MT PINATUBO ERUPTION JUNE 1991

I wasn't at Subic Bay (last time I'd been there was in 1989) when Mt. Pinatubo erupted, but I talked to people who were there. They said there were volcano-generated earthquakes, the ash cloud blotted out the sunlight, there was lightning and thunder and loud volcanic roars - then the typhoon arrived. One lady told me they thought they were going to die. She said the ash that had built up on buildings was soaked by rain and became the same consistency as concrete (heavy), and they could hear Butler buildings and other structures crumple under the weight of wet ash. So it must have been an "end of the world" scenario. Later, when the rains hit again, all that ash (called a "lahar") came down and buried part of Clark Air Base, and a lot of civilian farmland was lost. The Filipinos wanted U.S. help rebuilding, but when the Philippine Senate refused to renew the U.S.-RP security agreement and forced the U.S. to close their bases (Subic and Clark), we told them it was on them, after which we took every moveable thing (even the floating drydock) and departed. The Marine Barracks at Subic Bay was the last to close - they took down the flag and marched to the last ship out of town. I was told that their girlfriends from Olongapo City came to the docks to say goodbye, and after that Olongapo lost about a third of its population as all the out-of-work B-girls headed home.

Was last there Feb 1990.

In June 1991 I was staying in Khobar Towers and working port detail at the Port of Dammam. I volunteered for port detail after Desert Storm. Best decision I ever made.