Where were you on 9-11?
This is a question almost every
American has asked or been asked since that tragic day. Lt. Col.
Murf Clark, 22nd Expeditionary Aerial Refueling Squadron commander,
has given the same answer to that question for three consecutive
years – flying.
Clark, a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot, flew on an air-defense
mission over Alaska on the day of the attacks. A year later, he was
airborne over Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
And this year Clark was at it again, flying an aerial-refueling
sortie from Ganci Air Base, Kyrgyzstan on yet another OEF
mission.
Though Operation Iraqi Freedom has been getting much of the
world’s attention lately, OEF is still very active. This
year’s mission included several aerial refuelings of Dutch
F-16s over Afghanistan.
According to Clark, he was fortunate to fly on 9-11.
“Ironically, I’ve always felt I was lucky to have
flown that day,” he said. “We weren’t striking
back at the enemy yet, but I didn’t have to sit feeling
helpless like so many Americans that day. I felt I was doing
something to protect our country.
“I’ll never forget the eerie feeling I got when I
asked for clearance from Anchorage Center … on Sept.
12,” Clark said. “The controller told us we were
cleared to anywhere in Alaska. ‘You’re the only
aircraft flying.’”
One year later, he found himself over Afghanistan on the first
anniversary of the attacks.

“We were flying out of a Southwest Asian location in
support of Marine F-18 (Hornets) from Ganci Air Base,” he
said. “Last year, we were just starting to send tankers
(here). It was a much longer flight to Afghanistan from Southwest
Asian locations than it is from Ganci.”
On his third deployment supporting OEF, the week of Sept. 8
marked Clark’s 18th week in the theater. He said that is not
a lot when compared to line crews who do the majority of the
flying.
“I’ve been away from home about 145 days since Sept
11, 2001. I know of crewmembers who have been away for 400 days or
more since then,” Clark said.
The pilot on this mission, 1st Lt. Brian Ewasko, is one of those
airmen who have been away a lot.
“In the past two years, I’ve seen my wife a total of
seven months,” he said. “But if I have to be away, I
want to be doing something like this, especially on Sept.
11.”

The excitement to be flying a mission over Afghanistan could be
seen in all members of the crew. Not because they were carrying
future memento flags on the flight, but in their attitudes and
actions.
“We get a satisfaction from accomplishing a mission such
as (this one) like no other,” Clark said.
“Unfortunately, that satisfaction is hard to pass on to our
families. No matter what we’re doing, we’re still gone
to them.”
Still, Clark is excited to be where he is today.
“I’m pretty young, but I’m old enough to
remember Strategic Air Command and the alerts we sat during the
Cold War,” he said. “Now I’m flying out of a
former bomber base in the former Soviet Union. I think some great
things have come out of the terrible events of 9-11.” [ANN
Thanks Capt. Allen Herritage, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public
Affairs]