OF WORLD WAR II AMERICAN ARMY INTEREST: A rare, inscribed Liberation of Rome flag The printed linen forty eight star flag with machine stitching to the upper and side edges the front inscribed in ink along the two lower horizontal white stripes 'LIBERATION DAY JUNE 4, 1944 ROME' and 'WITH GEN. CLARK IN ROME' and vertically to the right hand edge 'U.S. ARMY', 28cm x 43cm, later set on blue card within a cream card mount and inset into a modern glazed black composition rectangular frame, 49cm x 63.5cm overall Framed 64cm wide, 50cm high Footnotes: Mark Wayne Clark (1896-1984) was a senior United States Army officer whose career spanned the major conflicts of the early and mid 20th century including World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Clark served with distinction in World War I, where he was seriously wounded, and rose rapidly through staff and command roles during the interwar years under the mentorship of General George C. Marshall. During World War II he became one of the youngest generals in the U.S. Army and played a central role as the commander of the U.S. Fifth Army in the Mediterranean. Clark's most significant and controversial service came during the Italian campaign. From 1943 to 1944 he led the Fifth Army through the amphibious landings at Salerno, the prolonged fighting along the Winter Line, the battles of Monte Cassino, and the Anzio beachhead. On the 4th of June 1944, Clark's forces entered Rome, making it the first Axis capital liberated by the Western Allies. Clark personally led the triumphant entry into the city, which carried immense symbolic and political value and was celebrated worldwide, although it was soon overshadowed by the Normandy landings two days later. Historians have debated Clark's decision to prioritize the capture of Rome rather than encircling and destroying the retreating German Tenth Army, a choice that secured the city but allowed significant enemy forces to escape northward. After Rome, Clark went on to command the 15th Army Group and later oversaw the final Allied offensive in Italy, accepting the German surrender in May 1945. He was promoted to four-star general that year, becoming the youngest American officer to hold that rank during the war. Clark later served as commander of United Nations forces in Korea, signing the Korean Armistice in 1953, before retiring from the Army and becoming president of The Citadel. Despite enduring controversy over some of his wartime decisions, the liberation of Rome remains the defining episode of his military legacy. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing