Mr. Richard M. Clark

West Des Moines

Richard M. Clark, 77, passed away of natural causes on Monday, September 13, 2010 at his home in West Des Moines. Per Richard’s request, his body was donated to Des Moines University. A Private Memorial Service will be at Fort Des Moines Chapel with full military honors by the U.S. Army.

Richard was born April 19, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. He served many locations with the United States Army starting at Fort Benning, GA in March 1953 for Basic and Advanced Training, and parachute training. He next served with the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, KY which sent him for service in Korea near the end of the Korean War, then to Japan. Richard returned to the U.S. in July 1955 and was again assigned to Fort Campbell, KY. He was selected from a large pool of candidates for an elite tour of duty in Paris, France in an Army Intelligence assignment in 1957. His exact duty location is not known. We do know that he served from March - May 1958 as an orderly to the Commanding General of the Chief of Intelligence, U.S. Army Europe. He served the remainder of his active duty career on the fringes of the U.S. Army Intelligence community. Returning to the U.S. in March 1960, he was again assigned to the 101st Airborne in Fort Campbell, KY. Having served with distinction with the Airborne for eight years, Richard was accepted for training and assigned to a new, elite fighting force: the U.S. Army Special Forces….The Green Berets. Reporting for training in March 1961, Richard was ordered to Vietnam in August 1961 to serve as one of the first military advisors to that nation. While there, he was ordered to a unique assignment with the government of Laos as a Heavy Weapons Instructor for six months. He returned to the U.S. in September of 1963 and was selected to undergo specialized training in computers, communication and electronics at Milwaukee School of Engineering in Milwaukee, WI. Richard was awarded an Associate in Applied Science (Electronics) in October 1965. While attending college he married Joyce Marie Marsh on April 16, 1965, and becoming father to her six children. He was then assigned to further Communications/Intelligence training at Fort Monmouth, NJ where his youngest daughter was born. January 1967 brought another short training session in Joint Forces Communications at Willow Grove Air Force Base, near Philadelphia. Completing his training in Communications and Intelligence, Richard’s next assignment in June 1967 was to the U.S. Army Special Forces Command, Fort Bragg, NC, as an instructor in Heavy Weapons. Soon after, he was again ordered to duty in Vietnam. From September 1967 to October 1968 he performed duties ranging from Communications Sergeant on Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols to Computer Operations Supervisor in DaNang, Vietnam. Upon his return to the U.S. and Fort Bragg, NC in October 1968, he again served as instructor for Special Forces. In July 1969 an assignment came as an Instructor to Special Forces in Korat, Thailand. Richard’s family joined him in Bangkok, Thailand in January 1970 where he served as First Sergeant of a company in a Signal Battalion. In July 1971 he and his family returned to the U.S. He was assigned to Intelligence and Computer Processing at Fort Hood, TX. In March 1974, rather than accepting an unaccompanied tour of duty in Korea, Richard retired from active duty. In August 1974 he and his family returned to the Milwaukee, WI area. For the next seven years, he continued his military career in many positions. He served as instructor for the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps at St. Johns Military Academy in Delafield, WI. He served as a Recruiting and Retention Specialist with the 84th Division covering Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Richard began his Department of the Army civilian career in the 84th Division in Milwaukee, WI and Fort Snelling, MN. He moved to Des Moines, IA, in 1981 accepting a civilian position with the U.S. Army Reserve with the 103rd Corp Support Command. He held many positions including Unit Administrator and Military Personnel Officer. His service included assisting the transformation of the 103rd COSCOM to the 19th Theater Army Area Command, an intensely difficult process. After over 43 years of service to his country, he was forced to retire in July 2001 because of a Congressional ruling requiring Reserve Duty during his civilian position. If he had not been forced to retire, he probably could have still been serving at the time of his death.

Richard enjoyed helping his friends and neighbors, spending time with his family and he loved his two dogs, Trouble and Amigo.

Richard is survived by his sister, Marge O’Loughlin of CT; brother, Phillip (Jeanne) Clark of NJ; daughters: Cheryl (Kent) McConnell of NC, Caryn Clark (Howard Winkleman) of IL, Gailyn Crain (Ken Parker) of TX, Jyll (Chris) Johnson of Urbandale; sons: Kevyn (Sarah) Clark of CA and Keyth Clark (Barb Davis) of Des Moines; grandchildren: Cindy McGrath and Jay (Justina) McConnell of NE, Casey McConnell (Shandi Berls) of NC; Jason (Tina) Fairchild, Jamie, David, and Stacey Crain and Savannah Parker of Texas; Leyanne (Eric) Winkleman of IL, Jessica Clark of WI; Michael Clark of KS; Kaity and Cody Johnson of Urbandale; and numerous great-grandchildren.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents, Daniel and Freda Clark; sister, Sister Patricia Clark; wife, Joyce Clark; son, Kyle Clark; brother-in-law, Jack O’Loughlin and nephew, Dennis O’Loughlin.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.