Richard Clark was born in Sioux Falls, S. Dak., enlisted in the Air Force completing basic training and intelligence school in Denver, Colo. Following, assigned to Strategic Air Command headquarters, Offutt AFB, Neb., then to an intelligence unit at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam, responsible for target acquisition. Beginning in October 1967, he served for two years at Minot AFB as a Targeting Studies Officer.
Following the UFO events, Clark arrived to work at 7:30 a.m., and was directed to set aside his normal routine in order to analyze the B-52 radarscope film. By early afternoon, he had completed his report and ordered two sets of fourteen radarscope photographs; one for inclusion in the report and another as a personal desk copy. Years later, he passed on his personal copies to his brother-in-law William McNeff, who preserved them. Clark's official report is not included in the documentation, and was apparently unavailable to the Blue Book investigators. He was not interviewed during the official investigation.