Park Named For War Veteran Robbed Of Recognition For His Heroism

MENLO PARK (KPIX) - Dozens of people turned out on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to celebrate a beloved war hero and posthumously re-name a park in his honor.

Karl Clark died last year at the age of 100. During World War II, he was instrumental in saving his ship from kamikaze pilots in the Pacific. Sadly, racism robbed him of official recognition of his bravery for decades.

Archival footage shows Clark talking about the ordeal. It was May 3, 1945.

"We lost over 40 men that day," he says.

For Clark it was a moment of instinct and uncommon valor, sacrifice, service and courage writ large.

"I stared at the pilot as he guided his plane right into our ship," he recalls.

Under attack by kamikaze pilots, the USS Aaron Ward was battered and burning.

But despite a broken collarbone, Clark grabbed a fire hose designed for a team of four men and singlehandedly doused the flames threatening the area where the ship's ammunitions were stored.

"Had that ammo gone off, not only would the ship have been obliterated," says Clark's nephew, William Casper. "He himself would have taken the direct brunt of it."

The ship survived the night and at sunrise Clark says his captain knelt before him on the deck and thanked him.

Later, when it came time to tell the tale of what happened aboard the USS Aaron Ward, Clark's name's wasn't mentioned once. His heroism was effectively erased.

Clark remembers it well.

"When he came back to the ship, he told me and the other stewards - he said, 'I tried.' but they wouldn't even get me a letter. They wouldn't give me anything," he says.

For years, decades, it seemed Karl's story might just end there.

But the tide of history isn't always tidy.

The historic election of the country's first African American president sparked renewed interest in one of history's forgotten heroes.

"I was called 'boy' and all the derogatory names so much until it became an ordinary thing," says Clark.

The WWII veteran finally told his story to a documentary filmmaker, including the daily indignity of serving alongside men who did not recognize his basic humanity - let alone his heroism.

"You were going to fight for a country that still didn't respect you," says Casper.

But this time the story would have a very different ending.

On January 17th, 2012 the Secretary of the Navy presented Clark, then 95-years-old, with a Medal of Commendation.

Sixty-six years, eight months and 14 days after the events aboard the Aaron Ward, the battle… for recognition was at long last over.

Representative Anna Eshoo spoke at Monday's ceremony.

"He made history in his day and his time. But because of the color of his skin, we were then a country that wouldn't allow itself to view him as a true hero," said Eshoo.

His daughter Karen Collins says she has always been proud of her father.

"In my view, he's a hero. In his eyes, he was just a regular citizen doing what needed to be done."