US Taiwan Defense Command: Kinmen Detail

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Kinmen Detail

***UPDATE***

George pointed me to this photo that was on Wikipedia. He says that the original photo that I posted here was probably a patriotic reply to Chiang's original carving, of which there are several.

************

A couple of days ago I posted some 1962 images from Kinmen. One of them showed what appears to be a slab of cement with writing on it. Les commented: "There is a date on the bottom, November 17, 1961, written in Chinese characters, plus another date written in Arabic numerals. That one is sometime in 1960. The rest looks like lots of scribbling. Maybe just graffiti."

Sarj rescanned the photo and cropped it to give a better view of the characters on it. Click on the image to see an expanded version. If you see anything here that you can identify, please leave a comment.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: It appears to be a response to General Chiang Kai-Shek who vowed but never managed to take back the Mainland. He carved a similar
rock inscription on Kinmen's Mount Taiwu in 1952: "Wu wong tsai Ju" ("Do not forget Ju"), a reference to a Warring States period battle in which 37 states were recovered. This photo has a similar set of four characters: "Wu Shih Shao Lai/Wei" (Can't translate it). But there are also two boats and a signature seen as well as a date across the bottom: "Republic of China 50th Year" "1960, November 17th, 5pm."; 16 September, 2008 10:10
Don said...: Interesting!

Thanks very much, George. I could see the two boats in the expanded version of the photo but that was about it.

I wonder if there was any significance to the cement itself. It seems logical that it sealed off something, but there's no way to tell what that might be.; 16 September, 2008 10:23
Anonymous said...: Don,

I don't beleive anything is being sealed off. I think it is meant to imitate the look of the Chiang Kai-Shek rock inscription that you can see on Wikipedia. Search "Kinmen" and you will see the Chiang rock inscription in the gallery.; 16 September, 2008 12:01
Sarj Bloom said...: Wow, who would think that an old photo I had laying around fro 45 years would reveal so much. I think it's cool what ever it is and what ever it says. Thanks George for the info.; 16 September, 2008 12:33

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

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Kinmen Detail

4 comments:

Taipei

US Central Time Zone