‘Balikatan’ US marine wants to retire in RP with Pinay wife

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — It’s the second Balikatan stint of US marine Sgt. Clifford Grant here, and he already looks forward to retiring in the country three years from now.

Grant, 38, is married to a Filipina, Joan Mendoza, a native of Floridablanca, Pampanga, whom he met in Okinawa, Japan in 1991. They have three children.

While Grant does his job as assistant camp commandant for the two-week Balikatan military exercise here, taking care of the billeting, food and other needs of US military personnel, his children are in Floridablanca enjoying their summer break with his wife’s relatives.

"We don’t want (our children) to lose track of their (Filipino) roots," he said.

In 2006, Grant will retire after serving the US military for 21 years. But this early, he and his wife have decided to spend his retirement years in the Philippines.

The Grants, in fact, have started building a modest house in Floridablanca, near the residences of Joan’s siblings.

With a degree in business management, Grant plans to find a corporate job here. "I see no other country to spend my civilian life other than the Philippines," he said.