Imagine you are working tirelessly at a 24-hour military base. It has now been the 20th hour and you are struggling to keep your eyes open. You wipe dirt off your face as a post soldier hands you a package from home. You open it and inside is a letter and a container of cookie crumbs, almost destroyed from the three week journey. It means the world to you… 

I recently sat down with FHS Assistant Teacher Allen Clark who explained military life through anecdotes like this one. 

Mr. Clark served for just under ten years in the United States Armed Forces in countries such as Iraq and Kosovo.  He served as a firefighter, a soldier in the infantry, a post handler, and in human resources. 

So what is his story?

As a child, Mr. Clark lived on the South Shore near Nantasket Beach.  His family has a rich military tradition.  Throughout his life, family members went on and off to the military. 

On November 14th, 2007, Mr. Clark was transferred from Germany to Iraq. He was stationed in mail handling at the headquarters in Camp Taji. There were an estimated 762 soldiers he accounted for.  In the extreme heat, he and other soldiers received the mail and sorted it, an 8-10 hour-long process. Mr. Clark recalled this from his experience: 

“Every three days, it was like you were bringing Christmas to these guys. These guys were tired. They were exhausted. They had dirt on their faces. They were just what you saw in the documentaries. They’ve really been fighting and they would still stay up, for that mail, for that clean laundry, for the letters from home, for those cookie crumbs.” 

In the times he was not working post, Mr. Clark enjoyed working out at the gym on base. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the governor of California at the time, donated money to get new equipment for this gym.  Mr. Clark described it as “the gyms you read about.”

Along with the dream gym, he described the food to be endless: “Then down the middle of the aisle every day they had pecan pies, french fries, grilled cheese, cherry pies. And this was every day.” 

One of his fondest memories was of the American Forces Network (AFN) commercials. These were not your typical commercials.  Mr. Clark described them as “intentionally poorly acted skits” or “sometimes even 30 minute history lessons.”  Over time they became a joke and began to grow on him. Once he finally came home, he really looked forward to seeing the American ads on game day. 

Extreme temperatures, danger, and continuous work days… I asked Mr. Clark,  what else do we take for granted?

In his opinion, that is not a valid question to be asking ourselves.  Instead he wants people to appreciate what they have.

Sitting down to talk with Mr. Clark, I realized that we can never be too appreciative of veterans’ noble sacrifices.  When we ask the question of how best to honor them, we should consider spending time hearing and telling their stories.

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