US Taiwan Defense Command: TDC Chiefs of Staff -- Update

Saturday, May 15, 2010

TDC Chiefs of Staff -- Update

During the past three years I've tried to assemble an accurate list of all the Air Force brigadier generals who served as USTDC Chief of Staff. Some of them were fairly easy because their official Air Force biographies showed when they assumed that position. But a few of them were just my best guess, usually because their biographies mentioned only that they were assigned there, but didn't specify when. That was the case with Brigadier General William G. Lee Jr., and I listed him as being assigned there in 1957. It now appears that I guessed wrong.

Today I found a biography for Major General Harold Huntley Bassett (photo at left), which shows he was assigned as USTDC Chief of Staff in 1957, so I replaced General Lee with General Bassett. Bill Thayer recently provided confirmation that General Lee departed TDC during 1960.

My updated list of USTDC Commanders and Chiefs of Staff can be found here. I'm sure the list of admirals is incomplete but I've never been able to locate an on-line archive of flag officer biographies like the Air Force has. If you spot any other errors or omissions, please let me know.

1 comment:

Zhuxiu said...: Any ideas where I might find a list of US Naval Attaches to the ROC? When I was stationed there in 1963-64, the Naval Attache was a Navy Captain who had also attended Chinese language school in Monterey. However, I cannot recall his name.; 17 May, 2010 09:30

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

Saturday, May 15, 2010

TDC Chiefs of Staff -- Update

1 comment:

Taipei

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