US Taiwan Defense Command: Holidays

Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

Monday, February 6, 2012

Paul Kuo Christmas Book

Paul Kuo was a Taiwan artist who frequently drew cartoons under the heading "Formosan Vignette" for the China Post Newspaper.

Sharon Hyde sent me these images from a Paul Kuo Christmas book that was published in 1961. Her parents purchased the book in Taipei sometime during the 1960s.

The first image is the foreword written by Joe Brooks of Armed Forces Radio Taiwan. The next image is the cartoon that Joe referred to and the third image is an advertisement in the book for the China Post, which was the only English newspaper available at that time in Taiwan.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

And to my friends in Taiwan and elsewhere around the world, 感恩節快樂

T - Turkeys, tablespreads, being together,
H - Happiness and homes to protect us from all weather,
A - Aunts and uncles, a reunion in Fall,
N - Nieces and nephews, family members all!
K - Kind-hearted kin coming over for dinner,
S - Surely you'll have fun, but you won't get thinner!
G - Gourds and pumpkins, mouths open wide.
I - Indians and Pilgrims we remember with pride.
V - Very special times-there could even be snow.
I - Imagine what it was like at Plymouth long ago.
N - Never forget how the settlers led the way,
G - Giving thanks and blessing this special day.
- Author Unknown

I hope that you can enjoy Thanksgiving in the warm company of family and friends. Despite all of life's ups and downs, we all have much to be thankful for.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Happy (Western) New Year to All!

I just want to wish everyone a very happy and successful new year. I am especially thankful for all the friends I've met by way of this blog during the past two and a half years (more than thirty-six thousand hits so far!).

Many thanks to all of you for your interest in the US Taiwan Defense Command, the people who worked there, as well as the surrounding military compound, none of which remain there today. I'm pleased to have been able to document some of that history -- with lots of help from others -- and I'm looking forward to even more stories and photographs during the upcoming year. If you've been meaning to join the conversation but just haven't gotten around to it, why not drop me a note? My email address is at the top right corner of this page.

Warmest regards to all,

Don Wiggins
Illinois
USTDC, 1973-1974

Monday, September 7, 2009

Chinese New Year 1966

I found this British Pathe' film footage from 1966. The scenes were apparently never used in any of their newsreels and there is no sound, but it contains footage of a number of private and public Chinese new year celebrations that I thought you might find interesting.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Happy Double Ten Day!

These came from Les. The first two are from 1966 and the other two are from 1975.

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