Clark Air Base Scrapbook

by Thomas C. Utts

Anyone interested in finding out more about
AFSPA, go to the web site at  AFSPA On Line
 
 
 

Ralph Castillo worked customs/immigration and the base patrol at Clark
from 1956 to 1958. ( L) At base ops -- he says to note the badge authorized for
APs at the time.  (R) With a Negrito Scout from the base patrol.

These photos are from Fred Bacon, who was a cop at Clark from 1955 to 1957 the
first time.  He came back in 1959 and stayed until 1962. He made it back a
3rd time in 1972, but only stayed for a short time (that's not a pun) when
he was shipped to the Hospital from Udorn RTAFB in 1972.
 

(R) The cemetery with Mt. Arayat in the background, and (L) The checkpoint, taken in 1957.
And lucky me, I was in USMC Boot Camp in San Diego about to get orders for 29 Palms CA.
Need you ask why I switched from the Marines to the Air Force?

(L) 1960, At the checkpoint, Fred in the center, he doesn't remember the names of
the others.  (R) 1956 his good buddy A2C Ralph Corliss, who was killed on duty returning
from Angeles when his jeep was struck by a sugar cane train. Corliss is buried in
the Clark cemetery. Right, A1C Ernie Boliver. Doesn't remember middle guy
 
 

A typical Jeepney American GI
car accident.  This was on the road
leading to National Highway 3.
Checkpoint is behind accident
scene. The Jeepney driver
estimated his loss at $14,500.
Oh, yeah, easy, he probably
didn't even count the balutes.
 
 
 
 
 
 

1955--Guard mount for Filipino civil
service guards who worked with Air
Police. In back sit two armored cars
that could be carry 30 cal. machine
guns or recoilless rifles. (Right) A
USAF half-track with quad .50 cal
machine guns on the rear. Fred said
many people thought all the SPs had
were carbines and .45 automatics. but
Fred carried a BAR on the alert team
and said they had mortars and most
weapons an infantry company had.
 
 
 
 

Fred gets friendly with some of the local products. What do you suppose he did with
all those bananas? Just keep him out of the ville! Actually, it was 1957 and Fred was
in a C-47 just after take off from Zamboanaga. (L) 1956, with a Filipino
friend -- with his friend who stretched out to about 11 feet.
 

Fred sent this picture of the entrance to the
USAF  Port of Manila.  He  said, “I arrived
there in 1955  and the MSTS  our  ship was
guided  to  the  dock  by  a  USAF  tug  boat
operated   by   Air   Force  troops  in  Navy
dungarees  with  the  standard  white  Navy
caps. They had Air Force Stripes and it was
very confusing to a young Airman who'd been
traveling  for 20  some  day's  and  was  only
19.  They  had  a  great club at the  port  but
we  were  loaded  on   buses  and  hauled  to
Clark.  Later  on  pass  I got down to the port
 
 

Unfortunately, this story didn't make it into the final version
GI JOE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE. My apologies to Fred.
Without a doubt the most popular Clark legend is the story of the stolen fire truck.
Mention Clark and the first comment is, “Did you know, they even stole the fire truck?
They drove it right out the gate with lights flashing and 'siren blaring.” In the later years claim
to have investigated the story.  Unable to find any documentation,  they felt  the  story  was  a  myth.

However, Fred Bacon, says, “It is a true story. I know because I was the cop in charge on the
gate.” He does admit to having heard many variations of the tale,  “and each time it gets changed
or added to a little bit. Still, to the best of my 65-year-old memory this is what happened: “It was
1960, I was working  Checkpoint in the  late afternoon.” There were three Air Policemen and four
civil service guards at the walk through building and on the gate.” As he walked toward the gate
house a civil service guard ran to him saying a fire truck was coming fast with the red lights on.

