Russell E. Clark was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1925. He was an only child. His father was a salesman all his life and became vice president of a forklift company during World War 2. He eventually owned a materials handling business. Clark's mother worked in the house. He had wonderful parents and a great upbringing. He attended high school but enlisted after his 18th birthday. He wanted to be a doctor and had to enlist in order to become a medic. He entered the service on 8 July 1943.

Russell Clark enlisted at a young age [Annotator's Note: shortly after he turned 18 years of age]. He went to basic training at Camp Grant, Illinois and then to Walter Reed General Hospital for medical training. He was next sent to Jackson Barracks in New Orleans and then Brazil. In Brazil, he and other medics assisted in training medics assigned to the Brazilian Expeditionary Force. There were 5,000 in the fighting force that was sent to Italy to fight alongside the Americans. Although language was a barrier, Clark enjoyed the experience and learned some medicine from his students. Clark returned to the United States after his time in Brazil. He was sent to Florida for a brief time and then on to England as a replacement. He knew what was happening in Europe and thought it was his duty to go. He became a member of Company A, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. He was a replacement for a medic who sustained an illness below his belt. [Annotator's Note: Clark chuckles.] Clark was concerned about the future. He learned more about what to expect after arriving in England. The 29th Division had been training in England since late 1942. Clark arrived in March 1944 and immediately went into simulated landings with the division. He was trained well during the one or two simulated landings. The other medic in the company gave Clark insight into what he could expect. He knew that he had to tend to the wounded on the battlefield. That included bandaging wounds, applying medications, administering injections and tending injuries. He was basically a first aid man. His laboratory training received at Walter Reed was not of significance to his function as a medic. He had to make the decision on the spot on whether a wounded man could be saved. At times, all he could do was provide a pep talk to a dying man and move on. In England, rumors circulated about D-Day [Annotator's Note: the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944]. The troops were not allowed to talk about it away from other troops. He had a limited social life in England. Local civilians were very congenial. The day before D-Day he found out they would board the USS Charles Carroll (APA-28) and head toward Normandy. Harsh weather delayed their departure by one day. The men remained on the ship and gambled and tried to busy themselves. Some men prayed. Others were upset. Clark tried to compose himself the best he could. He had G.I. insurance worth 10,000 dollars. That was all he had to leave his parents. The next morning, the ship traversed the rough seas of the English Channel. Clark worried what the landing craft transit would be like with the difficult seas.

Russell Clark sailed toward Normandy with his ship [Annotator's Note: USS Charles Carroll (APA-28)] lingering offshore for some time. The early morning boarding of the landing craft was down rope ladders and very dangerous. Men fell off the ropes as the boats bounced up and down. The last step could only be safely taken if the boat was rising and not going down. With all troops aboard, the landing craft motored out to the assembly area. With all boats together, the word came to move ashore. It was about 6:15 or 6:30 [Annotator's Note: on the morning of 6 June 1944]. Clark did not see the beach until the Higgins boat [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP] ramp went down. The beach had not been hit at all by any of the naval or aerial bombardments. Clark jumped over the side of the landing craft. There were six or seven Higgins boats carrying Company A [Annotator's Note: Company A, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division]. Boats were to the left and right of Clark. The ramps went down nearly together. Clark was in the rear of his landing craft as he observed the men ahead of him attempting to disembark. They were dropping like flies as soon as they exited the boat. He knew the company was in for a rough time. As men fell in front, those more to the back of the boat opted to jump over the side of the vessel. Clark was lucky that the side he jumped over had shallow water. The men on the other side of the boat jumped into water over their heads. Some drowned and other reached the beach without any gear. The infantrymen carried a lot of heavy gear. Clark only had his two medical bags and successfully managed to keep them dry. Medics carried no weapons. That was why Clark's Lieutenant Tidrick [Annotator's Note: US Army First Lieutenant Edward Tidrick was hit immediately after leaving the ramp and killed by subsequent machine gun fire] ordered him to the rear of the landing craft. Clark had multiple Red Crosses on his helmet and arm band. They made good targets for the German gunners. Clark's first reaction when he hit the water was to try to save the wounded. He pulled some to shore and worked on them there. The gunfire was terrible. Bullets were hitting all around Clark. He could hear them hit the water and sand. He may have been saved by being low as he pulled men to shore. Clark was frightened going into the beach, but as he responded to aiding the wounded, the fear dissipated. Obstacles, barricades, mines and barbed wire were everywhere on the beach. Clark tended a wounded man behind an obstacle. As he moved to aid another man, something hit his helmet and stunned him. When he was alert enough, he moved to the other wounded man only to find that he had died. It was at that point that Clark discarded his Red Cross helmet and armband in exchange for the dead man's plain helmet. He did not want to be a target for the Germans and their machine guns and mortars. Clark took care of 15 to 30 wounded men on the beach. He crawled from man to man. It was remarkable that he was only hit that one time on his helmet. Chaos was everywhere on the beach. Men called for their mothers. Body parts were everywhere. He applied tourniquets where appendages were blown off if the man looked like he might still survive. There were no litter bears. The wounded had to wait until the beach was secure. As Clark crawled from man to man, he could only tell if they were wounded and still alive when he reached them. Most of the men in the minefields were killed or badly maimed. No training had prepared Clark for what happened on that morning. He had no idea of what he had to do until he was there. He felt fatalistic at times but just kept doing his work. He was fortunate not to be wounded. He sought cover behind barricades and dead soldiers. It took six hours from the landing ramp falling to reaching the base of the cliffs. Even there, he was vulnerable to enemy fire from above.

