]]. Clark withdrew his nomination on 13 January 1952, after protests from [[Texas]] [[US Senate|Senator]] [[Tom Connally]] and from [[Protestant]] 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 [[36th Infantry Division (United States)|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)|Gari River]] (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, [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19460120&id=Rts-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=zUwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5562,751652 Texas Troops Ask Inquiry]</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 and Japan ===
[[File:General Clark signs the Korean Armistice Agreement.jpg|thumb|left|Clark signing the [[Korean Armistice Agreement]] on 27 July 1953.]]
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.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}} Clark commanded the UN forces in Korea until the armistice was signed by others and him on 27 July 1953.<ref name="hastings88">{{cite book |last1=Hastings |first1=Max |title=The Korean War |date=1988 |publisher=Simon & Schuster}}</ref> He also served as Commander of the [[Far East Command (United States)|Far East Command]] in Tokyo overseeing all U.S. forces in Japan. He retained his position as FEC commander and governor of the [[Ryukyu Islands]] until 7 October, when he was succeeded by [[John E. Hull]]. Clark formally retired from the Army on 31 October.
[[File:Korean Armistice En-Text 1953.jpg|thumb|right|Clark's signature on the Korean Armistice Agreement.]]

===Post-Army 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, South Carolina|Charleston]].<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 [[Hoover Commission]], which had been chaired by [[Herbert Hoover]].{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

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.<ref name="task force p. 15"/> The Clark task force coined the term [[United States Intelligence Community|Intelligence Community]] 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>

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.{{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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/18/obituaries/gen-mark-w-clark-last-of-world-war-ii-commanders-dies-at-87.html|title=GEN. MARK W. CLARK, LAST OF WORLD WAR II COMMANDERS, DIES AT 87|first=Wolfgang|last= Saxon|date=April 18, 1984|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> 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.

== Racial views ==
Clark was a segregationist who held racist and nativist views. He associated un-Americanism and communism with unassimilated immigrants, whose "less desirable qualities of their former nationalities" had not been erased by the "melting pot." He said World War I had provided the country with a valuable lesson on "undigested groups" with "no knowledge of and respect for American institutions." At the same time, Clark was an ardent Germanophobe who thought Nazi war crimes reflected the inherent "cruelty ... of the German people." At one point, he said U.S. troops had to abandon "soft ideas of sportsmanship and fair play" when fighting Germany.<blockquote>"Our men must kill Germans as they would kill rattlesnakes or scorpions."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bendersky |first=Joseph W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m0-wIyPkTwwC&q=men+must+kill+Germans+as+they+would+kill+rattlesnakes+or+scorpions |title=The Jewish Threat: Anti-Semitic Politics of the U.S. Army |date=2008-01-07 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-01219-0 |pages=315 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>

==Major assignments==
*Deputy Commander, [[Allied Force Headquarters]] – October 1942 to 4 January 1943
*Commanding General, [[Fifth United States Army|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 United States Army|Sixth Army]] – June 1947 to 30 September 1949
*Chief, [[Army Ground Forces|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 (United States)|Far East Command]] – 12 May 1952 to 7 October 1953

