Last Days of Club 63

Over at the Taipei Air Station blog, Kent just posted a copy of the last issue of MAAG-Net, the monthly newsletter of the Club 63.  During 1973, the management of the Club 63 was changed from the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) to the Navy's Headquarters Support Activity (HSA).  At that time the name was changed to the China Seas Club.

I was there when the change occurred and it seems to me that things actually improved.  Slot machines were brought back into the club, which I think increased club attendance.  The Navy also prohibited playing craps, blackjack and other games of chance in the stag bar, which was quite a change.  That didn't seem to affect the quarter bets at the shuffleboard table, but that was nothing compared to some of the other games that occurred regularly at the stag bar.

If you would like to have a PDF file of the final issue of MAAG-Net, you can download a copy here:  http://www.mediafire.com/?1c6d41ja72a1j6a

Club 63 in 65 and 66

Len dropped by here at the TDC quarterdeck yesterday and left this note about the Club 63:

From some of the comments on your page, sure am glad I was there before the Navy pulled the slots (1965 – 66).  They provided the revenue that paid for a lot of 10¢ drinks and great acts plus monthly non-family entertainment!

Here's a picture of a brass ashtray from the day!  I lived in the Signal Compound right behind TDC – the good old days waking up at 0200 covered by termites twice a year when they swarmed!

Len

4799^th Signal Communications Agency, Taiwan

Thanks, Len.  I've seen photos of these ashtrays on eBay before and have always wondered if they were given to departing club members or if they were just "liberated" from time to time.  Of course back in those days ashtrays were everywhere.  When I was a kid, some would make them in school as a gift for their dads.  That's hard to believe today.

If my memory is accurate, it seems to me that when I was at TDC during 1973-74, the Club 63 had a MAAG logo on the outside, but I'm not sure who ran it (Army?  Air Force?).  All I know is that the Navy took over its operation during my stay, removed the MAAG logo and changed the name to the China Seas Club.  Among other changes, they installed slot machines.  I think both the Army and Air Force banned slots from their clubs sometime in the late 1960s because a club manager or two started raking off profits for personal gain.  The Navy already had slot machines in the Headquarters Support Activity (HSA) west compound when I arrived at TDC.

I remember plenty of cockroaches and small lizards (geckos?) but this is the first I've heard about swarming termites.

New Info on Naval Hospital and Other Landmarks

Back in January 2008, I posted a short article about the Naval Hospital in Taipei.  Basically I said that I vaguely remembered it but couldn't remember where it was.  During the following weeks and months, several people sent me much more information and some photographs that I posted in later articles.  Toward the bottom of the right-hand column here, you'll find a section titled "Topics."  Scroll down and click on "Medical" and you should pick up most of I've written on the subject.

Today, Gene Abernathy made a comment to that original post regarding a much earlier period. He wrote:

The Hospital that served all the military in 1955-1959 to the best of my recollection was the MAAG hospital in the MAAG compound off of Chung Shan Pei Lo. Don't recall any other Hospital in the area at the time. Believe they contemplated moving the MAAG Hospital shortly after one of the typhoons flooded it pretty bad. Went back to Taiwan a couple of years ago and attempted to locate the command where I was stationed. It was COMSEVENTFLT Staff Det. Alfa, Joint Operations Center (JOC). It was located about a 1/4 of a mile past the old 13th AF Base Out a long way via Roosevelt Rd (which was a dirt road at the time). If anyone can offer a coordinate for google world check I would appreciate. I might add, the first club 63 was also on the compound and moved to Pei An Rd (below the Grand Hotel) in 57 I believe.
The O Club was a little ways outside the gate of the MAAG Compound up on Chung Shan Pei Rd. across from Hostel 2. Fond memories of different times. I completed 30 years of Naval Service in 1981 and my memories have always taken me back to the best duty station I had in Taiwan. Best, Gene Abernathy

If anyone can add anything to this, please leave a comment or drop me an email.  As always, I'd love to post any photos that may have survived the years.

