by Thomas C. Utts
The 80s brought a lot of change to Clark. The
old "in like a lion, out like
a lamb," saying was reversed there.
The 80s started off reasonably quiet. The
post-Vietnam doldrums ended with Ronald Reagan's
military buildup years. Marcos
was firmly in charge and life was safe and
sane around Clark. Then many Filipinos decided
it was time for a change so Ferddie and Mum
went off for an extended Hawaii vacation.
Two months later, in 1986, there was a labor
big striker with demonstrators blocking the
gates. It ended when Jeepney drivers and bar
workers decided life wasn't the same with all
the customers locked up on base. They attacked
the pickets and drove them off. In 1987
the NPA launched terrorists attacks against
Clark people starting with the shooting of an
airman in the new McDonalds off base. It got
pretty crazy after that.
1982
(Top) When it was time to hit the street in a first class
ride. (Bottom--L) Johnny's
Supermarket on MacArthur Highway. (Bottom--R) Guess the sign says
it all.
(Photos by Tom Utts)
1984
A few bamboo poles, some woven fronds for a roof, a few chairs and
tables:
Zap! Another Fields Avenue Bar-B-Q Stand! Irene's was where the
Jolly Green Giant
aircraft maintenance guys like to hang. Not too long after Everett
Dominey took this
photo, he also took Irene for his wife. (R) A1C Johnny Savage, 374th
OMS,
C-130 Maintenance checked out the camera is
1984
Always room for
one more photo
of Mt. Arayat.
(Photos by
Everett Dominey)
Good pictures of main gate, which is actually a post card Ernie Green
bought in town.
(L) Jeepney park at the main gate. (R) Between Friendship and
Clarkview gate, looking across the base to Mt. Arayat.
Ernie Green said this was Fields Avenue during a communist rally.
Ernie and close
personal friend
outside the
Hard Rock.
Ernie Green thinks this was during the famous 1986 base
strike. The gates were being blocked by protesters.
(Top & Right)
Barricades setup by striking
base employees in front
of the main gate. All the
gates were blocked and they
stopped anyone from going
on or off for several days.
Note the size of the flag pole
pole the PI government put
up in front of the gate after
the return of the bases.
Delusions of grandeur?
After business owners and their employees in town realized customers
who are bottled up
on base can't spend money, sympathy for the strikers, already higher
paid than most who
worked on the economy, evaporated faster than the greenback had
from their cash registers.
Jeff Meier tells what happened. "I was a LUCKY
one trapped OUTSIDE. With all those
hungry BAR GIRLS. It was HEAVEN. I was
at the main gate when the the jeepney
drivers attacked the strikers, tore down the
barricades and opened the gate. It was
fun and good timing. The TDY boys coming back
from TEAM SPIRIT 86 were
coming home that night . . . man the ville
was hopping . . . many ways!"
On a visit to Baguio Jeff took there. That big Lion Head (L) To appreciate
the size,
check out the man standing on the lower right. (R) Jeff in
front of the Manison Hotel.
Back in the ville, a good shot of the Big Hat with Clark's main gate
in the background,
called the checkpoint in earlier days. The monument erected by the
Philippine government,
along with the giant flag pole in front of the gate in 1979 after
the United States
returned control of the base to the PI.
Jeff took these pictures at the PI version of GI Disneyland, Fields
Avenue.
Below we find Jeff practicing his community relation's skills.
PS: Lost contact with Jeff, so if you see these, e-mail.
Lion Head picture taken by Annette Crawford
from the window of a bus on the way to Baguio.
She was a newbie air gal who was sent to Clark in
1976 for her first Air Force assignment. She said,
"I heard this story about the Lion Head. It was on
the last stretch of road going up
the mountain
to Baguio. You may remember signs along
the
way noting "a bus fell over at this site, this date,
so many dead." A couple former Clark
folks
wrote to say it wasn't a safety warning, but was
actually put up by the Baguio Lion's
Club.
That just goes to show the legend
is often
much more interesting than the truth.
Carabaos on Parade. There were a fact of life, whether just being
herded
along, or pulling a basket vendor wagons down Fields Avenue . .
.
. . . or just
providing a
bit of fun
for the local
kids.
A billboard celebrating another one of the GIs' favorite Philippine delights.