Clarke, Everett R.
Biography: Everett Russell Clarke was born on March 7, 1913, in Belleville, Rhode Island. He was the son of Joshua S. Clarke and Lillian P. Maidson. The 1930 U.S. Census, and the 1935 Rhode Island Census, show that at the age of 17, he was working as a clerk in a grocery store in Wickford, RI. His enlistment record will later show that he had completed one year of high school.
Service Time: Everett entered the Army on February 13, 1942, at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. At some point, he was assigned to the Reconnaissance Company of the 634th Tank Destroyer Battalion. The 634th was activated on December 16, 1941 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. In 1942, they trained at Camp Hood, Texas, and participated in the fall Louisiana Maneuvers before returning to Camp Claiborne.
On April 5, 1942, Everett married the former Mary Hunt in Cumberland, North Carolina. She was born in Ireland and was the daughter of Patrick Hunt and Margaret Bruen. They had a son, Michael.
In 1943, the unit was equipped with the M10 Tank Destroyer. They shipped to England on December 29th, arriving on January 10, 1944. While there, they received additional training before landing on Utah Beach in Normandy, France, on June 30th. They were committed to battle on July 10th near Carentan and participated in the Cobra breakout in late July.
On July 24, Everett’s recon platoon was attached to the 1st Platoon of Company C for a direct fire mission about ¾’s of a mile WNW of Amigny, France. After the mission was completed, the units moved back to their bivouac area about five and a half miles NW of St. Lo, France. Private Everett R. Clark was killed by enemy artillery fire at 1130 that night.
Everett was initially buried in the St. Mere Eglise No. 2 Military Cemetery in Carentan, FR. In 1948, he was disinterred and re-interred in the Long Island National Cemetery, East Farmingdale, New York. We would like to thank Everett for making the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Thank you to Ancestry contributor Barry Harten for use of the photo of Everett. Also, thank you to FindaGrave contributor GLENN for use of the grave marker photo.