Biography

Leverett Brooker Clark was born in Groton, Connecticut in 1916. He was the son of Herbert B. and Anna Clark. The Clark family moved to Hopedale, Massachusetts in 1925. Leverett graduated from Hopedale High School in 1934. He was an outstanding student receiving the Washington-Franklin History Medal for achieving the highest grade in history. Following graduation from high school, Leverett worked for the Draper Corporation for two years. He entered Rhode Island State College with the class of 1941. He was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, serving as president his senior year. He was captain of the rifle team and participated in the Army ROTC program.

Leverett enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces’ Cadet Flight Officer Program on 14 July 1941. He attended Parks Air College, East St. Louis, Missouri and Randolph Field, Texas for flight training. After six weeks, he received his pilots wings and was a commissioned a Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces. 2Lt. Clark’s next assignment was Jackson Army Air Field, Jackson, Mississippi where he received advanced flight training in preparation for deployment to North Africa. On 8 April 1942, Leverett’s father received a telegram from his son with the message, “Going Over.”

On that day 2Lt. Clark and his college sweetheart, Ms. Margaret Brown, were married; and fate decreed that they should have a two weeks’ honeymoon as his departure overseas was delayed. 2Lt. Clark and his crew took off from West Palm Beach, Florida hopping from there to Brazil and then to Dakar, Africa. News of their arrival reached home; but from there, their whereabouts are shrouded in mystery.

The War Department declared the crew missing in action (MIA). They were later declared killed in action (KIA). A story of another U.S. Army Air Forces’ bomber which left at the same time as 2Lt. Clark’s from the same base, revealed that they were unable to land at their proper destination because their instruments had malfunctioned. They found that the plane’s metal toolbox was magnetized. Their plane had crashed, and the flyers were missing for seven months and traveled through jungle wilderness to safety. A similar fate may have overtaken 2Lt. Clark’s crew. 2Lt. Clark and his crew were awarded the Purple Heart and Air Medal (Posthumously).

The name of Second Lieutenant Leverett B. Clark, U.S. Army Air Forces, is on the Tablets of the Missing, North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia. He was a son of Rhode Island State College who answered the call during World War II and gave his life in service to our country, and was another member of the “Greatest Generation.”