1 - The Black Vault

MOUNT PINATUBO TO OPERATION JOINT ENDEAVOR
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Figure 48. Map of the Philippines Depicting Mount Pinatubo and Clark AB (Source: AU
Library, Maps and Charts Division, Maxwell AFB, Ala.)
Pinatubo as an explosive-type volcano similar to
Mount Saint Helens in California, as opposed to
the lava-flow-type volcano found in Hawaii. When
Mount Saint Helens erupted, it had created a pyroclastic
flow of 3,000-degree ash that rapidly
traveled down the mountainside and destroyed
everything in its path. Mallon followed Stankovich
and reviewed the base volcano evacuation
plan, including levels of alert. Dependents’ off-base
addresses were confirmed, and everyone was released
to make final preparations in the event the
situation worsened. 6
As the 353d SOW ran its emergency checklists,
an electronic tiltmeter installed by PHILVOLCS
on Mount Pinatubo began to show a gradually
increasing outward tilt on 6 June. The outward
tilt, along with the volcano’s seismicity, continued
to increase over the next 24 hours, culminating in
an explosion that generated a column of steam
and ash seven to eight kilometers high. Because
of the event PHILVOLCS announced an increase
to alert level 4—eruption possible within 24
hours. The next five-day period was marked by
continued weak ash emission and episodic harmonic
tremor. On 9 June PHILVOLCS increased
the alert level to 5—eruption in progress. The radius
of evacuation was increased to 20 kilometers,
and an additional 25,000 personnel were ordered
to evacuate. 7
By midafternoon on 9 June, Mallon knew that
it was time to assemble squadron aircrews and to
brief them on what he perceived as an inevitable
evacuation order. Later that afternoon General
Studer, the 3d Tactical Fighter Wing commander,
and Colonel Hess (353d SOW/CC) decided to
evacuate all base aircraft from Clark AB. The
353d SOW assets included two MC-130Es, one C-
130E slick, and four MH-53J helicopters. NAS
Cubi Point was identified as the evacuation loca -
tion. One MH-53J had been torn down for inspection
and had to be reassembled before flight.
There was also an airlift C-130H aircraft from
Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, which was undergoing
major isochronal inspection in the 353d SOW’s
hangar facility. It had to be put back together
before it could be flown to safety. On 10 June
these last two aircraft were flown to Cubi Point,
and the crews then returned to Clark AB to
evacuate their own families. 8
Also on 10 June General Studer initiated the
Clark AB mandatory evacuation plan, and 15,000
US military personnel and their dependents departed
the base in a mass motorcade bound for
Subic Bay Naval Base. The bumper-to-bumper
procession averaged six hours en route, a distance
that normally took little more than an hour. Upon
reaching Subic Bay, the evacuees met another colossal
traffic jam trying to get through the main
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