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Herbert V. Clark

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Major

Herbert V. Clark
Herbert V. Clark - 1955
Birth nameHerbert V. Clark
Nickname(s)Bud
Born(1919-03-16)March 16, 1919
Pine Bluff, Arkansas, US
DiedJanuary 25, 2003(2003-01-25) (aged 83)
Blacksburg, Virginia, US
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service / branch
Years of service1942–1955
RankMajor
Unit332nd Fighter Group
Awards

Herbert Vanallen Clark (March 16, 1919 – January 25, 2003) was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer, and combat fighter pilot with the all-African American 332nd Fighter Group, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen. He completed two tours of duty, completing ten missions on his second tour. In 1944, Clark's aircraft was shot down over Italy, and was reported as missing in action. He was picked up by the Italian resistance, evading enemies for eight months before rejoining his unit. He retired with a rank of major.

Early life, family

Clark was born on March 16, 1919, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Jefferson County, Arkansas.[1] His mother was a high school mathematics teacher and his father, Jeremiah Clark, was the pastor of the St. Paul's Baptist Church.[2]

Military career

In 1942, he signed up for the U.S. government's Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP). After completing the CPTP, he entered basic training. Clark attended the Tuskegee Cadet Pilot program, graduating from its Single Engine Section Class SE-42-F on 3 July 1942 and receiving his wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.[3] He was then assigned to the 332rd Fighter Group's 99th Pursuit Squadron.[1][4] He participated in several missions around Sicily, including Pantelleria and Sciacca.[3] By 5 November 1943, he completed his first combat tour and returned to the United States.[5][6]: 165  Along with other veterans of the 99th Squadron, he declined to return with the 332nd when it left for Italy on December 24, 1943; fellow veteran Charles W. Dryden attributed this to low morale in his memoir.[7] Clark was stationed at Selfridge, Michigan where he became a flight instructor for the 553d Fighter-Bomber Squadron.[8][4]

Clark began a second combat tour in Europe, during which he completed ten missions.[9] On 16 August 1944, Clark's aircraft was shot down by flak 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Miane, Italy.[10] He was seen parachuting from his burning aircraft,[2] and was listed as missing in action.[9] He suffered a head wound when he struck a tree parachuting to the ground, and was immediately picked up by the Italian resistance who sheltered him for eight months.[9][11] During his time with the resistance, Clark led a group of partisans attacking German positions in northern Italy.[12]: 130  On 4 May 1945 he returned to Allied lines.[6] According to the Fifteenth Army Air Force, "nothing short of pandemonium would describe the reactions ... when everyone realized that the group's own 'Bud Clark' had actually returned".[9]

Clark retired with the rank of major.[1]

Awards

Death and influence

Clark died on January 25, 2003, at the age of 83. He was interred at the Westview Cemetery in Blacksburg, Virginia, Montgomery County, Virginia.[14] The Fifteenth Army Air Force reported that Clark had innovated as a pilot by landing his P-40 Warhawk on one wheel while returning from a dive bombing mission over the Anzio Beachhead.[9] Dr. Henry Foster knew Clark as a child and was influenced by his war stories, pursuing work at an air force base and learning to fly. When he realized that none of the Tuskegee Airmen could find work with the U.S. airlines due to their practice of hiring only white pilots, Foster abandoned his goal of studying aeronautical engineering and decided to focus on medicine, later serving as a doctor at the Tuskegee Institute for eight years.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Original Tuskegee Airmen". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Central Arkansas Library System. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Foster, Henry W. (2003-07-28). Make a Difference: The Founder of the "I Have a Future Program" Shares His Vision for Young America. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-5985-9.
  3. ^ a b Horman, Lynn; Reilly, Thomas (2001). Black Knights: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen. Pelican Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 9781455601257.
  4. ^ a b Vaughan, David K. (Winter 2016). "The World War II Training Experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen at Oscoda Army Air Field". Air Power History. 64 (4). Air Force Historical Foundation: 39. JSTOR 26276812.
  5. ^ Stentiford, Barry (2012). Tuskegee Airmen. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Greenwood Publishing. p. 74. ISBN 9780313386848.
  6. ^ a b Caver, Joseph; Ennels, Jerome; Haulman, Daniel (2011). The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History, 1939-1949. NewSouth Books. ISBN 9781588382443.
  7. ^ Dryden, Charles W. (1997). A-Train: Memoirs of a Tuskegee Airman. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 978-0-8173-0856-8. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  8. ^ Jean Pearson (2 April 1944). "Fighter and Bombardment Units Readied for Action". Detroit Free Press. photo caption. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Missing Nine Months, Vet Pilot Turns Up". Pittsburgh Courier. Fifteenth AAF in Italy. 30 June 1945. p. 2. Retrieved 9 November 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Haulman, Dr. Daniel L. "Table of 332D Fighter Group Reported Fighter Aircraft Losses According To Missing Air Crew Reports February 1944-April 1945" (PDF). Air Force Historical Research Organization. p. 2.
  11. ^ Haulman, Daniel L. (2010). "Tuskegee Airmen Chronology". Air Force Historical Research Agency. p. 61.
  12. ^ Haulman, Daniel L. (11 May 2016). Tuskegee Airmen Chronology (PDF) (Report). Organizational History Branch Air Force Historical Research Agency.
  13. ^ "Public Law 109–213—APR. 11, 2006 Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen" (PDF). Congress.gov. US Library of Congress. 11 April 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Westview Cemetery Blacksburg Virginia". Town of Blacksburg, VA. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
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