SAMVOA Queensland - Veteran Clint Clarke HC
Clark was a Medical Orderly in Number 1 Platoon of A Company, The Durban Light Infantry,
While acting as a medical orderly in the Operational Area on 24 May 1984, Police Constable Clint Clarke, from Durban, had to man a machine-gun.
"I was on guard duty at a permanent base late one evening when it came under heavy fire from machine-guns and RPG rockets. The RPG was firing from a position which was out of my range of fire", he said, "so I crawled over the top of our bunker and fired until it stopped firing."
In doing so he exposed himself for some time to heavy fire. His fire stopped the first attack and gave his platoon time to reply and eventually beat off the attack. Without Clarke's brave action in silencing the rocket attack his platoon might well have been overrun.
His citations reads as follows:
Corporal Clarke was the medical orderly on Number 1 Platoon of A Company, The Durban Light Infantry, who were performing border duty in 54 Battalion are during May 1984.
On 24 May, 1984 the sub-unit was manning a permanent platoon base in the vicinity of Beacon 25. Because of limited manpower available in relation to the tasks to be fulfilled during both day and night Cpl Clarke was instructed to stand guard in Alpha Bunker of this base on that night. He was thus fulfilling the role of the MAG-gunner, a position for which he was not mustered. At 20h20 on the night in question an enemy force of approximately platoon strength attacked the base, concentrating its fire on Alpha Bunker, which was the most remote and most vulnerable and offered the least protection to its occupants from enemy fire, and the main gate which was situated next to Alpha Bunker.
Corporal Clarke immediately returned this fire, concentrating on the enemy machine-gun position some 40 metres away from him. When the enemy fired a RPG-7rocket from another position, hitting the base of Alpha Bunker and narrowly missing Cpl Clarke, he had to adjust his position to counter this new threat.
In doing so he had to expose himself further, without any covering fire. Notwithstanding the enemy fire still directed at hi, he still managed to neutralise the RPG threat by inflicting serious leg wounds on the enemy RPG No 1. After that he once again engaged the original machine-gun position.
This act of bravery, coupled with his firm stand and accurate fire, stemmed the initial enemy thrust and gave the platoon time to react and finally ward off their attack.
It also earned him the Honoris Crux.
(Need Photo & a photo of him receiving his HC)
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