Clark Air Base
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Clark Air Base is a former U.S. Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, now known as the Clark Special Economic Zone. It nestles against the northwest side of Angeles in the province of Pampanga, and is about 40 miles (60 km) northwest of Manila.
Clark Air Base was arguably the most urbanized military facility in history, and was the largest American base overseas. The base was converted into a special economic zone after the American military left the Philippines in 1992.
The base was the location of the Far East Air Force's 4th Composite Group. Located at , altitude 478 ft (146 m), Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991. The base covered 14.3 square miles (37 km²) with a military reservation extending north that covered another 230 square miles (596 km²).
At its peak around 1990, it had a permanent population of 15,000. The base was a stronghold of American forces during the end of World War II, and until 1975, it was a backbone of logistical support during the Vietnam War.
History
The base was captured by Japanese forces during World War II in early 1942, but was recaptured by Americans in January 1945 after three months of fierce fighting.
On March 14, 1947, the U.S. and the Philippines signed the Military Bases Agreement which provided for use of Clark Air Base until the year 2046 (later amended by the 1966 Rusk-Ramos agreement to 1991). In 1949, the base was transferred from the Army to the U.S. Air Force, and was known as Clark Air Base (or Clark AB).
Clark Air Base was completely evacuated of all but security personnel on June 10, 1991, two days before Mount Pinatubo began the summer-long series of eruptions which destroyed the upper 1000 feet of its peak.
The Philippine Senate rejected an extension of the Military Bases Agreement that September, and the base was transferred to the Philippine government on November 26, 1991, after the United States decided to depart earlier than scheduled.
Aircraft and military units
Major Air Force units included the Thirteenth Air Force, the 405th Fighter Wing, the 3d Tactical Fighter Wing with the 3d Combat Support Group, the 3d Security Police Group, and the 31st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (ARRS).The heart of Clark's aircraft force during the 1970s and 1980s was the F-4E and F-4G fighter jet. Other planes included the T-33 trainer, the C-130 transport, HH-3E rescue helicopters and a small number of F-5 fighters that were flown by the 26th Aggressor Squadron, 3rd TFW. During the 1950s F-86Ds,B-50s, and SA-16s also were stationed at Clark.
Transient aircraft of many types, especially cargo jets, were very common. Fighter planes regularly visited to participate in aerial warfare exercises at Crow Valley about 30 miles (50 km) to the northwest.
Clark was served regularly by cargo and passenger flights to and from Andersen AFB, Guam; Kadena AB, Japan; Diego Garcia; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Saigon, Vietnam (until 1975). During the 1970s, passengers arrived via Trans International Douglas DC-8 flights from Travis AFB, California (via Honolulu and Guam).
By 1980, the base had grown to such an extent that weekly Flying Tigers Boeing 747 service to St. Louis (via Kadena AB Japan; Anchorage; and Los Angeles) had begun. The 747 service was taken over by Tower Air sometime in the late 1980s, and was augmented with a weekly Hawaiian Airlines L-1011 to Guam-Honolulu-Los Angeles.
Facilities
The base had a 200-bed regional hospital, the largest American commissary in the world, a department store, a mini-mall, several restaurants, a hotel, and a six-story dormitory. Clark was home to Wagner High School, Wagner Middle School, and Lily Hill Middle School. It had at least three elementary schools, including Wurtsmith, MacArthur, and V.I. Grissom Elementary Schools. Most teachers were American civilians, the schools being operated by the Department of Defense Dependents Schools.
Although the bars off-base in Angeles City were numerous and quite legendary, the servicemen's clubs on base provided strong alternatives. All three were large-scale operations: the Officer's Club (CABOOM) near the parade ground, the Top Hat Club for NCOs near Lily Hill (moved to near the Silver Wing around 1986), and the Coconut Grove Airmen's Club with indoor palm trees. The NCO Club was especially active and regularly brought major bands and artists from the United States to perform. Also at least a hundred sponsored clubs and organizations were active on the base, including Knights of Columbus, a Latino American club, martial arts dojos, and more. Two major movie theaters operated daily: the Bobbitt Theater which played first-run films, and the Kelly Theater which showed older releases.
To keep the residents entertained at home, Clark had a very active broadcast center called FEN, or Far East Network Philippines, a division of American Forces Network. The television station (Channel 8; moved to Channel 17 in 1981) showed about 20 hours per day of syndicated programs from the "big three" networks in the United States, with local news and talk programs. This content was locally syndicated until 1983 when programming from Los Angeles was put online. FEN also had two 24-hour radio stations: an AM station which broadcast news and popular music, and FM which was dedicated to easy-listening and classical music. However, with English common in Filipino broadcasting, off-base radio and TV tended to provide a lot of music and American TV fare that was not aired on FEN, such as Dukes of Hazzard and CHiPs.
Three major Filipino communities were nestled against Clark Air Base: Angeles City against the southeast corner, Mabalacat against the northeast corner, and Sapangbato on the south side. They were all important sources of labor, goods, and services to the base.
Weather
Clark Air Base experienced two distinct seasons: a dry season from November through April, with a wet season from May through October. From 1953 to 1991, the mean daily low was 73.6°F and the mean daily high was 88.1°F, with April being warmest and January coolest. The average annual rainfall was 78.39 inches. Typhoons tended to approach from the east during the summer and fall. Many damaging storms struck the base, including Typhoon Irma on November 28, 1974 (generally considered to be the strongest one); Typhoon Rita on October 27, 1978; Typhoon Irma on November 24, 1981; Typhoon Ruby on October 25, 1988; and Typhoon Yunya on June 15, 1991 which coincided with the Mount Pinatubo blast. In July, 1972, central Luzon experienced a month of nearly continuous rain, resulting in 96 inches falling on the plain around Clark.
Demise of Clark Air Base
In 1995, following years of neglect, cleanup and removal of volcanic ash deposits began. The former base re-emerged as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (Clark International Airport) and Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ). The airfield infrastructure was improved to make it one of the most modern in Asia, and a second parallel runway was built. The former base is now home to a golf resort, a number of industrial buildings, landmarks, and retail establishments.
See also
- Geography of the Philippines
- Military History of the Philippines
- Military History of the United States
External links
- [Satellite picture by Google Maps]
- [James Holub's Clark pages]
- [Clark Development Corporation]
- [Wagner High Online Alumni]
- [Clark Field memoirs from 1959-1960]
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