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General Mark Wayne Clark


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Custermen, that is a fantastic website! Bookmarked! Thanks for sharing that. I would love to see a copy of that design submission for the Army patch.

 

Me, too. I snapped a phot thru the glass. But you can't read the letter.

 

You need to contact the museum at Fort Sam Houston and see if they can get a better photo of it for you----and me. :thumbsup:

 

Steve

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At Fort Sam, the current HQ of the 5th Army, they have a letter in the museum that documented the origin of the 5th Army's patch. Gen. Clark's letter submitted a design from one of his staff members, as I recall.

During my second year at The Citadel, (1977/78), a reunion for 5th Army vets was hosted at The Citadel. I was one of the cadets who escorted the general around during the reunion. We were provided with an armband (mine is pictured below) to wear while doing this. When we were first introduced to him, the patch on our armbands prompted him to tell us all about its origin. He explained how he held a design contest and a sergeant was the winner. I can't recall, but the sergeant was probably on his staff as stated above. General Clark told us he presented a case of some type of wine to the sergeant.

Kurt

 

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Wow!! Kurt, that is absolutely super cool!! I will definitely be on the lookout for one of those armbands to put in my collection. That is just too neat!

Kurt, maybe you could give Sgt Dorango an idea of Clark's height? I know he seems to tower over everyone he's photographed with, but never having been in his vicinity, I can't really judge this.

Thanks for sharing that! (too cool!!)

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Wow!! Kurt, that is absolutely super cool!! I will definitely be on the lookout for one of those armbands to put in my collection. That is just too neat!

Kurt, maybe you could give Sgt Dorango an idea of Clark's height? I know he seems to tower over everyone he's photographed with, but never having been in his vicinity, I can't really judge this.

Thanks for sharing that! (too cool!!)

I'm 5'10" and I don't recall him "towering" over me, but he was over 80 years of age when I met him. Ike was 5'10" and one half (found that in a google search). Based on photos I've seen of the two together, I'd guess Clark was 6'3'ish.

Kurt

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Chris, I LOVE that parka!! I think I remember seeing that a few years ago when Andrew put it up for sale (I that was he). Wish I could have afforded it then, but you gave it a good home, and now it's going to an equally good home. Thanks for sharing.

 

So, one last MWC pic before I ship out. This is signed to MG Hobart Gay (I'm pretty sure that's what the name says), and gives a good idea of Clark's height in comparison, but still nothing precise. Photo was taken at Fortress Monroe in 1951, signed by Clark.

 

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I took these pics of the PIC with my phone. One of them is supposed to bigger with more detail, but I can't tell.

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  • 1 month later...

Attached is the correspondence about the original approval of the Fifth Army SSI. The original sample was made out of leather. The base was made from blue leather; the red portion had a cutout in the shape of a Moorish arch so the blue showed thru. The numeral 5 and letter A were painted on in white. The official description described the Moorish arch as suggesting a mosque but if you do a google search on Oudja, the city where the HQ was activated, you will almost always see a photo of one of the city gates which feature the shape on the SSI. Perhaps this should be cross-posted on the SSI forum?

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Me, too. I snapped a phot thru the glass. But you can't read the letter.

 

You need to contact the museum at Fort Sam Houston and see if they can get a better photo of it for you----and me. :thumbsup:

 

Steve

The correspondence is posted below.

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  • 2 months later...

John, Thanks for posting that! Very interesting.

 

I was in Charleston last weekend and briefly stopped by the Alma Mater, snapping a couple of Clark-related pics. Hope you find them interesting.

G

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This is Gen. Clark's headstone, located between Mark Clark Hall and the Thomas Dry Howie ("Major of St Lo") Bell Tower and Carillon.

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Inside Mark Clark Hall is one of my favorite portraits. Mark Clark in dress whites, with his dog at his side. The portrait is practically lifesize, and makes him look larger than life, which is probably how he wanted it to be. He's also got a rather impressive ribbon rack, too.

 

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  • 1 year later...

Just wanted to share a new item I just recieved. It's a presentation lighter from the General. The next picture will show the engraving which is.."From General Mark W. Clark To Mr. Amos E. Taylor. 23 April 1947"

 

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It was presented by Gen. Clark while High Commissioner of Austria and Deputy to US Sec. Of State in 1947 to Amos Taylor, then Director of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, US Dept of Commerce.

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  • 1 year later...

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