A Vietnam-veteran who put his life on the line to ensure freedom at home, including freedom of speech, recently found his own expression of opinion defaced.

Many residents around the county and in the military community can identify Tommy Clack, director of Veterans Services for Rockdale and six other counties, coming down the road by his distinctive van emblazoned with the image of a bald eagle and the verse John 15:13.

On April 15, Clack came back to his van in the Conyers Wal-Mart parking lot around 7 p.m. to find that someone had vandalized his vehicle. The message “Freedom isn’t free” and the image of the eagle was scratched through, as though someone had keyed the side of his van.

Clack knew he had parked at a distance from other cars and that no one had been nearby when he left.
The distinctive images were something he had designed himself.

“I knew when I did this, it could be a target,” said Clack. “I’ve had other vans in the past targeted.”

“We are a Christian nation and a free society. Whether we want to admit it or not, we’re very tolerant and accommodating. Yet this individual who did this reminds me of the Muslims around the world. They have no tolerance. They have no accommodation. If they don’t agree with you, they take it out on you and your property.”

Anyone with information on this incident can reach Clack at (770) 388-5075.