Oral History Interview with Dallas R. Clark, February 28, 2002
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Oral History Interview with Dallas R. Clark, February 28, 2002 (Text)
The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dallas Clark. Clark enlisted in the Navy in January 1931 in Ashville, North Carolina. He was sent to Norfolk, Virginia for boot camp and after boot camp he went to mechanical school there for about a year. He requested and got duty on the USS Texas where he spent the next six years as a machinist. Clark reenlisted in 1936 and was assigned to the USS Yorktown, being built in Newport News, Virginia. After two years on the Yorktown, he went to optical school in Washington, DC for a year. After finishing school, Clark went back to the Yorktown which was on the west coast at the time. He transferred to the USS Houston when he heard they needed 500-600 men; joining her in Manila. For Moore's first year on board, the Houston cruised in Philippine waters. After Pearl Harbor was attacked, the Houston escorted ships south to the Java Sea area and became part of the naval forces of the joint American, British, Dutch, Australian Command (ABDACOM). Clark talks about the USS Marblehead getting hit while waiting to be refueled off the east coast of Borneo. The Houston went to Darwin, Australia and picked up a troop ship with the 'Lost Battalion' onboard. Clark gives a good description of the Houston being hit and what he was doing during this time. He went over the side in his underwear when the abandon ship order was given. He tells of going from one life raft to another and eventually landing on the west coast of Java where some natives climbed a coconut tree and gave them their first drink in about two days. They were moved from a native prison to the Bicycle Camp (near Batavia), working there for a couple months unloading ships. After that they were taken to Singapore for a month or two and worked on a rubber plantation. He then worked on the railroad and was working at a roundhouse down near Bangkok when he heard the war was over. His group was rescued by Americans. He was flown back to the States and given 90-days rehabilitation leave. Clark stayed in the Navy and retired in 1952 after 20 years service.
Oral History Interview with Dallas R. Clark, February 28, 2002, [transcript] ark:/67531/metapth1603952
Oral History Interview with Dallas R. Clark, February 28, 2002, audio recording, February 28, 2002; Fredericksburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1607765/: accessed May 14, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation.