Retro Friday: Wolfman Jack Edition

When I was a little kid (age around 8 or 9) at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, I used to tune in at night to the Far East Network's AM radio station to hear Wolfman Jack's nightly radio show produced specifically for the American Forces Radio and TV Service (AFRTS). In his trademark howl, the Wolfman would play hit songs and oldies, while also reading some bizarre public service announcements geared toward military servicemen and women. It was a slice of stateside contemporary radio, taped in Los Angeles but targeted to us overseas.

Above, someone put together a tribute to Wolfman Jack's AFRTS radio shows, as heard from the FEN stations in Japan. The Wolfman helped solidify my lifelong love of radio. Below, an aircheck from another early 1980s Wolfman Jack show for the AFRTS.

Memorial Day Video: Clark Air Base Cemetery

After the U.S. military left the Philippines in 1991, it was up to volunteers to look after the cemeteries left behind. Thousands of U.S. and Filipino soldiers who died in WWII combat are buried in the cemetery that was once a part of Clark Air Base; as the video notes above, it's now veterans' groups that must raise the funds to maintain the grounds.

A Memorial Day shout-out to the folks who maintain U.S. cemeteries in far-away lands like the Philippines.