The Prodigal Plaque

Military units often present plaques or other mementos to those who depart for other assignments.  When I was at USTDC, most of us received a plaque and maybe a medal or two.  Unfortunately, during one of my moves from one assignment to another over the years, my TDC plaque was lost.

Some time ago, Army LTC Scott Ellinger casually asked me for the dates of my tour at TDC and, after doing a bit of digging, I managed to come up with them.

A few days ago I received a package from Scott that contained a plaque exactly like the one I lost.  Actually, the engraved plate is a bit more fancy than the brass plate that was on the original, but otherwise they're identical.

I spoke with Scott this week and he explained that he purchased several items from the estate of the late Navy Vice Admiral Phil Beshany, who was the Commander of TDC while I was there and this plaque was among them.  The brass plate was missing but the plaque itself was undoubtedly presented to VADM Beshany upon his departure from TDC a few weeks ahead of me.  That makes it even more special to me.

Thanks so much, Scott.  It was very thoughtful of you and I sincerely appreciate it.

Taiwan Awards Summary

Last month I posted a request for information on a ribbon that was presented to COL William Kinkead, who was a logistics officer in MAAG Taiwan during the late fifties or early sixties.  Someone identified it as the "Kinmen Defense Ribbon."

However, I recently received a note from Lloyd Evans, who heads the 823 Badge of Honor Association USA, and he provided an excellent overview of the medals and other honors that the Taiwan government has presented to certain American military personnel over the years.

Before 1979 silver plaques and plates with acknowledgements of meritorious service and the then the OISCM (Outer Island Service Commemorative Medal – for service on Taiwan’s outer islands: Matsu, Kinmen [aka Quemoy], Taiping Island and  Pratas Islands) as well as the Honor Medal for 823 Bombardment (8/23/59 – 1/1/59 – aka Second Taiwan Strait Crisis – medal awarded in a joint US/ROC ceremony on 10/10, the 40^th anniversary of 823 [1998])) and the US-ROC Mutual Defense Commemorative Badge 1955-1979 awarded subsequent to the 823 award (1998) and on or about 2000 to US servicemen. Then in 2009, the Ministry of National Defense presented roughly 600 medals to members of the United States Armed Forces Dec.14, in recognition of the help and support given to Taiwan in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. The 600 medals, which carried the words “In commemoration of the Typhoon Morakot rescue operations,” were handed out to all those who participated in the search and rescue operations. Close to 500 navy personnel were on board the USS Denver, an amphibious transport dock stationed off the coast of Taiwan during the humanitarian mission, said Legislator Lin Yu-fang, who also attended the ceremony. Other medal recipients included members of the U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Seventh Fleet. Military personnel stationed in Japan, representatives of AIT, as well as members of the U.S. Defense Department were also given medals, Lin added.

Lloyd Evans

Chairman

823 Badge of Honor Assoc. USA

What Is This Ribbon?

I received a note from Albert Kinkead, who wrote the following:

My grandfather COL(Ret.) William Kinkead served as a Logistics Officer trainer in the MAAG back in the late 50's early 60's time frame.  I believe he was given an award by the Taiwanese defense forces but I can't locate any info online.  He passed away in 2002 so I cannot ask him about it and I am trying to do as much research as I can.  I have a picture of him getting the award and a picture of what I believe is the ribbon they gave him.  Do you know if the defense forces gave awards to the US Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen who worked in the MAAG?  If so, do you think you may know what it is or where I could find info on it?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I replied to Al that it was not uncommon for American military personnel to receive medals, especially upon completion of their tours.  I'm not familiar with this ribbon or the devices on it, but I thought perhaps someone here might be able to help.  Please let me know if you can identify the ribbon or if you know any of the individuals shown below.

