Credo
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
"Μολὼν λαβέ" -- Leonidas
"Blogito Ergo Sum" -- Neptunus Lex
Cap’n, this is good stuff. I was a young Marine, once, in Oki instead of PI, but the stories are all the same, aren’t they, deep down; Marine, Navy, enlisted, officer, whatever island or WestPac liberty port you found yourself in. This sure brings back memories of Gate Two, B.C. Street, Futenma and Naha. Thanks.
Lex, I know I’m splitting hairs, but shouldn’t it be “VMF” instead of “VMFA”?
Great writing though- as a right coast guy, never got to experience the PI (or anywhere west of Hawaii, for that matter.)
Nose
I did the ol’ P.I. deployment with a P-3 squadron out of Barbers Point, HI at the same time that this was written about. Reading these posts have brought back the smell of monkey meat and jeepney exhaust, the total solid heat, the MAR camp on the hill, VP Alley, The Missouri Bar, preflights / postflights on the ramp, Grandee Island. I could go on and on. For any of you who were never in Olangapo / Subic during this timeframe I can vouch for the accuracy. Wow. Really takes me back, thanks.
At some point, the Marine F-4 was designated as Fighter/Attack. The F-4 Squadrons all became VMFA, a change that has carried into the F-18 era.
Semper Fidelis,
ASM826
Jolos. Tom Tom Club. Ship’s party. The Submarine Sanctuary. Serge. Red Horse, Kirin, and San Miguel. I’m 21 again. Learned a lot that year. Glad I don’t have to do it over. Wouldn’t give up the memories for a million dollars. But glad I’m older and wiser now.
Subsunk
Oh, the days of the WestPac warrior when the PI was a destination…Olangapo was an unique experience to be sure, but I really miss Cubi (and Subic). Being in CAG 5 (based out of Atsugi, Japan) we considered the PI our second home and were in and out on a regular basis, besides the weapons loadouts for IO deployments.
Many things come to mind when I think back to those days of old…
- Of course, the Cubi O’club Bar with it’s history of WestPac naval aviation represented by the too-many-to-count cruise plaques (wonder if any with my name are on display in P?
Oh, the days of the WestPac warrior when the PI was a destination…Olangapo was an unique experience to be sure, but I really miss Cubi (and Subic). Being in CAG 5 (based out of Atsugi, Japan) we considered the PI our second home and were in and out on a regular basis, besides the weapons loadouts for IO deployments.
Many things come to mind when I think back to those days of old…
- Of course, the Cubi O’club Bar with it’s history of WestPac naval aviation represented by the too-many-to-count cruise plaques (wonder if any with my name are on display in P‘cola?)
- Ice cold Sammy’s (San Miguels) enjoyed out in the back of the O’Club during “sunset appreciation”
- Crashing at the Cubi BOQ – with the great fruit-plate for breakfast – guaranteed to move a hangover along smartly
- custom-tailored uniforms that were serviceable, but invariably NKR (not kwite right) in some “endearing” way.
- the taxi rides around the bases, with the never-ending oddities broadcast on the dispatch radio
- running up the roads from the Cubi BOQ and being chased by the wild monkeys on occasion
- sailing and snorkeling around Subic Bay (and getting a healthy sunburn to boot)
There are so many good memories from there. I was on the Indy when she made her last Subic port call at the end of the ’92 (or was it ‘93?) Southern Watch cruise. We did the final cruise foc’sle follies there and it was a blast – although some made the mistake of inviting their wives which was unfortunate given the entertainment that was provided.
If memory serves, I don’t believe another carrier made a Subic port call after that because the base was being turned over to the Philippine government. This was a sad and frustrating occasion because we’d already seen what was happening to Clark AFB (perfectly good buildings ransacked, looted, stripped of plumbing and wire, etc.) and we were pretty certain it would happen to Subic/Cubi as well. From what I’m told, it did. Damn shame. End of era, that was, for sure.
Brian
Well, I’ve been to Subic at least a half a dozen times, and I’ve got no idea what you all are on about.
Of course, I did spend most of my time at the library on base, only venturing out during daylight hours, for to do some charity work at the local orphanages prior to winding up the afternoon with many a pleasant hour at the Christian Science reading room.
So I might have missed out, a little.
Did they close down the Christian Science reading room when they closed Cubi? It’s the only place I went outside the gate (as far as my wife knows).
Ah, War stories of the most pleasant kind…military service did have it’s moments. Best
PS. Query…Are any of you male sea dogs familar with the concept embodied in the acronyms PCOD & APCOD? Discuss
Discuss?
Decline.
Quelq’uns entre nous sommes encore epouse, et bien plus, on l’aimer.
Here endeth the (French) lesson.
Alas… Cotton Mather has spoken, in “(French)” no less. A doublentendre? Best
I’m with you Lex. I’ve forgotten everything along with that “redhorse headache”! Thanks for reminding me of that vile stuff Subsunk
B2
> Quelq?
> Quelq’uns entre nous sommes encore epouse, et bien plus, on l’aimer.
Your French is much better than mine, Lex, so here’s my best guess:
“Whatever happens between you and your spouse, and then some, one still has to love the other one.”
Am I in the right neighborhood?
Dave
Close in spirit, Dave – but, although my French is rusty from disuse, alas – what I meant to say was “some of us are still married, and what’s more, like it that way.”
Then I guess the best thing to say is, “God Bless you, dude.” Thanks for the translation, and hugs to your family.
How’d you learn French, anyway? Does a sea tale perhaps thereby hang?
Dave
Not a sea story really – I studied la belle langue for four years to satisfy a poly-sci language requirement at the Boat School. Won a scholarship to study in France the summer after I graduated. Learned more in three months living there than I had in four years at the academy.
Forgot most of it over the years.
Ah, well.
Lex, I truly wasn’t fishing for some purient PCOD related war stories. Maybe some circumspect comments recognizing that for some it was a serious problem. Not married at the time I only observed the POCD Kubiki Dance. Best
Snake Eater,
I am walking the line as best I can, with in the bounds of reason, and still tell the tale. To ignore the very things that made the PI the preferred liberty port in the Far East would destroy the story, but to bring up details that might still have the power to cause pain is not my intent either. Like so many things I did back then, I will probably make mistakes. The story continues, liberty awaits. And flight ops resume in the morning.
It could be worse, Lex. I studied French in high school and then German in college but they both somehow got filed in exactly the same place in my brain, which leads to embarrasing syntax anytime I attempt to use either.
Still, one has to respect German’s regularity of grammar.
Dave