William Madison (Bunk) CLARK was a farmer before The Great War, drafted and served in World War I and employed by Ford Motor Company in Dallas for 37 years. As a young man, he raced greyhounds and later, raised Walker Hounds to become locally famous for fox hunting.

During all but the last two months in the Army, he served in Company G, (Battalion unknown), 359th Infantry Regiment 180th Infantry Brigade, 90th Division, in three sectors and three offensives, one of which was the last one that ended November 11 at the 11th Hour, 1918. He trained at Camp Travis (located near San Antonio, Texas adjoining Fort Sam Houston) and by the end of The Great War, achieved the rank of Private First Class. The 90th Division was organized under the command of Major General Henry T. Allen at Camp Travis Texas from men drawn from Oklahoma and Texas. The overseas movement began in late June 1918 from Boston, Brooklyn, New York, and Philadelphia. They received final training at Aignay-le-Duc, France.

They joined the 1st Army, American Expedititionary Force (AEF), August 18, 1918. Soon after the November 11th Armistice, the 90th and 89th moved into Germany as the only two American Divisions selected to be part of the Army of Occupation. They remained until May 16 and on May 17, 1919, they began the long journey back home. The 90th Division captured 2,412 prisoners, was quiet 42 days, active 26 and advanced 28 1/2 kilometers. It suffered 7,277 casualties, had 1,392 battle deaths. It had 5,885 wounded. The Division received 4,437 replacements. They returned from France through Charleston, South Carolina in May 1919.

From a postcard, William Madison CLARK wrote his brother Robert Younger CLARK at Rt 4, Mesquite, TX, "Hello, how are you by now? I am all right so far. I have been working very hard (buth?)..." The rest is illegible but the postmark indicates, "SAN ANTONIO, TEX. TRAVIS BR. May 4, 11 AM, 1918"

It is believed that the Puvenelle Sector is where the 359th Infantry Regiment was held in reserve from September 17 until October 10 except for one battle September 26, 1918, that liberated Preny, France. A story related by his wife Floy Inez OLIVER to their grand-daughter describes his company running across a mountain pass. At the onset, 47 men charged and only seven made it to the other side. One can only speculate that this might have been the ridge at Preny. More likely is that it happened during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

From his Honorable Discharge:

He was inducted April 28, 1918 at Terrell, Texas, serial number 1811557. He was transferred from Company G, 359th Infantry Regiment, April 14, 1919 and discharged as a Private First Class from Company B, 359th Infantry Regiment June 24, 1919 at Camp Bowie (1.5 miles southwest of Brownwood), Texas. No wounds, single, paid $90.42, "sixty dollar bonus paid."

Battles, engagements, skirmishes, expeditions included: Villers-en-Haye Sector, 24 Aug - 11 Sep 1918; St. Mihiel Offensive, 12 Sep - 16 Sep 1918; Puvenelle Sector, 17 Sep - 10 Oct 1918; Preny Offensive (Puvenelle Sector), 26 Sep 1918; Meuse-Argonne Offensive, 22 Oct - 11 Nov 1918.

From 17 Sep to 10 Oct, the 90th Division was held in reserve.

Villers-en-Haye Sector, 24 Aug - 11 Sep 1918:

Relief of this sector was made by one battalion of each regiment entering the front line, another battalion taking a position in support about four kilometers from the front line and the third battalion of each regiment being in brigade or division reserve farther to the rear. A machine gun company was attached to each battalion. The 3d Battalion 357th Infantry was the first battalion to enter the line with relief reported complete at one o clock on the morning of August 22. On the two preceding nights the 3d Battalion had stayed at Francheville and Martincourt respectively. The 2d Battalion 359th Infantry entered the front line the same night with the relief being completed only shortly after that of the 3d Battalion 357th Infantry.

Also that night, the 2nd Battalion 358th Infantry and the 1st Battalion 360th Infantry went into positions on the main line of resistance. The 3d Battalion 358th Infantry and the 2nd Battalion 350th Infantry entered the front line the night of August 22-23 the main line of resistance being occupied that night by the 2nd Battalion 357th Infantry and the 1st Battalion 359th Infantry. The following night, relief was completed by the 1st Battalion 357th Infantry taking reserve position at Martincourt, the ist Battalion 358th Infantry moving up to reserve at Francheville, with the 3d Battalion 359th Infantry occupying its reserve position at Villey St Etienne. The 360th Infantry reserve battalion, the 3rd, took up position in Camp des Antonistes in the southern end of Foret de Puvenelle. The 1st Field Artillery Brigade covered the front of the 90th Division until on August 28 it was relieved by the 153rd Field Artillery Brigade, 78th Division (HISTORY OF THE 90TH DIVISION)

St. Mihiel Offensive, 12 Sep - 16 Sep 1918:

[Excerpted from Wikipedia] The Battle of Saint-Mihiel involved the American Expeditionary Force and 48,000 French troops under the command of U.S. general John J. Pershing against German positions. The United States Army Air Service (which later became the United States Air Force) played a significant role in this action. This battle marked the first use of the terms 'D-Day' and 'H-Hour' by the Americans. The attack at the St. Mihiel Salient was part of a plan by Pershing in which he hoped that the U.S. would break through the German lines and capture the fortified city of Metz. It was one of the first US solo offensives in World War I and the attack caught the Germans in the process of retreating.

Hence, their artillery was out of place and the Americans were more successful than they otherwise would have been. It was a strong blow by the U.S. and increased their stature in the eyes of the French and British forces. This battle again illustrated the critical role of artillery during World War I and the difficulty of supplying the massive World War I armies while they were on the move. The U.S. attack faltered after outdistancing their artillery and food supplies, as muddy roads made support difficult. The attack on Metz was not realized, as the Germans refortified their positions and the Americans then turned their efforts to the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

Puvenelle Sector, 17 Sep - 10 Oct 1918

Not much has been written about this area but it is believed to be an area of the Puvenelle Woods that are about 25 square miles, offering barracks, showers, canteens and relative calm. It is located in the Lorraine Region (northeast corner of France) about 20 miles south of Metz and 50 miles from Saarbrucken, Germany on the border.

