Space shuttle circa 1969

[darrels joy]

Space shuttle circa 1969
By JAMES JOYCE III
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC



GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
John Clark and his mother, Eva McCluskey, look through old newspaper clippings about the Apollo 11 space mission at a cabin at Rimrock Lake where they are vacationing. As a member of the Air Force, Clark took part in the recovery effort of the Apollo 11 crew in 1969 after the capsule returned to Earth from the historic mission to the moon.
For most of the time John Clark was in the Air Force, his job was less than glamorous. During the Vietnam War, he loaded and unloaded cargo ? sometimes dead bodies ? on and off ships and aircraft carriers.

But in July 1969, the Nebraska native, now turned Yakima resident, was assigned to a supply detail with a bit more importance. He was stationed at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, and his orders came from NASA.

On a clear and sunny July 24, nearly 36 years ago, Clark became a part of history. Surrounded by a gaggle of political dignitaries, hoards of accompanying security and members of the media, Clark was responsible for transporting the mobile quarantine facility that housed Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin just four days after they were part of mankind's first visit to the moon.

"It wasn't that big of a deal. That's what I did," Clark humbly said of his role. "It was my job."

He was a historical chauffeur, if you will. Clark, who was in his early 20s at the time, drove a machine called a 40k loader, a hydraulic flatbed used to raise and lower aircraft and cargo to and from the deck of aircraft carriers.


GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic
A photograph of Clark (third from right) and part of the recovery team along with framed certificates of appreciation and newspaper clippings are among the memorabilia Clark keeps from his participation in the recovery of Apollo 11.
The Apollo 11 recovery team had two main phases. After members of the Navy pulled the command module from the Pacific Ocean and put it on the USS Hornet, the Air Force was responsible for transporting the astronauts in the quarantined unit from Peal Harbor to Hickam Air Force Base, which was about five miles away.

"I was thinking, 'If I drop these guys, I'm in a world of hurt,'" Clark said as he looked through memorabilia from the event while vacationing at his Rimrock Lake cabin.

He's got newspaper clippings from the event, thank-you letters from the astronauts and certificates recognizing his service. He's also got one of a limited number of "silver Snoopy" pins to commemorate his role, but he's put that piece of memorabilia in a safety deposit box.

Although Clark downplays his contribution to the mission as being "just part of the job," his mother, Eva McCluskey, remains proud of her son's role in history.

"He always makes such light of this, like it's not a big deal, and it is," said McCluskey, who is visiting from Tekamah, Neb., where Clark was born and raised. "That's a big thing in our history. That moon isn't made of green cheese, after all."

(Yes, growing up, the young McCluskey thought the moon was made of green cheese, she admits.)

"They chose him for a reason," she said.

But Clark playfully questions that, too.

"Maybe (I was chosen because) I was a good driver," he speculates.

But the process was a bit more involved than that. McCluskey said the military interviewed neighbors and others from their hometown before Clark was cleared for the job.

"This is the first time that happened and I guess they didn't want some clown," Clark said with a chuckle.

Now, 36 years removed, Clark is starting to realize the importance of his contribution and is fond of the memory.

"I thought a lot about it after I did it. At the time it was just something I did," he said.

About two months after completing the historic task, Clark was discharged from the military. His service was over.

He spent the next few years attending college and eventually landed at Central Washington University. He got his first job with the Yakima Health District and has been here since the early 1970s. Clark, 59, has worked the past 16 years for MSI Construction.

"Now the most exciting thing I do is ride a Harley and that's about it," Clark said.


* Reporter James Joyce III can be reached by phone at 577-7675, or by e-mail at jjoyce@yakima-herald.com.