U.S. Army veteran and retired teacher Thomas Clark was honored for his service as a veteran, retired teacher and curator of the Lake County Veterans Museum during a Veterans Day ceremony Thursday in the Lake County Government Center.
After serving in the U.S. Army, Clark said he graduated from Purdue University and became a U.S. History teacher at Lake Central High School. Over the years, Clark said he and his students worked on research projects on fallen Indiana Vietnam veterans.
Around 1987, Clark said he and his students identified 241 Northwest Indiana Gold Star families and began talking to them about the service members in their families. After most of the discussions, the families offered to give the students letters, medals and uniforms, he said.
Over the years, his students connected with 1,621 Indiana men who died in the Vietnam War, Clark said. They located the photos of 1,556 of those veterans and communicated with 1,100 of the families, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Clark said he collected and preserved the historical artifacts that the families gave, and he stored them in his classroom and home.
“This is student-powered — high school students,” Clark said. “My house looked like a garage sale.”
About 10 years ago, Clark was able to establish the Lake County Veterans Museum at the Tri-Town Safety Village. Clark said it took him and a group of students three days to move all the historical artifacts collected into the museum.
Museum officials are looking for more land to build a larger museum, Clark said.
“Lake County needs a museum, or something like that, for … veterans who gave so much for the country,” Clark said.
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Lake County Council President Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, presented Clark with a plaque for his service as a veteran and teacher.
“The students did this, not Tom Clark,” Clark said as he accepted the plaque.
At the start of the Veterans Day celebration, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department led the presentation of colors. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department Pipes and Drums performed on bagpipes and drums.
The Merrillville High School Choralteens sang multiple songs, like the “Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America.” The students received a standing ovation by the attendees after the final song.
Lake County Veteran Service Office Director Jason Gootee said anyone who served did so “not for recognition and not for applause,” but in response to duty.
Serving in any branch of the military means being away from home, missing holiday celebrations and enduring injuries, Gootee said.
“Thank you for your courage,” Gootee said. “Thank you for serving your community long after your service.”
The ceremony ended with 12 county employees and five former county employees, who were in the audience, being recognized with a round of applause for their service.
Fred Chariton served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968 and was sent to Korea, he said. Chariton said he graduated from Crown Point High School and knew three men from his graduating class who died in Vietnam.
Chariton said he was called to serve because it “felt like the thing to do at the time.”
“My country asked me to go, and I went,” Chariton said. “It was a sense of duty.”
As a part-time employee in the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration office, Chariton said it was nice to be recognized at the event.
“It’s nice to be honored and appreciated. Thank you,” Chariton said.