Preny Offensive (Puvenelle Sector) , 26 Sep 1918

[Translated and excerpted from a French Wikipedia posting] Prény is a French commune, located in the of the Meurthe-et-Moselle Department in the Lorraine Region. Prény village, built on the slopes of a rocky outcrop, is surrounded by forests and fields. The village, dominated by a castle, is spread over three terraces. Vineyards located on the slopes once covered the terraces facing south, giving it the appearance of a village in Provence with two rows of houses situated one opposite the other with the street in the center and between. From 1914 to 1918, the village had a difficult occupation of German troops, fighting to the end of 1918. During the American offensive, the church, parts of the castle and 60% of houses were partially or completely destroyed. Fifteen young men from the village were killed in the armed forces and one civilian was killed. A war memorial was erected, carved by a family of stone carvers from the village, to their memory. From June 1940 to September 1944, the population underwent a new German occupation from which she again was liberated by troops of the United States.

Meuse-Argonne Offensive, 22 Oct - 11 Nov 1918

[Excerpted from Wikipedia] The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front. It was intended to breach the Hindenburg line and ultimately force the opposing German forces to capitulate. The big September-October Allied breakthroughs (north, centre and south) across the length of the Hindenburg Line - including the Battle of the Argonne Forest - are now lumped together as part of what is generally remembered as the Grand Offensive (also known as the Hundred Days Offensive) by the Allies on the Western front. The Grand Offensive, including British, French and Belgian advances in the north along with the French-American advances around the Argonne forest, is in turn credited for leading directly to the Armistice on November 11. On September 26, the Americans began their strike towards Sedan in the south; British and Belgian divisions drove towards Ghent (Belgium) on the 27th, and then British and French armies attacked across northern France on the 28th. The scale of the overall offensive, bolstered by the fresh and eager but largely untried and inexperienced U.S. troops, signaled renewed vigor among the Allies and sharply dimmed German hopes for victory.

The Meuse-Argonne offensive, shared by the U.S. forces with the French 4th Army on the left was the biggest operation and victory of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in World War I. The bulk of the AEF had not gone into action until 1918. The Meuse-Argonne battle also was the largest frontline commitment of troops by the U.S. Army in World War I, and its deadliest. The main U.S. effort of the Meuse-Argonne offensive took place in the Verdun Sector, immediately north and northwest of the town of Verdun, between 26 September and 11 November 1918. Of the battles that constituted the Grand Offensive, this is the one best remembered in the U.S.

American forces consisted initially of fifteen divisions of the U.S. First Army commanded by General John J. Pershing until October 16 and then by Lt. General Hunter Liggett. The logistics were planned and directed by Col. George Marshall. The French forces next to them consisted of 31 divisions. The U.S. divisions of the AEF were oversized, being up to twice the size of other Allies' battle-depleted divisions upon arrival, but the French and other Allied divisions had been partly replenished prior to the Grand Offensive, so both the U.S. and French contributions in troops were considerable. Most of the heavy equipment (tanks, artillery, aircraft) was provided by the European Allies. For the Meuse-Argonne front alone, this represented 2,780 artillery pieces, 380 tanks and 840 planes. As the battle progressed, both the Americans and the French brought in reinforcements. Eventually, 22 American divisions would participate in the battle at one time or another, representing two full field armies.

The American attack began at 5:30 a.m. on September 26 with mixed results. The second phase of the battle began on 4 October, during which time all of the original phase one assault divisions of the U.S. I and V Corps were replaced by divisions from reserve. The Americans launched a series of costly frontal assaults that finally broke through the main German defences (the Kriemhilde Stellung of the Hindenburg Line) between 14-17 October. It was during the opening of this operation, on October 8, that Corporal (later Sergeant) Alvin York made his famous capture of 132 German prisoners.

By October 31 the Americans had advanced fifteen kilometers and had finally cleared the Argonne Forest. On their left the French had advanced thirty kilometers, reaching the River Aisne. The American forces reorganized into two armies. The First, led by General Ligett, would continue to move to the Carignan-Sedan-Mezieres Railroad. The Second Army, led by Lieutenant General Robert L. Bullard, was directed to move eastward towards Metz. The two U.S. armies faced portions of 31 German divisions during this phase. The American troops captured German defenses at Buzancy, allowing French troops to cross the River Aisne from whence they rushed forward. In the final days, the French forces conquered the immediate objective, Sedan and its critical railroad hub. On November 6, American forces captured surrounding hills. Although the Meuse-Argonne was "probably the bloodiest single battle in U.S. history", in the sense that it had the largest number of U.S. dead in a single battle, it is little remembered today in the U.S. Its battleground memorials are neglected by most American visitors to Europe.
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From Find a Grave, Grove Hill Memorial Park, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=41174582

Birth: May 12, 1893, Crandall, Kaufman County, Texas
Death: Mar. 18, 1963, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas

Family links: Parents: William Madison Clark (1859 - 1928), Catherine Meredith Clark (1866 - 1950)
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Several photos from World War I are posted at Find a Grave

• Married: 8 Jul 1922 in Dallas, Dallas, TX ²

1. Billie Maxine CLARK b: 13 Jan 1923 in Dallas, Dallas, TX

1. Title: White, Maxine (Private Papers)
   Author: Billie Maxine Clark White
   Text: Highly reliable records maintained by the author.
2. Title: Clark, Frank (Personal Papers)