Regina Clark, Centralia, left, posed for a picture during her 2003 deployment in Kuwait City. The man next to her was "her buddy," according to her then 18-year-old son, Kerry Clark, who chose this snapshot of his mother to lend to The Chronicle. The 43-year-old U.S. Naval Reserve member died in an ambush at Fallujah, Iraq.
Regina Clark, better known as 'Regi,' was honored Saturday at a dedication for the Skookumchuck River bridge, now renamed the Regina Clark Bridge.
Joseph Amell, who spearheaded efforts to get the Skookumchuck River Bridge renamed for Regina Clark, speaks Friday at the dedication for the bridge.
Johnny Dunnagan sings 'America the Beautiful' at the begging of the dedication for the Regina Clark Bridge Saturday at Schaeffer County Park outside Centralia.
Retired Rear Admiral Paula Brown speaks Saturday during a dedication for the Regina Clark Bridge at Schaeffer County Park.
Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, speaks Saturday at the dedication for the Regina Clark Bridge at Schaeffer County Park.
Retired Captain Michael Blount speaks Saturday at Schaeffer County Park about the day Regina Clark died in Iraq in 2005.
One of two signs for the Regina Clark bridge is unveiled at the dedication Saturday at Schaeffer County Park. Pictured, from left, are Lewis County Commissioner Edna Fund, Retired Rear Admiral Paula Brown, Joe Tortorelli, of the Washington Transportation Commission, Retired Captain Michael Blount, Johnny Dunnagan and Rep. Ed. Orcutt.
Washington State Transportation Commissioner Joe Tortorelli, left, and Retired Captain Michael Blount sign the back of one of the signs for the Regina Clark Bridge Saturday at a dedication for the bridge at Schaeffer County Park.
When remembering Petty Officer First Class Regina R. Clark Saturday at the dedication of the Skookumchuck River bridge in her honor, her shipmates and superiors remembered her smile, a can-do, no-nonsense attitude, and in particular for retired Rear Admiral Paula Brown, “innovative” ways to make cinnamon rolls despite less-than ideal rations.
“There are just some people that make this world a better place to live in,” Brown said. “She made you feel like you mattered no matter who you were … she was unflappable. CS1 always excelled. She always went the extra mile.”
When Clark went to Iraq in 2005 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, she did so as a culinary specialist — her job was to feed and fuel Seabees in charge of rebuilding water, wastewater, power and critical buildings damaged by fighting in Fallujah.
“She took care of all of us,” said Retired Captain Michael Blount, her commanding officer.
By rights, she should have been well out of the line of fire when she was killed by a roadside ambush on June 23, 2005, but Clark went above and beyond her duty, Blount said, and had volunteered to join a group of women tasked with conducting searches on other women — a task forbidden to male soldiers due to Iraqi customs — known then as “Lionesses.”
“The Lionesses were constantly in harms way,” he said. “She was proud to be part of such an elite unit.”
Clark was returning from that duty when her convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber, Blount said, recalling that he heard the explosion.
“It was a planned attack and the Lionesses were their target. Al Qaeda took credit for the bombing,” Blount said. “She was a Seabee warrior. She was brave. She was courageous.”
On Saturday, the state Route 507 Skookumchuck River bridge just north of Centralia was officially rededicated the Petty Officer First Class Regina R. Clark Memorial Bridge, in honor of Clark’s sacrifice for her country.
Joseph Amell, organizer of the event and the instigator behind the renaming of the bridge, opened the ceremonies Saturday at Schaeffer County Park.
“I’m a bit overwhelmed,” he said to the crowd of dozens who gathered in the park, including the motorcycle groups the Patriot Riders and Abate of Lewis County, whose motorcycles lined the bridge and who held a line of flags around the park.
“Regina and I were true, loyal friends,” he said. “It has been my endeavor over the past 16 months to honor her.”
Clark was a single mother when she went to Iraq and had earlier served as a Seabee in Desert Storm. She worked at Fuller's when she lived in Centralia.
Amell worked with Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, who was able to draft and pass legislation allowing for the renaming.
The Washington State Transportation Commission unanimously voted in July to rename the bridge in honor of Clark. Transportation Commissioner Joe Tortorelli also attended Saturday’s event and brought a copy of the resolution approving of the name change. The framed copy would be sent to Clark’s son, he said.
A number of Clarks friends also spoke at Saturday’s event, including “shipmates” from her time in the Navy.
Many talked of her smile and her spirit. Shane Alvarez, a builder first class in the Seabees who served with Clark, remembered her adopting a dog while in Iraq that she named “Petty Officer Sandy,” and helping her build a crate so she could send the dog home.
Orcutt praised the size of the crowd that attended Saturday’s ceremony and said we need to do more than thank veterans for their service.
“Thank you for your willingness to go on foreign soil and liberate other countries and provide them with the kind of freedom that you enjoy,” he said.