“Base fire trucks did respond off base to different family housing areas for home fires,”
he said. “But normally the desk sergeant called to let us know how many emergency
vehicles were coming so we could clear the traffic.”  Bacon made a quick call to
the desk to see what was happening. The Desk Sergeant yelled, “We just
found out it's stolen. Stop it!” Bacon ran out as the huge flightline fire
truck raced toward him at 55 MPH, by driven by, “a little-headed,
wild-eyed individual.” “If I had attempted to flag him down,
I would have been a hood ornament,”

Bacon said.  Instead he threw a rattan stool at the truck.
The fire truck devoured that as it exited the gate in a cloud of dust.
The Checkpoint jeep was gone at the moment, so Bacon stopped the first
car pointed in the right direction. He told the driver, a half-drunk master sergeant
he was commandeering his vehicle. “I was so excited I didn't notice his condition. I told
him to drive and I would direct.” They roared off toward the highway, and Bacon said, “The
idiot turned left.  We were damn near in Tarlac before I got him stopped and out of the driver's
seat.”  Bacon drove back through Angeles.  City police stopped him at a roadblock set up
on  the other  side of town halting all traffic  going  into  the city.  “The sergeant on the
roadblock told me no one could pass the roadblock,  and not to worry because the PC
had a roadblock at San Fernando.” He returned to the Checkpoint and call in.

Needless to say, the PC roadblock never saw the truck, and neither did anyone
else. They questioned the entire Checkpoint crew and we gave statements to
the OSI. But somewhere along the line, he said “They just went away.”
A friend of Bacon's in the OSI told him the truck went directly to
the Manila International Airport where it was repainted and put in
service, “and may still be on duty even now.” He said it was
rumored American authorities didn't want to turn the
theft into an international incident so
we wrote off the fire truck.

1963
Guard mount in the
Security Police barracks
parking lot on Lilly Hill.
Photo by Phil Herrell
 
 
 
 
 
 

1969
6200 Security Police Squadron ERT
(Emergency   Response   Team).
Frank Balchak, Sgt Eaches, Jack
Rosenberg  and  Brian  Wallace
seated. Check out those summer
uniforms -- definitely a more
innocent time.
Photo by Phil Scholten
 
 
 
 

1967
Bill Cobb all dressed up and no one to shoot.
Actually, he was on duty at one of the most
important Security Police posts on Clark -- the
cashier's cage at the Airman's Club. Now if
today's Security Forces, only had snappy
uniforms like Bill's. Cobb's claims to fame is
that he almost put a parking ticket on a car
belonging to General William Westmoreland --
Army commanding general in Vietnam, whose
family lived at Clark. Almost because when he
called in the license number to get the owner's
name, he was ordered to tear up the ticket. After
that he says he refused to write parking tickets
on anyone's car. Way to go, Bill!
 
 
 
 

Bill Cobb was a good customer
at the Airman's Club, here with
close bud, Ken Van Duyne (R).
Ken was one an original member
of the Clark Mounted Horse Patrol.
Cobb said the young lady's name
was Angelina, and  was -- he thinks
--a school teacher doing research
on her degree in sociology
--or something like that.
 
 

1968
Working the Main Gate,
Photos sent by Doyle W.
Young, tall guy on the right.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1965 -- (Above) Paul Knotts sent these
photos. At the Town Patrol Headquarters,
from left to right: (as best he remembers)
Ivey, Nixon, Knotts, Cornwell,  SSgt Willet,
and their leader, T.D. Tindell. (Below) Paul
on a local pony. He said, "The motorcycle
belonged to a (Filipino) police friend,
he didn't really let me ride it but it was
real handy to have around
when I was off duty."

Gary McClellan sent this photo taken at Paranaque Rizal at a troop review in 1958. He said, it
was given to him by Captain Ben Miranda 15th PC Cavalry Squadron, Fort William McKinley,
Rizal PI. McClellan was there training for the USAF Air Police Mounted patrol in 1960. “As the
first "horse soldier" I helped construct the stables and routes of patrol. We built the stables just
outside  the  wire up  the road  from a housing  area.  I  became  friends  with  Captain  Miranda.”
He  said,  “The horses were excellent,  but  the training at Fort  McKinley  was  pretty  intense.
It  was  an  experience  I'll  never  forget.   McClellan  is  a  retired   tech  sergeant.