GENERAL MARK W. CLARK - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 09/03/1976 - HFSID 283853

MARK CLARK
Responding to a question on the use of nuclear weapons, he signs a typed 1976 letter from The Citadel, expressing his own view: that the US - if attacked - "would have every right to retaliate with any weapon in its arsenal."
Typed Letter signed: "Mark W. Clark", 1 page, 8½x11. Charleston, South Carolina, 1976 September 3. On his letterhead as President Emeritus of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, to Ms Dot Murphey, Raleigh, North Carolina. In full: "Your letter has been received, posing the question on the use of atomic weapons should another world war conflict get started. That's a hard question to answer, for many factors are involved. The two countries with the large stockpiles are of course, the United States and Russia. Both would be reluctant to commence using atomic weapons but I believe if, as you have stated another worldwide conflict starts, someone, sooner or later would resort to the use of atomic weapons. It is more than likely that if such a conflict does develop, it would be initiated by the Soviet Union, in which event I would feel that the United States would have every right to retaliate with any weapon in its arsenal in order to maintain its survival." Mark Wayne Clark (1896-1984), who assumed command of the Fifth Army in North Africa in 1943 and commanded the Fifth Army in the invasion of Italy in 1944, got his fourth star in March 1945. He accepted the surrender of German forces in Italy and Austria and, from 1945 to 1947, was the U.S. High Commissioner in occupied Austria. In 1953, as Commander in Chief of the United Nations Command, he signed the military armistice between the U.N. Command and the North Korean Army and Chinese People's Volunteers in Korea. That year, he also began his 12 years of service as President of The Citadel. He is buried on the campus of The Citadel next to Mark Clark Hall. This letter, at first glance a casual reply, is very carefully phrased. A casual reader might interpret Clark as saying that Russia would be the first to use nuclear weapons in any future conflict. Closer reading suggests a different view: that the Soviet Union would probably start the war, in which case the US "would have every right to retaliate with any weapon in its arsenal." Many fierce debates have taken place in the Pentagon, and the White House, concerning doctrine for "first use" of nuclear weapons. Should their use be authorized only in retaliation for use by an enemy, or should the US be ready to use them first to gain a military advantage, and especially to reverse the tide of a war being lost (in Clark's words., "to maintain its survival")? Needless, to say, most of these discussions take place behind closed doors, or in esoteric journals. Clark here makes known his own view on the topic. Normal mailing folds, 3" diagonal creases in upper right. Otherwise, fine condition.