Mark W. Clark: Quotes about war

“World War II was an era in which America came of age as a world power. We had and we still have many lessons to learn.”

Mark W. Clark

Source: From the Danube to the Yalu (1954), p. 493
Context: World War II was an era in which America came of age as a world power. We had and we still have many lessons to learn. It was not surprising, perhaps, that we celebrated a victory when in reality we had not won the war. We had stopped too soon. We had been too eager to go home. We welcomed the peace, but after more years of effort and expenditure we found that we had won no peace.

War , Age , World , Learning

“This new kind of war, this contest between the benefits of two ways of life, may foreshadow the nature of the final world struggle between the democracies and communism. Perhaps both sides, with the frightening instruments of total destruction in their hands, may decide that these terrible weapons must never be used. I pray fervently that this be true, not only because of the lives that would be saved, but also because I know America can reap a greater harvest from peace than can her enemies. But peace will be granted us only if we are strong, if the Russians and their followers know we are strong and if they are convinced that we have the determination and courage to use that strength to achieve a military victory the next time we are called to war against communism.”

Mark W. Clark

Closing words, p. 330
From the Danube to the Yalu (1954)

Life , War , World , Peace

“The Air Force and the Navy carriers may have kept us from losing the war, but they were denied the opportunity of influencing the outcome decisively in our favor. They gained complete mastery of the skies, gave magnificent support to the infantry, destroyed every worthwhile target in North Korea and took a costly toll of enemy personnel and supplies. But as in Italy, where we learned the same bitter lesson in the same kind of rugged country, our air power could not keep a steady stream of enemy supplies and reinforcements from reaching the battle line. Air could not "isolate" the front. This made it a footslogger's war. To have pushed that war to a conclusion in the mud and mountains of Korea would have required more trained divisions, more supporting air and naval forces, would have incurred staggering casualties and could not have been attempted with any hope of success unless we had lifted the self-imposed tactical restrictions which gave the enemy a sanctuary north of the Yalu. I believe, however, that we could have obtained better truce terms, shortened the war and saved lives, if we had got tougher faster.”

Mark W. Clark

Source: From the Danube to the Yalu (1954), p. 2-3

War , Hope , Mountain , Support

“No war is ever fought exactly like any other before it, and history is full of stories of commanders who came to grief trying to follow an old pattern of victory once too often. Whatever is new in tactics, equipment or method must be taught at the squad level before a soldier gets into combat.”

Mark W. Clark

Source: From the Danube to the Yalu (1954), p. 25