US Taiwan Defense Command: January 2012

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

NSG History at TDC

This is from the NavyHistory.com website, which describes itself as being "...dedicated to preserving the proud and rich history of the worldwide CT community."

Naval Security Group Station History Dates ====================================================================
Station Opened                Closed/Disestablished ====================================================================
Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

Formosa Liaison Center                                             20 Oct 1952              25 Apr 1955

U.S. Formosa Defense Command                               25 Apr 1955    01 Nov 1955

U.S. Taiwan Defense Command (COMUSTDC)          01 Nov 1955 26 Apr 1979

NSGA TDC, Taipei, Taiwan    Jun 1957    02 Feb 1979
Detachment of NSGA Shu Lin Kou, Taiwan located at the Taiwan Defense Command

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The Last One Out

This article from the Lakeland (Florida) Ledger of April 25, 1979, describes the final lowering of the American flag in front of the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command.

I've written several pieces about the final days of TDC, but I've often wondered who the last "official" military person to leave Taiwan was. I believe that Vice Admiral Linder's aide, Lieutenant Commander Skip Wright remained behind for a short time to finalize things, but I don't know when he physically departed.

Does anyone know who was the last one out?

Monday, January 2, 2012

Personnel Officer

I've been sorting through old news articles and found this one from the December 20, 1970 issue of the Ocala (Florida) Star Banner. It's a standard hometown piece that the military services send to local papers when a resident is assigned to a new unit. In this case, a First Lieutenant Blackwell was assigned to USTDC as a personnel officer.

What drew my attention was that when I arrived in 1973, there was no personnel officer. I was the personnel NCO as a tech sergeant, but my boss was Army lieutenant colonel Clay Blanton, who was (as I recall) the Administrative/Personnel Officer and he worked directly for the J-1. My guess is that the personnel officer position was cut as part of the gradual downsizing of TDC during that period.

Incidentally, the lieutenant's father-in-law, Major General Henry W. McMillan, was the Adjutant General of the Florida National Guard.

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