Captain Tommy Clack
2019 Hero of the Year
20 | January 2020 | Real Hero Report
As an eighth-generation soldier in the Army, Tommy Clack
grew up with a love for history and knew that one day,
family was a British Redcoat, and by the second generation, his
ancestors had “learned the error of their ways and joined the right
side,” according to Clack.
Clack’s father was a World War II and Korean War veteran, and
his mother worked on the B-29 Bomber at the Bell Bomber plant
in Marietta.
“Seeing my dad in his dress blues inspired me to serve in the
military,” said Clack.
After starting college, he worried that he had missed out on
Vietnam. “I wanted to prove to myself that I was half the man
my dad was.”
Service in Vietnam
After leaving college, Clack joined the Army. After graduating in
allowed to choose his assignment. Although he chose Vietnam, he
was assigned to Command at Ft. Sill. Eventually, his orders for
After returning stateside, Clack wanted to go back and during
of the 25th Division as an Artillery Forward Observer.
As a Captain, he was respected by his men because he
and giving up comforts, instead of being back at camp, eating
In 1984, Tommy Clack served Senator Nunn over his tenure and had the
honor of meeting President Reagan while in D.C.
Tommy and the Walk of Heroes Board brought the Vietnam Wall to the
metro Atlanta area May 5-10, 2015, to honor May 7th, which was the
40th Anniversary Observance of the Vietnam War.