Nickname(s) Jocko Name Joseph Clark Rank Admiral | Years of service 1917-1953 | |
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Allegiance United States of America Died July 13, 1971, St. Albans, New York City, New York, United States Similar People Arthur W Radford, David Buttolph, Alfred Newman | ||
Admiral Joseph James "Jocko" Clark, USN (November 12, 1893 – July 13, 1971) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who commanded aircraft carriers during World War II. Born and raised in Oklahoma and a native of the Cherokee Nation, he was the first Native American to graduate from the United States Naval Academy, in 1917.
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Naval career
Clark's nickname, "Jocko", originated at the Naval Academy: on one of his first days there, he was standing in ranks when a classmate called out "The Right Reverend J. Jonathan Jockey Clark!"
During World War II, Clark commanded the carriers Suwannee and Yorktown. He was known as an aggressive commander, ready to take his group into battle. In 1944 he was promoted to rear admiral and given command of Task Group 58.1 and served under Admiral Marc Mitscher of the Fast Carrier Task Force, and Admiral Raymond Spruance, commander, Fifth Fleet. He commanded Task Group 58.1 in the Marianas campaign, and on multiple occasions his group was sent north to interdict Japanese aircraft being shuttled down from Japan. His air groups conducted attacks on shuttle points Chichi and Iwo Jima so often that sailors of the Fast Carrier Task Force nicknamed them the "Jocko Jimas". He operated his task group in conjunction with the rest of Task Force 58 in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. His flagship was the carrier Hornet. On the second day of the battle, with his planes returning after sundown, Clark ordered his ships to light up, allowing most planes to land safely.
Clark commanded the Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 77) during the Korean War. He was later promoted to vice admiral and rose to command the 7th Fleet.
Clark retired on December 1, 1953 with the rank of admiral.
Admiral Clark died on July 13, 1971 at St. Albans, New York. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Honors
His awards include the Navy Cross, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Korean Order of Military Merit.
Clark's flag lieutenant was historian Clark G. Reynolds' uncle. Reynolds was chosen to co-author Clark's autobiography.
Clark was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1952.
In 1979, the guided-missile frigate USS Clark (FFG-11) was named in his honor.