One evening I went to a bar off the beaten path by myself. This main street was lined with bars with hotels sandwiched in between. To cross the street during the monsoons you stepped off the sidewalk into dirt or mud for about 15 feet and then stepped up on a concrete slab in the middle, then off it into the mud and over to the other sidewalk. They were just starting to pave the center of this road with concrete at the time. In 1972 there were concrete sidewalks that dropped off to a dirt road surface. The main street right outside the Subic Bay Naval Base gate was Magsaysay Blvd. Let’s just say there was some “leeway” in what was considered proper conduct, but if there’s one place on earth where you can act like an uncivilized animal, it was this place. Responsible for being an “ambassador” for the United States, so there was some form of decorum and conduct you were expected to follow. This was where many young men could test their endurance and capacity for consuming alcohol among other substances, since many weren’t of legal age stateside. So many who had never stepped foot into a bar, tavern or night club were allowed to do so here. There were those who enlisted after high school and were sent to the fleet immediately after boot camp. I’m guessing that in 1972 the average age of enlisted military personnel was probably in their early 20’s. Whether you just spent months at sea or crawling through a jungle you need some sort of way to just relax for awhile and have some fun. Then, you get there and realize they were pretty accurate in their descriptions of this small Philippine city that appeared to pretty much survive on the money spent by soldiers, sailors and airmen looking to cut loose.
You sort of blew it off as over-excited storytelling and tell yourself that there just can’t be any place on earth like this. When home on leave they would tell stories of a place in the West Pacific that you just couldn’t believe. Well, what can you say about the City of Olongapo on the island of Luzon in the Philippines? When I was in high school, I had a couple of friends who were older and had joined the Navy right after they graduated. Looking up Magsaysay Blvd from near the bridge.
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