A Military 'Brat'

I grew up in a military camp ever since the day I was born. My family lived in the Southside Housing Area at Fort Bonifacio since my father was an officer in the Armed Forces with the Philippine Air Force. Home was in a secure area of the army camp more commonly called 'Jusmag', a relatively-sized residential compound that contained more or less about 50 other houses for military families. 

             

        trying out my Christmas present 

 

We were fortunate to have sports facilities available for recreational use, aside from the residence provided by the military.

There was an Officer's Clubhouse with a 25 meter swimming pool, four tennis courts, two pelota courts, an open air basketball court and a playground.

My earliest memories of being in a military family was way back when I was a toddler and unwaringly about to experience my very first plane ride in a military aircraft from what was known then as Nichols Airbase (now called Villamor Air Base, the operations center of the Philippine Air Force where the Headquarters is situated.

We were then going on a trip for the wedding of an uncle in Iloilo, the capital of a province also called Iloilo in the Visayan region of the country. 

I was tasked to be the ring bearer for the ceremony and we would take a Philippine Air Force C-47 

(DC-3) aircraft to fly to the province.

Not a happy ending to the story though cause I freaked out even before boarding the flight ending up crying my eyes out in the arms of mom (my eyes got too puffy so my brother has to pitch in as the ring bearer at the wedding).

It didn't take too long to get over my fear of riding airplanes, obviously since my father was a military pilot. Now I can say I'm proud and really happy to have flown in many military planes that any of my civilian friends would probably only dream of having the opportunity to do so.

                   

           PAF Nomad 

            PAF Beaver

Aside from the C-47 (DC 3), the other kinds of aircraft I was able to ride were the C-130 and C-123, both used mainly for cargo. I also rode the twin-prop Nomad 68, the U-17 light aircraft, the DH C-2 Beaver light plane and the UHIH Huey helicopter. Ultimately, I would always be excited and looked forward to any chance I had to ride in any of the military aircraft. 

I also recall years spent in other military campus and bases where my father had been assigned to, like the times I spent with Papa at Clark Air Force Base in Pampanga which was one among his numerous assignments during his military career. Clark was then a U.S. military installation where the Philippine Air Force also had a detachment inside the camp. As an officer in the squadron, Papa was given a studio in one of the residential buildings and we had the privilege of shopping at the Post Exchange. Mom would buy imported chocolates for us, aside from the basic groceries needed for the household.

Sometime after in the early 1970s, my father was also assigned at Sangley Point in Cavite City. 

The installation used to be an American Naval Base, hence the 'western' type of architecture and landscaping. My brother B and I spent summers and school-breaks at Sangley with Papa, initially staying at a traditional American apartment and later on moving to a more permanent detached structure that was a typical military-style structure called a 'Quanset' hut.

typical 'quanset' hut at Sangley Point

(photo courtesy of PN files)

The house was very close to the swimming pool and a pelota court where we'd spend countless hours each day with our friends who also lived inside the camp. I and my brother Bobby made many friends with other military kids like Neil, El, Ed and Carl Q, Gin and Kar L, Jun T, Jin of the Tabs, the Reamb family and many more neighbors in the camp. 

Summers were spent at Papa's quarters where there was a community swimming pool nearby that was a favorite hangout. Other days I and Bobby would also go fishing at the breakwater beside the runway, or play pelota from late afternoon til' the evening. Sometimes at night, we would just walk around the base with our friends. Up to this day, I remember that my bother, I and our friends inside the base were always anxious to go swimming right after lunch whenever we were at Sangley. So much so that we'd hang out by the locked gate outside the swimming pool during the lifeguard's lunch break and he'd soon show up obviously annoyed at our impatience, feeling compelled to allow us in so we can start swimming.  

Evenings sometimes meant my older brother, I and friends we would invite over could watch TV all night while Papa was out at the the Officer's Club. Late nights then were grand celebrations for us youngsters!

I also remember running up several flights of stairs and hanging out in the air terminal control tower to watch aircraft coming in for both landings or taking off at the airbase runway. I would then spend most of the mornings in Papa's office whenever I'd visit Papa at work while my brother Bob had other school activities back in Metro Manila.

Then there were other areas we'd frequent when we go on our regular 'paseo' whenever my friends Nei and Elv had the chance to go biking late afternoons or early evenings. We'd swing by the wharf, the runway breakwater, the shipyard repair facility among numerous other installations inside the base. 

A few years later, my father was reassigned to the Air Force Base in Mactan, a densely populated island located a few kilometers east of Cebu Island in the Visayan region. The island is part of the province of Cebu and divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. It is also well known for producing guitars and other musical instruments. 

Mactan Air base is an active military airbase of the Philippine Air Force. Several military aircraft are stationed at the Base Operations under the PAF 2nd Air Division headed by my father.  A few summer memories here I included days spent at the many beaches around the island, family dinners out in the city of Cebu and visiting relatives.

More of happy childhood memories were our Saturday night barbecues at the front yard of the house in Jusmag, just outside the living room. 

Papa would set up the television inside and turn it around by the window so we could watch our favorite shows outside at the garden while enjoying our barbecue dinner. The family enjoyed  Bewitched, a weekly comedy series in a modern setting (late 1960s?) about a woman who was a witch marrying a mortal man in . The show featured the family life of Samantha & Darren, with the mother-in-law Endora (also a witch) perennially meddling in the couple's affairs. It was really entertaining and very funny. Another tv series that my brother would always look forward to was Batman and Robin, an animated series about superheroes. Partners in the fight against crime, Batman was multi-millionaire bachelor Bruce Wayne with his nephew as his sidekick, Robin. 

Other tv show favorites then we're the Carol Burnette show, Donny & Marie and Saturday Night Live. I was able to watch shows from the US and not available at local stations, thanks to my Far East Network (FEN) channel. FEN Philippines was a UHF Channel (from 1955 until 1981) actually shown in US military bases in Pampanga and Zambales (Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Force Base).

School started when I reached 6 years old, ready for the preparatory level in Ateneo de Manila. 

    

     our 6x6 'school bus'

(photo courtesy of Philippine Army)

Early mornings during schooldays began with a ride on our own kind of school bus, a 6 by 6 weapons carrier with a wooden ladder. 

The good old days...such wonderful childhood memories that I shall endlessly look back to with happy tears. The irony of reminiscing though is that this 'chapter' in my life also makes me sad since i miss my dad.   

Thank you for the experience of being a "military brat", I owe it all to you Papa!  

I love you.