(Anon.)

Tom Clarke braced himself to do his duty and in doing so demonstrated supreme selfless courage in the face of adversity. Whatever his fears may have been, great or small, he put them aside to fulfill his obligation and allegiance to the oath he swore. His sacrifice is remembered by us today.

Thomas Edward Clark was born on 15th April, 1939, and was from Emporium, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1963, after having already spent two years at Penn State University. He was sometimes referred to as an 'old man' at the Academy. He was interested in politics and flying and looked forward to a military career.

On 8th February, 1969, nearly three years after his graduation, Tom Clark was flying on a mission in Laos over the Ho Chi Minh Trail just northwest of the DMZ, when his aircraft was shot down. Circumstances surrounding his crash indicate that the enemy probably knows his fate but in 1973 Tom was not released with the other POWs.

Tom Clark is one of nearly 600 Americans who were lost in Laos and did not return. The Pathet Lao stated on several occasions that they held 'tens of tens' of American prisoners, but that those who had been captured in Laos would be released from Laos. The Lao wanted acknowledgement that the US and Vietnamese had been waging war in their country.

Laos was not included in the peace agreements ending American involvement in Southeast Asia, and not one American held in Laos was released - or negotiated for. By 1989 the US has so thoroughly forgotten the men they abandoned that they began building medical clinics for the communist Lao government. At the same time reports and evidence mount that Americans are still held alive as captives in Vietnam and Laos.

Tom Clark served his country proudly. He does not deserve abandonment.

Thomas E. Clark was promoted to the rank of Major during the period he was maintained Missing In Action.

Details compiled by Homecoming 11 Project 01 April 1991 from one or more of the following: raw data from US Government Agency sources; correspondence with POW/MIA families; published sources; interviews. Updated by the POW Network 1998.

(Rabindronath Tagore)

Tom Clark received his orders for the 'nam and duly left the country of his birth, as thousands had done before him. He was, I'm sure, unprepared for the journey he was about to take, and no-one knows - or admits to knowing - where or when his journey ended.

There's a welcome waiting for you Tom.