Here are the rest of the photos that Al sent to me:

Receiving the award from MG Wong

Toasting the award

MAJ Harrington, LTC Kinkead, GEN Peng (Chief Taiwanese Armed Forces), COL Walker, CPT Ault

The Team, HM2 Woods, SP4 Milligan, CAPT Ault, PVT Carleton, MAJ Sotter, SP4 Barnett, COL Walker, SP4 Fisker, LTC Kinkead, SP4 Leach, MSGT Sullivan, SP4 Bailey, SSGT Hall

American Footsteps in Taiwan Images

Lieutenant Colonel Scott Ellinger just sent me several great pictures of the American Footsteps in Taiwan exhibition that opened in Taipei on December 17th.  You can read about the event on the AIT website and there is a Chinese account on Yahoo News.

Patricia Linder was one of the speakers at the opening ceremony, traveling from her home here in the States for the occasion.  Her husband was Rear Admiral James Linder, the last Commander of USTDC.  I have long recommended her book "The Lady and the Tiger," an account of her experiences during their assignment in Taiwan.

Many of you will see some familiar photographs and memorabilia on display.

The USTDC emblem that was mounted on the building

Mrs Linder and President Ma

Mrs Linder addresses the audience

 The exhibition will continue through January 24th.  If you live in Taiwan, especially anywhere near Taipei, you'll certainly want to drop by the National Central Library and view this amazing collection of historical items and information.

RADM Linder Photos and Items

Rear Admiral James B. Linder was the last Commander of the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command.  He served in that position from August 1977 until April 1979.

RADM Linder accomplished one of the most difficult missions bestowed upon any commander -- to terminate an official command and close down all subordinate commands as well.  He accomplished this mission under the most difficult and contentious circumstances imaginable.  The switching of diplomatic relations from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China evoked great anger and sadness from the people of Taiwan.  Despite major challenges from numerous sources, he accomplished his tasks skillfully and professionally and departed on the best of terms with his Taiwan counterparts and colleagues.

Official photo

RADM Linder receiving award from ADM Soong (MND CGS)
(NOTE:  This plaque and photo will be displayed at the American
Footsteps in Taiwan exhibition in December 2010 and January 2011)

(left to right) RADM Linder, Queenie Yao and

General Yao (Taiwan Air Force Commander)

Citation to accompany the award of RADM Linder's
Defense Superior Service Medal

RADM Linder's press release biography
prepared by the USTDC Public Affairs Office

Admiral Linder and his wife retired in the Southwestern United States.  He passed away on 23 April, 2009.

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.

Ray's Mementos

I posted some comments from Ray Richardson a few days ago.  He was an Army E-5 who worked in the Command Center from March of 1978 until USTDC was closed in early 1979.

Ray sent me images of a few items that he brought home from Taipei.  The first two have to do with the Meritorious Unit Commendation that was awarded to USTDC for the period 1 May 1977 through 30 Apr 1979.

I hadn't thought about it before, but I wonder if the US Taiwan Defense Command received any other unit awards during its existence.  They would most likely have also been Navy awards.  Does anyone know of any others?

Next is Ray's certificate of Achievement for his time spent at USTDC.

 

Finally, here's the chop that he bought while there.  These were a very popular item with American military folks and they probably purchased hundreds (thousands?) of them over the years.

Taiwan Medals Recently Awarded to US Military

Vincent A. sent me the following article from the China Times:

