Captain Charles Wallace Clark was born September 28, 1908, in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri, June 1930, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering.

Following his graduation he was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant Field Artillery Reserve and as a Flying Cadet, U.S. Army Air Corps. He was appointed to the Coast and Geodetic Survey as a Junior Engineer on November 7, 1931, and commissioned as an Ensign on November 21, 1936.

Captain Clark's 32-year career included assignments to the following ships: HYDROGRAPHER, LYDONIA, EXPLORER, LESTER JONES, PATHFINDER as Executive Officer and HODGSON as Commanding Officer.

During his career, sea duty was broken by various types of field party operations throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. He served as Technical Assistant to the Director, Inter-American Geodetic Survey (IAGS) during 1957-1958 extending the network of horizontal and vertical control throughout South America with headquarters at Quarry Heights, Canal Zone. During this assignment, he also served as liaison between IAGS and the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Office assignments included the Pensacola Processing Office, Portland Photo Office, and the Program Planning Staff of the Coast and Geodetic Survey in Washington, D.C. At the time of his retirement in 1963, he was serving as Assistant Chief, Operations Division, Office of Oceanography.

During World War II Captain Clark remained assigned to Coast and Geodetic Survey and worked on projects for the Department of the Navy in areas determined by the Navy to be of immediate military hazard, including Newfoundland, Aleutian Islands, and various island groups in the South Pacific. He was awarded the Atlantic War Zone Ribbon.

Captain Clark is survived by his wife, Helen P., and two daughters, Shirley and Barbara.

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NOAA CORPS BULLETIN, 1/1/1983