Where Faith and Fear Collide

Eugene Franklin Clark

Eugene is one of the many forgotten heroes of Americas history. His was an integral part of the U.S. conquer of the North Korean city of Inchon and ultimately the nation itself.

For two weeks Clark and two Korean lieutenants survived on a small island, named Yonghung-do, as the protected the island and gained intel on the city of Inchon. During this time they captured and interrogated soldiers, captured a boat, and determined the exact size of the city. However, their greatest contribution came under the cover of darkness when Clark and the two Koreans slipped into the docks of Inchon and assessed the vulnerabilities of the cities infrastructure an sea walls to determine if a land attack was possible.

Joshua 3:9–17 NKJV

9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.” 14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

I. An unholy Fear.

II. The Power of God Displayed.

III. The Promise of God.

III. A Step of Faith.

Stories of bravery sound simple when told in brevity. Yet, what Clark endured was no easy feat. In just a few weeks they had survived with little rations and Clark hime=self stated that his comrades had withered to nothing. Clark said this, “Yong, had dropped in weight, I do not know how much, but he was mere skin, bone, and hard sinew. Our small supply of Benzedrine had diminished in direct relation to our weight.”

And yet, these men did not retreat. Waiting on reinforcements, these three men held fast, defending this small island against the attacks of the North Koreans. Finally, on the night that America staged their attack, Clark made his way to the small Lighthouse that stood guard on this remote Pacific Island. There he lit the torch that illuminated his location to the enemy but that also guided the United Nations coalition to the city of Inchon and ultimate victory over Communism.