Clarke
Vincent A. Clarke Jr.
Vincent Arthur Clarke, Jr. was born in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an English born father and New Jersey born mother. His father supported the family as a real estate agent in partnership with his brother John. Growing up he aspired to be an engineer but upon graduation from Northeast High School in Philadelphia he acquired an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and reported there on June 17, 1910. He was probably an average student and even was placed on probation for falling scores in his studies in 1912. Clarke graduated in the class of 1914 but had, like a number of other Middy's, to retake his graduation tests to qualify for graduation with the class.
In 1915 Clarke married Miss Charlotte Isabel Rocchietti of New York, while he was attached to the submarine tender USS Fulton (AS-1). In 1917 a daughter named Dorothy was born to the couple.
In 1916 upon leaving the Fulton Clarke reported aboard the USS E-1 (SS-24). In 1917 became the E-1's commanding officer. It appears that once war was declared that he transited aboard the USS L-4 (SS-43) to Ireland where he took command of the USS L-10 (SS-50).
The L-10 operated out of Bantry Bay, Ireland for the duration of the war. This command garnered Clarke a Navy Cross for his persistence in making the L-10 one of the "hot running boats" in WW I. L-10 accumulated over 1700 hours out on patrol in pursuit of the enemy. Bear in mind war patrols in WW I were only an average of 10 days duration due to the sub's limits on food and fuel.
After returning the L-10 to the U.S. he was given command of the USS R-14 (SS-91), with orders to see her through construction and commissioning. He held the title "Captain" of the R-14 until May 26, 1921 when he was officially detached to serve as the Engineering and Repair Officer for Commander, Submarine Division 14. His excellence in command of the R-14 and his grasp of engineering caught the eye of LCDR Chester Nimitz, the commanding officer of SUBDIV 14. Nimitz was gapped in the E&R billet at the division and he needed a capable officer to oversee the material condition of all of the boats under this command. Clarke worked in this capacity for several months unofficially while the day to day operations of the R-14 were being handled by the Executive Officer, LT Alexander Dean Douglas. Clarke was on the division flagship USS Chicago (CL-14) in port in Pearl Harbor and not aboard his submarine when the R-14 made her famous 10 day trip with improvised sails into Hilo Harbor.
In 1925, looking for new challenges in his career, he applied for a transfer to Naval Aviation. He earned his Wings of Gold and asked for duty in lighter-than-air. He continued his studies and conducted training with balloons and blimps. As a Naval Liaison, He made the second trip across the Atlantic of the German airship Graf Zeppelin and even wrote and number of articles for newspapers about the trip. He was accompanied by Sir Herbert Wilkins, a famed Arctic explorer, later to attempt to reach the North Pole by submarine. Clarke was distinctive from the standpoint of being among only a handful of U.S. Navy officers to ever qualify as both Submarine Officer and as a Naval Aviator.
In 1927 Clarke was stationed at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey as the landing officer for the airship USS Los Angles (ZR-3) and later aboard the airship as the Executive Officer. In May 1930 he became the Commanding officer of the Los Angles and took her to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Review, making live radio broadcasts about the event. He then successfully took the airship to war games at the Panama Canal before returning her to Lakehurst.
In May of 1931 he asked to be transferred to duty in Washington D.C. and later was posted to the Navy Yard in the San Francisco Bay area. He later became seriously ill and was admitted to the government hospital at Palo Alto, California and was subsequently transferred to the Naval Hospital in San Francisco. He was suffering from severe blood poisoning. He succumbed its effects and died on August 10, 1932 at 41 years of age. He left a wife and daughter. His wife Charlotte passed away in 1957.
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