Francis J . Clark Francis J . Clark ( 1912 – 1981 ) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military ' s highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in World War II . Biography . Clark joined the Army from Salem , New York in March 1942 , and by September 12 , 1944 was serving as a technical sergeant in Company K , 109th Infantry Regiment , 28th Infantry Division . On that day , near Kalborn , Luxembourg , he crawled through open terrain to reach a platoon which had been pinned down by heavy fire , led them to safety , and then returned to rescue a wounded man . Five days later , near Sevenig ( Our ) Germany , he single - handedly attacked a German machine gun position and then assumed command of two leaderless platoons . Although wounded , he refused medical evacuation , attacked two more German machine gun positions alone , and carried supplies through hostile fire to an isolated platoon . For these actions , he was awarded the Medal of Honor a year later , on September 10 , 1945 . Clark left the Army while still a technical sergeant . He died at age 68 or 69 and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery , Salem , New York . Medal of Honor citation . Technical Sergeant Clark ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : He fought gallantly in Luxembourg and Germany . On 12 September 1944 , Company K began fording the Our River near Kalborn , Luxembourg , to take high ground on the opposite bank . Covered by early morning fog , the 3d Platoon , in which T / Sgt . Clark was squad leader , successfully negotiated the crossing ; but when the 2d Platoon reached the shore , withering automatic and small - arms fire ripped into it , eliminating the platoon leader and platoon sergeant and pinning down the troops in the open . From his comparatively safe position , T / Sgt . Clark crawled alone across a field through a hail of bullets to the stricken troops . He led the platoon to safety and then unhesitatingly returned into the fire - swept area to rescue a wounded soldier , carrying him to the American line while hostile gunners tried to cut him down . Later , he led his squad and men of the 2d Platoon in dangerous sortie s against strong enemy positions to weaken them by lightning - like jabs . He assaulted an enemy machinegun with hand grenade s , killing 2 Germans . He roamed the front and flanks , dashing toward hostile weapons , killing and wounding an undetermined number of the enemy , scattering German patrols and , eventually , forcing the withdrawal of a full company of Germans heavily armed with automatic weapons . On 17 September , near Sevenig , Germany , he advanced alone against an enemy machinegun , killed the gunner and forced the assistant to flee . The Germans counterattacked , and heavy casualties were suffered by Company K . Seeing that 2 platoons lacked leadership , T / Sgt . Clark took over their command and moved among the men to give encouragement . Although wounded on the morning of 18 September , he refused to be evacuated and took up a position in a pillbox when night came . Emerging at daybreak , he killed a German soldier setting up a machinegun not more than 5 yards away . When he located another enemy gun , he moved up unobserved and killed 2 Germans with rifle fire . Later that day he voluntarily braved small - arms fire to take food and water to members of an isolated platoon . T / Sgt . Clark ' s actions in assuming command when leadership was desperately needed , in launching attacks and beating off counterattacks , in aiding his stranded comrades , and in fearlessly facing powerful enemy fire , were strikingly heroic examples and put fighting heart into the hard - pressed men of Company K .