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Contact Info
Home Town Washington D.C.
Last Address Washington D.C.
Date of Passing Feb 16, 1992
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
The Second Ranger Battalion was divided on D-Day, Sergeant Clark was assigned to be in charge of the Aid Station and Company "medics" assigned to A & B Companies.
Upon landing at Omaha Beach, both companies suffered heavy losses; Sergeant Clark, without hesitation, calmly, and with great presence of mind treated the wounded, one with an open pneumothorax (sucking chest wound), wherever they had fallen Most of the other medics already were either wounded-in-action or killed-in-action.
Later, while he was B Company's aid man, the Company, ordered to protect the left flank of the 4th Division, moved into an enemy mine field, at night, directly in front of three enemy strong points. Three mines were detonated, killing two and wounding six, two seriously.
Immediately, he moved in, groping in the darkness to tend to the wounded and, eventually, remained all night with the seriously wounded in order to care for, and guard, them. Bill Clark displayed such courage and devotion to his duty and to fellow Rangers repeatedly during all the engagements of the Battalion.
Upon his return home Bill Clark became a police officer in Washington, D.C. After serving on both the vice and auto squads for some years. He retired as Detective Sergeant.
He died 16 February 1992 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
The awards of the Silver Star, Purple Heart with cluster, and Bronze Star with cluster, attest to the actions of William C. Clark, and his exemplification of a Ranger Medic.
RANGERS LEAD THE WAY!!!
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Ardennes Alsace Campaign (1944-45)/Battle of the Bulge
From Month/Year
December / 1944
To Month/Year
January / 1945
Description The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was a major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. Hitler planned the offensive with the primary goal to recapture the important harbour of Antwerp. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. United States forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred the highest casualties for any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's war-making resources.
The battle was known by different names. The Germans referred to it as Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein ("Operation Watch on the Rhine"), while the French named it the Bataille des Ardennes ("Battle of the Ardennes"). The Allies called it the Ardennes Counteroffensive. The phrase "Battle of the Bulge" was coined by contemporary press to describe the way the Allied front line bulged inward on wartime news maps and became the best known name for the battle.
The German offensive was supported by several subordinate operations known as Unternehmen Bodenplatte, Greif, and Währung. As well as stopping Allied transport over the channel to the harbor of Antwerp, Germany also hoped these operations would split the British and American Allied line in half, and then proceed to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Powers' favor. Once that was accomplished, Hitler could fully concentrate on the eastern theatre of war.
The offensive was planned by the German forces with the utmost secrecy, minimizing radio traffic and moving troops and equipment under cover of darkness. Despite their efforts to keep it secret, the Third U.S. Army's intelligence staff predicted a major German offensive, and Ultra indicated that a "substantial and offensive" operation was expected or "in the wind", although a precise date or point of attack could not be given. Aircraft movement from the Russian Front and transport of forces by rail, both to the Ardennes, was noticed but not acted upon, according to a report later written by Peter Calvocoressi and F. L. Lucas at the codebreaking centre Bletchley Park.
Near-complete surprise was achieved by a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions, which grounded the Allies' overwhelmingly superior air forces. Fierce resistance on the northern shoulder of the offensive around Elsenborn Ridge and in the south around Bastogne blocked German access to key roads to the northwest and west that they counted on for success; columns that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This and terrain that favored the defenders threw the German advance behind schedule and allowed the Allies to reinforce the thinly placed troops. Improved weather conditions permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, as survivors retreated to the defenses of the Siegfried Line.
About 610,000 American forces were involved in the battle,[2] and 89,000 were casualties, including 19,000 killed. It was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in World War II.
