US Taiwan Defense Command: Earthquake!

Friday, May 23, 2008

Earthquake!

Earthquakes have always been pretty common in Taiwan. Sarj sent along this account of one rumbler that he experienced in the early nineteen-sixties:

Here is a photo taken on the top of the First Hotel, the tallest building in Taipei in 1962 or 63. We were attending a party that some officer invited me to. There was a lot of brass there and as I remember the officer who invited me loved the official portrait that I took of him so much that he invited me and my wife and Chief Dumas , chief of the photo lab, to this party.

The party was being held on the roof of the hotel and shortly after I took this photo...left to right PHC Dumas, chief's friend, my wife Ray-Fong. As you can see, the chief was sitting with his arm on the outside wall of the hotel and so was I after this photo. Well, the quake hit and the building swayed so much I was sure it was going to fall over. Boy, did we get off that roof and down to the ground fast!

I tried to look up details of the quake but with no luck. I remember everyone saying it was one of the worst in quite some time. Maybe it was a 6.0?

Maybe someone else will remember the date and the magnitude of the quake or have another story of other quakes. I know I remember my first one -- waking up with a hangover while the bed was jumping across the room.

Here's another photo of the First Hotel as it looked then, and as it looks today. Still standing!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: I was there when that happened. On the top floor. I was escorting an entertainment group that consisted of five women from the US. I seem to remember a Mongolian BBQ at the top. They had just expierenced the big earthquake in Alaska a short time before and were all just freaked out. I was about 22 years old and working in the house band at Club 13. It was my day off and they had just played our club the night before and, of course, I just wanted to hang out with the American gals. I was too dumb to be really afraid, but that building must have moved at least ten feet at the top where we were. We left right away as you can imagine. Raybobus; 24 July, 2008 17:34
Sarj Bloom said...: So you were there? WOW you are right the building really moved a lot and my wife and I left very fast too. I was also around 22 and I believe that my future wife and I were dating at the time. I was a Photomate in the Navy and as I remember an officer whom I did his annual photo for invited me. I don't remember any American women but there was a pretty large crowd there and we had only been there a short time when the quake hit. I'll never forget it......man I was out of there!; 26 July, 2008 14:01

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

Friday, May 23, 2008

Earthquake!

2 comments:

Taipei

US Central Time Zone