Bill Kling Family Arrival

MAY 1973:

I arrived on the island as an Army E-5/SP5 with my young wife and six month old son.  As some background, I was a communications type person and while previously serving in Vietnam I worked with those in Taiwan  keeping communications circuits working between Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan and Hawaii.  Of course these people told me that if possible I should get assigned to Taipei.  As luck would have it, after serving at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey, for 18 months I got orders for Stratcom Taiwan.

So I left from SEA-TAC airport via a military charter (Flying Tiger) and after many stops along the way was met at Sung Shan airport (the only airport) by my sponsor SSG Peredo.  He took us a short ride to the Formosa Guest House where we would live for the next 75 days.

To get to the Formosa GH, you would exit the East Compound via the back entrance, cross the street and make a left at the first alley (there was a furniture store at that spot), walk about 50 feet and there it was.  The first few nights we had trouble sleeping as we had to get used to the smells and noises of Taipei.  The GH owners were a family with two young daughters 11 & 12 and a mother-in-law.  THE WU FAMILY.  They ran the GH which consisted of three floors and perhaps as many as six apartments.  These people became friends and we are still in contact with the daughters today.

It seemed we ate many meals at the cafeteria located on the West Compound, and many meals at the 63 Club and a few at the FASD Dining Hall on the East Compound.  As Taiwan "rookies" we didn't eat on the town often.  It seemed we were always walking to the East Compound, as that was where the 7-11 type store, the housing office, bank, PMO, education center, and almost everything I needed for the family were located.  The weather could make that seem like a long walk sometimes, especially with an infant. 

I remember the adjustment my wife had to make.  This was her first overseas assignment and she had to learn how the military worked while being away from friends and family with a new baby.  She was great and thanks to the family at the GH, she learned her away around Taipei, how and where to shop, how to look for a place to live (we ended up in the old BOT housing in Tien Mou), speak basic Chinese, and meet other new families. She really did a lot of things to help me, as I worked on Grass Mountain, probably a 30-45 drive via government van from the Compound area.

A few other things I remember, in no specific order, were:

• learning what water to drink and where to go to get it.  
• Learning about the different units in Tapei.
• Tthe role of the Air Force, Navy, and Army.
• How to live while waiting for our household goods on the money alloted by the government.  We had to provide receipts for everything to the Army every 10 days for every expense you can think of, including the cost of the GH, meals, transportation, laundry, etc.  I didn't realize what a benefit this was at the time!  Just imagine living almost free for 75 days today while still getting your regular pay.
• Getting on the BOT housing list.  If I wanted a New BOT 2 bedroom house, the waiting list was 9 months with the cost being about 3600NT a month, or an Old BOT house with no waiting list for 2300NT a month.  The decision was easy for a new family so as soon as our furniture arrived we moved into the Old BOT housing.  Again, looking back that was sooo cheap with the exchange rate of 38NT to the dollar combined with the housing allowance I recedived it was a good deal.  However, I did need to get a house guard, yard boy, amah, but all in all a sweet situation.  As a point of reference private housing in the Tien Mou area was much more expensive, plus BOT housing was close to the area where the movie theater, snack bar,bowling alley, and pool were located.

I was lucky enough enough to serve my tour, return the States and come back to Taipei a year later.

American Club in China

As I've mentioned several times, the building that used to house the Club 63, the largest enlisted club in the Taipei area, is now home to The American Club in China, an upscale private club that caters to the international business community.

Some of you may remember that The American Club used to be located right next to the HSA east compound, just to the left of the hostels.  I received some photographs from Les Duffin that he took from the roof of the hostel closest to Chung Shang (ZhongShan) North Road.  The first photo shows the back of the American Club and its tennis courts.  I lived in the second hostel (which you can see the corner of here) and I remember looking down on those courts just about every day.

