INDIALANTIC, Fla. – America’s greatest generation lost a legend Wednesday when Lt. Col. Bob Clark died at his longtime home in Indialantic at the age of 103.
Clark served in World War II and was known to neighbors on Bahama Drive for riding his bike everyday, even at his advanced age.
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A neighbor, Audra Farley, said the flag he raised everyday was at half-staff Thursday.
“We will miss you dearly, Mr. Bob,” Farley said, reading from a card with the flowers she placed in her neighbor’s front yard.
“We all just fell in love with him and his spirit,” she said.
A courageous spirit helped Clark fly the B-45 bomber during World War II.
Later, the Air Force pilot joined NASA, not as an astronaut like fighter pilot John Glenn, whose autograph Clark kept in mint condition, but in the administrative offices.
Clark also served at Patrick Air Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
During his final years, another neighbor, Rosa Riordan, surprised Clark by organizing parades that included first responders and other veterans when Clark turned 101, 102, and — back in May — 103.
“I asked what he wanted for his birthday, and he would always laugh and say, ‘Aw nothing,’ very humble,” Riordan remembered. “He couldn’t believe that this parade was in his honor.”
Farley shared her fondest memories of Clark, as well.
“This will always be Mr. Bob’s house, always and forever,” she said.
Clark’s daughter told News 6 he was the oldest living member of a group of Patrick pilots.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that of the 16 million Americans who served during the Second World War, about 160,000 are still living.
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