Clark Air Base Scrapbook

Into the 90s

by Thomas C. Utts

After the People Power revolution swept Marcos from power there
was a new optimism in the Philippines and on the American bases. But not
for long. A month later a major strike by Clark employees shattered any illusions
of a new beginning. There was a glimmer of hope when the first MacDonalds opened
on MacArthur highway at year's end. But in 1987 NPA terrorists picked that site to gun
down an innocent victim to start a campaign of violence against Americans. The NPA actions
against Clark brought new restrictions making life less tolerable for the GIs and their
families. At the same time time mission requirements for Desert Shield and
Desert Storm increased the work load for many. In 1990 when a major
earthquake devastated Baguio people from Clark were among
the first to offer assistance. But even that paled
in light of what was to come.

1989
SA Mark Hanneman
and SA Griffith offer a
heart felt salute to the
NPA on one their night
time outings during the
OSI's "anti-grafitti"
campaign.

Killer Earthquake hits Baguio City

One year before Pinatubo exploded, on Monday, July 16, 1990, at exactly
4:26 P.M., a 7.7-earthquake devastated the city of 120,000. Later seismologists
concluded the quake was the most destructive ever recorded for that area. Hundreds
of commercial and government buildings, hotels, inns, and residences were heavily damaged
by the quake and the death toll skyrocketed as rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble. The city's
only airport was temporarily closed regular flights to allow for the delivery of food, supplies,
equipment, and rescue personnel transported by Philippine and U.S. military planes.

Numerous aftershocks followed. Fearing for their lives thousands of residents
of the city huddled in tattered tents and makeshift shelters in parks and
streets. Drenched by daily rains, many went without adequate food,
water and medicine. Landslides blocked many roads to Baguio
leaving hundreds of motorists stuck, and cutting the
mountain top city off to most vehicle traffic.

The Commerce building, right, was
used for class for the University of
Baguio and the Science High School.
These pictures were submitted by
Karah Seaboldt, daughter of Howie
Seaboldt, Camp John Hay Public
Affairs Director. She was attending
classes on the 5th floor with 30 other
students when the quake hit. The 5th
floor to pan caked down onto the 4th
and 3rd floors. The students on the
5th survived, but most of those on the
floors below were injured or killed.

   The Hyatt Terraces Plaza, left,
   sustained the worst damage when
   its terraced front collapsed onto
   the lobby area, killing about 50
   people. Some guests tied sheets
   together, as seen in the picture,
   hung them out their windows and
   slid to safety.

Nearly 1,700 people were killed, over 700 missing, and more than three thousand injured.
52,000 homes were destroyed and nearly a million people were left homeless. Damage
for the entire area was estimated at 1.3-billion pesos. The United States Air Force,
and Marine Corps provided transportation and support to international rescue
teams arriving from Britain, Canada, Japan and Singapore. They also flew
382 sorties which delivered 241 tons of relief supplies valued
at more than a half million dollars, evacuated more than
2,500 people. Air Force medical teams provided
assistance to more than 13,800 Filipinos.

Going into 1991 the base experienced numerous lockdowns, and many folks were working
hard behind the scenes on Desert Shield activities. The USO approached Billy Joel in Japan
during his Storm Front Tour. They offered to have the Air Force fly the tour to Clark
and Subic for a show at each location, then on to their scheduled stop in Australia.

The offer was accepted and the show came to the PI. At Clark Mark
Hanneman, OSI, who was also in a local GI band, was asked to
ramrod a volunteer roadie crew to set up the show.

Building the stage at Challenger Field.

Left--Mark Hanneman assists Dave Hofbauer, the drum technician for Liberty DeVieto, drummer
for the band. Right--Billy Joel discusses technical details with FOH Engineer.

After building the stage, Hanneman took a break to watch Billy Joel checking the setup.
He said, "A mere ten feet away was one of my favorite songwriters/musician, and the
NPA were no where in sight!" But then Billy's bodyguard came and asked if there
was any reason he really had to be up here?" His military bearing kicked in
and he reluctantly left. He was down from the stage, unhappy for letting
himself be brushed off, when Crystal Talifero, Billy's attractive
percussionist came over on a break. They ended up talked
for half an hour, which he said, "made me forget
about 'da Jerk Bodyguard." His friend, taking
pictures, caught what he called "the
magic moment" (above) on film!

Even thought it rained during most of the show, Billy and the band played on putting on
what Hanneman called the best music moment in his tour at Clark.

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WEB MASTER: Tom Utts
Zcap@nethere.net

Update: 2001