Mark Clark
[Charleston, SC], April 28, 1981
Mark Clark TLS Patton & Bradley - Both "Fine Soldiers"
TLS

A 1p typed letter signed by Mark W. Clark (1896-1984) as "Mark Clark" near the bottom. April 28, 1981. [Charleston, South Carolina.] On watermarked paper with ?The Citadel / The Military College of South Carolina / Charleston, S.C. 29409? letterhead. Expected light wear including flattened paper folds, else near fine. 8.5" x 11." Accompanied by invoice and COA.

Mark Clark, then President Emeritus of The Citadel, sent this reply to an autograph collector from Floral Park, New York named Joseph F. Fawls. In the letter, Clark gives his opinion about two fellow World War II generals: General George S. Patton, Jr. (1885-1945) and General Omar S. Bradley (1893-1981).

In part: "I don't feel you should be worried about any views you expressed on General Patton. When I was asked t[o] write the article for the TV Guide [to coincide with the first telecast of the 1970 biopic "Patton" starring George C. Scott in 1972], the editor said 'I know you know him; I don't care whether you loved or hated him, but please write an article.' I had known General Patton for many years. He was a showman, but he was a fine soldier? I made the annual talk to the banquet in New York for the Association of the United States Army and received their Distinguished Service Award [Clark would receive four such awards total]. We invited General Bradley to come. He flew in ahead of me but it was late in the evening and we both went to different dinners and he passed away that night [April 8, 1981.] I did not get a chance to see him. We had overlapped two years at West Point [Bradley was Class of 1915, Clark Class of 1917]. He was an old friend [sic] and a fine soldier?"

Mark W. Clark had been the youngest four-star general in active service during World War II. He began his military training as a West Point cadet. Clark was wounded in World War I, served as an instructor and staff officer during the interwar years, and was rapidly promoted during World War II. Clark commanded the Fifth Army tasked with liberating central Italy. His ?race to Rome? delivered the symbolically important city, but also permitted the Nazis to escape the peninsula. Clark assumed United Nations command and led an intelligence task force during the Korean War. After retiring from the U.S. Army, Clark served as President of The Citadel, the Charleston college and military academy established in 1842, between 1954 and 1965, later serving as its President Emeritus.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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8.5" x 11"
Accompanied by provenance information including an eBay invoice and Certificate of Authenticity from The History Store/Remember When Auctions (Wells, Maine) dated March 1999.