Gary Clark: Military Service and Civic Duty, Florida

In early 2020 (just weeks before the pandemic), Smithsonian staff and their storytelling partners at the Peale, Baltimore, traveled to multiple states in the U.S. to ask residents of those states about voting experiences, the current state of American democracy, what issues brought them to the polls, how they made a difference in their communities, and what Americans' civic responsibilities were, among other complex questions.

Gary Clark (00:00): My dad was World War II. If you go back into the '50s, the draft existed and all those sort of things. But it was expected of my brother and I that we would go into service. In fact, my grandfather asked me as I was, I think a junior in high school. He said, "After service, what are you going to do?" It was expected. And so I'd do it all again if I could. I loved every day of it, some days better than others. And it wasn't without some fear and trepidation at times as well. War's not a fun thing to be in.

(00:44): But the thing that you always felt in the military that I always felt, and if somebody didn't feel this, that's when they usually looked at it for other options. Either you were part of a team doing something significant, and secondly you as part of that team, you were recognized as an important cog in it. So you were significant. What you were doing was significant. You were significant. If you didn't feel you were significant or what you were doing was significant, that's when people went someplace else. So that's the important thing here.

(01:24): I retired from the military and I went to work for the City of Lakeland, worked for the City of Lakeland as department head. And I try to apply those same things to the employees, that idea. What you're doing is significant. If it's not significant, we'll find you something more significant to do. Or maybe it's time for you to look for something else if we can't satisfy you here. But the thing in working with veterans, and the thing I was looking to do here is, there comes a point with some groups ... I don't care whether it's homeless, or whether it's the disabled or whatever, there comes a time when a lot of people exhibit sympathies toward these folks. Veterans don't want sympathy. That's not the way to view veterans.

(02:24): My approach to this whole thing, one is, if there's things that you need that can be provided to assist you, and you're otherwise entitled to that or you've earned that help, then fine. Well, we should help. But the other side of that is you have an obligation too. You have an obligation to give back. Just because you wore the uniform for 2, 3, 5, 15, 20, 35 years doesn't mean that you are owed something. You still have an ability to serve. And now you're in the community, you owe the community some of the benefits of your experiences in giving back. And that's kind of what I try to do here in working with others, is provide a forum, an opportunity, an open door if you will, for how they can become involved in the community and make contributions to the community.

(03:26): Again, this goes back to part of the issue you talked about before, where you ask before about civic responsibilities, duties, responsibilities, things like that. You're an example. When you look at the young people today that are serving in the military, this hasn't always been true, but it's more true than false. That is 70 to 72% of the young people out there can't qualify for military service, either because they can't pass the test, they're overweight, they've got a drug problem or otherwise an issue, or for various other reasons. 70 to 72% can't qualify for military service.

(04:25): So immediately what you've got is you've got what you might call the cream of the crop that go off to military service, at least within their cohort. Those are probably on average, they are better educated, able to know what an honesty day's work is about and things like that. When you recognize that, then to say, "Well, we're going to treat you like a kindergartner." No, you're the one that needs to take the lead. You've learned about leadership in the military. You've learned about what it is to become involved in things, take responsibility, carry through on a mission, things like that. You've learned all those sort. Now take those same lessons and apply them to the community that you're now living in.

(05:17): It doesn't matter whether like I say, whether you've had four years or 40 years of military training and experience, you still have a valuable asset there that can benefit your community and help carry out your civic responsibilities. Which in itself then go back to help build that idea of what civic responsibility and to a some extent, understanding what civics is all about.

(05:48): Here in the county and as in many counties, we have what's called a veterans treatment court. Clearly a number of the veterans that show up there that are handled by the veterans treatment court, are veterans who have deviated from between the white lines for various reasons. It may be a drug issue, it may be alcohol, it may be domestic violence, it may be petty theft or those kind of things. These are clearly individuals who in some cases suffer what I referred to earlier as not being significant or not being involved in anything significant. And to some extent they feel lost and forgotten. Some of them are still suffering from the experiences of combat.

(06:42): Those things don't go away at all. They're still there, they're sometimes just below the surface, but they're there. Those experiences, when you see heads blown off and arms and legs blown off, you don't forget those images and particularly if they're friends or yours or people that you've been associated with. And this is what some of these folks have gone through.

(07:05): So, part of what we try to do there is exactly what I refer to, is make them feel significant. We pair them up with a veteran mentor that they can relate to that in some cases have served during the same periods of time, and help carry them through the program that we have. That will allow them to, if it's drug testing or if it's in residence treatment or whatever the case may be, so they have a mentor that's going to help them through that process. Be a shoulder to turn on. Somebody to lean to, somebody that will contact them, "How are you doing?" Encourage them, make them feel like they are significant and what they're doing is significant.

(07:55): And if it works out, they can have their probation suspended or reduced. They can have some of their court costs reduced through community service and things like that. And we also will help them, if it's a job, we can point them in the direction of, "Here's avenues where you can find employment." At the same time we're in contact with employers that say, "Hey, here's guys or gals in some cases, that may need that little extra care here. Here's what they've done. We think they're on the right track now and give them a chance." And so putting them back in.

(08:35): There are success stories that we see. Sometimes I'll see some of them at Walmart or someplace and, "How are you doing?" Doing well. And sometimes with their family. It happened over Christmas, saw one with his family, "How are you doing?" Best Christmas I've ever had. So those kinds of things and you know it's been successful. But again, it's that old adage of, don't leave a buddy behind. We still don't want to do that. These guys served, there was something that made them raise their right hand and take that oath. And so it's still there. It just sometimes gets buried a little bit and we have to uncover it and get it back out there so they understand that they're still significant, and still doing something important.

Asset ID: 2022.37.11.c-d
Themes: Democracy, Democratic Process, Government, Constitution, Catholic School, Education, Freedom, Veterans, Military Service, Vietnam, Healthcare, Civics, Civic Responsibility
Date recorded: January 9, 2020
Length of recording: 0:09:28
Related traveling exhibition: Voices and Votes: Democracy in America
Sponsor or affiliated organization: Polk County History Center, Bartow, Florida, in conjunction with Florida Humanities
More information or related assets: https://polk-county.net/events/event-details/2020/10/23/history-center/new-smithsonian-institution-exhibit-opens-voices-votes-democracy-in-america. See Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad-XVIbusC4