corresponded with many of America's best. All their stories have moved me, but I want to
introduce you to one that I feel stands out. He stands out because of his story of why he joined
the military. I will give you one clue, he makes the 50+ generation mighty proud. I hope that you
will enjoy his story and the story he wrote," Mary Ann
Re: A Message from Afghanistan
Dear Mary Ann,
I am writing from good old Afghanistan. My name is Tom Clark and I am member of the Indiana National Guard. I am
also a high school history teacher.
We arrived about five weeks ago from Indiana and have taken over the duties of Base Operations. Our mission is to
make life better here for the 1000+ troops stationed here.
Your paper inside "Packages of Gratitude" is great. You are sure helping a lot of troops. It was great to
see all of the support that you have coming your way. I don't know how you find time to do all of it. For
the past 4 years my students and myself have been sending boxes also. We have been getting out about
150 a year. Our big problem was getting money for postage. Getting stuff was no problem. Sometimes my
students would stand in front of stores asking for postage money. It has been so interesting and an eye
opening experience to see this end of the care packages. It is amazing to see how much just little
things like a candy bar or book help the troops.
Sgt. Tom Clark
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Monday, July 4, 2005 12:41 AM CDT
http://nwitimes.com/articles/2005/07/04/news/top_news/9a1994cc4c52f142862570330080e152.txt
At 51, Tom Clark returns to the fight
BY CARMEN McCOLLUM
carmenm@nwitimes.com
219.933.3318
DYER | Tom Clark has been fighting to rejoin the military since Sept. 11, 2001.
The tragic events and the massive amount of death and destruction that Americans suffered on that day so moved him
that he wanted to make some sort of contribution, give something back.
Clark, 51, of Dyer, who was in the Army from 1976 to 1979 serving as a military policeman, volunteered to return.
"As a history teacher (at Lake Central High School), it's pretty hard not to love this country and what we have," he said.
"There are many students who have inspired me. These are some fine young men and women who have joined. I really
feel like it's the right thing to do, especially after 9-11."
But when Clark tried to get a waiver because of his age and join, he met with plenty of opposition, and became frustrated
"After two years, I became disillusioned with the whole process of getting back in," he said.
Lt. Eugene Maharry, with the public affairs office at Joint Forces Headquarters in Indianapolis, said age plays a role in
determining if a soldier can get back in.
"If we put a 50-plus year-old person in as a specialist, will he get the respect from younger, higher ranking officers?"
Maharry asked.
Clark said if it wasn't for Hammond recruiter Pedro Torres with the Indiana National Guard office, he might not have
made it.
"Torres really knows his stuff," Clark said. "He is an outstanding recruiter."
After years of rejection, Clark got word in January that he had been accepted. He'll follow in the footsteps of Shawn
Begley, Lake Central's assistant principal, who has been in Iraq the past six or seven months.
"Sometimes I get e-mail from him, and he said it's pretty rough, tough, not a pretty place to be," Clark said.
Clark's daughter, Jennie, who spent the past year at Purdue University Calumet, joined the military five years ago and
served as a combat medic in Africa and Kuwait.
Tom Clark has been assigned to the 219th Area Support Group of the Indiana National Guard overseas. He has been
assigned to Camp Atterbury, 30 miles south of Indianapolis, and his job will be as an aide and a driver to the unit
commander. It's a one-year tour of duty.
He will likely go overseas in the fall.
Clark said the school district has been very good and very understanding about what he wants to do and will get a
teacher to replace him.
Although Lake Central Superintendent Janet Emerick could not be reached for comment, a secretary at the high school
said Clark will be missed desperately by the students and staff because he has been a fixture around the school for
more than 20 years.
Clark recently returned from an advanced training session at Fort Hood, Texas, and expects to go through much more
before he leaves.
"The quality of soldiers is much higher than when I first joined the military," he said. "They are more educated and very
dedicated. That's not to say that we weren't dedicated, because we were. But I've noticed that because the educational
level is higher, the quality of the troops is much better."
At 51, Clark admits that he may not be able to keep up with soldiers in their 20s or 30s, "but I'm in better shape right now
than I have been in years."
Clark also said soldiers get much more respect than they got during the Vietnam era.
"The country was not friendly to soldiers then," he said. "I'm amazed at how things have changed. It's not just about
putting a yellow ribbon or magnet on your car. People really do care.
"I was at O'Hare coming from training and I had my uniform on. I was amazed at the number of people who came up to
me and said thank you. That never would have happened during Vietnam."
Mary Ann
Here is a picture of me and the JAF Group. I am on the right with the glasses. Number 2 the kids that I would
talk and give things to every day on the wire. Number 3 going out on a combat mission.
Any mission outside the wire is called that.
OUTSIDE THE WIRE
by SGT. TOM CLARK
Had an interesting mission this week. I requested to go up the road to a place that is called
the ANA Compound. This is an old British fortress that is now manned by the Afghan
National Army. I had been there once before, but didn't get to spend a lot of time there. This
place is full of history. The British, the Afghans, the Soviets and finally the Taliban have held
power, all failing .... the most recent, the Taliban, deciding their own end when they decided
to harbor and protect Ben Laden after September 11th. Now the beginning of a new era of
freedom: the Afghan National Army.