 

The second photo is what Les believes was the main Entrance to the club. 

By the way, since my room in the hostel faced west toward Chung Shan North Road, the only way I could have seen those tennis courts from above (short of climbing up on the roof) would be from the back of the hostel.  It seems to me that there was a window on the landing of the stairway that faced east (the back side). Does anyone remember if that was the case?

American GIs Return to Club 63

Okay, so it's not really the Club 63. That place, where many of us spent much of our off duty time, closed its doors in 1979. But the building is still there and today it's The American Club in China.

Kent and several other Taiwan vets returned to Taipei for a visit a few weeks ago and were able to spend a little time at the club. John Quinn sent me these photos of the happy group and some of the food that they enjoyed while there.

I should point out that The American Club is an exclusive (and very expensive, I'm told) private club that does not allow visitors unless they are escorted by a club member. When the group's Taipei trip was being organized several months ago, club management graciously consented to allow them to tour the facility and to gather there for a meal. Individuals visiting Taipei in the future should not expect to be granted access.

John and Kent tell me that the interior of the place has been completely remodeled and looks almost nothing like it did back in the day. I understand that the stag bar building that was located across the parking lot from the main entrance (when I was there) is gone.

Club 63 Revisited

Here are a few more of Kent's photos from a few weeks ago. These were taken at The American Club in China, where the Club 63 (aka "China Seas Club") was formerly located. Kent says the place has been completely remodeled, which I'd expect since we left there about 30 years ago.

You can see the Grand Hotel in the background.

Kent confirmed that the stag bar building that used to be across the parking lot from the club when I was there is now gone.





This lounge inside the club looks similar to one that was there in 1973-74, but I doubt if it's the same.

I'm looking forward to seeing more photos and comments from Kent and the others who were part of the "American GIs Returning to Taiwan" group. I'll post links to them as soon as they're available.

A Bridge Too Complicated

More pictures from Kent, this time showing the bridges that now span the river on the way to the old Club 63, Tien Mou and other areas to the north of USTDC.

When I was there in 1973-74 it was just a single bridge, built by the Japanese as I recall. I often crossed it on foot, looking down at the water and whatever happened to be floating by at the time.




This is a Google Earth view showing more or less what it looks like from the air.

Google Steet View In Taipei

I noticed this morning on Michael Turton's View From Taiwan blog that the folks at Google are collecting and publishing their Street View images of Taipei. They're actually in the process of covering much of Taiwan, but they've already covered most of the capital city.

If you're not familiar with Street View, you just point your browser to maps.google.com and then -- in this case -- enter this string in the box and press the Search Maps button: Section 3, Jhongshan North Rd, Jhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 104. That will give you this image. That "A" marker is almost exactly at the former entrances to the east and west HSA compounds.

Place your cursor on that Street View image in the white box and you'll see the image shown below. Notice the green construction fence to your right where the Art Park (former east compound) is undergoing renovation. The blue fence to the left is in front of the sports stadium that is located in the area of the former west compound.

The really cool thing about Street View is that if you click ahead on that yellow line, you'll "drive" to that point. You can also turn 360 degrees and look at everything near your location.

For example, if you turn around from your starting point and then follow the yellow line south, you'll find yourself in front of the Caves (aka Lin Kou) bookstore where we used to buy all those good, inexpensive books, records and tapes.

If you turn around and head back north again (gawking left and right as you go, of course), you can go past the American Club (aka Club 63, aka China Seas).

If you find any other interesting spots, please share 'em!

Entertainers

Jim Sartor wrote about the entertainers that used to play the Club 63 and elsewhere on Taiwan:

Does anyone remember any of the great entertainers that came through the club circuit in Taipei?

My wife and I even saw Roy Orbison at the 63 one night. Can't imagine seeing someone like that today for free!

Here's a pic of a young group we met personally and had over to our home a couple of times. Always wondered what happened to them.

