Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Donald V. Clark

Remember Our Heroes

Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Donald V. Clark, 37, of Memphis, Tenn.

CWO3 Clark was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, Task Force 49, U.S. Army Alaska, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; died Nov. 15, 2008 in Mosul, Iraq, when his OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed while on a mission over Mosul. Also killed was Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christian P. Humphreys.

Memphis soldier killed in Iraq helicopter crash
The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two soldiers, including one from Tennessee, were killed when a U.S. military helicopter made a “hard landing” after hitting wires in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The U.S. military said the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter went down at about 6:10 p.m. Saturday in the eastern part of the city. The military also said that “the incident appears to be combat-unrelated and there was no enemy contact in the area.”

Killed were Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Donald V. Clark, 37, of Memphis, Tenn., and Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christian P. Humphreys, 28, Fallon, Nev.

Both were assigned to the 6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, Task Force 49, U.S. Army Alaska, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Allen told the Anchorage Daily News that Clark and Humphreys were the only two on board the helicopter and no one else was killed or injured. The Army did not say which of the two pilots was flying when the crash occurred.

Clark joined the Army in February 1992 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in November 2006. Humphreys joined the Army in June 1998 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in April. Both deployed to Iraq in July, Allen said.

Including Clark, 89 service members from Tennessee have been killed in Iraq, according to an Associated Press count. Nine service members from Tennessee have been killed in Afghanistan.

Funeral held for soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

DOTHAN, Ala. — Chief Warrant Officer 3 Donald Clark was described Monday as a world class soldier and his wife’s hero during a funeral service for the Newton man who was killed when his helicopter crashed Nov. 15 in Iraq.

Clark, 37, was buried with full military honors after his body was flown to Sunset Memorial Park cemetery in Dothan by 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, according to a report on The Dothan Eagle Web site.

During the ceremony folded American flags were presented to Clark’s 8-year-old son, Bailey, to his wife, Jamie, and to his parents.

CW3 Mike Eckhart’s hand trembled when he presented the flag to Jamie Clark. 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 in the Alaskan wilderness.

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

Rev. David Willis read a letter Jamie Clark wrote for the service in which she said, “Don and I were the sweetest love story ever told. He was my hero. The sorrow I feel is immeasurable. Don loved his family, his friends, his comrades and his country.”

Willis described Clark as a smart man who could have done anything with his life.

“But he chose to stand together shoulder to shoulder with brave men and women to fight tyranny,” Willis said.

2 Fort Wainwright servicemen remembered
The Associated Press

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — They came from different backgrounds, but shared one passion: flying.

That’s how hundreds from the Fort Wainwright Community remembered two fallen airmen killed Nov. 15 in Mosul, Iraq.

Chief Warrant Officers Donald V. Clark and Christian P. Humphreys were killed instantly when their OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed.

Clark, 37, of Tennessee, was remembered for his rough-and-tumble demeanor. He had served as a flight instructor in Korea and Alabama.

Humphreys, 28, of New Mexico, served as a crew chief in the Navy before joining the Army. He was remembered for his love for board games, particularly backgammon.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Donald V. Clark was killed in action on 11/15/08.