FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
During World War II in heavy combat from Normandy to the Rhine, Soldiers of the 28th Division distinguished themselves with many acts of bravery on and off the battlefield.
Eighteen division Soldiers would receive the Distinguished Service Cross, 359 the Silver Star and 2,627 the Bronze Star, recognizing their bravery and valor between 1944-1945. Many other courageous actions of Keystone Division Soldiers went unrecognized, with their heroics known only to those who fought alongside them.
Over seven days in September 1944, the individual actions of one 28th Division Soldier would earn him the distinction of being the unit’s only recipient of the Medal of Honor in World War II.
Francis J. Clark was born in Whitehall, New York, and worked as a woodworker and amateur boxer before war broke out in 1941. At 30 years old, Clark was initially classified as too old for the draft, but he was reclassified as "A1" and called up and inducted in March 1942.
Shipped to initial training at Camp Gordon Johnston, Florida, Clark returned home briefly before deployment to marry his sweetheart in Salem, New York, Jessie Miller. Clark received a promotion to corporal while in training and joined the 28th Division as a replacement NCO assigned to K Company of the 109th Infantry Regiment.
In September 1944, Clark and the 28th Division came face to face with the pillboxes of the “Siegfried Line,” German defenses placed to prevent the Allies from breaking out of France into the German homeland. Now a staff sergeant, Clark and his company crossed the Our River near Kilborn, Luxembourg, to advance on the German line.
Clark's Platoon Leader, Lt Eric Black of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, recalled, "Covered by fog and noise of the river, we crossed safely, but the following platoon drew a hail of machinegun and rifle fire which killed the Platoon Leader and Platoon Sergeant,” according to a U.S. War Dept. press release.
Watching the pinned-down platoon, Clark jumped into action. He ordered his men to suppress the German guns and crawled across the open field in front of his position to reach the trapped platoon. Once with the pinned-down unit, he rounded up the survivors and ordered them to follow him back across the field to safety.
Once back to his own men, Clark saw that a wounded Soldier had been left behind. Clark charged forward again, on his own, and "when he found the wounded man could not move he … carried him to cover over his shoulder,” according to a War Dept. press release.
Clark's heroics did not end there. His automatic rifleman, Frank Robichaud, told Army reporters that although outnumbered, "Clark led us in a number of engagements with enemy patrols who were trying to break through our positions."
When another machine gun opened up on the platoon, Clark charged the position himself armed with a rifle and two grenades, killing or wounding the entire crew.
“Then he went over to the gun and gave it a bang against a tree to destroy it,” Robichaud added.
Clark’s pressure on German patrols in the area throughout the rest of the day forced a German force of superior numbers to withdraw.
A few days later, and a few miles down the Siegfried Line, Clark would again find his platoon in a precarious position. While fighting at Hill 515 near Sevenig, his unit was again was pinned down by machine gun fire.
Clark repeated his one-man army heroics and charged forward at the gun. With his helmet shot off in the process he tumbled into the German position and eliminated the crew. Calling his men forward, he established a defensive line in the German gun position.
Clark was wounded commanding his unit and the remnants of another platoon but refused medical evacuation. As night fell on Sept. 17, he rested in the captured bunker. Upon waking in the morning, Clark stumbled into two German machine gun teams a mere 5 yards away who were preparing to fire on his men. He destroyed both guns and alerted his men for action.
The fighting on Hill 515 continued to test the men of K Company, but Clark’s battalion commander stated that "among this scene of death, desolation, and hellfire Sergeant Clark moved with a calmness and serenity to resupply, provide medical aid, and give encouragement to not only his own rifle squad but the entire company front,” according to “The Regiment: Let the Citizens Bear Arms,” by Harry Kemp.
After the action at Sevenig ended, Clark allowed himself to be evacuated to receive medical attention. He returned to the 109th after a short recouperation and continued fighting with Company K.
Promoted to technical sergeant, he was wounded by German artillery fire in action during the struggle for the Hürtgen Forest and was sent to England to recuperate.
Discharged in August 1945, Clark was back home in Salem, New York, when he received notice that he would be recognized with the nation's highest honor for his actions nearly a year prior. On Aug. 23, 1945, Clark stood in the White House with 27 other Soldiers and received the Medal of Honor from President Harry Truman.
Clark returned to a quiet life in Salem, becoming a farmer and working part-time in a local factory before passing away in 1981.
In 2015, the Harrisburg Military Post’s Building 1 was renamed in Clark’s honor as a tribute to his heroic actions as a member of the 28th Infantry Division.
(Editor’s note: Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Heft is a former platoon sergeant with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He is currently the non-commissioned officer in charge of the Army National Guard Leader Development Program in Arlington, Va.)