Club 63 --> China Seas Club

I've mentioned a few times around here that the enlisted club, Club 63 (or 63 Club, as many of us referred to it) was renamed the China Seas Club sometime in 1973 or 1974 when the Navy took over its operation from MAAG, the Military Assistance Advisory Group.

Well, I just received these images from Barbara and Walt, who were at USTDC in 1978-1979. They're from the May-June 1978 issue of The China Seas News, the club's magazine. In the second block at the top of the calendar is an announcement about the upcoming fifth anniversary celebration of the China Seas on July 1, 1978. So of course that means the date of the transition was Jul 1, 1973.

And in case you've forgotten all the good food and entertainment at very reasonable prices, just check out the calendar!

Today, the building is occupied by The American Club in China, which was formerly located next to the East Compound on Sung Shan North Road. It's a private club that caters mostly to international business people and their families.

Carter's Legacy

I've written previously about former president James Earl "Jimmy" Carter and his decision to kick Taiwan to the curb.

Back in December, Les Halfhill described his experiences in the aftermath of Carter's announcement and today Barbara Auch shares her account of those events. By the way, Carter made his announcement while congress was out of town, on a Friday (in the States), ten days before Christmas. If he thought no one would notice, read this account:

As I recall, the day that Jimmy Carter made the announcement was either a Friday or Saturday. Either way, I remember that it was the beginning of the weekend because that fact alone hindered information getting out to our personnel and their dependents -- information that I felt would have kept many of our people out of harms way had they known beforehand about Carter’s intentions. Our military personnel found out the same way the locals did: AFRTS radio! It caught everyone off guard.

I was working in the comm center when it happened and we were notified that we shouldn’t expect our relief watch to show up because there were 10,000 demonstrators outside the gate and the base was “locked down”. We were told that rioters were throwing balloons full of paint over the entrance gate and that things might get ugly. Off base was a different story. It did get ugly.

[At this point, Barbara refers back to the PACOM document that I posted several months ago]

The article said: “Some of these demonstrations resulted in minor personnel injury and property damage, but nothing serious.” I can tell you that there was LOTS of property damage at the EM (enlisted men’s) club. The rioters showed up there and cars were destroyed, flipped, smashed, or burned. There were only three cars that remained undamaged. One Chief Petty Officer tried to make a run for it and ended up with a spear in his side!

The on-scene Taiwanese Chief of Police was telling all the locals to leave the club. When a few of the local women there responded that their (American) husbands were also inside the club, the Chief of Police said, “if you want to stay in there with the Americans, then you can die with the Americans.”

Elsewhere, there was a group of dependents trapped inside the movie theater. Also, I had a friend who worked at Personnel or PAO (can't remember which or even remember her name now) but her husband was walking down the street when the violence broke out and he got knifed in the back, which punctured his lung! He ended up leaving the island via ship instead of a plane because of his injury (cabin pressure in the plane could have killed him).

After the rioting calmed down, my husband (also a CTO) and I had already pulled a double shift, (standing watch for 24-plus hours) before a relief watch made it in. I believe that was made possible (although I don’t know for sure) through the efforts of Adm Linder, who sent his car AND driver to take us to our home in TienMou! I remember the trip on our way home. There were protest signs and banners all up and down Chung Shan Blvd. There was one in particular that sticks in my mind. It was a really big long banner near the University. It was a picture of an eagle and a long dotted trail leading to a chicken with a caption that read, "See Americans turn chicken".

Afterwards, Jimmy Carter decided to send an entourage from CINCPAC to "smooth things over" with the locals. Admiral Weisner and his right hand and left hand men had arrived on the island and were met by 100,000 demonstrators at the airport. Their car was destroyed by demonstrators and Weisner’s right hand man had been hit in the back of the head with a tire iron (after it went through the glass of the car).