==Awards and decorations==
{|
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Distinguished Service Cross ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=oak|ribbon=U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Army Distinguished Service Medal]] with three [[oak leaf cluster]]s
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Legion of Merit]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Bronze Star Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Bronze Star Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Purple Heart]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army of Occupation of Germany ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Army of Occupation of Germany Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[American Defense Service Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=7|type=service-star|ribbon=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]] with 7 [[campaign star]]s
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[World War II Victory Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Army of Occupation Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[National Defense Service Medal]]
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Korean Service Medal]] with 3 campaign stars
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Legion Honneur GC ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Légion d'honneur]], Grand Cross (France)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=TCH Rad Bileho Lva 1 tridy (pre1990) BAR.svg|width=60}}
|[[Order of the White Lion]], First Class (Czechoslovak Socialist Republic)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Cavaliere di gran Croce Regno SSML BAR.svg|width=60}}
|[[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]], Grand Cross (Italy)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Cavaliere di gran croce OMS BAR.svg|width=60}}
|[[Military Order of Savoy]], Grand Cross ([[Italy]])
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=MAR Order of the Ouissam Alaouite - Grand Cross (1913-1956) BAR.png|width=60}}
|[[Order of Ouissam Alaouite]], Grand Cross – First Class ([[Morocco]])
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of Suvorov 106x30.png|width=60}}
|[[Order of Suvorov|Order of Suvorov First Class]] ([[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biographical register of the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York since its establishment in 1802: Supplement, 1940–1950 |url=https://digital-library.usma.edu/digital/collection/p16919coll3/id/20830/rec/1 |access-date=August 4, 2024 |publisher=The Association of Graduates, U.S. Military Academy |page=235}}</ref><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=45 |year=2024 |isbn=979-8-3444-6807-5}}</ref>
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of the Bath (ribbon).svg|width=60}}
|[[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] ([[United Kingdom]])
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] ([[United Kingdom]])
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=BEL Kroonorde Grootofficier BAR.svg|width=60}}
|[[Order of the Crown (Belgium)|Order of the Crown]], Grand Officer (Belgium)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=BRA - Order of the Southern Cross - Grand Officer BAR.svg|width=60}}
|[[Order of the Southern Cross]], Grand Officer (Brazil)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=BRA Ordem do Merito Militar Grande Oficial.png|width=60}}
|[[Order of Military Merit (Brazil)|Order of Military Merit]], Great  Officer (Brazil)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Valor militare silver medal BAR.svg|width=60}}
|[[Silver Medal of Military Valor|Medaglia d'Argento]] (Italy)
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=POL Virtuti Militari Srebrny BAR.svg|width=60}}
|[[Virtuti Militari|Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari]], Krzyż Srebrny/Silver Cross ([[Poland]])
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=60}}
|[[United Nations Service Medal]]
|}

==Dates of rank==
{|class="wikitable" style="background:white"
! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date
|-
|align="center" |No insignia || [[Cadet#United States|Cadet]] || [[United States Military Academy]] || 14 June 1913
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O1 insignia.svg|13px]] || [[Second lieutenant#United States|Second lieutenant]] || [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]]|| 20 April 1917
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O2 insignia.svg|13px]] || [[First lieutenant#United States|First lieutenant]] || Regular Army|| 15 May 1917
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O3 insignia.svg|33px]] || [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] || National Army|| 5 August 1917
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O3 insignia.svg|33px]] || [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] || Regular Army|| 7 November 1919
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O4 insignia.svg|40px]] || [[Major (United States)|Major]] || Regular Army|| 14 January 1933
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O5 insignia.svg|40px]] || [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant colonel]] || Regular Army|| 1 July 1940
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O7 insignia.svg|33px]] || [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier general]] || [[Army of the United States]]|| 4 August 1941
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|66px]] || [[Major general (United States)|Major general]] || Army of the United States|| 17 April 1942
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O9 insignia.svg|99px]] || [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant general]] || Army of the United States|| 11 November 1942
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O7 insignia.svg|33px]] || [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier general]] || Regular Army || 14 September 1943
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|66px]] || [[Major general (United States)|Major general]] || Regular Army || 7 October 1944
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O10 insignia.svg|132px]] || [[General (United States)|General]] || Army of the United States|| 10 March 1945
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O10 insignia.svg|132px]] || [[General (United States)|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.),<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>[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1967/10/18/page/29/article/gen-mark-w-clark-married-to-widow Gen Mark W Clark Married to Widow] 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 [[Scottish Rite]] 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 = usurped}}</ref>

==Legacy==
An interstate spur (I-526) in the suburbs of Charleston, South Carolina, was named [[Interstate 526|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 (state)|Washington]] connected [[Camano Island]] with the adjacent town of [[Stanwood, Washington|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 (United States)|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 (novel)|Kane and Abel]] as the reason for the Abel character going to World War II.

