Frederick J. Clarke

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Frederick J. Clarke
Commendation Ribbon
Other work
Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia
In office
1 August 1960 – 8 July 1963
Preceded byAlvin C. Welling
Succeeded byCharles Marsden Duke

Frederick James Clarke (1 March 1915 – 4 February 2002) was a civil and military engineer with the

Chief of Engineers
.

A 1937 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he graduated fourth in his class, Clarke earned a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from Cornell University in 1940. During World War II he commanded an engineer battalion on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, and he supervised the construction of a military airfield there that became a key refueling point for transatlantic flights to Africa. He then served on the staff of the Army Service Forces. After the war ended he was area engineer of the Manhattan Project's Hanford Engineer Works, and was executive officer of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Sandia Base.

As district engineer of the Trans-East District of the Corps from 1957 to 1959, he was responsible for military construction in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. From 1960 to 1963 he was one of the three federally appointed commissioners that governed the

Chief of Engineers from 1963 1965, the Commanding General of the Army Engineer Center and Commandant of the United States Army Engineer School at Fort Belvoir
from 1965 to 1966, and Deputy Chief of Engineers from 1966 to 1969. As Chief of Engineers from 1969 to 1973 he guided the Corps as it devoted increased attention to the environmental impact of its work.

Early life

Clarke was born in

James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. of New York's 39th congressional district, who appointed him.[1]

Clarke entered West Point on 1 July 1933.He graduated fourth in the class of 1937 on 12 June 1937 and was commissioned as a

League of Nations Association as a research assistant.[7] They were married in the Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity at West Point in September 1938.[1] They had a son, Pat, and two daughters, Isabel and Nancy.[8] Engineering officers normally earned additional qualification soon after graduation,[9] and he entered Cornell University, where he studied structural and soil engineering. He received his Master of Science degree in civil engineering in September 1940.[1] He was promoted to first lieutenant on 12 June 1940 and captain on 9 September 1940.[10]

World War II

In August 1940, Clarke assumed command of Company C of the

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.[11] He then assumed command of the 1st Battalion, 38th Engineer Regiment. In February 1942, his battalion sailed to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic, where he supervised the construction of a military airfield there that became a key refueling point for transatlantic flights to Africa.[11] He was promoted to major on 1 February 1942.[10]

His battalion's next assignment was to construct a chain of airbases across Africa, but when he returned to the United States in July 1942 to collect the plans, he was reassigned to the planning division of the headquarters of Army Service Forces in Washington, D.C.. He was engaged in long-range logistical planning for communications, airfield and port construction, road and railway rehabilitation, and hospitals. "My logistics training was one hour at the Leavenworth course" he later recalled. "All I remembered was that what went on the ship last came off first."[8] But the commander of Army Service Forces, Lieutenant General Brehon B. Somervell wanted a major who had attended the Command and General Staff College, and had served overseas. This reduced the number of potential candidates greatly. His group drew up lists of supplies required for campaigns in Africa, China and the Pacific. Some of these contingencies occurred while others did not. As the war in Europe ended, he was involved in the frenzied planning effort to redirect supplies to the Pacific.[12] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 22 December 1942 and colonel on 15 May 1945.[10] He visited theater commands in Europe, South America and the Pacific, and after the war in Germany and Japan.[11] He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his service.[10][13]

Post war

After the war ended, Clarke was assigned to the

Commendation Ribbon for his service.[10][11][14]

In December 1949, Clarke went to

Nike missile batteries. He then became head of the Production Mobilization Branch, with responsibility for the readiness of the national munitions and armament industries, and was special assistant to Palmer's successor, Lieutenant General Carter B. Magruder.[15] He attended the National War College in 1956 and 1957.[17]

In his role of Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia, Clarke hands astronaut John Glenn the key to the city at a White House Reception

Clarke's last overseas assignment was as district engineer of the Trans-East District from 1957 to 1959. From his headquarters at

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.[18]

From 1874 to 1967, the

District of Columbia was governed by three federally appointed commissioners (one a civil engineer, selected from the Army Corps of Engineers). On 1 August 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Clarke as the District's Engineer Commissioner. He was the technician-in-chief, called to address the problems such as traffic gridlock, economic development and low levels of funding. At one point early in his term, he was the only commissioner available for full-time duty, because one post was vacant and the other commissioner had suffered a heart attack. In the early 1960s, he participated in talks that led to the compact agreement for construction of the Washington Metro railway and subway system. As chairman of the District's zoning commission, he participated in early debates over the controversial proposal to build an interstate bridge near the Three Sisters Islands in the Potomac River, and over a planned freeway through the heart of the District.[18][20]

