Wesley Clark was born on December 23, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, USA as Wesley Kanne Clark. He is known for his work on Real Time with Bill Maher (2003), Stars Earn Stripes (2012) and HouseQuake (2009). He has been married to Gertrude Kingston since June 24, 1967. They have one child.
Wesley Clark
Movies
Hot Money
With wit, satire, and historical context, Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, General Wesley Clark and his son Wes Clark Jr. take us on a journey through the financial circulatory system connecting farmers, homeowners, bankers, academics, and business professionals in a tale that explains the knot of economic forces that can…
Fun Facts
Father of Wesley Clark.
His only child, Wesley Clark (Wesley K. Clark, Jr.) was born in 1969 while he (Wesley K. Clark, Sr.) was serving in Vietnam.
Serves as the CEO of his own company, Wesley K. Clark and Associates.
2004 Democratic presidential candidate.
Graduated from Hall High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA as a National Merit Scholar.
He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University from 1967-68.
While he was at Oxford, a Jewish cousin, who lived in England, telephoned him and informed him of his Jewish heritage, after having received permission from his mother, Veneta Clark, who was back in Arkansas. His mother would later tell him that she did not share his Jewish heritage with him while he was a child to protect him from bullying and other anti-Semitic dangers in the Ku Klux Klan south.
Graduated as class Valedictorian from the West Point class of 1966.
His birth name was Wesley Kanne. His birth father, Benjamin Jacob Kanne, died before Wesley's fourth birthday. His stepfather, Viktor Clark, officially adopted him on his 16th birthday, making him officially Wesley Clark.
In February 1970, only one month after taking command of A Company, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry of the 1st Infantry Division, he was shot four times by a Viet Cong soldier with an AK-47. Although immobilized, he remained in command, and his unit defeated the opposing Viet Cong unit.
For his injuries in the February 1970 battle, he was awarded the Silver Star and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
After being discharged from Valley Forge Hospital, he was assigned to command C Company, 6th Battalion, 32nd Armor, 194th Armored Brigade, which was a company composed entirely of wounded soldiers, at Fort Knox. Clark has stated many times that this experience is what convinced him to continue his military career past the five years commitment as required of West Point graduates, which would have concluded in 1971.