Taiwan honors members of US Armed Forces

• Publication Date：12/15/2009
• Source： China Times

The Ministry of National Defense presented roughly 600 medals to members of the United States Armed Forces Dec.14, in recognition of the help and support given to Taiwan in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot.
Approximately 10 representatives from the U.S. Armed Forces attended the ceremony, as did William A. Stanton, director of the American Institute in Taiwan.
“We would like to offer you our great thanks for your magnanimous assistance, given as if to a brother,” said Kao Hua-chu, minister of national defense.
The 600 medals, which carried the words “In commemoration of the Typhoon Morakot rescue operations,” were handed out to all those who participated in the search and rescue operations.
Close to 500 navy personnel were on board the USS Denver, an amphibious transport dock stationed off the coast of Taiwan during the humanitarian mission, said Legislator Lin Yu-fang, who also attended the ceremony.
Other medal recipients included members of the U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Seventh Fleet. Military personnel stationed in Japan, representatives of AIT, as well as members of the U.S. Defense Department were also given medals, Lin added.
One officer from the Pentagon made singular contributions to the Aug. 16-17 rescue operations, said Lin. He did not sleep for four straight days, because he had to keep in touch with the U.S. State and Defense departments by day, and at night he had to coordinate rescue operations with USPACOM, the Seventh Fleet and AIT.
The medals have a flag of the Republic of China on them. At first the MND considered including a U.S. flag as well, as a symbol of the friendship between the two nations, Lin said. But the MND thought it would be too sensitive to do so, and in the end decided against it.
“I am sure all the officers and military personnel who wear these medals will feel great pride that they participated in such a noble cause,” the legislator said.
Taiwan and the United States broke off diplomatic relations 30 years ago, and yesterday was the first time since then that Taiwan has ever given any medals to members of the U.S. military. The invitations to the American military personnel were given in secret.

Taiwan Mementos

I received the following request from Lieutenant Colonel Scott Ellinger:

History is not to be forgotten. All who were once stationed in Taiwan please look through your old boxes, scrap books, and photo albums.

I am LTC Scott J. Ellinger, currently stationed in Taiwan at the American Institute in Taiwan – Taipei. I work in the Technical Section (Technical Section is the term used for the US MAAG after 1979) as the Army Programs Manager.

Our office wants to line our hallway with items from yesteryear in honor of those who once served in Taiwan, and to maintain a history of assigned units. We want to collect old memorabilia from persons who were stationed in Taiwan with any unit (USTDC, MAAG, Army/Navy/Air Force/Marine units and DoD civilians assigned to any of these units). So far, we have chosen 10 photos (blown up to 12x18) to line the hallway (these photos were downloaded from the USTDC and Taipei Air Station BLOGs). We would like more photos to fill up the white spaces on the walls.

Secondly, the collected memorabilia items will be put into an enclosed glass casing for their permanent home.

Lastly, if anyone has write ups (or wants to do a write up) of unit histories with unit photos, please send them. A historical file is to be created.

For those who are willing contribute to this endeavor, please notify Don Wiggins.

As years go by, I often think about the mementos from my military days that I've stored away in a box somewhere. Chances are good that most of those things will mean very little to my kids and grandkids and it's likely that they'll eventually disappear.

LTC Ellinger is offering a home for photos and objects from those days that will provide a record of our service in Taiwan. I already told him that I'll be sending him the "Gemo Medal" that I received while at USTDC.

I encourage you to take a look at what you have and if there's anything that you would like to see on permanent display at AIT in Taipei, just drop me an email and I'll send you LTC Ellinger's mailing address. Note: Overseas postage is NOT necessary.

Award of Navy and Marine Corps Medal

During the summer of 1961, CT3 Robert G. Harris was presented with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal by VADM Roland N. Smoot in front of the main entrance to USTDC. He was offered the opportunity to fly off to Washington to be presented the award by the Secretary of the Navy, but he would have none of it.

If you didn't already know, the Navy and Marine Corps Medal is awarded to service members who, while serving in any capacity with the Navy or Marine Corps, distinguish themselves by heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy. Typically, it is awarded for actions involving the risk of one's own life. The Airman's Medal, the Soldier's Medal and the Coast Guard Medal are the equivalent awards for the other services.

Robert told me that there was a hostel fire and he was credited with getting everyone out. He was in the day room with a couple of other guys when they saw smoke. The other two ran to call the fire department, but Robert remembered seeing several guys who had returned from an evening on the town and he went from room to room waking everyone up and carrying, kicking and shoving them outside.

