Clarkson, Percy William, born 09-12-1893, in San Antonio, Texas, 
United States, he son of William Banton Clarkson and and his wife Alice Ann, born Peaples. His parents were immigrants from Liverpool, England. His father worked as a cotton broker in order to provide for Percy and his four siblings. His older brother Herbert Slayden Clarkson 
19-05-1891 † 02-02-1974, also served in the Army, and reached the rank of Brigadier General during World War II.
Percy Clarkson completed high school in Houston and enrolled in the Texas A&M College in College Station, Texas 
in summer 1911. There, he was active in football, served as the vice-president of the San Antonio Club, and reached the rank of second lieutenant in the Corps of Cadets. 
He graduated in 1915 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering. After one year of working in the private sector, he applied for a commission the United States Army. 
He was commissioned second lieutenant in the Infantry Branch on 30-11-1916, and was ordered to the Army Service School at Fort Leavenworth, 
Kansas for officers’ training.
Upon completion of his training in March 1917, Clarkson joined the 19th Infantry Regiment 
at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He served for two months as platoon leader in Company “E” before being transferred to the headquarters company of 26th Infantry Regiment 
that May. Following the United States’ entry into World War I and the forming of the 1st Division in June 1917, the 26th Infantry was assigned to the division. Clarkson was transferred to the machine gun company of his regiment and promoted to first lieutenant.
He embarked with the division to France in early 1918. Upon its arrival, the regiment immediately left for the front lines. Following the Armistice of 11-11-1918, Clarkson rejoined 26th Infantry Regiment and accompanied it during its occupation of the Rhineland, Germany. He returned to the United States by the end of July 1919, and was assigned to the Operations Division (G-3) of the War Department General Staff in Washington, D.C., remaining there until the end of the year. He was subsequently transferred to the Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia for duty as an instructor of tactics. He was transferred to the Department of Experiment of the Army Infantry School in July 1920, and served in that capacity for a year.
Following the completion of all studies, Clarkson returned to the Field Infantry service and joined the headquarters of 23rd Infantry Regiment, famously known as the “Tomahawks” 
at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The regiment was a part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade under Brigadier General Alexander T. Ovenshine, who had previously commanded the 23rd Infantry. Ovenshine appointed Clarkson to his staff, and he served as an assistant to the assistant chief of staff for operations (G-3) until March 1937.
Clarkson was then appointed an assistant to the inspector of Eighth Corps Area (also located at Fort Sam Houston), and served under Colonel Charles P. George Jr. for the next three years. While in that capacity, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in September 1938. In June 1940, Clarkson was transferred to Washington, D.C. and assigned to the Office of the assistant chief of staff for G-1 (administration), War Department General Staff, where he served under Brigadier General Wade Hampton “Ham” Haislip 
as chief of the Officers’ Branch. He was promoted to colonel in mid-October 1941.
Shortly after his promotion, Clarkson was transferred to Camp Bowie, Texas, where he assumed duty as chief of staff of 36th Infantry Division 
under Major General Fred Livingood Walker. 
The 36th Division was made up of men from Texas National Guard and was undergoing the reorganization from a square division into a triangular division. Clarkson was co-responsible for the division’s reorganization. Following his promotion to the temporary rank of Brigadier General in late June 1942, he was transferred to newly activated 91st Infantry Division 
at Camp White, Oregon.
He assumed duty as assistant division commander under Major General Charles Hunter Gerhardt,
and participated in the division’s initial organization and training until that November, when he was promoted to the temporary rank of Major General. He was subsequently tasked with the activation of 87th Infantry Division 
at Camp McCain, Mississippi, and held that command until October 1943. Took command of the 33rd Infantry Division in October 1943, leading them through combat operations in New Guinea, Morotai, and the fierce Battle of Luzon and Battle of Baguio in the Philippines. 
In late June 1945, Clarkson received orders to move his division to the beaches in the Caba-Aringay-Bauang area, set up camps, and commence amphibious training for the planned Invasion of Japan. However, the surrender of Japan on 15-08-1945 prevented the invasion from being executed. He led 33rd Division to Honshū, Japan for occupation duty in late September, but was promoted to the command of X Corps in mid-November 1945.
Death and burial ground of Clarkson, Percy William.
Following his retirement from the Army, Clarkson and his wife settled in San Antonio, Texas, where he assumed a job as chairman of the board of Fort Sam Houston National Bank. He was also a member of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and served on the boards of trustees of the San Antonio Medical Foundation and Symphony Society of San Antonio.
He was active in the 33rd Division Veterans Association, where he was admired by his fellow officers. Among the officers who attended the reunion in December 1961 to pay tribute to him were General Walter Krueger, former commander Sixth Army; Brigadier General Andrew T. McAnsh, former 33rd Division chief of staff; Major General John S. Gleason Jr., 
former 33rd Division ordnance officer; Colonel Jacob Arvey, former judge-advocate of 33rd Division; and Brigadier General Frank S. Singer, former 33rd Division personnel officer.
Clarkson passed awayt on 14-09-1962, aged 68, at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, due to chronic pulmonary heart disease combined with bullous lung emphysema. Percy was buried with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas. He was survived by his wife, Lucy Kent Clarkson (1897–1966); a son, William Kent; a brother, Brigadier General Herbert S. Clarkson; and a sister-in-law, Virginia, who was a wife of Lieutenant General Withers Alexander “Pinky” Burress.
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