Famous Freemasons:
Adm JJ ‘Jocko’ Clark

Visitor Marylou Clark made a presentation at this month’s Lodge of Instruction to the Master, Wor Earle Thompson USN. Marylou is the daughter of Adm JJ Clark.

JJ Clark was the first man of Native American heritage to graduate the US Naval Academy at Annapolis. He was proud of his heritage and of being a lifelong Freemason.

Joseph James Clark was born on 12 November 1893 in Chelsea, Oklahoma.
He attended the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1918. He preferred to go by the acronym of ‘JJ’ or ‘Jocko’ instead of his full name.

At the outset of World War II, Clark had commanded the escort carrier Suwanee in the Atlantic and off the North African coast until he was detailed to run the new carrier Yorktown (CV-10). The Yorktown became flagship of Admiral Pownall during the 1943 carrier raids. Clark and his operations officer James Flatley  drew up the fleet-wide attack plans.

In January 1944, Vice-Admiral Marc Mitscher hoisted his flag on Yorktown, and Clark soon began to impress Mitscher. His fighting spirit and ability rated him high for promotion, and a mere month after Mitscher's takeover of the Fast Carriers, Clark was promoted to Rear-Admiral. His flagship was the new Hornet (CV-12), under Captain Miles Browning, but within months Adm Mitscher brought Adm Clark aboard the Yorktown.

During the Marianas campaign, Clark performed brilliantly during a raid of the northern Marianas, which he (as Mitscher's right hand man) and Rear-Admiral Harrill had been assigned to undertake. His fighting spirit won the day, and his excursion, plus his unwillingness to let Harrill's opposition to the operation affect its outcome, further highlighted his talent.

Determined Warrior

Arriving in time to fight in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Clark's planes played a prominent part in it. In fact, Clark's ships were almost always closest to the enemy. This continued after the battle; for when all of the Task Groups returned to Eniwetok, Clark received permission for a strike against Iwo and Chichi Jima, which he successfully conducted.
Clark and Rear-Admiral Davison paid another visit to Iwo and Chichi Jima in early July , destroying further numbers of planes, and again in early August. Adm McCain replaced Adm Clark and Jocko returned to America for a well-earned period of comparative rest. He thus missed the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the single most destructive victory in the Pacific.

Clark finally returned to the Pacific Fleet in February 1945 when Vice-Admiral Mitscher took over the Fast Carriers again. Clark now again embarked on Hornet. Serving in the raids against Japan in 1945, Clark's forces took several heavy attacks but escaped unharmed.
Adm Clark was relieved of combat commands shortly before the end of the war, earning again a well deserved shore billet. Clark then became Vice-Admiral and commander of the 7th Fleet, which now had the Fast Carriers. He ended his career as a full Admiral during the Korean War

During his military career he was decorated with the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Korean Order of Military Merit. Admiral Clark died on 13 July 1971 at St. Albans NY and was laid to rest with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

The USS Hornet

Adm Clark’s Hornet still exists, and you can visit it at Alameda CA
http://www.uss-hornet.org

Jocko’s USS Hornet


















The veteran Essex-class carrier USS Hornet is the eighth and most distinguished namesake in a long line of USN warships with proud naval histories, beginning with the first Hornet in 1775.

The second Hornet assisted the Marines in Tripoli with a devastating bombardment of the citadel, an action which ended the Barbary Wars.
The third Hornet, under the legendary Captain “Don’t give up the ship” Lawrence, sank the British warships Peacock and Penguin in the War of 1812.
The seventh Hornet (CV-8) took the Doolittle Raiders to Tokyo, helped with the Battle of Midway, and was sunk in October 1942, defending Guadalcanal in the Battle of Santa Cruz.

The eighth Hornet had an extraordinary combat record in WW II, engaging the enemy in the Pacific in March 1944, just 21 months after the laying of her keel. For eighteen months, she never touched land. She was constantly in the most forward areas of the Pacific war - sometimes within 40 miles of the Japanese home islands. Her pilots destroyed 1,410 enemy aircraft and over one million tons of enemy shipping. Her planes stopped the Japanese super-battleship Yamato and played the major part in sinking her. She launched the first strikes in the liberation of the Philippines and (February 1945) the first strikes on Japan since the Doolittle raid in 1942. The "Grey Ghost" participated in virtually all of the assault landings in the Pacific from March 1944 until the end of WW II, earning 9 battle stars and the Presidential Unit citation.

Left :The new book (2005) on Adm Clark

Barnes & Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=1591147166&itm=5

Below: Guided Missile Frigate USS Clark
was named for Adm JJ Clark.


Left: Badge of the USS Clark, as presented at the
April Lodge of Instruction to Wor Earle Thompson
by Adm Clark’s daughter,
Marylou Clark

Left: Jocko Clark with Bob Hope
.

From Newsletter 20
7 April 2006