This mission was great. I was asked to help a document expert sort through 7 old
barracks buildings that had housed the Soviets and later the Taliban. The buildings were full
of old military equipment ranging from ammo, weapons, parts, uniforms, communication
equipment and lots of documents. Most of the buildings must have been used as
communication centers, based on the amount of signal items. I spent most of the day helping
the document expert and our interpreter sort through the documents. My role was to identify
pieces of military equipment by era and manufacturer. I was like a kid in a candy shop. The
many years of collecting military items and my historical knowledge of the history of
Afghanistan helped me with the task. During our dig, we knew we had three things to watch
out for - unexploded ammo, cobras, and scorpions. I was very careful the whole time and
never let my guard down. I have to admit my biggest fear was snakes. But in the end we only
found unexploded shells among the tons of old military equipment.
After hours of going through the buildings we walked over to an American base
called the PRT. From 1979 - 1989 the Soviets occupied Afghanistan. The Soviets used the
PRT as an R&R (Rest and Recuperation) Center for the invading Russian army. There I was
shown the little motel type rooms and a large pool that the Russians had built for recreation,
only to use it later as a place to kill their captives. You could see the bullet holes in the walls.
Still, it was a pleasure to be at the PRT - - it was a great contrast to where I am stationed. It
had lots of trees and flowers and seemed so peaceful. It must have been a great place for the
Russians to got to for a little time off before they decided to use it as a place of death and
destruction.
The best part of the day was yet to come: the walk from the ANA base to the PRT. You have
to walk through an Afghan village, and it was full of children. I was amazed with the kids. I
accompanied the LTC, the document expert and another Sgt. The LTC had been there many
times before and he knew the kids well and by name. The girls, acted very differently than
the boys. The girls, at first, would not let me take their picture. They kept putting their hands
and clothing over their faces. The boys, on the other hand, begged me to take their picture.
In order to get pictures of the girls I had to lower my camera and take sneaky shots. But as
the afternoon passed, and they became less fearful of me, they started to let me take pictures.
One thing that really helped was that, after a period of time, we started to pass out new shoes,
notebooks, pencils, and other school supplies that had been donated by a church group in the
States.
Two little boys in particular latched on to me. The littlest, named Shkor, spoke very good
English and amazed me at his knowledge of Americans. I asked him if he went to school and
he said "Of course. If I don't go my father would hit me." With a huge smile on his face he told
me he was going to the University someday. I told him he could be the future President of
Afghanistan and he broke out this huge smile that almost made me cry and said "he would
want to be a great leader like President Hamid Karzai." I knew at that moment that I had
made the right decision in coming here and that Afghanistan does have a future - - - it was
standing right in front of me. The other boy names Mogeb, who was older and very polite, did
something that I will never forget. All of the Afghan children pulled out all kinds of beads,
trying to sell us every piece. It was like a frenzy to sell, a contest to see who could make the
first sale. The bargaining started. Beads where thrust into our faces from all angels, and
prices in English shouted out. "Two dollars mister - one dollar mister !" I wanted to run.
Because we have no finance office where we are, I have very little money. With lightning
speed I went through my uniform pockets, searching for money. Lucky, just in time I found my
$3.00 hair cut money and pulled it out. The sight of cash fired the kids into another frenzy. It
was like watching the New York Stock exchange on a bull market day. And of course I thought
I could wheel and deal these kids down on the prices. No Way! Within seconds I was
standing there with some kind of beaded key chain and a necklace and my $3.00 was gone.
These kids would put the most aggressive car salesman to shame. After the cash was out of
my hands the little salesmen turned back into children. But later, as we were leaving, the boy
named Mogeb came up to me and handed me another necklace. I told him I didn't have any
more money, and he said, "No this is a gift to remember me by." I stood there, speechless. I
was told that these kids work hours on these little pieces and use the money to help their
families. Some kids make more in one day than their fathers selling the necklaces. They will
stand out by the highway in the rain, begging people to buy these handmade pieces. One of
the soldiers with us that day told me he was driving his up armored vehicle down the road late
one night, just starting to make a turn, when one of the little entrepreneurs jumped out and
scared the crap out of him. The kid ran right up to his door, right there in the dark, and yelled,
"ha mister you buy one dollar."
My trip to the ANA and PRT helped me once again realize that we can make a difference
here. All our efforts will make this a better country for kids like Shkor and Mogeb, children
who deserve to have a better life. I took this trip outside "the wire" the day after four soldiers
from our post were killed by an IED (improvised explosive device). I was asked why I would
risk my life on a day off by going outside the post. My only answer to that is that those four
soldiers didn't die in vain - - they died helping to build a better Afghanistan for Shkor and
Mogeb. An even though these children are too young to understand that, I am sure that
someday they will realize that it is why I went outside the wire. You can't help someone if you
are isolated from them. We must be on the same side, working together to ensure a better
Afghanistan.
