Annotator's Note: There is a loud hum throughout the interview.] Charles William "Tom" Clark was born in September 1925 in Daylesford [Annotator's Note: Daylesford, Pennsylvania]. His father managed a large dairy farm. He obtained a farm of his own by managing an estate near it. He was seriously injured in a traffic accident and not expected to live. Housed in a convalescent home for a long duration, Clark's mother had to sell off assets prior to his recovery. Clark was very young at the time. While Clark's father was recovering, his job as manager was assumed by another individual and was not available afterward. The family income then resulted from working the estate and the farm. Life was not too difficult for farmers during the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945]. Clark had two brothers and seven sisters. Clark was the seventh born of the siblings. Everyone worked together. Clark received his nickname when he had whooping cough at six months of age. He was treated by Doctor Tom Akins [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling]. He lived on whiskey at the time. From that time, he was known as Tom. He attended elementary school and was very bashful except at school. He was an excellent student. He changed schools several times through the years. He could sing very well. The music teacher would defer to Clark as the preferred singer in class. Clark much appreciated that. He found that his set of friends were always the most popular individuals in class. He heard about Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] while in school. He was in the class of 1944 but was drafted in his senior year during the end of 1943. Clark's older brother, Bud, had a close friend, Warren Phelps [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], who was mistreated by his mother. Phelps came to live with Bud and later joined the Air Force in 1937. As a squad leader, Phelps perished in an accident resulting from a personal sacrifice to save his squadron in foggy weather. He was a courageous leader. The loss was tremendous for Bud who joined the National Guard and then the paratroopers. Bud jumped into Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. Injured during the jump, he refused treatment but was subsequently wounded by shrapnel and returned to the United States. Clark's younger brother was in the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] in the Signal Corps [Annotator's Note: US Army Signal Corps] and then the infantry. He received a million-dollar wound [Annotator's Note: military slang for a non-fatal, or non-crippling, wound serious enough to be remove a soldier from combat] and was sent home. Clark had no problem being drafted. He could have chosen the Navy but disliked the uniform and decided instead to join the Army. In retrospect, he would have been better off with the food and lodging in the Navy. His mother did not object to his service. It was just what you did.

[Annotator's Note: There is a loud hum throughout the interview.] Charles William "Tom" Clark was inducted by himself with none of his friends. Another individual with the first name Chase was an excellent student drafted at the same time as Clark. Clark learned that Chase was killed in combat later. Chester County [Annotator's Note: Chester County, Pennsylvania] drafted Chase despite his status which would have been normally exempt. After basic training, Clark returned home on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. In the summer of 1944, he was sent to Meade [Annotator's Note: Fort George G. Meade in Anne Arundel County, Maryland]. During this period, 18-year-old soldiers were not being sent into combat. He was to be the company clerk. He was deployed to Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy] via ship. There was a big replacement depot at Naples. While there, he contracted appendicitis [Annotator's Note: inflammation of the appendix]. During preparation for surgery, he had a very pleasant experience with a young nurse. It was determined that he had hepatitis [Annotator's Note: inflammatory condition of the liver] from a dirty needle. Clark requested a front-line assignment but was told he would be held for recovery for several weeks instead. A major erroneously opted to release Clark early rather than waiting his full recovery. Clark went to the front with his buddies one of which was Paul [Annotator's Note: no surname provided], a fellow basic trainee with Clark. It was at this time that Clark joined the 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division in the heavy weapons company.

