According to his enlistment card on the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA AAD) site, James K. Clark was born in Georgia in 1921 and graduated from high school. He re-enlisted on September 6, 1942, possibly as a “Flying Sergeant”, and was commissioned as an officer at some point. He was trained to fly the B-25 Medium Bomber and became one of the original cadre of pilots in the 501st Bomb Squadron of the 345th Bomb Group.
Captain Clark flew with the 501st from June 1943 through March 1944, and returned to the US after completing the required missions. He probably accumulated more missions that are not recognized here due to pilot names not being recorded on early mission documents.