Bruce C. Clarke

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
General Bruce C. Clarke (1960)

Bruce Cooper Clarke (born April 29, 1901 in Adams , Jefferson County , New York , † March 17, 1988 in Bethesda , Maryland ) was a general in the US Army , who was last commander in chief of the US land forces in Europe (US Army Europe) was.

Life

Military training, World War I and World War II

Clarke, son of farmers left, in 1917 the age of sixteen the high school and entered after the war the US entry into the First World War on April 6, 1917 as a corporal in the Army Coast Artillery Corps ( US Coast Artillery Corps ) a. After the war ended, he joined the New York Nation Guard in 1920 and graduated from Masten Park High School in Buffalo . In 1921 he began his officer training at the US Military Academy in West Point , which he graduated in June 1925 as a lieutenant in the engineering corps. In the following years he found uses in various units of the US Army and was among other things from 1932 to 1936 for the Reserve Officers Training Command of the US Army Cadet Command Assistant Professor of Military Sciences and Tactics at the University of Tennessee . During this time he also completed a law degree at LaSalle Extension University in Chicago , which he completed with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.).

In December 1940, Clarke was posted to the United Kingdom as a military observer and, after his return, was only the commander of the 24th Engineering Battalion at Pine Camp and then between April 1, 1941 and December 25, 1943, Chief of Staff of the 4th Armored Division ( 4th Armored Division ) . After the USA entered the Second World War on December 8, 1941, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 24, 1941 and on February 1, 1942 to colonel in the Army of the United States (AUS). As the war continued, he was between 16 December 1943 and the 31 October 1944 Commander ( Commanding Officer ) Combat Command A in Northwest Europe 's 4th Armored Division used. During this time he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross , three times the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit and he took part in the Battle of Arracourt in September 1944 . Most recently he was from November 1, 1944 to 1945 commander of combat group B of the 7th Armored Division ( 7th Armored Division ) and was promoted to Brigadier General of the Army of the United States on November 10, 1944 . This was also used from December 16, 1944 to January 21, 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge . For his services as a division commander in World War II, he was also awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal in 1946 .

Postwar, Korean War and promotion to general

After the end of the war, Clarke was still the commanding general of the 7th Panzer Division from 1945 to July 6, 1945 and then briefly chief engineer of the Army Service Command from August 5, 1945 , before he was the commanding general of its base section 2 until September 26, 1945 (Base Section 2) was. He then switched to the Army Ground Forces staff , where he was first Deputy Chief of Staff and Acting Assistant Chief of Staff and finally, until February 1, 1948, Assistant Chief of Staff and G-3. After serving as deputy commander of the Armored School from February 2, 1948 to June 15, 1949, he returned to Europe and was in command of the 2nd Military Police Brigade (2nd Constabulary Brigade) from August 10, 1949 to 1951. . On his return he was on 17 June 1949 to 1951 commander of the NCO School of the Military Police (Constabulary Non-Commissioned Officers' Academy) and 1951-1953 Commanding General in Fort Hood stationed 1st Armored Division ( 1st Armored Division ) .

Towards the end of the Korean War , Lieutenant General Clarke was transferred to Korea on April 10, 1953 as Commanding General of the I Corps ( I Corps ) , where he replaced Lieutenant General Paul W. Kendall . He remained in this post on October 13, 1953 and was then replaced by Lieutenant General Blackshear M. Bryan . For his services during this time he was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and a bronze oak leaf branch in place of a second Army Distinguished Service Medal. From 1953 to 1954 he was the commanding general of the X. US Corps ( X Corps ), also stationed in South Korea , and as the successor to General Clark L. Ruffner between December 15, 1954 and his replacement by General Herbert B. Powell in April 1956 Commanding General of US ground forces in the Pacific ( US Army Pacific ) with headquarters in Fort Shafter in Hawaii . He was 1956-1958 Commanding General of the Federal Republic of Germany stationed Seventh US Army ( Seventh US Army ) .

After his promotion to general on August 1, 1958, Clarke was Commander in Chief of the US Continental Army Command and held this position until September 30, 1960. Most recently he replaced General Clyde D. Eddleman on September 30, 1960 as Commander in Chief of the US Land Forces in Europe (US Army Europe) . In 1961 Baylor University awarded him an honorary doctorate in law. He held the post of Commander-in-Chief of the US Army Europe until his retirement from active military service on April 30, 1962, whereupon General Paul L. Freeman, Jr. succeeded him. On May 10, 1962, he was awarded another Bronze Oak Leaf Branch in place of a third Army Distinguished Service Medal. In 1963, Parsons College , Iowa, awarded him another honorary doctorate in international law.

Clarke was married to Bessie Mitchell Clarke and after his death he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery .

Awards

Selection of awards, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :

Web links