World War II Chronicle: November 12, 1942
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In Nov. 8’s Chronicle we briefly discussed Maj. Gen. Mark Clark’s mission to potentially head off open hostilities between French troops in North Africa and the Allied landing force. Clark couldn’t divulge many sensitive details about Operation TORCH and the Vichy French were caught between the Allies and their Nazi masters, so some conflict was certainly unavoidable. But the French have already surrendered North Africa and Clark has received a temporary promotion to lieutenant general, making the 46-year-old the youngest three-star general in the U.S. Army.
Clark graduated near the bottom of West Point’s Class of 1917 and was soon leading a company of 11th Infantry soldiers in France. Capt. Clark took over his battalion when its commander fell ill while serving in the trenches in the Vosges Mountains. John W. “Iron Mike” O’Daniel moves up to company commander, and Clark is soon wounded and knocked out of the war. We will hear much more about Iron Mike as the war progresses. Prior to TORCH O’Daniel commanded the American Invasion Training School, and he currently leads the 169th Infantry — part of the Eastern Task Force led by Gen Kenneth A.N. Anderson (pictured on front page)…
Page seven has a first-hand report of how Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, now commanding Twelfth Air Force, was almost shot down by German fighters over North Africa… Page 26 mentions that Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt Kalakuka has been awarded a Distinguished Service Medal for his role in supplying Bataan. Kalakuka, the first Ukrainian graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and three-time recipient of the Silver Star for valor, has a fascinating story and he did a lot more than supply… Philippine Escape series continues on page 31… Sports section begins on page 42
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 12 November 1942. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1942-11-12/ed-1/