Some stories wait for the right moment to be told. For Dan N. Clark, Ed.D., that moment arrived 39 years after he first sat down at a manual typewriter. Zoomie Pig Odyssey, his coming-of-age military memoir, is available now from Parker Publishers, and the author is gifting all net proceeds to cancer research.
Clark wrote the first pages in early 1985, a young sergeant freshly out of active duty and back home for college. He typed up the funny stories and vivid moments from his tour in the Philippines, then set the manuscript in a drawer. It stayed there for nearly four decades. A difficult cancer ordeal in 2024 finally brought it back out. With time suddenly feeling precious, he began transcribing the old pages for his grown children, and old colleagues who reviewed it urged him to share the story with the world.
The result is a nearly unvarnished time capsule from the early 1980s. Because it was written in 1985 and left untouched for 39 years, the book captures the voice, the humor, and the uncertainty of the era without the polish of hindsight.
A farm boy, an ocean away
Whereas fairy tales begin with “Once upon a time,” military stories tend to start with “Y’all aren’t going to believe this.” Zoomie Pig Odyssey follows a Tennessee farm boy from high school graduation through four years as a US Air Force security policeman. The journey takes him to the Philippines, then to a B-52 bomber base in Texas, and finally back to Tennessee as a sergeant bound for college.
Sent overseas straight after his initial training, Clark describes his surroundings in rich detail, the geography, the culture, and the people, along with the challenges of serving in the long shadow of the Vietnam War. Readers walk with him past World War II sites, meet local veterans, and feel the full swing of military life, from real danger and homesickness to the kind of humor that keeps a young airman sane. His next posting to a bomber base in Texas delivered a culture shock all its own.
“As humans, we have a naive tendency to freeze people in our mind’s eye as we knew them at a given point in time. We all changed dramatically as we served in successive assignments and grew older. And as the gray invades our temples and our memories fade, it’s important we share our stories before they are lost to the sands of time.”
Dan N. Clark, Ed.D., from Zoomie Pig Odyssey
More than a memoir
At its heart, the book is about the bond that forms among people who serve far from home. Clark writes about the isolation young service members feel, the difficulty veterans have explaining their experiences to those who were never there, and the lifelong friendships that grow out of shared sacrifice. He tells it in plain, easy to follow language that puts the reader right beside him on every mission and misadventure.
That same spirit of gratitude shaped what happens next. Out of thankfulness for his life, Clark and his estate are donating all net proceeds from the book to cancer research, so every copy sold helps fund the fight against the disease he continues to manage.
“During college in early 1985, I began typing vignettes and funny stories about my tour of duty in the Philippines, and it grew from there,” said Clark. “I tend to find humor in most situations and have an eye for detail. As I transcribed the manuscript, I left out most of the violence and sexuality, and I changed a lot of names to protect the guilty, some at the offenders’ own request.”
About the Author
Dan Clark enlisted in the US Air Force in 1980 and left for college in 1984, later returning to active duty as a US Army officer. His initial four-year odyssey grew into a 31-year career that included multiple overseas tours and two stints as an ROTC instructor. He went on to teach public school for a decade until a difficult cancer ordeal forced him to retire. Now fully retired with grown children, Dan enjoys hunting, fishing, wood crafting, carpentry, and simple living with his wife and their dogs.
Book Details
Title: Zoomie Pig Odyssey
Author: Dan N. Clark, Ed.D.
Publisher: Parker Publishers
Genre: Military History, Cold War, Biography, Coming of Age
Format: Available now on Amazon
Cause: All net proceeds donated to cancer research
Buy the book: amazon.com/dp/B0GCHBJ6R3
