Into to Me Air Force College Army Civilian

Philippines

Clark Air Force Base
(Page 3)

I mentioned that I worked 24-hrs on and then 48-hrs off, didn't I? That gave me a short weekend every other day. So when me and my buddies headed down town we didn't have to be back until about sundown the next day. That made for a lot of drinking and chasing the ladies. Any town outside of military base has two main establishments. First would be Pawn Shops. Someone has to buy all that stolen government equipment. The second, of course, would be bars. Lots and lots of Bars.

Balibago and Angeles City were the typical asian small towns. The people there were supported by the military installation or by supporting the locals who worked on the base. And of course, there were those who just supported themselves by taking every dollar they could from every serviceman they saw. Most of that exchange was voluntary. Some was not.

Here Fisher and English take pictures of a local herd of water buffalo as they wander down the main street of town.

In the background are the everpresent Jeepny's. converted jeeps that serve as taxis throughout the Philippines. As I recall it costs only a quarter to ride one. You just hop on, pay the driver, and hop off. If you wait for them to stop, you'll never get on or off.

They also had Peddicabs. Rickshaws with bicycle front ends. Cheaper that jeepnies and much more personal. The guys driving these things had the biggest calf muscles I've ever seen!

Just off base was the general Philippine countryside. Mostly dirt roads and shacks made from corrigated metal, or sheets of alumninum that was supposed to be made into Coke cans but was somehow diverted to house siding.

And of course there were hookers. Lots and lots of hookers. The ones that were reasonably good looking got hooked up with a GI for a long-term relationship. We were there for 18 months and if a girl could snag a GI for his whole tour, then her whole family would live well for a year and a half.

Above left is a picture of "Baby." She was Steve's girl when I got there. She was cute but what a bitch. She would pull a knife on you in a heartbeat. On the right is Francis (sitting) and a couple of her friends. She was an older girl. She had a bunch of kids as I recall.

Above is another shot of Francis. Although not a good looking as she might once had been, she was one of the nicest hookers I met there. She'd still take every dollar you had, but, then, that was her job. On the right are a couple of the other working girls from the strip.