by Thomas C. Utts
My corner of the world in 13th PAO.
The picture on the wall is a local copy
of a famous Air Force painting depicting
F-105s attacking a bridge in North
Vietnam. I had it because before for my
first five years in the Air Force I was
an aircraft maintenance office. From
mid 1966 to January 1969, I was in
the 18th Tactical Fight Wing which
flew F-105 Thuds. After I retired, I
drew on those experiences for my
novel, Korea Blue, published by
Signet Books. If you are interested
in leaning more: click
here.
Lt. Col. Howie Landau, the second chief
of
Public Affairs I worked for. He was a good
one, and unlike some, he didn't earn the
job
on the golf course.
Ceffie Yepez, Community Relations Director, the
heart and soul of 13th PAO. Ceffie was there long
before I got there in 1971, and was still there in
1991. Everyone who treasures memories of Clark
owes a debt to Ceffie. She's still there--the "Keeper
of the Flame" -- as the Director of the Clark Field
Museum located in the old base headquarters. If
you get back, be sure to stop by. Ceffie saved a
treasury of historical material which otherwise
would have been lost forever. And she's always
on the lookout for more to expand the collection.
Tech Sergeant Jim McDermid was the other
half of the Information Section for most of
my time at Clark. He was both an excellent
photographer and a good writer. He took the
picture of the two pilots in front of Mt. Arayat
that is used on the left side of the mast
for all the pages in the scrapbook.
This photo, I like
to think, expresses the ambiance
that prevailed
in 13th PA Office. The young man
was the last of
three NCOs who worked for me.
Started with a
tech, then there was a staff, and at
the end a three-striper
. . . gives an idea of the
value placed on
our work. That's Ron, he wasn't
a bad young man,
we just wondered what he was
doing in PAO--or
for that matter in the United
States Air Force.
Some of the people who passed
through over the 2 year period.
Wish I could remember their
names. If any of you see this,
e-mail.
Getting high!
Actually about
5,000 feet high at
John Hay Air Base,
the mountain top
Air Force R&R
center at Baguio.
The official excuse was an EOT
(Equal Opportunity and Treatment)
conference. Officials from 13th Air
Force bases met to discuss ways to
counter the racial unrest that had
move from the states to United
States bases overseas
in the early 70s.
The winding road up
the mountain was
always half the fun.
The conference
was held at the
John Hay Club.
Also had time
for a rainy
day visit to
Baguio City.
These pictures were taken during
a visit by the Clark Air Base Junior Offices' Council,
a USAF retention program for
lieutenants and captains, to Subic Bay. We visited
the USS Coral Sea aircraft carrier
and had lunch at the Navy O Club.
As always my trusty cameras
were like added body appendages.
(R) The Navy PAO escort taking us aboard the carrier. (L) I'm trying
to convince the Navy PAO
that Subic Bay would be a better place if all those ships weren't
cluttering up the place.
Checking out the
competition. Navy
junior officers (brown
caps) show the Air
Force (blue caps)
around. At the time
the Air Force was
phasing out summer
kahki uniforms and
going to the light blue
shirt and dark blue
trousers combination.
(R) Off duty in front of the hilltop BOQ -- PI cruising was a blast
in my Buick Skylark.
It was less then a year old when I went to Clark, all power and
most importantly,
air conditioning. (L) Somewhere in Tarlac with one of my best friends
(taller one, not
the short one) Lynn Lemmermann from the the base Public Affairs
Office.
A PAO get together
in an Angeles City
restaurant.