[Annotator's Note: There is a loud hum throughout the interview.] Charles William "Tom" Clark was in a slit trench with another older soldier. He was about to jump into a foxhole when he saw a dead German in it. Had there been any threatening mortar fire, he would have jumped in and pulled the dead man over him. The older man volunteered to become a member of a three-man team designated to operate a field radio on eight-hour shifts. That left Clark in the slit trench by himself. At the top of a hill close to the Jerrys [Annotator's Note: a nickname for German troops], mortar fire was unleashed on the American position. When there was a cessation of enemy fire, Clark heard no sounds and thought everyone was dead. Then the enemy opened up again. Clark waited for it to end. After the second round of incoming fire, Clark began to hear voices. Actually, no one had been hurt by the mortars. Being a member of the field radio team, Clark stayed with company headquarters. After 30 consecutive days under enemy small arms fire, Clark received his Combat Infantryman Badge [Annotator's Note: the Combat Infantryman Badge or CIB is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of Colonel and below, who personally fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of either an infantry, Ranger or Special Forces unit, of brigade size or smaller, any time after 6 December 1941] and ten dollars more a month. He discovered that the nurses had nothing to do with the enlisted men, only the officers. In the winter of 1944 to 1945, the Americans approached the British to the east. They were far behind the Americans because they did not utilize similar tactics. One captain in Clark's battalion refused to advance his men because he thought the mission would be suicide for his exhausted troops. The officer was removed from his command. His troops respected the relieved officer for taking that stance. The fight for Monte Grande [Annotator's Note: a mountain peak in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy] was intense. German and American artillery exchanged fire. The area smelled like death from those killed and the smoke of the artillery fire. When under artillery fire, Clark got as close to the ground as he could and prayed. The British strategy was to soften up the Germans and then advance infantry to take the area. Failure meant repeating the process. The American commanders were concerned the Germans would flank them from the British side so a winter stalemate developed. The British had to catch up with the Americans before further progress could be made. The Americans changed positions to baffle the Germans as to where they were dug in. When the weather was sunny and warm in the mountains, the ground was muddy. When it was cold, the ground was frozen. Mules were used to aid in rough terrain transport. The British used Indian mules. American mules were handled by Italian prisoners who mistreated the animals. The radio team consisted of Clark, his friend Lou [Annotator's Note: Lou Rosner, name spelling uncertain] and their buddy Chuck [Annotator's Note: no further definition on his name]. Lou really took a liking to their mule and was very protective of the animal. Their mule even reciprocated by helping them to scale difficult terrain on the mountain. Clark had assistance from the mule pushing against Clark's butt up the mountain when he had trouble. The mule pulled Lou up the mountain as he held on to his tail. American and British headquarters were staying in a few buildings when Clark and Rosner observed mules falling as they tried to make it up the mountain in broad daylight. Knowing they were tasked to bring supplies and ammunition up the hill at night, they had to work with their mule. The mule tripped up on telephone wire and had to be released of its burden and taken up the hill. There was no tree to secure it to so the two men went down and recovered the load and brought it up the slope. The mule had disappeared. Clark and Rosner found out that the mule had headed to the German lines. Luckily, they managed to find the mule and bring it back. They loaded supplies for the machine gunners on the mule and delivered it under fire. Afterward, they returned to headquarters. Clark felt Bill Mauldin [Annotator's Note: William Henry "Bill" Mauldin, American editorial cartoonist] was excellent. He drew cartoons with two soldiers at the front. Clark liked his images. Mauldin did a lot for the morale of the G.I.s [Annotator's Note: government issue; also, a slang term for an American soldier].

[Annotator's Note: There is a loud hum throughout the interview.] British soldiers were near Charles William "Tom" Clark [Annotator's Note: with the 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division] and his friend Lou [Annotator's Note: Lou Rosner, name spelling uncertain] as they brushed their mules. Lou had been previously transferred from the Air Force to infantry. He had been engaged but received a Dear John letter [Annotator's Note: a Dear John letter is a letter from a female to a male serviceman serving overseas breaking off a romantic engagement], and decided that the best revenge would be to be killed in combat. A platoon was going down to fight the Germans. Upon their return they were chased by mortar fire. Lou learned of the event and chewed out the lieutenant for not taking him so that he could have been killed. They were issued either K-rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals] or C-rations [Annotator's Note: prepared and canned wet combat food], which were not very good. Near the end of the war, Lou was in a jeep when a German weapons carrier approached. Lou raised his carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine] and confronted the German soldiers, hoping to be killed by them. Instead, they surrendered as the war was nearing its end. In the Po Valley [Annotator's Note: Po Valley in Italy], Clark and his fellow soldiers received eggs from local civilians and boiled them in their helmets. Clark was tired and thirsty, having only one canteen of water in a 24-hour period. At this point, Clark's feet were infected with fungus. An American fighter plane mistakenly strafed them, but luckily no one was hit. Clark would have shot the plane down if he could have, as the action was unacceptable. Sometimes during artillery barrages a short round [Annotator's Note: a short round is a friendly artillery round that falls short on friendly forces rather than reaching enemy positions] would kill or injure friendly troops.