They abandoned their demolished car and arrived at the base in a Yoolung cab. When I arrived at work for my shift that day in the comm center, I was given a blow-by-blow account of how Adm Weisner showed up covered in eggs and various vegetable & fruit matter. But that was not nearly as shocking as the words that came out of his mouth. He asked our people “Why are they (the locals) so angry?”

Unbelievable! This admiral didn’t have a clue about the history of how the ChiComs forced so many people to flee from the mainland to Taiwan, or the deeply held belief on Taiwan that “Someday, we will take back the motherland."

In the days following the riots, many people were concerned that they would have to make a hasty departure from the island, leaving all their worldly possessions behind. That was a very real prospect at the time, but things cooled down rather quickly. The following weeks were incredible because things were moving so quickly. I think there were something like 100 families per week having their household goods packed up and leaving the island. It was quite a strain trying to pack out that many households per week. Things were closing down very quickly and near the end of my tour, you couldn’t even get anything to eat over at that cafeteria near the Exchange.

The Latter Days of USTDC

I’ve mentioned several times that I’d be interested in seeing comments from anyone who was at USTDC during and after the time that President Carter announced the establishment of diplomatic relations with the PRC. I’ve written previously about some of the turmoil during that period, but didn’t have much in the way of eyewitness accounts.

I recently heard from Les Halfhill, who was assigned to Det 3, 7602nd Air Intelligence Group, from early May 1978 to April 1979. Their offices were on the 2nd floor of the TDC building. Here’s his story:

When I arrived in Taipei, I had my ex and my five-year-old daughter with me. We were put up in a “guest house”/hotel just a block or so south of East Compound. I can’t, for the life of me, remember its name. We had a room on the top floor (4th or 5th) and ended up living there for a couple of weeks (maybe even three or four).

One of my earliest strong memories was waking up at around 3am, realizing that there was a small earthquake happening. There were several more while I was there in the guest house. But later during my tour, there were two that each measured 7.6. In one, I was in a taxi and didn’t even feel it, but the other one happened when I was at home. I was sitting on the floor in my living room, and a sound like a train going by started. But of course, there were no train tracks nearby. Just as I started to get up to go look, the quake hit and knocked me back down. Being in a quake is a strange feeling.

One of the most obvious things I noticed those first couple of weeks, as my sponsor took me around to show me the ropes, was how few people there were for the size of the facilities. Whether it was going to the commissary, to a movie at the compound, or the China Seas Club, everything was so quiet, with so few people. I think Shu Lin Kou was closed by then, and a lot of the staff was gone, compared to its peak.

I recall, in those first couple of weeks, going to the Housing Office, while first being told by my sponsor that a bottle of Johnny Walker Red would help get me into Tien Mou quicker. But I didn’t have a car, so I got an apartment within walking distance of East Compound, on Minzu East Road. From the apartment, I would take my daughter for a walk up to the Grand Hotel, then down the hill to a little park next to the China Seas Club, then on to the club for lunch or dinner. We did that regularly.

I was an Air Force E-5 at the time. I was on a “special duty assignment” to Det 3, 7602nd Air Intelligence Group. There were only four of us in the unit: A Major in command (Melvin Rooch), an E-6 Intel Specialist (Bobby Carter), me (Les Halfhill, an E-5 Admin at the time), and a GS-12 Intel type (Funston Chan). The three of us military types wore civilian clothes. I remember (faintly) that our offices were in the TDC Hq building, on the second floor. We were at the end of the hall near the TDC Commander’s offices -- seems like it was a Rear Admiral, down to the right as you faced the CO’s office.

One time [while copying some classified material], I got part way through and the copier jammed! Badly! I got out most of the pages, but some I couldn’t. So Bobby comes in to help, and we end up using a straightened-out wire coat hanger to try to hook out the pages we couldn’t get to. Then the coat hanger gets stuck! We can’t get it out! So we have to call in a copier maintenance guy, who is a Taiwanese civilian. First of all, we’re busted with a coat hanger sticking out of the machine. Then we have to worry about him seeing this classified. Well, we somehow managed to pull it off without getting burned, but it was an interesting day.

