George F. Clark
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
George F. Clark
Mr. Clark served in World War II in the South Pacific.
He served in the U.S. Army beginning June 9, 1944 at Fort Snelling. He was assigned to Company B, 637 Tank Destroyer Battalion, and he served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.
He was discharged on May 15, 1946 at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
Mr. Clark held the rank of Tech Sergeant 4th Class Anti-Tank NCO.
Mr. Clark was born in Brookston, Minnesota in March of 1926. He is the son of George Clark and Hetia Clark.
Source: Veterans’ Memorial Hall veteran history form, veteran’s account follows:
“After base training, I had my furlough and then from there to San Francisco for about a month at Fort Ord. I remember leaving port about 8:00 p.m. and went under the Golden Gate Bridge and past the prison. They were both lit up being dark at that time. It took us about 30 days to get to Leyte. I guess we were doing a lot of zigzagging going to Leyte is why it took so long.”
Source: Mr. Clark shared his additional experiences during the time he served in the Army.
“They had a bunch of us get off ship in the morning. I think it was a couple days before they took us off ship. It was a morning when there was no wind. The water was like glass. I remember that. We had to go down rope ladders or nets onto landing craft to get to shore. It was morning daylight. They had me at Leyte for about two or three weeks before I was put on another ship bound for Luzon, in the Philippines. I don’t recall how long it took to get to Manila Harbor. They could not go all the way in the harbor where there was ships sunk. I had to get on a landing craft to get to shore, going down rope ladders again.
I remember walking though Manila seeing a lot of destruction to get to my unit. There was a fellow from the unit that took me there. They must of used bulldozers to clear the streets. The next morning after having breakfast we headed to Baguio. It was raining a little when had breakfast and we started out. I remember we went past Clark Airport and headed towards Baguio in the mountains.
On the way there we helped the Infantry and to fined caves and where they needed help. I guess there was about 50,000 Japanese escaped from Manila from the battle there so we were after them. Our job was to support the Infantry when needed. It took some time before we got to Baguio. It is now a tourist town I understand. Anyway, we stayed overnight on the outskirts of town for one night. Sleeping on blankets next to the tanks at night. At night, we always had rods stuck in the ground with a wire around the perimeter with empty cans attached where they would rattle if someone tried to sneak in. We also had sentries posted on each tank for standing watch and they had 50 caliber machine guns. The main gun was a 76mm. After a night or two, we headed to Lingayan Valley where we supported troops. I remember one night we were near a battery of one-zero-five cannons (105 mm Howitzer) firing all night. Did not get much sleep.
I forgot to mention when we were advancing along Lingayan Valley, I was a gunner then. We noticed a Japanese Zero Fighter plane on the other side of a big field. Being the lead tank we were ordered to destroy the plane. The fellow that was the tank commander told me 2000 yards. Well, I destroyed it with the first shot. So I got a Japanese Zero Fighter plane.
When we moved along the road, infantry guys were walking each side of us. I was thinking again I was lucky I was on a tank where I could just ride. I remember a couple of times or three when we met Japanese reticent.
I remember when we were fired upon by our own planes. I was a gunner then. The first plane must have noticed the white star on our tanks above the engine compartment. The second plane did not fire. I was gunner then, standing up in the turret looking forward when I seen bullets bouncing off the road. The infantry guys hit the ditch. I heard one infantry guy got hit in the shoulder.
Anyway, we did not have to go all the way to the coast. They sent guys home on points. The driver on my tank got to go, so they needed a driver. And that’s where I came in. I asked if I could be the driver. There were two of us that asked. We had to go over a course to see if we could drive a tank. I guess I did all right. They picked me. That’s where I got the Tech 4 grade, because I was the lead tank driver. Anyway we went back all the way to Manila.
I remember crossing a river with a floating bridge. It was kind of the bridge with pontoons. The bridge from all the weight sank down as we went along. The tank grossed 20 tons. We were pretty far from Manila where we bivouacked. While we were waiting orders, that’s when they dropped the bomb on the two cities on Japan. I understand they were going to have new tanks at Okinawa waiting for us to use in Japan. It’s a good thing they came up with the bomb. I may not have made it. The Japanese were pretty desperate. Anyway, our equipment was loaded on to LST’s (Tank Landing Ship) when Japanese called it quits.
We arrived at the Yokohama beach some days later. I don’t recall how many days it took from the Philippines. We took our equipment of the ship and headed to the Airport through Yokohama and Tokyo. Did not see a soul on the streets when we went through town. I guess because the war just ended. We made patrols outside of the air base for some time. We did not use tanks. We had other vehicles. The Japanese got friendly with us in time. They had me there a few months, and then they sent me home. I was twenty-one years old.
I was a kid yet so to speak. I was sent to Seattle. It took about 11 days from Japan to Seattle by ship. We went past a lot of islands as I remember along the U.S. coast. It was dark when we got to port. They took me by truck to the reception center. The next day paper work was done. They asked me if I wanted to re-enlist, but I said no. I had a job waiting for me that I had left before being drafted. It was about 6 months on the railroad as an engineer steam watch at night and then serviced the engine for the next day. The engine was used on a work train they called it.”