[Annotator's Note: There is a loud hum throughout the interview.] Charles William "Tom" Clark was in a small village in Italy. Clark was with a lieutenant who spoke Italian and told the local citizens to give them olive oil. They had six eggs apiece and wanted fried eggs. Clark already had eight boiled eggs, for a total of 14 eggs, and he ate all of them and enjoyed it. There was only one city in northern Italy where soldiers and airmen were warned not go and approach civilians. The heavy bombing of a large railroad depot there resulted in many civilian deaths, and the citizens there wanted to kill Americans. This was the only place they did not like the Americans. Rifle companies lost more men than the heavy weapons companies, which had 81mm mortars [Annotator's Note: M1 81mm mortar] which fired a few miles, while the rifle companies had less powerful mortars and were therefore always closer to the enemy. Replacements were continuously coming in. American soldiers received clean socks with their rations. During the stalemate of the winter of 1944-1945 Clark was taken off the line to bathe and was issued a new, clean uniform. He felt like a new man. Once they had to go 60 days without a change of clothes or a shower. In the foothills of the Alps mountains [Annotator's Note: the Italian Alps], Clark and his fellow soldiers stayed overnight at a civilian's farmhouse after being soaked by rain. He got close to the fireplace so his clothes would dry and was observed by an older Italian woman, making him uncomfortable. The sergeant, who spoke Italian, asked her what she was doing. She responded that she liked the smell of young men. Clark did not want to stay in the house with her. In another town, one group stayed overnight in the local sheriff's apartment and another group stayed in the jail, where half a dozen prostitutes were being held. The men wanted to get to the prostitutes but could not get past the locks.

[Annotator's Note: There is a loud hum throughout the interview.] Charles William "Tom" Clark rode tanks up the foothills and tried to keep warm in the cold [Annotator's Note: in the 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division in northern Italy in early 1945]. The driver asked Clark if he could operate a .30 caliber machine gun [Annotator's Note: Browning M1919 .30 caliber air cooled light machine gun]. Clark readily acknowledged he could, thinking it would be warmer inside the tank. That was until he remembered his position would be difficult to abandon should the tank be hit by enemy fire. He decided against it. The Americans were advancing toward the Brenner Pass [Annotator's Note: a mountain pass through the Alps mountain range that forms the border between Italy and Austria] to meet up with the 7th Army in France. Traveling by truck, the men warmed themselves from their collective body heat. They reached a little village called Vipiteno [Annotator's Note: Vipiteno, Italy]. The village was populated by Austrians because it had formerly belonged to Austria prior to the end of World War 1. A German rear echelon with many officers were there. There was a warehouse full of fine liquor. The men carried cases of alcohol away with them. Clark was not raised to drink so he did not indulge. The Germans had left a delayed action bomb under the supply room. No one was hurt by the explosion. Lou [Annotator's Note: Lou Rosner, name spelling uncertain] and Clark fought the fire. A baker managed to hand sheet cakes to Clark and Rosner. The men thought the baker should have gotten a medal for saving the cakes for them. Clark had previously passed through the location of the Leaning Tower of Pisa [Annotator's Note: in Pisa, Italy]. The Germans had used the building for artillery observation. The Americans refused to shell the landmark. Clark thought it should have been destroyed rather than sacrificing any American lives. The war ended in Italy a few days before it did in France and other locations. Rosner accosted surrendered German officers to get their sidearms. The enemy officers had been allowed to retain their weapon. Clark cautioned Rosner that he might get ambushed doing that. Rosner was Jewish and a great guy except that he wanted to get killed [Annotator's Note: Rosner describes why in Segment 04 - "Dear John Letter and Friendly Fire" of this interview series]. Clark did not keep in touch with Rosner after the war. Being a non-drinker, Clark was surrounded once by 12 drunks at a bar who wanted to force him to drink whiskey. Knocking the glass from one man's hand, the 12 backed off and never attempted to bully Clark again. They respected him after that. Clark did not drink because he did not come from that background. His father never drank nor believed in drinking any alcoholic beverages. Clark was advancing with his outfit in the foothills of the Alps when the war ended in Italy.

[Annotator's Note: There is a loud hum throughout the interview.] Charles William "Tom" Clark was near Vipiteno [Annotator's Note: Vipiteno, Italy] when the war ended. He was sent to Bolzano [Annotator's Note: Bolzano, Italy] to type citations along with two other typists working under a lieutenant. The officer knew nothing about typing but every citation had to be perfect. Clark knew some techniques to make corrections that the officer would not discover. After that assignment, Clark was sent to Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy] to a replacement depot for transit home. He sailed home in a Liberty Ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship]. Some of those ships cracked up in the ocean. There were 105 enlisted and officers on the unescorted ship. The weather was good, and Clark had a good bunk for the trip. He even had a porthole and a fan. He slept well. The sailing was smooth and quick. He saw the Statue of Liberty [Annotator's Note: in New York, New York] in September 1945. Since he could see it approaching from a distance, it was not the thrill it could have been. He received a 30-day furlough [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] after arrival. He returned to Indiantown Gap [Annotator's Note: Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania] and surprised his parents by calling when he was close to home. His parents thought he was still in Italy. Clark would not want to go on the front line and experience enemy fire again. [Annotator's Note: the interview ends abruptly prior to Clark explaining something that he would consider doing differently in the war.]