Clark was born at
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, in 1913. The son of an Army doctor, he graduated from
Main Avenue High School in San Antonio, Texas. Appointed from the District of Columbia, Clark was a 1936 graduate of the
United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and completed flying training at
Randolph Field, Texas, in 1937. He then served at
Selfridge Field, Michigan and in June 1942, went to England as second in command of the
31st Fighter Group, the first American fighter unit in the European Theater of Operations. He was shot down over
Abbeville, France, in July 1942 and was a prisoner of war at German prison camp
Stalag Luft III until April 1945. He wrote about his experiences in
Stalag Luft III in his book
33 Months as a POW in Stalag Luft III. He was a manager of accumulation and hiding of supplies used in the 1944 breakout in which 76 POWs escaped. That incident was documented in the 1950
Paul Brickhill book
The Great Escape, and later was celebrated in the 1963
movie of the same title. After World War II, he progressed through key staff assignments with Tactical Air Command, Continental Air Command and Air Defense Command prior to a tour of duty at Headquarters U.S. Air Force. Clark commanded the
48th Fighter Bomber Wing at
Chaumont Air Base in France, in 1955–1956, and then served as chief of staff of the
U.S. Air Forces in Europe. His next assignment was as Chief,
U.S. Military Training Mission to Saudi Arabia. He was director of military personnel at Headquarters U.S. Air Force for four years beginning in 1959 and was then assigned to Okinawa as commander of the
313th Air Division. In August 1965, Clark was named vice commander of the
Tactical Air Command. He was also promoted to lieutenant general in 1965. and the
National War College in 1952. Clark died in
Colorado Springs, Colorado on March 8, 2010, at age 96. ==Awards and decorations==