Eugene F. Clark

Who is Eugene F. Clark?

Commander Eugene F. Clark, USN, was deployed to the Flying Fish Channel, leading into Inchon. Quickly surveying the area, he and two accompanying South Korean officers Lieutenant Youn Joung and Colonel Ke In-Ju landed Yonghung-do Island in Incheon Harbor in advance of the US forces led invasion of Inchon leading to the Battle of Inchon.

Clark and his Korean officers secured the help of the people on the island and using captured junks began to run raids on the North Korean occupied islands of Taebu-do and the harbor fortress of Wolmi-do. He also ran daily mine patrols up and down the channel to ensure the invasion fleet would not be so hampered. Clark was also assisted by Commander Lee Sung Ho, the captain of one of South Korea's four gunboats, at the direction of Admiral Sohn Won-Yil, Chief of Naval Operations, South Korean Navy. He also armed and assisted organized resistance groups hiding out in the hills near Inchon. By doing this he was able to gain valuable information about the layout of troops in the city.

The North Koreans had been slowly infiltrating men onto Yonghung-do for many days and on the night of September 14, the day before the invasion, they struck. Lieutenant Clark and his men bravely fought off the assault by a numerically superior force of North Koreans. However, they were forced to evacuate themselves and all who assisted them to the previously secured lighthouse island of Palmi-do. A day later, at the request of Clark, a battalion of Marines was deployed to take Taebu-do and Yonghung Do. They stormed the islands with vengeance for the brave Koreans who died to help Lieutenant Clark. However, the North Koreans had already murdered over fifty people who had helped Clark and his men but refused to leave the island with them. Lieutenant Clark was awarded the Silver Star for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity" in obtaining "vital intelligence information". He was also awarded the Legion of Merit.