by Monique Guy

After returning from England Clark was promoted to Captain and assigned his first command as amour officer of A Company, Fourth Battalion, a light tank company at Fort Riley in Kansas. He received impressive evaluations for his performance from his commanding officer, “the morale, enthusiasm, and general attitude of the company was so astounding that it was favorably commented on by a large number of senior officers. This was largely due to the superior leadership of Captain Clark. Not content to only strive for high standards of performance, he also always considered first the welfare of the man under his command”.

After five months with A Company, Clark received his orders for duty in Vietnam. Gert was three months pregnant at the time. He arrived in May of 1969 and was assigned to work for the chief deputy of staff of the First Infantry Division at Lai Khe as the Assistant G-3 (operations and planning). His success resulted in reassignment as G-3 research and evaluation officer, a position normally held by a major. While in Viet Nam he also converted to Catholicism.

In 1970 Clark entered combat duty, assigned as Commanding Officer of A Company, First Battalion, Sixteenth Infantry of the First Infantry Division. While on patrol in a jungle near Saigon, searching for Viet Cong, his 25-man platoon was attacked by a group hiding in an old bunker complex. In the hail of AK-47 gunfire, Clark was shot four times, in the shoulder, hand, hip and leg. He shouted to his platoon the location of the incoming fire but he wasn’t aware, he recalls, that he had been hit until his wounded hand dropped his rifle. He looked down to see bone jutting out and realized that he was covered in blood.

A sniper in his platoon, Michael McClintic, pushed him down and opened fire on the enemy, while Clark continued to order his troops from the ground to form a base of fire and called for backup. “The guy emptied an AK magazine at me, and I turned just as he fired, so he stitched me up the right side of my body instead of taking me in the throat and gut. He shot the M-16 out of my hand and put a hole in my leg and another one through my shoulder. I was lying on the ground bleeding and yelling, “Get on your feet and assault now.”

McClintic was also shot during the ambush. “The guy was actually there firing back while I was hollering at the company to come up” recalls Clark. The Viet Cong retreated and Clark and McClintic where evacuated by helicopter. Clark’s commanding officer, David C. Martin, recalls that Clark still did not realize how badly he had been shot, responding to questions about his wounds: “"I don't think I'm shot too bad”. McClintic received a Bronze Star and Clark a Silver Star, although Martin originally recommended a Bronze Star with Valor (both men received a Purple Heart). Officers in Viet Nam were usually awarded higher honors than enlisted men, but Martin has said that he had no problem with the upgrade because Clark was leading his men and retained control of the company while wounded and under fire. Clark commented, "I'm not going to say I was a hero. I think a hero is somebody who saves somebody else's life through risking his own life. What I did is I did my duty. My duty was to command the company. I got shot and I maintained command and gave the orders and directions.” He believes that McClintic "should have gotten something more . . . these awards were never fair." He didn’t meet the man who had “probably saved my life” until 33 years later, when the Boston Globe located McClintic.

The Award for Silver Star reads, "As the friendly force maneuvered through the treacherous region, it was suddenly subjected to an intense small arms fire from a well-concealed insurgent element. Although painfully wounded in the initial volley, Captain Clark immediately directed his men on a counter-assault of the enemy positions. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Captain Clark remained with his unit until the reactionary force arrived and the situation was well in hand. His courageous initiative and exemplary professionalism significantly contributed to the successful outcome of the engagement. Captain Clark's unquestionable valor in close combat against a hostile force is in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 1st Infantry Division, and the United States Army."

After a few days in hospital Clark was flown back to the States for two months of recuperation at Valley Forge General Hospital in Pennsylvania. It was there that he first saw his son, Wesley Jr. “I saw him for the first time when he was four or five months old. I had a hook in my hand and it scared her when I tried to hold him. But he didn’t seem to mind.” It would take him another year of rehabilitation to recover from his injuries, which doctors had warned him would leave him with a permanent limp due to the large amount of muscle lost to his right calf. Clark refused this prognosis, teaching himself to walk again and to use his injured hand. He would go on to occasionally receive perfect scores on his physical fitness tests throughout his career.

Returning to active duty, Clark took command of Company C of the 32nd Armor Division at Fort Knox in Kentucky. The company was comprised of men like himself, recovering from injuries that prevented physical training or the ability to shoot a rifle. Although understaffed by sixty-percent, it was still expected to provide the same number of light tanks for the armor school at the base. Clark recalls, “They were good people, and I loved that company more than any other command I ever had because of what the soldiers meant to me. That convinced me more than anything else to stay in the army because I loved the experience of working with the troops.”

After eight months with C Company Clark took a short-term staff position in Washington, DC, as a Special Assistant for the Modern Volunteer Army in Office of the Army Chief of Staff, where his design for a new education program for enlisted men was adopted as policy. Brig. General Robert Montaque reviewed him as “one of the best captains I have ever known”.

In 1971 the Clark family moved to West Point where Clark took a three-year teaching position. Although originally assigned to teach principles of economics he took over the political philosophy class after the assistant professor was reassigned. Clark was in a familiar element in an academic environment, finding a gift for teaching that resulted in his promotion to assistant professor within a year. Fellow instructor Col. Jack Jacobs remembers, “He was an extremely knowledgeable, compelling teacher and he was extremely well-liked by his students.” Col. George Osborn reviewed Clark as “generally quiet and reserved, but has an excellent sense of humor and almost unfailing cheerfulness. He has mastered the Socratic discourse as a technique of teaching, and uses it with outstanding effect in the classroom. In an old-fashioned sense, this man is a teacher whose students love him…” Clark also coached the debate team and was assistant coach of the swim team. He was awarded an Army Commendation Medal at the end of his assignment.

During his time at West Point, Clark was recommended for selection to attend the Command and General Staff College, which was granted. He graduated first in his class, earning a second Masters degree in Military Arts and Science, and was promoted to Major in 1975.