Black Navy Veteran Finally Recognized For WWII Heroism

Submitted by William

Carl Clark says that back then, “It wouldn’t look good to say one black man saved the ship.”

…Clark, 95, will be awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with the Combat Distinguished Device on Jan. 17, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo announced Thursday.

Clark was serving as an E-6 Steward First Class aboard the USS Aaron Ward when Japanese kamikazes attacked the destroyer near Okinawa in May 1945…

Six kamikazes hit the destroyer, with the blast from one plane so powerful that Clark said it blew him “all the way across the ship.”

Though he suffered a broken collarbone in the attack, Clark was credited with saving the lives of several men by dragging them to safety. He also put out a fire in an ammunition locker that, according to Eshoo’s office, would have cracked the destroyer in half.

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (pictured with Clark) helped correct the record.

By: William

retired military , former cop, lifelong gym rat and doting grandfather alive and living in Maine