ve in Chicago, Illinois. After my father, prosecutor and democratic politician Benjamin Kanne, died when i was a young child, i and my mother moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1954, my mother married Victor Clark, who became my?s stepfather. i graduated first in my class from the United States Military Academy at West Point and studied for two years at England?s Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship.During my 34 years of service in the United States Army, i rose to the rank of 4-star General and NATO Supreme Allied Commander.i am the recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign military awards, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. In August 2000, i was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation?s highest civilian honor.