Educator awarded for patriotism, teaching success Published March 12, 2007 By Staff Sgt. Matthew Bates Air Force News Agency SAN ANTONIO (AFNEWS) -- James Clark is a patriot. He retired from the Marine Corps as a captain and now teaches the sixth-grade children of military members who are stationed at Osan Air Base, South Korea. As an educator and a patriot, Mr. Clark's efforts earned him honors as the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Teachers Award Program winner for the entire Pacific area. Mr. Clark loves teaching and attributes his success as an educator to the love he has for his military and country -- something he hopes to pass on to his students. "Patriotism is important to me," he said. "I want to instill this into these students living an ocean away from the country their military parents are serving." The VFW instituted its teacher award program to recognize top elementary, junior high and high school educators who teach citizenship education topics regularly and promote America's history and traditions. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) Click here to view the comments/letters page