Clark Air Base Scrapbook

This page salutes a couple of special Clark institutions with pictures from the 1950s.
When it was time to relax, some went to town, but there were other options.
Two of the most popular are featured here. AFRTS radio and television
brought a touch of prime time USA to keep everyone in touch
with home. However, if you wanted to party without
worry, the most popular places were the clubs.
Without a doubt the best Airman's Club in
the Pacific was the Coconut Grove.

Next pictures sent by Bill Austin, an A2C assigned to
AFRTS at Clark for 18 months starting May 1957. He worked as
an announcer for both radio and television broadcasts. His biggest  story
was by mistake. He read an AFRTS wire news report on his early morning show with
the news that the 13th Air Force commander being relieved for "improprieties."
Unfortunately, the command post, which received the official report in the
middle of the night, didn't wake the general to give him the bad news.
He heard it first listening to Austin. From then on, Bill said he
got help from his friendly NCOIC who read
all his copy before he went on.
 

(L) TV cameras in the AFRTS studio, note the old coverall style fatigues on the man on the left.
(R) Austin plays music from a large disks that came from the states with the last popular tunes.
 

Story in the Philippine Flyer,
the base newspaper, about
AFRTS operations, with
Bill Austin on the right.
What's interesting here
is the Flyer. It was a rather
primitive base newspaper
produced in an 8x10 format
on an early repro machine.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Robert Weymouth, now a Master Sergeant, was at Clark on and off as a dependent
for 12 years  in the 60s and 70s. His father served served 5 tours in the 1961st
Comm Group. He's tried to to get assigned to Clark, but said Pinatubo
had other plans. His father met his mother when she worked at the
Coconut Grove, Airmen's Club starting in the 1950s. He noticed
the Scrapbook was short on good pictures of the old club,
so he dug in his mother's shoe box of old photographs
and came up with these, mostly from the 50s.

Probably most of you won't recognize these places since you weren't that sort
of troop. (L) That the the bar.  (R) The ballroom, well known for its genteel
dance class with instruction in the waltz and the fox trot.
 

(L) Rob's parents on the right. He said his mother, Pudenciana Tiotuyco and his father,
Kenneth A. Weymouth ( now MSgt, Ret) weren't yet married in this 1959 photograph.
The couple on the left is Edward Paro, (now USAF Ret) and his soon to be wife
Medina Reyes. Both men were then assigned to the 6925th Radio Squadron
Mobile (RSM). (R) Club committee members meeting take in the 1950s.
Rob's mother is third on the left, next to the  army guy.

(L) An anniversary celebration at the club in the 50s. The man in the white tuxedo by the cake is
 William N. Mullins, (CMSgt, Ret) club manager then. Rob's  mother was his secretary.
She is still in contact with him. He lives in Texas, is in his 80's, and she she said he
still doing well. Cake on the right was a replica of the Coconut Grove.
(R) Unknown man (is that Bill Clinton???) cutting cake.
 

And for the big finish . . . here's Bob!

Yes, that Bob Hope
showing off his "Barong
Tagalog" in early '65 during
a stopover after his Christmas USO
tour. Rob mother is to Bob's left wearning
the black maternity dress--and Rob is
inside mom.  The SSgt escorting
Bob was the Club Manager
at the time.
 
 
 
 
 

Bob autographs $1 dollar bills
at the dinner table. Rob's
Rob's mother is the one
on the right facing
the camera