Philippines
4 videos • 39 views • by Jim I was based at Clark Air Base in the Philippines from May 1968 till May 1970. These videos are a remembrance of those years. I was with the 773rd Tactical Airlift Squadron, 463 Tactical Airlift Wing. Our main mission was to support in-country airlift (Vietnam). Occasionally I flew missions to other places, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. I brought one C-130 back to the US for overhaul--Clark to Guam, Wake Island, Honolulu, California, Texas. Of the two years assigned to Clark, I was only physically present there for about ten months. I accumulated about 50 weeks of in-country days, completing over 1100 sorties, more than 900 combat hours, and about 220 combat missions (a day of flying with multiple sorties). I had eighteen shuttles (fifteen days or more); thirteen as copilot and five as aircraft commander. At age 25 I was in command of a multi-engine transport with a crew of five, in a combat zone! I wasn't the only young pilot. They had to upgrade us; all the older guys completed their tours, and rotated out. It was an amazing exprience. Maybe that is why I've felt compelled to put these videos together. Not for me only but for the others too; including the loadmasters, flight engineers, and ground support personnel.