He reentered the building several times and was inside when the roof collapsed. He remembers that he made it out the back of the building but doesn't remember whether it was through a door, window or just a burned opening. He then hopped over a (broken glass covered) wall and helped some of the locals get their belongings out of their homes as well. By the time he returned to the hostel, searchers were looking for his body which, fortunately, was positioned vertically, alive and well, in front of them. There were no casualties.

He believes that the old hostel was located somewhere between the Navy Club and the Club 63.

He says that his biggest concern at the time was losing the stack of gifts that he'd bought to send home for Christmas.

Good on ya', Robert.

TDC Award

When I was at USTDC, we received this medal after we completed the first twelve months of our tour. As I recall, the Navy personnel could wear this on their uniforms and the award counted for promotion. To the Army and Air Force people, it was just a nice souvenir to store in the closet, where mine has been for the past 35 years.

I think it was officially called The Chinese-American Friendship Medal or something like that, but we all called it The Gemo Medal, short for Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. I've often wondered what the metal plaque in the lid said. If anyone can translate it for me, I'd appreciate it. Click on the photo to see a larger version.


I got rid of my TDC wall plaque years ago, but if anyone still has theirs and would be willing to take a photo of it and email it to me, I'd like to post it here on the blog as another piece of TDC history. The same goes for any other souvenirs of the place you might have.

MAAG-nificant Organization

I recently received some photos of these MAAG (Military Assistance Advisory Group) insignia items. The most interesting to me was the military blouse with the MAAG patch on the left shoulder. I think it was probably Army, but can't say for sure. I've never seen one like it before. Does anybody know the time frame? Sometime in the 1950s perhaps?

By the way, alert readers may have noticed that I modified the Overview section in the column to your right. Thanks to some really great material from Les Duffin, I finally got the right "words and music" to outline how USTDC, MAAG, and the other commands in Taiwan all fit together. I was really fuzzy on that structure, except that I was fairly certain TDC was the senior military organization, at least when I was there.

Sarj's Farewell Certificate

This is pretty interesting. I don't recall seeing these when I was at TDC during the 1970s. We all received a plaque but that's about it. I disposed of most of my plaques and certificates, including that one, a few years ago during a downsizing frenzy.

Does anyone recognize any of the names on this certificate?

Chen Cheng and Admiral Smoot

Sarj sent in this photo of Vice President Chen Cheng presenting an award to Admiral Smoot at his departure from USTDC in 1962.

Name Tags and Badges

This is the USTDC name tag that Sarj Bloom wore while at TDC in 1962-1963. It was made of metal and had pins on the back which held it onto the plastic case. At the top of the case was a slit so that it could be placed over a button on the uniform.








I don't recall that we had special name tags when I was there in 1973-1974, but we did have this USTDC badge that we pinned to one of our breast pockets (right, I think) of our uniforms.

Actually, now that I've thought about it, we may have had a leather backing for this thing that we buttoned to our breast pocket. If anyone knows for sure, please enlighten this aging veteran.

Taiwan Chow Chow Club

Now here's one I never heard about when I was at TDC:

In the early sixties, Sarj Bloom was a member of the TCCC -- Taiwan Chow Chow Club -- which was a group of guys who met once a month at different restaurants in Taipei and consumed massive amounts of good food, along with numerous adult beverages. The group was not restricted to just USTDC personnel, nor was there any rank distinction. Both officers and enlisted personnel could be members of the group.

According to Sarj, the title of Pig of the Month was awarded to the guy who ate the most and who was the sloppiest while doing it. Members wore metal medallions on blue ribbons around their necks.

Displayed here is the TCCC logo and a menu for one of their feasts. Note that it was a ten course meal! Also note the phrase Ta Fun Tung; maybe someone here can translate that for us.

There were fines for not eating fast enough, not finishing a dish, etc. The objective was to win an award and a free meal by being a pig.

Sounds like my kind of organization!

TDC Patch

Just out of curiosity, did anyone reading this blog have the winning bid for this patch on eBay this evening?