[1] His mother was a high school mathematics teacher and his father, Jeremiah Clark, was the pastor of the St. Paul's Baptist Church.

Clark attended the Tuskegee Cadet Pilot program, graduating from its Single Engine Section Class SE-42-F on 3 July 1942 and receiving his wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.

[9] He suffered a head wound when he struck a tree parachuting to the ground, and was immediately picked up by the Italian resistance who sheltered him for eight months.

[6] According to the Fifteenth Army Air Force, "nothing short of pandemonium would describe the reactions ... when everyone realized that the group's own 'Bud Clark' had actually returned".

[14] The Fifteenth Army Air Force reported that Clark had innovated as a pilot by landing his P-40 Warhawk on one wheel while returning from a dive bombing mission over the Anzio Beachhead.

[9] Dr. Henry Foster knew Clark as a child and was influenced by his war stories, pursuing work at an air force base and learning to fly.