We had two Taiwanese civilians (man in his fifties, woman in her twenties), who worked in a small building behind the TDC building. I don’t remember their names, but they once took my daughter and me out to a huge dim-sum restaurant. Delicious!

I remember the Chinese typewriter they used. It had a horizontal drum a few inches in diameter and 15 inches long. In front of it was a tray with lead type (like the old-time newspapers would use to set the type for their printing presses). So the typist would have to use an arm on the typewriter to pick up an individual piece of type, which contained a single Chinese character, and then position it over the piece of paper lying around the drum, then press a button to stamp it onto the paper. They had multiple trays of type, each with a couple thousand pieces, because of the nature of [their work]. A normal Chinese typewriter wouldn’t need that many characters, and could get by with a single tray. Rather laborious, compared to even our manual typewriters, let alone our electrics.

Through my ex, I became friends with a very nice, well-to-do Taiwanese couple. I remember visiting them at their house, and them taking us to a park on Grass Mountain, and the National Palace Museum, and a resort down-island (where we had rabbit for lunch), and a beach house on the northern shore, and an authentic Japanese restaurant with great food. There were a lot of very nice people in Taiwan.

One morning (I think it was mid-December 1978), I was watching local TV at my apartment. There were crowds of people in the streets, showing obvious signs of anger and fear. I didn’t speak any Chinese, so I didn’t know what it was all about. I then got a call from Funston. He told me about President Carter's announcement of "normalization" with the PRC, that there were some problems around the city, and that I should stay home until he gave the “all clear.” That didn’t come for three days.

I heard that a mob crashed the gates of both compounds, tore down and burned US flags, broke windows, etc. Also, there was a ruckus outside the embassy/consulate and an incident at the China Seas (63) Club that I commented on earlier.

While I was waiting to get clearance to go back to the office, a Taiwanese friend stopped by and gave me a brown, silk-looking coat of Chinese style, with Chinese symbols on it. She suggested that I wear it if I went out, thinking that it might help protect me if the mobs saw a westerner wearing something in solidarity with them. I didn’t put it to the test.

Then, a couple of weeks later, Carter send Warren Christopher over to talk to the Taiwanese. It didn’t go well. I remember seeing some of it on TV, with Christopher’s caravan getting pelted with rocks, eggs, and paint. He looked scared s**t-less! I guess I would have been, too.
So the next couple of months, I was busy with preparations for leaving. I had to handle the turn-in of all our government equipment through supply channels, etc.

In March 1979, I got back to the office after a run to West Compound. Good ‘ol Bobby Carter [from the shop] greeted me by saying “Les, your orders came in. You’re going to Mogadishu. Somalia!” My first thought was, ‘What the hell?’ I guess that showed on my face so Bobby then says, “Just kidding! You’re going to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.” And that’s what happened.

The last few weeks I was there, some of us were put up in a brand new hotel than had just been built a block away from the compound [sorry, don’t remember its name]. It was pretty cool living, and we got a great per diem, so I ate well at the hotel restaurant all the time.

I left Taipei on-or-about April 1st, 1979.

Open Messes and Other Clubs - Part 1

Here are more pages from Taiwan Report, the booklet that was mailed to personnel being assigned to USTDC and other units in the Taipei area. This edition was printed during fiscal year 1973.

Today and tomorrow will be Chapter Nine, which describes the military clubs and social organizations available to military personnel and their families. The Club 63 became the China Seas Club when the Navy took over its operation. Kent, the guy who has the Taipei Air Station website and blog (links are in the right-hand column) was a manager at the MAAG Officer's Club while he was stationed at TAS.

As always, just click on any image to see a larger version.

Club 63 -- Today

*** UPDATE ***

I just received a very gracious note from Lily Chang, who is the Membership Services Director of the American Club.

