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<\/a><\/center><\/p>\nOne of our ninjas send us the sad news that Carl Clark, a World War II sailor passed in March at the tender age of 100 years old. Clark was aboard the USS Aaron Ward in May, 1945 when six kamikaze pilots flew their payloads into the ship. One blast blew the Steward First Class across the ship and broke his collarbone. The LA Times<\/a> tells about what happened next; <\/p>\n Though he suffered a broken collarbone, Clark was credited with saving the lives of several men by dragging them to safety. He also put out a fire in an ammunition locker that could have cracked the vessel in half.<\/p>\n Even though the destroyer’s captain acknowledged that Clark had saved the ship, it took roughly 67 years to be recognized for his actions, according to Clark, because of “bigotry.”<\/p>\n “It wouldn’t look good to say one black man saved the ship,” he said in 2011.<\/p>\n The captain of the destroyer tried to make up for the slight by giving him extra leave and making sure that he was not sent back to sea, Clark said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n He was belatedly awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his actions in 2012.<\/p>\n