My Day by Dr. J. Ester Davis
Pictured: Ester Davis, Nat Clark, Jr., and Wife Karen
This is such a great story!
Travel back with me to 2008. That’s 26 years ago. Red Bird Airport (nee Dallas Executive Airport) was the perfect setting for the 2008 Aviation Youth Summit. I remember it was a cold sunny day in January. Major airlines and pilots, both former and current, were in attendance. Several Tuskegee Airmen were present. The name of the responsible group at the time was the Captain Claude R. Platte Aviation Group (now The CRP Youth Aviation.Org). The mission of the CRP Youth Aviation Program was to educate, encourage, and expose youth to participation in aviation. Capt. Platte was an original member of the Tuskegee Airmen and a former instructor at the Tuskegee Institute.
The program consisted of planes landing on the airfield, accompanied by commentary. Flying onto the airport and landing, you had no idea who the pilots were. In about an hour, a single-engine, open-cockpit plane entered the airfield. When the very young pilot emerged, it was sixteen (16) year old Nat “Scooter” Clarke, Jr. I was absolutely in awe, amazed at his composure. In 2008, I was Director of Community Affairs for PAX Television. I had a few questions for the teenage pilot. And he was extremely nonchalant about the total ordeal. “Scooter” was a student at Bishop Dunne, and the plane belonged to his Dad, Nat Clark, of Nat Clarke Funeral Home. The young aviator was exposed to “aviation at an early age and grew up in the aviation community,” says his Mom, Inez Clarke.
Now, Nat Clark, Jr., is 32 years old. I have kept up with him over the years, as well as the remaining Tuskegee Airmen. Even though all the original Tuskegee Airmen have passed away, it is rewarding to reflect on their legacy and the many lives they touched.
Esterdavis2000@gmail.com
