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GM3c George Francis Clark
George Francis Clark, born March 31, 1921 in Paris in east central Illinois, was the 5th of eight children of Clarence Clark, then a taxi driver, and Flossie Pearl Kees Clark, a homemaker.
The son attended Paris High School but did not graduate. He enlisted in the Navy on Jan. 16, 1940, and was a gunner’s mate and petty officer third class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
His brother Robert, younger by two years, was an Army private when he was killed in France in 1944.
Two other brothers, Jack and Donald, also served in the military during World War II.
When their mother died in 1959 the family asked that donations in her memory be made to the fundraising campaign to build the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. President Eisenhower had approved the project the previous year but with the requirement that most of the cost be privately paid. It was built in 1962.
Sources: The San Bernardino County (California) Sun; applications for military headstones; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Census; Navy muster roll; Parish High School yearbook. Ancestry.com photo. This profile was researched and written on behalf of the U.S.S. Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona.
NOTE: If you are a family member related to this crew member of the U.S.S. Arizona, or have additional information, pictures or documents to share about his life or service to our county please contact us through our FAMILY MEMBER SUBMISSION FORM.