World War II Honoree

Francis J. Clark

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Whitehall, New York

Honored By

Ralph Bozorth

HE WAS AWARDED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR. TECHNICAL SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY, COMPANY K, 109TH INFANTRY, 28TH INFANTRY DIVISION. PLACE AND DATE: NEAR LUXEMBOURG, SEPTEMBER 12, 1944; NEAR SEVENIG, GERMANY ON SEPTEMBER 17, 1944. ENTERED SERVICE AT: SALEM, NEW YORK. CITATION: 'HE FOUGHT GALLANTLY IN LUXEMBOURG AND GERMANY. ON SEPTEMBER 12, 1944, COMPANY K BEGAN FORDING THE OUR RIVER NEAR LUXEMBOURG, TO TAKE HIGH GROUND ON THE OPPOSITE BANK. COVERED BY EARLY MORNING FOG, THE 3RD PLATOON, IN WHICH HE WAS SQUAD LEADER, SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATED THE CROSSING; BUT WHEN THE 2ND 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, HE 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 2ND 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. 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, HE TOOK OVER THEIR COMMAND AND MOVED AMONG THE MEN TO GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT. ALTHOUGH WOUNDED ON THE MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 18TH, 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. HIS 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.'