CLARKE, JACK

The second Wyoming Valley member of the United States Marine Corps to be officially listed as killed in action in the Pacific area was verified in a telegram received yesterday relating that Pvt. John [Jack] Clarke, 22, 171 Main Street, Kingston died [August 10, 1942] in the performance of his duty.

The telegram, dispatched from Washington by Lt. Gen. T. Holcomb, was delivered to the young man’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Clarke, on the same day that Thomas Driscoll, former Plymouth resident and also a member of the Marine Corps, was reported killed in the same area.

Pvt. Clarke enlisted in the Marines on January 14, 1942, and spent ten weeks at Parris Island, N.C., and at Quantico, Marine Training Base, before leaving for overseas duty as a member of a Raiders’ battalion.

Prior to entering the service, the youth was employed at Rakers Paint Shop, Kingston. He graduated from Kingston High School in 1938.

Mr. and Mrs. Clarke last heard from their son on July 20, from his station somewhere in the Pacific.

Besides his parents, he leaves three brothers, George and William of Kingston, and Charles, who recently joined the armed forces; one sister, Mrs. Walter Jones of Philadelphia. Pvt. Clarke was a member of Kingston Methodist Church.