Fallen Soldier

Wiregrass Salutes CW3 Donald Clark (Note from Norm: They are friends of ours.)
(lyrics and music by Jamie Clark...Don's wife)

By Lance Griffin

Published: November 24, 2008

The perfectly folded American flag rested in the hands of CW3 Art Aylesbury as he approached 8-year-old Bailey Clark.

Aylesbury put his hand on Bailey’s shoulder and whispered words of comfort on behalf of a grateful nation as he handed over the flag. It rested in Bailey’s lap and he nodded as Aylesbury spoke.

It came near the end of the funeral for Bailey’s dad, CW3 Donald Clark, a Newton resident who died when his helicopter crashed Nov. 15 in Mosul, Iraq.

In August, Don’s wife Jamie said his deployment in Iraq was teaching her to be both a mother and father to Bailey. Monday, she clutched her flag in one hand as she put the other one around her son while soldiers presented another flag to Clark’s parents, Donald and Linda Clark.

Each presentation ended in a slow salute. CW3 Mike Eckhart’s hand trembled when he presented the flag to Jamie. Eckhart was Clark’s wingman.

“He was absolutely fearless in support of his brothers in combat,” said Eckhart, who delivered the eulogy and told stories of a gregarious, talented, driven soldier who felt truly free in the sky and the Alaskan wilderness.

His fellow soldiers called him “Genghis Don.” Eckhart referred to him as a real man and a world class soldier. He said Clark referred to himself as the “self-proclaimed emperor of Newton.”

Jamie said he was a loving husband. Rev. David Willis read a letter Jamie wrote for the service.

“Don and I were the sweetest love story ever told. He was my hero. The sorrow I feel is immeasurable,” Jamie wrote. “Don loved his family, his friends, his comrades and his country.”

The service with full military honors began with Clark’s body being flown to the cemetery via a Huey helicopter. A military detachment loaded the casket, draped with the American flag, onto a horsedrawn caisson. The caisson carried the body to the funeral site as the family walked behind. A soldier carried Clark’s trademark stetson. In the middle of the cross-laden cemetery, a man in full regalia, standing under the half-staff American flag, played the bagpipes. More than 250 crowded around the funeral area.

Eckhart shared stories of Clark’s less-guarded moments, and everyone laughed. Shane Owens sang “The Dance” by Garth Brooks, and everyone cried. The military paid a last homage with a 21-gun salute.

“Don was very smart. Everybody knows that. He could have done anything,” Willis said. “But he chose to stand together shoulder to shoulder with brave men and women to fight tyranny.”

According to one count, Clark is the 4,175th serviceman killed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.