US Taiwan Defense Command: Armed Forces Network Taiwan

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Armed Forces Network Taiwan

A while back, I added a link to Rick Courtney's Taipei Military photos page in the right-hand column of this blog.

Rick just sent me a link to his new Armed Forces Network Taiwan page, where you can listen to an AFNT broadcast from June 23rd, 1968. The announcer was Frank Fellers, who served with Rick at STRATCOM in Taipei but who also had a late-night radio show on AFNT. At that time, AFNT was in the Sugar Building in Taipei where the telephone exchange was located.

Rick has edited the tapes to filter out the noise, and the results are incredibly good!

Enjoy.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...: Thanks to Rick, I really enjoyed listening to this. I was stationed at HSA Jan 1965 - Jan 1967 and for sure visited the Sugar Building many times on mail deliveries. Frank Fellers has a smooth voice and you did a good job Rick in capturing the feeling of a late Saturday rainy night in Taipei in I believe 1968. Smooth music of the times as well. Thanks for this.; 01 May, 2008 11:21
Anonymous said...: Boy, this really brings Taipei back!!! When at home we had a choice between AFNT and the shows on the Taiwanese TV station(s).

To our western ears, the Taiwanese/Chinese music sounded like a combination of a cat with its tail under a rocking chair and someone having picked up all the pots and pans in the house and simply thrown them in the air, letting them clatter on the floor.

When we were there in the late 60s and early 70s it never dawned on us that we would miss the great, and often funny, times we were experiencing then.

Time does heal all wounds, removes all misadventures, and leaves only the good memories.

Jim Sartor; 01 May, 2008 13:53
Anonymous said...: AMEN, Brother!; 01 May, 2008 14:46
Anonymous said...: This is a must listen for all Taiwan vets. Rainy Sunday night in Taipei, what memories!; 05 May, 2008 14:26
Anonymous said...: While looking up information on Typhoon Gloria in 1963 I found this web site dedicated to a USN JO1 that worked at the radio station at that time. check out this link.
http://www.virtualwall.org/dw/WilsonWR02a.htm
cut and paste into browser.
Sarj; 07 May, 2008 08:09
Gordon Hanson said...: Thanks for the memories. I visited the AFNT studio in the Sugar Building once in 1967 or 1968 and remember talking to the DJ, an AF SSGT named Mark something or other. He was an older guy, in his twenties...; 30 August, 2011 17:36

Overview

The United States Taiwan Defense Command was a sub-unified command which reported directly to the Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC). The command was composed of personnel from all branches of the U.S. armed forces and had its headquarters in Taipei.

Operational since November 1, 1955, USTDC was a planning headquarters for the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores. In the event of hostilities, the Commander, USTDC, would have assumed an operational role and coordinated with the Government of the Republic of China in the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores. In the event of such a contingency, three existing service commanders would have reported to the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command commander. The 327th Air Division commander would be the air component commander, the Taiwan Patrol Force commander would be the naval component commander, and the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) would be the Army component commander.

In addition to planning and peacetime responsibilities, the Commander of USTDC was assigned as the Single Senior Military Representative of Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC). As such, he served as CINCPAC's single military spokesman on Taiwan -- exclusive of the miliitary assistance program -- and assumed responsibility for coordinating administrative and other policy matters for all U.S. armed forces on Taiwan on behalf of CINCPAC.

After twenty-three years, five months and twenty-six days of operation, the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command held its final flag retreat ceremony during the afternoon of April 26, 1979. Marine SSG D. J. Gemmecke lowered the colors for the last time.

Rear Admiral James P. Linder, the last USTDC Commander, departed Taiwan on April 28, 1979, accompanied by his wife Patricia.

Today there is no trace of the large American military compound on Chung Shan North Road in which USTDC was located. The area now contains a modern art museum, a park and a large sports stadium.

I am not a historian, but I do recognize that history unrecorded is history lost. My objective here is simply to record some of my own experiences as an Air Force enlisted man during my assignment to USTDC from 10 June 1973 until 4 September 1974, and to provide a platform for others to do the same.

Feel free to comment on any of these entries or to e-mail me with your own experiences and photographs. My e-mail address is displayed at the top and bottom of this column, or you can comment on any of my entries by clicking on "Comments" directly under each one.

Don Wiggins
SMSgt (Ret), USAF
Arkansas, USA
USTDC, J-12

Regarding Photographs

To the best of my knowledge, all photographs on this blog are either in the public domain or are displayed with the permission of their owners.

Owned photographs remain the sole property of the individuals who provided them. They are not to be downloaded, copied or reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of their owners.

Send all requests for consent to me, through the email link at the bottom of this column, and I will pass them along to the owner of the photographs.

If you see any photographs here, past or present, which you believe have been inappropriately posted, contact me at the email address shown at the bottom of this column and they will be removed.

USTDC

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Armed Forces Network Taiwan

6 comments:

Taipei

US Central Time Zone