Rear Admiral Arthur Clark
Rear Admiral Arthur Clark served two tours as in-country military advisor to South Vietnam military and with USMAV and was one of the last to leave in 1973. He went on to serve in many leadership roles which transformed the U.S. Navy and contributed to efforts which helped win the Cold War. He was project coordinator for the construction of California and Virginia class guided missile cruisers that introduced the worlds most advanced surface ships with 2 nuclear reactors and advanced combat systems. Director ship logistics for all conventional and nuclear powered surface ships (147 ships) during a period of accelerated weapons technology advancements. Commander, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard where he led development and implementation of first program for reactor compartment disposal of the first 28 nuclear reactors to long term environmentally safe storage. He also developed recycle disposal of nuclear submarine and ship hulls. Director Atlantic Fleet maintenance during the First Gulf War and developed innovative maintenance processes to sustain improved and effective naval operations thus contributing to success in Bosnia and the Second Gulf War. He became the Navy's senior engineer officer. After retirement he served as deputy director for operations at the Idaho National Laboratory to develop the next generation nuclear plant, a high temperature gas reactor for civilian reactors designed for process heat applications to replace fossil fuels. Rear Admiral Arthur Clark graduated from Middleport High School in 1957 and Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1962. The family home was at 211 South Third Street.
Marker is at the intersection of Front Street and Main Street, on the right when traveling north on Front Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
