"He fought gallantly in Luxembourg and Germany. On 12 September 1944, Company K began fording the Our River
near Kalborn, Luxembourg, to take high ground on the opposite bank.
Covered by early morning fog, the 3d Platoon, in which T/Sgt. Clark was
squad leader, successfully negotiated the crossing; but when the 2d
Platoon reached the shore, withering automatic and small-arms fire
ripped into it, eliminating the platoon leader and platoon sergeant and
pinning down the troops in the open. From his comparatively safe
position, T/Sgt. Clark crawled alone across a field through a hail of
bullets to the stricken troops. He led the platoon to safety and then
unhesitatingly returned into the fire-swept area to rescue a wounded
soldier, carrying him to the American line while hostile gunners tried
to cut him down. Later, he led his squad and men of the 2d Platoon in
dangerous sorties against strong enemy positions to weaken them by lightning-like jabs. He assaulted an enemy machine gun with hand grenades,
killing 2 Germans. He roamed the front and flanks, dashing toward
hostile weapons, killing and wounding an undetermined number of the
enemy, scattering German patrols and, eventually, forcing the withdrawal
of a full company of Germans heavily armed with automatic weapons. On
17 September, near Sevenig, Germany, he advanced alone against an enemy
machine gun, killed the gunner and forced the assistant to flee. The
Germans counterattacked, and heavy casualties were suffered by Company
K. Seeing that 2 platoons lacked leadership, T/Sgt. Clark took over
their command and moved among the men to give encouragement. Although
wounded on the morning of 18 September, he refused to be evacuated and
took up a position in a pillbox when night came. Emerging at daybreak,
he killed a German soldier setting up a machine gun not more than 5 yards
away. When he located another enemy gun, he moved up unobserved and
killed 2 Germans with rifle fire. Later that day he voluntarily braved
small-arms fire to take food and water to members of an isolated
platoon. T/Sgt. Clark's actions in assuming command when leadership was
desperately needed, in launching attacks and beating off counterattacks,
in aiding his stranded comrades, and in fearlessly facing powerful
enemy fire, were strikingly heroic examples and put fighting heart into
the hard-pressed men of Company K."
From T/Sgt. Clark's Medal of Honor citation, awarded on September 10, 1945.
Thank you for your service and may you be at peace,
Brian
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