Editing Clark Air Base (section)

==Culture==
[[File:Map of Clark Air Force Base, Philippines, September 1986.jpg|thumb|400px|A map of Clark Air Base, 1986]]

Clark Air Base was arguably the most urbanized military facility in history and was the largest American base overseas. At its peak around 1990, it had a permanent population of 15,000. It had a base exchange, large commissary, small shopping arcade, branch department store, cafeterias, teen centers, hotel, miniature golf, riding stables, zoo, and other concessions.

===Recreation===
[[Angeles City]] bars were legendary, particularly around the red-light district on Fields Avenue. As a result, Clark's servicemen's clubs were under considerable pressure to serve its members with wholesome entertainment. All three were large-scale operations: the Officer's Club (CABOOM) near the parade ground, the Top Hat Club for non-commissioned officers (NCOs) near Lily Hill, which moved to near the Silver Wing in 1986, and the Coconut Grove Airmen Open Mess (AOM) housed in a large vaulted room that contained palm trees.

The officer's club featured a four star dining room, but catered to NCO's during lunchtime. The airman's club got first dibs on Broadway shows and swing bands due to an agreement that whoever paid transportation costs got priority. The NCO club came second. The airman's club had numerous theme bars and rental girls for dance partners during swing band tenures on the large dance floor. The club security (bouncers) were outfitted in formal PI wear each evening of a different hue. The PI formal wear for men was lace shirts (the barong Tagalog) with French cuffs, traditional and very elegant. The volume of enlisted troops flowing through PI to Vietnam created a large audience for AOM offerings. The NCO Club was still a very extensive operation and operated an upscale dining room, an in-house thrift shop, a pinball arcade, and a calendar of daily activities. It regularly brought major bands and artists from the United States to perform.

At least a hundred sponsored clubs and organizations were active on the base, including the [[Knights of Columbus]], a Latino American club, the Civil Air Patrol, and martial arts dojos. Two major movie theaters operated daily: the Bobbitt Theater which played first-run films, and the Kelly Theater which showed older releases. By 1988 the Kelly Theater ceased showing films and was used mainly for Commander's Calls and large squadron-sized meetings. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, movies were also shown at the Bamboo Bowl, the football stadium on base.

The Bamboo Bowl, later renamed Challenger Field, was used mainly for high school football games as the school did not have its own athletic field. In addition to high school football games, it also hosted recreational league football games for ages 8–18. The high school football teams were included as part of the recreational league. The base's sole high school, Wagner High, had multiple football teams. It was also used for the base's 11-man tackle football league, which not only included teams from Clark but from Subic Naval Base as well.

To keep the residents entertained at home, Clark had an active broadcast center called FEN, or Far East Network Philippines, a division of [[American Forces Network]]. A television station broadcast on Channel 8, then Channel 17 after 1981. It showed about 20 hours per day of syndicated programs from the "big three" networks in the United States, with local news and talk programs. The content was locally syndicated until 1983 when it began airing live programming by satellite from Los Angeles.

FEN had two 24-hour radio stations: an AM station which broadcast news and popular music, and stereo FM which was dedicated to easy-listening and classical music. Local Filipino TV also aired newer American shows than FEN did. Unlike the local TV stations in Europe, they were broadcast in the same format as American TV and not dubbed in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], the local language.  Likewise, several American-styled radio stations in Manila were popular with Clark residents: one notable example in the 1980s was 99.5 [[DWRT-FM]].

Two major annual events at Clark were the annual Chili Cookoff, held near the Silver Wing recreation center around September, and the Happening on the Green ("the HOG") in February. The HOG attracted thousands of residents. Amusements and rides were built and operated not only by Filipino entertainment contractors but also by individual Air Force units seeking to boost unit morale, showcase their talents, and raise unit funds.

Because of the warm climate and the large number of units, slow pitch softball tournaments were held quarterly. There were at least two gymnasiums, three walking/running tracks and seven softball fields on base. There were also tennis courts, a clubhouse with tennis merchandise, and tennis pros available for a couple of dollars per hour to hit with you at any time. They had a local tournament each year.

===Pop culture references===
In 2013, author Nick Auclair published ''Steel's Treasure'', a fictional novel set in Clark Air Base.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/capitalcommunitynews/docs/hill-rag-magazine-july-2017/120|title=Hill Rag Magazine|date=July 1, 2017|access-date=September 9, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://issuu.com/shelfunbound/docs/shelf_unbound_december-january_2014/38|title=Shelf Unbound Magazine|date=December 1, 2013|access-date=September 9, 2021}}</ref>

The 1969 novel "One to Count Cadence", by James Crumley, has its initial setting in an Army unit stationed at Clark Air Base, and has become the "Catch 22" novel of the Vietnam War.

===Education===
The [[Department of Defense Dependents Schools]] (DoDDS) operated six schools at Clark Air Base, serving children from kindergarten to twelfth grade.

* '''Elementary schools''' (kindergarten-5th grade): MacArthur Elementary School, V. I. Grissom Elementary School, and Wurtsmith Elementary School. The latter two were located in the hill housing area.  Most officers and senior enlisted families attended Grissom. 
* '''Middle schools''' (6th–8th grade): Lily Hill Middle School, and Wagner Middle School. The latter primarily served the hill housing area and officer dependents.
* '''High school''': Wagner High School, known as Clark Dependent School in the 1950s and Wurtsmith Memorial High School in the 1960s.

Clark was also home to several community colleges, namely the Pacific Far East Campus of [[Central Texas College]]. Most classes were held in the evenings at Wagner High School.