AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.—A funeral for former Air Force Academy superintendent and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. A.P. Clark is scheduled Wednesday at the academy’s Cadet Chapel.
Clark’s efforts helping 76 prisoners of war escape during World War II inspired the movie “The Great Escape.”
Clark died March 8 at age 96. He had been living in Colorado Springs.
Clark graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1936. During World War II, he was shot down over Abbeville, France, in July 1942 and spent 33 months as a POW. He is credited with managing the production and hiding of escape supplies in support of the escape of 76 POWs from Stalag Luft III in 1944.
He was superintedent of the Air Force Academy from Aug. 1, 1970, to July 31, 1974.
