Evacuees Describe Volcano’s Horrors : Military: A flight from U.S. bases in Philippines arrives in San Bernardino. ‘It was like the end of the world,’ one passenger says of the eruption.

After 22 years in the military, Master Sgt. Oliver Davis thought he had seen it all. But the wicked force that nature has been wielding against the Philippines was enough to make even a seasoned Air Force veteran queasy.

“It was like the end of the world,” said Davis, 41. “A living hell. Rain. Lightning. Thunder. Ashes. Earthquakes. And the sky. . . . I’ve survived a lot, but I thought that this might be the end for me.

“I didn’t want to die in all that darkness.”

Davis and his wife, Susan, were among 130 passengers to step off a windowless transport plane Saturday at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino--the first arrivals in Southern California since America’s largest peacetime evacuation was launched last week.

Another flight is scheduled to touch down at Norton today and two more flights are expected to arrive each day thereafter. The first of the 20,000 non-essential military personnel and dependents slated to leave volcano-ravaged Subic Bay Naval Base and Clark Air Base landed in Washington on Wednesday.

The mood at Norton was somber, as the evacuees--most of them women and children and their pets--descended from the cavernous C-141 jet. A few youngsters clutched toys and stuffed animals. But most of the passengers, dazed from a journey that began last Monday, seemed preoccupied with loved ones or cherished possessions left behind.

“During my career, I’d collected a lot of things from all over the world--a rug from Turkey, brass from Korea, knickknacks from Thailand,” lamented Staff Sgt. Scott Bozio, a 24-year-old maintenance specialist. “I had to leave them all behind.”

Most of the arrivals were headed to new assignments or family residences elsewhere in the country, and there was no formal reception. In fact, Jennifer Moss and her four children appeared to be the only Southern California family with relatives waiting to greet the flight.

“Are you glad to see your grandma?” sang Moss’ mother, Cathy Wilson of West Covina, as she gave a tearful embrace to her grandson, David.

“I’m glad to be here,” said Moss, 25, also crying. “But I wish I was . . . with my husband.”

Her husband, Staff Sgt. David Moss, a dog handler and security officer, stayed behind at Clark Air Base. The last she heard, he was holed up with his dogs in the kennel--a sturdy concrete structure that she said was one of the few buildings that had not collapsed under the weight of the ash.

The exodus was forced by a major eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, followed by a jarring series of earthquakes and a typhoon. So far, Philippines officials have confirmed nearly 300 dead and 250,000 homeless from the eruption, which scientists now believe may rank among the major volcanic events of history.

“At first, we made a big joke about it--like we’d like to see the mountain blow,” Bozio said. “No one’s saying that anymore.”

Most of the evacuees who landed Saturday were from Air Force families stationed at Clark. At first, they were moved to Subic Bay for safety, but that proved to be futile.

“Up to eight inches of ash fell on us at Subic,” said Pat Livingston, 33, whose husband, Mike, a squadron commander, stayed behind. “It just kept coming and coming and coming.”

“Everything was a ghost gray,” Bozio said.

From Subic Bay, they were taken by Navy ship to the Philippine island of Cebu. Sailors gave up their bunks so the evacuees could rest. From Cebu, they flew to Guam, then to Hawaii, before making the six-hour flight from Hawaii to California.

At Norton, they were ushered into a reception area, where Air Force officials supplied cots, food and helped arrange commercial flights.

None of the passengers reported medical problems related to the volcanic eruption, although during the grueling journey, Lyngi Cole, the wife of a Navy man, gave birth to a baby girl, Kimberly. Her husband is still in the Philippines.