Nation honors naval hero ignored because of race By George Raine Sixty-six years after his act of heroism in World War II was buried and lost in a slog of racism and bigotry, retired Chief Petty Officer Carl Clark, 95, of Menlo Park, has been given his due. In a ceremony at Moffett Field in Mountain View Jan. 17, Clark was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat V for valor for extraordinary bravery in saving his ship struck by six Kamikazes – unrecognized for decades because of his race. After 22 years in the Navy and 21 more as a mailman in Menlo Park, Clark, also a parishioner and
member of the Knights of Peter Claver at St. Francis of Assisi Church in East Palo Alto, eased into retirement. A documentary filmmaker, Sheila Dunec, learned of Clark’s story while researching World War II veterans’ stories and took it to Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, who championed his case with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. The ship’s last surviving officer, Captain “Lefty” Lavrakas, corroborated Clark’s account Carl Clark and before he died last July he urged Eshoo, “Go get justice for Carl.”
At Moffett Field, Secretary Mabus pinned the medal on Clark, calling him a hero. “America considers you a hero,” he said, “and I am proud to offer this symbol of our thanks from a grateful Navy and a grateful nation.” In 1945, Clark, an African-American, served as Steward First Class aboard the USS Aaron Ward, a battleship-minesweeper, near Okinawa, Japan. His job was to tend to the needs of white Navy officers. He had another job, as well. He was one of eight members of the ship’s damage control group. Their job, in the event of an attack, was to take care of damage as much as they could, put out fires as well as they could and more. HERO, page 18
Catholic san Francisco (PHOTO BY JOSE LUIS AGUIRRE/CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO)
Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
Call to end unjust deportations More than 2,000 people gathered at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco Jan. 28 to oppose the federal Secure Communities immigration program. Sponsored by the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the San Francisco Organizing Project, the event brought together Archbishop George Niederauer and other Bay Area faith leaders in calling for more humane policies on deportations. Story on page 9.
Outrage – Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik: President Obama and his administration “have said ‘To hell with you’ to the Catholic faithful of the United States.” – Peoria, Ill., Bishop Daniel R. Jenky: Catholics must fight “this Bishop Zubik unprecedented governmental assault upon the moral convictions of our faith.” – Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted: “We cannot – we will not – comply with this unjust law.” – New Orleans Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond: “We cannot stand by and allow this to move forward without speaking out.” – Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput: “The bishops as a body are very committed to taking a firm stance on this,” as evidenced by the establishment of the new Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.
Administration move amounts to ‘to hell with you,’ bishop says as contraception rule protests grow By Nancy Frazier O’Brien WASHINGTON (CNS) – A week after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told individuals and institutions who oppose contraception “to hell with you,” as one bishop put it, members of the U.S. Catholic hierarchy were mobilizing their followers to fight. One of the most strongly worded reactions to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ Jan. 20 announcement that religious organizations could delay but not opt out of a requirement that all health plans cover contraception and sterilization at no cost came from Pennsylvania Bishop David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh, in a column titled “To hell with you.” Sebelius and the Obama administration “have said ‘To hell with you’ to the Catholic faithful of the United States,” Bishop Zubik wrote. “To hell with your religious beliefs. To
hell with your religious liberty. To hell with your freedom of conscience. We’ll give you a year, they are saying, and then you have to knuckle under.” He called on Catholics in the Pittsburgh diocese to “do all possible to rescind” the contraceptive mandate by writing to President Barack Obama, Sebelius and their members of Congress about this “unprecedented federal interference in the right of Catholics to serve their community without violating their fundamental moral beliefs.” Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, Ill., enlisted the aid of St. Michael the Archangel in fighting “this unprecedented governmental assault upon the moral convictions of our faith.” In a Jan. 24 letter to Peoria Catholics, he directed that the prayer of St. Michael be recited “for the freedom of the Catholic Church in America” during Sunday Masses HHS, page 3
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION On the Street . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 News in brief. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Question Corner . . . . . . . . . 14 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Faith formation classes popular ~ Page 9 ~ February 3, 2012
Retired priest creates tapestries ~ Page 10-11 ~
Be still, and hear God speak ~ Page 13 ~
ONE DOLLAR
Classified ads . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Service Directory . . . . . . . . 20
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