The base was the location of the Far East Air Force's 4th Composite Group. Located at 15° 11'N 120° 33'E, altitude 478 ft (146 m), Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991. The base covered 14.3 square miles with a military reservation extending northward that covered another 230 square miles. 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.
Clark Air Base was originally established as Fort Stotsenberg in 1903 and was under control of the U.S. Army. A flying school was created in 1912, with the runway designated Clark Field in 1919. The base was overrun by Japanese forces during World War II in early 1942, but was recaptured by Americans in January 1945 following three months of fierce fighting. On March 14, 1947 the U.S. and the Philippines cosigned the Military Bases Agreement which provided for use of Clark Air Base until the year 2046. 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).
Major Air Force units included the 13th Air Force, the 3rd Combat Support Group, the 3rd Security Police Group, and the 405th Fighter Wing. Among the aircraft stationed at Clark Air Base in later years included the T-33 and F-4E. Nearly every type of Air Force aircraft visited regularly to participate in training flights and aerial war games at Crow Valley about thirty miles to the north.
The base 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 Douglas DC-8 flights from Travis AFB, California. By 1980 the base had grown to such an extent that weekly Boeing 747 service to Los Angeles had begun, taken over by Tower Air sometime in the late 1980s.
The base was comprised of a large industrial area near the airfield, with a housing area adjacent. Further west, among the foothills of Mount Pinatubo were two more major housing areas bisected by a large golf course. The base was crisscrossed by about five major boulevards, one measuring six miles long. 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. The base had a regional hospital, a very large supermarket, 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, and had at least four elementary schools. The base had its own television station and two 24-hour radio stations, which broadcast as FEN, or Far East Network Philippines.
Clark Air Base was completely evacuated beginning June 10, 1991 as Mount Pinatubo erupted. 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.
In 1995, following years of neglect, cleanup and removal of volcanic ash deposits began. The former base re-emerged as Clark International Airport and Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ). The airfield infrastructure was upgraded 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.
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