After his term as Engineer Commissioner ended on 8 July 1963,

Agency for International Development projects in the Middle East and Africa. He mounted the disaster relief effort after the 1964 Alaska earthquake because a Corps of Engineers officer was the man on the spot.[21]

In July 1965, Clarke became the commanding General of the Army Engineer Center and Commandant of the

Chief of Engineers, with the rank of lieutenant general. His office had an annual budget of $1.8 billion (equivalent to $14.96 billion in 2023) for civil engineering works in the United States and $1 billion (equivalent to $8.31 billion in 2023) for military construction.[22] Clarke guided the Corps of Engineers as it devoted increased attention to the environmental impact of its work.[19] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1973.[23]

When Clarke retired from the Army on 1 July 1973 after 36 years of service,[13] he was the last member of the West Point class of 1937 on active duty.[8]

Later life

Grave in Arlington National Cemetery

After leaving the Army, Clarke served as executive director of the National Commission on Water Quality. In the 1980s, he was a consultant to the Tippetts, Abbett, McCarthy, Stratton engineering firm.

Fort Belvoir, Virginia, on 4 February 2002,[8] and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[25]

Dates of rank

Insignia Rank Component Date Reference
Second Lieutenant United States Army Corps of Engineers 12 June 1937 [10][13]
First Lieutenant United States Army Corps of Engineers 12 June 1940 [10][13]
Captain Army of the United States 9 September 1940 [10]
Major Army of the United States 1 February 1942 [10]
Lieutenant Colonel Army of the United States 22 December 1942 [10][13]
Colonel Army of the United States 15 May 1945 [10][13]
Lieutenant Colonel (reverted) Army of the United States 1 June 1946 [10][13]
Captain United States Army Corps of Engineers 12 June 1947 [10]
Major United States Army Corps of Engineers 15 July 1948 [10][13]
Colonel Army of the United States 29 June 1951 [13]
Lieutenant Colonel United States Army Corps of Engineers 1 July 1954 [10][13]
Brigadier general (temporary) United States Army 1 December 1960 [13]
Brigadier general United States Army 12 June 1962 [13]
Major general (temporary) United States Army February 1965 [13]
Major general United States Army 22 August 1967 [13]
Lieutenant general United States Army 1 August 1969 [13]
Lieutenant general Retired 1 July 1973 [13]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Clarke 1980, p. iv.
  2. ^ Clarke 1980, p. 5.
  3. ^ Clarke 1980, p. 7.
  4. ^ Clarke 1980, p. 3.
  5. ^ Clarke 1980, p. 12.
  6. ^ Cullum 1940, p. 1175.
  7. ^ Clarke 1980, p. 32.
  8. ^ a b c d "Frederick J. Clarke 1937". West Point Association of Graduates. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  9. ^ Clarke 1980, p. 36.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Cullum 1950, p. 897.
  11. ^ a b c d Clarke 1980, p. v.
  12. ^ Clarke 1980, pp. 82–87.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Clarke 1980, p. xii.
  14. ^ Jones 1985, pp. 584, 599–600.
  15. ^ a b Clarke 1980, p. vi.
  16. ^ Clarke 1980, pp. 107–109.
  17. ^ Clarke 1980, p. 108.
  18. ^ a b c Clarke 1980, p. vii.
  19. ^ a b "Lieutenant General Frederick J. Clarke". Portraits and Profiles of Chief Engineers. Archived from the original on 19 June 2005. Retrieved 22 August 2005.
  20. ^ a b "DCPL: MLK: Washingtoniana Division: FAQs: DC Commissioners". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  21. ^ a b Clarke 1980, p. viii.
  22. ^ Clarke 1980, pp. ix–x.
  23. ^ "Lt. Gen. Frederick J. Clarke". National Academy of Engineering. 27 October 2022.
  24. ^ Clarke 1980, p. x.
  25. ^ "Burial Detail: Clarke, Frederick James". United States Army. 27 October 2022 – via ANC Explorer.

References

Military offices
Preceded by
Chief of Engineers

1969–1973 		Succeeded by
William C. Gribble, Jr.
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