Editors Note: this article originally appeared in “The Diablo Valley Gazette” in June 2025. Read the full edition.
Thirty-four years ago, June 15, 1991, the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century occurred when Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, just 20 miles from Subic Bay Naval Air Station, blotted out the sky. The sun was completely hidden as volcanic ash and debris were spewed 28 miles into the atmosphere. By the morning of June 16, Subic Bay lay buried under a few feet of hot sandy ash.
In the November 2024 Diablo Gazette’s, “Neighbors Shoes” article covered the survival of our Lafayette neighbor Staff Sergeant Mark Clifford and his 19 marines who were slowly buried and ‘cooked’ alive as they sheltered for hours in a Quonset hut. Fighting for their lives, they eventually forced their way out. You can read that at https://www.diablogazette.com/2024/11/a-veterans-story-i-survived-pinatubo/ . Mark vowed that someday, he would face his demons and conquer them by It took years of therapy for Mark before the trauma and nightmares subsided. But together with several of his military colleagues, they promised they would return one day and conquer their demons. Visiting Mount Pinatubo to him was more than a few days’ adventurous journey. It would not be a vacation, but more of a pilgrimage, a life journey towards inner peace.
But it never happened. Everyday life took over. He married, raised a family and joined the San Leandro Police Force.
Then Thirty years later, on Memorial Day 2022, Mark suffered a stroke. Realizing the fragility of life, he knew he had to quit talking about his Mt. Pinatubo experience and do something about it. He vowed to climb the volcano that almost killed him.
But it was as if demonic forces were working to prevent this from happening.
None of his military friends were able to accompany him. But his closest friend would not let him go alone, his wife, Beth, agreed to go with him After a three-hour drive from Manila to Subic Bay where they would be staying, Mark was told that the arrangements he had made for the trek up the volcano had been canceled due to a landslide.
Exhausted, after being up for more than twenty-four hours, they woke up the next day only to discover that Beth had developed Bell palsy! She needed rest and relaxation.
Fortunately, before leaving the USA, and without knowing it would be critical, Mark had actually made arrangements with a second guide for the trek up the mountain. Now he was grateful he had not canceled it. The trek was confirmed. He and a guide would make the ascent three days later.
Two days were spent relaxing but also exploring the old Subic Bay Naval Air Station, searching for the Quonset hut in which he and his men had been buried.
The jungle had taken over almost all of his former camp. Only a few rusted, crumbling remains poked through the impenetrable jungle. As he and his wife walked inside the ruins, he shook with emotion. The command post was still recognizable and brought back vivid memories he thought had long been forgotten. Even at 2:30 AM, the heat was stifling. He was transferred to what appeared to be an original ex-US military Jeep, resembling Rent-a-Wreck. Two hours later, after a bone crushing, bruising ride over a potholed, narrow track through the jungle passing tiny villages and grass roofed, mud block houses, they arrived at the infamous town of Capas. Infamous since it was the end of the Bataan Death March in World War II when the Japanese ordered 75,000 Filipino and US prisoners of war, without food or water, to march eighty-seven miles to the town. Only 54,000 arrived.
Protocol insisted Mark have his blood pressure checked by a government official. Being over the age of sixty, he was considered a senior citizen, and it was mandated he undergo a brief health check. He was anxious. He had done nothing as physically strenuous as this ascent since his stroke. He was introduced to his guide, a middle-aged man who throughout the climb was as nimble and sure-footed as a mountain goat but spoke no English. Treating Mark as a senior citizen, the guide wanted to take regular breaks but finally understood as Mark continually refused. He did not want to stop. It was a daunting climb up the steep-sided volcano one thousand feet higher than Mt. Diablo. The path was so irregular and filled with lahars (old lava flow) in places, they scrambled almost on their knees. They crossed numerous streams. Thick, almost impenetrable vegetation confronted them, save for a narrow, uneven path. Mark watched in amazement at the agility of his guide, who only wore flip-flops, yet was able to hold and prevent Mark from falling multiple times. It was a strenuous climb following his agile guide.
Once at the top, looking into the crater brought tears to his eyes. Now filled with a stunning azure colored lake one and a half miles wide, it looked scenic, picturesque, and peaceful. Looking around the perimeter, he could now visualize the magnitude of the eruption when a third of the volcano, including where he was now standing, had actually been blown off. The towering volcano had been the scenic back drop to his service for nearly two years and then in a matter of hours had seen it reduced to a smoking, terrifying killer. He was filled with a gamut of emotions; happiness, sadness, but above all, a feeling of relief and gratitude. In spite of his stroke, he had been given a second chance in life and taken it. A burden had been lifted. He had slain his dragon.
Two days after the ascent, the Philippines were celebrating their equivalent of Memorial Day, the Day of Valor, and Mark and his wife were guests of honor to Major General Dennis Estrella, the Commander of Air Logistics Command located at the former Clark Airforce Base.
Over the years, Beth heard the story of Mt Pinatubo until even her children could repeat it. Seeing her husband fighting his demons, she had supported him every step of the way, including joining him in therapy. It was her decision to accompany him to Mt. Pinatubo, but knew he had to climb the volcano on his own. She understood the trip to the Philippines would be difficult both physically and emotionally but did not anticipate getting sick herself. But for her also, in spite of having to deal with her palsy, there was a new sense of freedom. Without a word being said, she could see a different look in Mark’s eyes.
