| Bruce C. Clarke | |
| Birth Date: | 29 April 1901 |
| Birth Place: | Adams, New York |
| Death Place: | Bethesda, Maryland |
| Placeofburial: | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance: | United States |
| Branch: | United States Army |
| Serviceyears: | 1917–1962 |
| Rank: | General |
| Commands: | United States Continental Army Command United States Army Europe Seventh United States Army United States Army, Pacific I Corps X Corps 1st Armored Division Combat Command B, 7th Armored Division Combat Command A, 4th Armored Division |
| Battles: | World War IWorld War II |
| Awards: | Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star (3) Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal (3) Air Medal Army Commendation Medal |
Bruce Cooper Clarke (April 29, 1901 – March 17, 1988) was a United States Army general. He was a career officer who served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the commander of Continental Army Command from 1958 to 1960, Commander, United States Army Europe from 1960 to 1962, and commanded the United States Army, Pacific from December 1954 to April 1956.
Clarke was born on a farm in Adams, New York, on April 29, 1901. He dropped out of high school to enlist in the United States Army in 1917, served in the Coast Artillery Corps during World War I, and gained appointment to the United States Military Academy through the New York National Guard. He graduated in 1925 with a commission in the Corps of Engineers. In addition to his degree from West Point, he earned a civil engineering degree from Cornell University and an LL.B. from La Salle Extension University.[1] He also was an equivalent graduate of the National War College and is credited with starting the Non-Commissioned Officers Academy system.
In the Second World War, as a colonel and then a brigadier general, he commanded Combat Command A (CCA) of the 4th Armored Division in General George S. Patton's Third Army, leading it to victory over a superior German armored force at the Battle of Arracourt in September 1944. In December Clarke led the relief of St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge, which slowed the German attack. Writing afterward, General Eisenhower credited Clarke's actions as the "turning point" in that battle.
During the Korean War, Clarke commanded the 1st Armored Division, Fort Hood, Texas, from 1951 to 1953. He then transferred to Korea, where he commanded I Corps in 1953 and X Corps from 1953 to 1954. He also trained the First Republic of Korea Army.
Clarke was then assigned as Commanding General, United States Army Pacific in Hawaii from 1954 to 1956. After his tour in Hawaii, he commanded the Seventh United States Army in Germany from 1956 to 1958. He received a promotion to the rank of four-star general in August 1958. From 1958 to 1960 he commanded the Continental Army Command, heading the entire Army school system which, at the time, had over 250,000 participants. From 1960 to 1962 he served as Commander in Chief of United States Army Europe, before retiring on April 30, 1962.
On October 18, 1971, the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States conferred upon Clarke, a 33rd Degree Freemason, the Grand Cross of the Court of Honor. This is the highest Masonic award, with only 11 holders out of 600,000 Freemasons in the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite.
Clarke's military decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, three Army Distinguished Service Medals, three Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, and three Bronze Star Medals. He also received decorations from foreign countries including France, Germany, Great Britain, Korea, and the Philippines.
General Clarke's issued Distinguished Service Cross originally belonged to General George S. Patton. During then Col Clarke's medal presentation, General Patton was unable to find the medal and instead awarded him his own. It and the rest of General Clarke's Medals and Awards are currently preserved in Clarke Middle School, Adams, New York. [2]
Clarke died after a stroke on March 17, 1988, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and was buried with full military honors in Section 7-A (Grave 130) at Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Bessie Mitchell Clarke, is buried with him.[3]