[4] When she was twenty one years old she enlisted at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in August 1945, just before World War II ended.

[6] She was commissioned into the WAC Officer Candidate Course and a commander from an all-male regiment thought it was inconceivable she would even get through the basic training.

[3] Clarke's next assignments were at the United States Army Chemical Center and Valley Forge General Hospital.

[3] Clarke was given duties at the Office of Equal Opportunity and Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel in Washington, D.C. and did WAC consulting in preparation of historical books.

[8] She reached the rank of colonel in 1972 and became the commander of the United States WAC Center and School in Fort McClellan.

She then immediately became commander of the United States Army Military Police School and Training Center.

During her tenure, in 1979 she oversaw the return of the United States Army Chemical School from the Aberdeen Proving Ground near Edgewood, Maryland to its former home at Fort McClellan by the city of Anniston, Alabama.

[15][16] Clarke was the first woman to achieve the class of major general in the United States Army in 1978.

Her uniform was exhibited in a Pentagon display commemorating vital contributions of Army women pioneers.