US Taiwan Defense Command: Google Newspaper Archives

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Google Newspaper Archives

John Quinn alerted me to the fact that Google News can find archived newspaper articles on most any subject. Just go to news.google.com and enter whatever subject you're interested in.

For example, if you enter "US Taiwan Defense Command" (in quotes), you'll be told that the search did not identify any documents. However, if you look further down the page, you'll see "Try Google News Archive Search." Click on that and you'll see a chart of all the available articles, shown by year, followed by a listing of links.

The bad news is that many of the available articles are from the New York Times, which charges $3.95 for any article that you want to read. The good news is that there are several other articles that are free.

John found these tidbits:

An article from December 29, 1962, describing the arrival of Bob Hope in Taipei for a USO show.
A July 1, 1964, article about VADM Gentner assuming command of USTDC from VADM Melson.

I found this article from April 30, 1979, describing the departure of RADM Linder and the remaining US military members from Taipei.

I doubt that I'll spring for any of the premium articles, but if I see something especially interesting, I may change my mind.

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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, May 27, 2009

Google Newspaper Archives

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