She confirmed that the Club was originally located behind the Rainbow Hostel in the current Fine Art Museum area.

I was pretty sure that I had seen their tennis courts from the second floor of the hostel when I lived there.

***

Here are more great photos from Bill Thayer. This used to be the Club 63, which later became the China Seas Club when the Navy took over its management. Today the building is owned by The American Club in China (ACC), a private club that's mostly for international business people.

The ACC began in 1968 and moved to its present digs after the China Seas folded. I believe that it was located right next to the East Compound (just north of the hostels) when I was there in 1973-1974. I may be wrong about that (wouldn't be the first time on this blog) so if anyone knows for sure, please let me know. I've emailed them a couple of times, but they apparently don't respond to nonmembers.

More Club 63

Les Duffin sent in this photo showing the back of the Club 63, probably sometime in the mid-sixties. The view is from the hill just below the Grand Hotel.

Typhoon Gloria - 1963

Sarj Bloom has provided photos of Typhoon Gloria on two previous occasions. He's recently been digging through some old negatives and has come up with a few more. As I wrote earlier, Gloria was the largest typhoon ever recorded on Taiwan by 1963, though there have been larger ones since then. He writes:

[In this first shot] my wife and I walked from where we lived up Canal Rd. to see what happened to TDC. Canal Rd. starts at Chung Shan N. Rd. and follows the river down, then bends to the south and joins Nan King E. Rd. We lived right off Canal and a block north of Nan King. As Canal heads North it turns northwest to meet the river. This shot is looking back SW toward Nan King E. Rd. because in the background you can see the back of First Hotel. I'm very sure of this and it makes sense the way the road goes. This is the first day after the typhoon that anyone could get out. On our way we also saw AF General Sanborn walking in civvies, heading the other way. You couldn't miss him; he was a big man.

I really got excited when I scanned this last negative, because at once I said, "Man that is Club 63!" I'm very sure of that because I remember they had just built a pool enclosure of sorts which you can see on the ground. It's been a long time and some things don't register with me, but this one sure did.

The Stag Bar Revisited

Back in July 2007, I wrote about the stag bar at the Club 63. I described the atmosphere as a cross between Cheers, from the TV series of the same name, and Monks, the diner in Seinfeld. Alcohol was served -- it was a bar, after all -- but folks gathered there mostly just to relax and unwind with a few friends.

I understand that the stag bar was once located inside the main club. By the time I arrived in 1973, it was located in a relatively small, one-story building across the parking lot from the main entrance. I've looked at the area in Google Earth, but I can't tell if it's still there today.

I may be the world's worst illustrator, but this is more or less how I remember the layout of the place. The scale isn't exactly right, but I think it's fairly close.

So if Jim Snowden, John Cranford, Wayne Morris, Larry Driscoll, Larry Sherman, Pop, Royal Mason, Don Ligon, John the Civilian, or any of the other folks who dropped by the stag bar happen to read this, feel free to correct me. Maybe we can wager a quarter on a game of shuffleboard sometime.

USTDC Area Today

I think it's been quite a while since I posted an aerial view of the area in Taipei where the compounds used to be.

This view came from Google Earth and I added stick-pins to show where the compounds were, as well as the Linkou Club Annex (during 1973-74 anyway), the Club 63 and the Grand Hotel.

In the lower right, you'll see the end of the runway at the airport. Anyone who ever lived in the hostel became very familiar with the roar of jet aircraft coming in on final approach because they flew directly over those buildings.

Club Card

Sarj Bloom sent in this image of his old 63 Club (Club 63/MAAG Club/China Seas) membership card. He described it as the best place in town to eat, like some exclusive restaurant in the States (no argument from me!).

He couldn't remember how much the monthly dues were but, like everything else in those days, they wouldn't have been very much. I honestly don't remember paying any dues or even having a membership card when I was there. Was it possible that the navy didn't charge dues? I think they took over the operation of the club not very long after I arrived at TDC in 1973.