American Institute in Taiwan Request

Back in November I published a request from LTC Scott Ellinger, who is at  the American Institute in Taiwan – Taipei (AIT).  He works in the Technical Section (Technical Section is the term used for the US MAAG since 1979) as the Army Programs Manager.

Scott's request was for memorabilia from former US military members who were assigned to any unit in Taiwan (USTDC, MAAG, Army/Navy/Air Force/Marine units and DoD civilians assigned to any of these units).  Items will be displayed at AIT in Taipei.  He's interested in photographs, award certificates, orders, badges, and just about anything else you can think of that helps provide a record of the American military presence in Taiwan.

He has now been asked to participate in an exhibition sponsored by the American Center in Kaohsiung.  AIT-K (AIT's branch in Kaohsiung) will host a portion of the exhibition.  The key element will be the US presence in Taiwan which will mostly cover the period 1950-1980.  Scott will be assisting with the military portion of the exhibition and will temporarily supply the few items of memorabilia that he has already collected.  This exhibition would be a great opportunity for anyone who is thinking about going back to Taiwan to see "things of the past."  Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) will also assist with this project.

As I wrote earlier, many of us have little mementos that have been in boxes in closets and basements for decades.  When we're gone, those items may or may not be of interest to anyone else in the family and this could be an opportunity to send them "home" again for display.  About the only things I still had were my "Gemo" medal from TDC and the metal USTDC badge that we wore on the shirts of our uniforms  I sent both of those items to Scott a couple of months ago.

If you would like to contribute to this project and to the permanent display at AIT, please email LTC Scott Ellinger at us_maag_taiwan@yahoo.com as soon as possible.