Russell Clark has no regrets about D-Day. [Annotator's Note: Clark was a medic with Company A, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division and landed on Omaha Beach in the first wave.] He only wishes that he could have saved more men on that morning. His job as a medic was to save men, but he was limited as to what he could do. His medical supplies ran low. He spent six hours on the beach and treated 20 to 25 men. He kept tending wounded without regard for finding cover. When he reached the base of the cliffs, he still went out to the beach to treat yet another wounded man. He often wonders how many of those men survived and where they might live. They were very young men on that morning. The badly wounded were treated but it was questionable if they would survive. The hard part was having to leave the fatally wounded. He would give them words of encouragement even though he knew he would not return to them. He remained below the cliff all night long. Company B [Annotator's Note: Company B, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division] landed 45 minutes after Company A. There were so few survivors in Company A that Clark joined Company B. There were only 15 to 16 left in Company A. About 65 to 70 men were killed. Clark was too close to the action to know the actual count of casualties. He had nightmares about the dead and wounded on the beach. He had survivor's guilt about being left alive. It was a relief to get off that beach the next day. His recollection revolves around men running and then dropping after being hit. There was a terrible uncertainty about the events. It was impossible for him to treat all those who were injured. The loss in personnel was extensive. No officers or sergeants in Company A were left after the day's combat.

Russell Clark and Company A [Annotator's Note: Company A, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division] was not reformed until the 29th Infantry Division fought at the battle of St. Lo. There was extensive fighting at St. Lo without a break after D-Day [Annotator's Note: the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944]. From there, the company moved to Vive and then to Brest. Clark helped a lot of wounded but was not personally under fire. After D-Day, Clark fought alongside Company B. He had no company of his own. By the time Company A reached Brest, it was at full strength. He found it easy to make friends. One of those friends was a man named Thomas. Clark found out that Thomas was killed on D-Day. Clark never kept up with the details of the casualties. After Brest, the division moved toward the Ruhr River. The Germans mounted a heavy defense. The company was supported by a tank unit. Clark was wounded when he attempted to rescue a tank crew that had been hit. He saved two men, but the tank blew up and Clark was wounded and thrown through the air. He went back to England. That ended his war. Just like on D-Day, as Clark advanced through Normandy, he treated the men who he knew would survive. He had to walk away from some wounded in order to focus on another man who looked like he had a chance to survive. That was hard for Clark. He knew he had to make a choice to save the man who could survive. Doubts still linger whether he could have saved a man that he walked away from. Nightmares persisted about those decisions. They continued after the war but gradually stopped. The bad dreams reoccur now and then. Clark was severely injured by the tank in October 1944. He returned to the United States in April 1945. He was released from Walter Reed Hospital in February 1946 and sent to Indian Town Gap for discharge. He had a recuperation such that he could play sports. He even signed up for the reserves. He got married and was called up for Korea. He was in a MASH [Annotator's Note: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital] unit. Clark regrets nothing and feels honored to have served his fellow Americans. In combat, Clark worried more about his friends than himself. One friend tried to protect Clark during times of danger. Clark kept a bit of distance from the men he served with in case he had to treat them later. Medics were being lost after D-Day so Clark was given a .45 pistol [Annotator's Note: M1911 .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol]. He had it when a German pointed rifle at him. Clark drew his pistol out of his holster and shot the young soldier. Without the pistol, Clark would have been dead. The German was ready to shoot him.

Russell Clark matured as a result of his time in the war. He became more religious after contemplating his survival after all that he went through. He saw men in all kinds of conditions. Courageous or cowardly men could be seen in combat. Some men saved many people with their actions. Clark wonders if they were decorated for their bravery. Food was not always available. He hopes no one has to go through what he went through. He always knew who his enemy was in World War 2. That was unlike Korea, Vietnam or Iraq. Clark was awarded the Combat Medic Badge, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for his service. He received 11 ribbons and nine medals. There was no ceremony when he received the Bronze Star while he was in Walter Reed Hospital. He was given ribbons and recognition for his service in Korea. The men who came back from Korea and Vietnam were not recognized for their service. People protested the returning troops from Korea just as they did those returning from Vietnam. Clark experienced that when he reached Camp Kilmer after returning from Korea.