"They stood for us. They died for us. They are with us still," he said.
Clark, a teacher at Lake Central High School in St. John, was among those who spoke Sunday at an advance Veterans Day ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Chesterton.
Sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans of America's Chapter 905 in Porter County, the event also featured speeches by Henry Hitchcock, director of Veterans Life Changing Services in Gary, and state Rep. Chuck Moseley.
The ceremony began with the posting of colors and prayers by Chaplain Marty Glennon. At the end, taps was played as a wreath was placed at the wall.
World War II veteran Gus Theodoros, 87, and his wife, Eva, of Hobart, were guests of honor. Theodoros served with the Army's 44th Infantry Division in Normandy and is the recipient of three Bronze Stars.
The couple's son, Peter, is a Vietnam veteran.
Clark said 26 years ago, he and his students began researching whether any former Lake Central students had been killed in Vietnam. They found five.
"There were five young heroes from our high school, and people didn't know they died," Clark said.
The project eventually expanded to Lake County and then to all counties in Indiana. Today, all of the names the students researched are listed on the memorial wall.
Hitchcock, a Vietnam veteran who served with the Marines, said his organization supports a national movement to end homelessness among veterans by the year 2015.
Veterans Life Changing Services offers a variety of physical and mental health services to help veterans become self-sufficient. It houses up to 32 veterans, Hitchcock said.
Moseley said the names of some of his friends are listed on the memorial wall.
"It's important to keep their memory in our hearts and minds," he said. "The legacy they have is all of us here today. (Vietnam) was a war that many people wanted to forget, but you won't allow them to forget."
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