Randall Clark

Once in a while, someone finds their way into our lives that redefines what it means to be good and decent. A person whose purpose in life is to help others, whether that be passing along life lessons, or flying men out of harm’s way. In all things in life, he stood for what was right.

As a boy, he learned to fly in Panama before attending the University of California at Berkeley where he graduated in 1969 with degrees in Chemistry and Physiology. While waiting to go to medical school he thought his draft number was high enough but found it was not and, in his words, “had his ass sent to Vietnam”. Drafted into the U.S. Army in 1970 he served as a Scout helicopter pilot. Once there, he dedicated himself to the man next to him, doing what he had to do to save lives. The medals – which included the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts - were just a byproduct.

After leaving the Army he made one of those life choices – rather than pursuing medicine he elected to join the U.S. Navy and earned his wings, becoming a fighter pilot in the F-14 Tomcat. While knowing that air combat maneuvering is a deadly serious business, Randy often said that “there was nothing more fun than chasing your friends around the sky”.

His Navy career included tours with the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron (Blue Angels) where he served as Narrator and Solo Pilot, instructor at VF-124, Operations Officer at VF-24, worked with the Airforce in joint operations roles, and later CDR Clark joined VF-31 and served as Commanding Officer as they transitioned to the F-14D Super Tomcat.

During his 54 years as a pilot Randy flew over 100 different civilian, military and experimental aircrafts.

After retirement, as it was in the service, Randy strove for excellence in everything he did. He qualified and competed against the best golfers in the world at the Senior US Open. True to his nature, in the last few years he added civilian Certified Flight Instructor to his list of qualifications and he helped people achieve their dreams of flying.

Randy (Pogo) Clark died on Thursday April 14th, 2016, at the age of 68. He is survived by his loving wife Sandy who was his whole world, his dogs and his 3 cousins. He will be missed by those who knew him. He left us way too soon.