Two locations in the [[Brazil]]ian state of [[Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)|Rio de Janeiro]]—the [[Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras]] in [[Resende, Rio de Janeiro|Resende]], and a street in [[São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro|São Gonçalo]]—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==
Clark was portrayed by [[Michael Rennie]] in the 1968 film ''[[The Devil's Brigade (film)|The Devil's Brigade]]''. The film is about the exploits of the [[1st Special Service Force]], commanded by [[Colonel (United States)|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 (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 (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'', [[M*A*S*H (season 11)|season 11]], episode 3: "Foreign Affairs". In the episode, he created a program that awarded an enemy soldier $100,000 and U.S. citizenship for landing an enemy plane in friendly territory and surrendering.

== See also ==
* {{Portal-inline|Biography}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
; 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|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}}
*{{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}}
*{{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|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}}
*{{cite book|first=Martin|last=Blumenson|title=Mark Clark|author-link=Martin Blumenson|isbn=0-224-02299-7|year=1984|publisher=Cordon & Weed}}
*{{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|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}}
*{{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}}
*{{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}}
*{{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 }}
*{{cite book|last=Taaffe|first=Stephen R.|title=Marshall and His Generals: U.S. Army Commanders in World War II|year=2013|location=[[Lawrence, Kansas]]|publisher=[[University Press of Kansas]]|isbn=978-0-7006-1942-9|oclc=840162019|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u8nDEAAAQBAJ}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Mark Wayne Clark}}
*[https://www.unithistories.com/officers/US_Army_officers_C01.html#Clark_MW United States Army Officers 1939–1945]
* [http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/C.html Papers of Mark W. Clark, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library]
*[http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Oral_Histories/Oral_Histories.html Finding aid for the Mark W. Clark Oral History, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150924055505/http://www.oesterreich-am-wort.at/trefferliste/aspect/czoyNToiTWFyayBXLiBDbGFyayBBTkQgZXg6b2VhdyI7 '''Historical Sound'''] from General Clark (some statements with German translation)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040131072434/http://korea50.army.mil/history/biographies/clark.shtml Biography from the Korean War Encyclopedia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050306005858/http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,1101520707,00.html General Mark W. Clark] – [[Time (magazine)|TIME]] magazine cover of July 7, 1952
* {{YouTube|tkDhryFy3SU|General Clark explains military situation in Italy, 1943}} Footage
* [http://www3.citadel.edu/museum/Clark_Inventory.pdf Mark W. Clark Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730041730/http://www3.citadel.edu/museum/Clark_Inventory.pdf |date=2017-07-30 }} 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.  [http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_14.htm Chapter 14] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090726232433/http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_14.htm |date=2009-07-26 }} (p.&nbsp;351–364)
* {{PM20|FID=pe/003307}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box|
 title=[[II Corps (United States)|Commanding General II Corps]]|
 before= Newly activated organization|
 years=June – October 1942|
 after= [[Lloyd Fredendall]]
}}
{{succession box|
 title=[[United States Army North|Commanding General Fifth Army]]|
 before= Newly activated organization|
 years= 1943–1944|
 after= [[Lucian Truscott]]
}}
{{succession box|
 title=[[Fifteenth Army Group|Commanding General Fifteenth Army Group]]|
 before= [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold Alexander]]|
 years= 1944–1945|
 after= Position abolished
}}
{{succession box|
 title=[[Sixth United States Army|Commanding General Sixth Army]]|
 before=[[George Price Hays]]|
 years=1947–1949|
 after=[[Albert Coady Wedemeyer]] |
}}
{{succession box|
 title=[[United Nations Command|Supreme Commander, United Nations Command]]|
 before=[[Matthew Ridgway]]|
 years=1952–1953|
 after=[[John E. Hull]] |
}}
{{s-end}}
{{The Citadel presidents}}
{{U.S. governors of the Ryukyu Islands}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Mark W.}}
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