Doug Clark: Clues and theories abound in mystery of the Navy pilot belt buckle

Fasten your seat belts and prepare your airsick bags for landing.

The mystery of the Doug Clark belt buckle has been solved – sort of.

Although I have two solid namesake candidates, I still can’t say with absolute certainty whose pants this tarnished old buckle once kept from becoming “ankles away.”

Thanks to two-dozen knowledgeable readers who either emailed or called me, however, I believe I can give you a likely scenario where the buckle came from.

(COLUMNIST NOTE: In newspaper terms, “likely” is about as gold standard as you’re ever going to get.)

But before I unravel my findings, let me recap the tale.

Flash back to early October. Dennis, a resident of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and a man I have never met, sent an email asking the question:

Was I the “Doug Clark” that was engraved on a vintage military belt buckle that he had found in a vacated storage building next to his home?

The small, rectangular metal buckle features the words “fighter pilot” atop a winged insignia with my name at the bottom.

I never served in the military. So I knew within minutes that the fighter pilot probably wasn’t me.

But I persuaded Dennis to send the buckle with the promise that I would use my substantial powers of newsprint to solve the puzzle.

It didn’t take too long for answers to roll in.

“What you have there, Doug, is a Navy pilot’s custom-made belt buckle for use on a standard uniform web belt.”

That was the way John P. Simanton, LCDR, USNR (retired), put it in an email. Simanton was one of many who reached a similar conclusion after I asked for help in a column.

(A prize will be mailed to each of the Top 10 who helped.)

“The wings on the buckle appear to be those of a United States naval aviator, the official term for a Navy pilot,” wrote Dave McChesney.

“It’s a Naval aviator belt buckle,” added Marshall Smith. “Commonly worn with their khakis. Fighter pilot would probably be an F-4 or early F-14 aviator.”

Wow. I always knew Doug Clark was Top Gun material.

John Garske and the majority of those who contacted me also agreed that the buckle most likely (there’s that word again) originated “in the Philippines or some other port of call.”

“It was acceptable,” he added, “to wear the buckle with the uniform in place of the square brass buckle on most all uniforms.”

One writer called it a “been there” buckle, an engraved keepsake you could buy for a couple of bucks and bring back home.

“I would expect most of us still had one in our jewelry case or sock drawer,” noted Garske.

Which leads us to the question …

Who was this flyboy who was blessed with such a heroic name?

As it turns out there are two possibilities that I know of.

Douglas Alan Clark is the first. He died four years ago in Florida at the seasoned age of 95.

This Doug Clark was something else. According to an internet account, Clark received the Navy Cross for his actions while commanding a squadron of fighters in 1945.

“While on combat air patrol he directed his squadron to attack an enemy formation of Japanese bombers, which was heavily protected by fighters,” stated the story.

Despite being greatly outnumbered, the Americans were able “to shoot down over 40 enemy aircraft in 30 minutes without suffering one loss.”

Could this be the Doug Clark as named on the buckle?

Not so fast, according to Dick, a North Idaho resident who asked me to not use his name.

Dick apparently has a Doug Clark cousin “who was a Navy carrier pilot during the Vietnam War,” he wrote.

But wait, there’s more. This Doug Clark settled in Mississippi after retiring from the Navy as a commander.

Dick said he lost connection with his cousin but will try to track him down.

Either way, I’m pretty happy to hear about these Doug Clarks who served our country so well.

Plus I’m also greatly relieved that, so far at least, nobody has sent me any Doug Clarks who are connected to the words “court-martial.”

Doug Clark is a columnist for The Spokesman-Review. He can be reached at (509) 459-5432 or by email at dougc@spokesman.com.