Special Forces in Taiwan

Taiwan Scott sent me this photo, along with a page from the 1972 American newspaper in which the photo appeared.

"GREEN BERETS IN TAIWAN -- U.S. Army Special Forces "A Team" poses in front of a Chinese temple in a village in southern Taiwan recently.  The Okinawa-based Green Berets came to Taiwan for a joint Chinese-U.S. disaster relief exercise in a remote mountain valley on the island.  Green Beret veterans from Vietnam have built bridges and laid water lines in cooperation with Nationalist Chinese troops."




******  ADDED ON 3/2/2012  ******

This photo was probably taken on the same day as the above photo.

Formosa Liaison Center

I've been corresponding with Tom Kirkland, retired Air Force tech sergeant, who was in Taipei during 1955-56.  He talked about the "Formosa Liaison Center," which sent me off in search of that unit.  I'm learning quite a lot and will be writing a piece later this week based on some declassified documents I've come across today.

Also, I'm adding RADM Fenno to the list of USTDC Commanders because he commanded the Formosa Liaison, which became the Formosa Defense Command for a few months before being renamed the US Taiwan Defense Command.  I'll go into more detail on that in my next article.

Here's what Tom had to say:

I was assigned to the Formosa Liaison Center/US Taiwan Defense Command from Sept. 1955 to Dec. 1956 as a crypto operator with the Communications watch.  Admiral Fenno was commander until Vice Adm Stuart H. Ingersoll took over in late 1955.  I was detached from the Air Task Force 13th Provisional (FEAF) and BGen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was the commander.  Once while I was hitch hiking, General Davis  graciously stopped his command vehicle and gave me a lift up to Grass Mountain on his way to his quarters. We conversed about island life and our assignments. I was highly impressed by this extremely knowledgeable leader, and would have enjoyed serving with him. As a 19 year old recruit freshly out of basic/tech school why wouldn't I have been? Little did I know of his WWII ventures.

We had a hostel on top of Grass Mountain (Yangming Shan) which belonged to President Chiang Kai-Shek and was guarded by the Chinese Army. It consisted of a dining hall, and dormitories (open bays) -- not much privacy.

Our supplies came in at Keelung harbor on the USS General Howard. Air Force uniforms were scarce, so we combined US Navy/AF on occasion. We only had a few places we could go during those days:  Club 63, MAAG, Friends of China club, USIS, US Embassy, Lin Kou Air Station, Taipei Air Station, and some limited areas were open to US personnel. I was lucky that I spoke some Mandarin and had a Chinese driver, so I was designated as a courier when messages/mail had to be taken to other units.  Beitou, Sun Moon lake, and some areas of downtown Taipei were often off limits.

We had several typhoons hit the island during my stay, and we would have to strap ourselves to trees outside to crank up generators. We were located by the river, on Chung Shan North Road, just down from the bridge leading to the Grand Hotel.

 I also lived with my girlfriend and family across from the Confucius temple located behind the Taipei zoo. We often visited the temple to observe ceremonies. Chiang Kai-Shek's son used our apartment to take a photo of the temple. He presented me with a copy which he signed.

Since my assignment on Taiwan, I went on to duty in SAC Headquarters, Nebraska; Chelveston England; Patrick AFB (Cape Canaveral) Florida; Wake Island; Anderson AFB, Guam; Scott AFB IL;  Homestead AFB, FL; Udorn Thailand (Laotian territory) and the Presidential Support Mission, Key Biscayne White House, retiring in 1974 at Homestead AFB, FL.  I thoroughly enjoyed my career in the military, having met and served with many famous people, but my duty on Formosa/Taiwan was probably the best!

Boudicca's Voice

I received a very nice note from the author of a blog called "Boudicca's Voice" a day or two ago.  Her dad was assigned to USTDC and the family was in Taipei for a couple of years, up until the withdrawal of American forces.

She came across my article about the Grandee Hotel and  wrote a piece on her blog about her family's experiences there as they were preparing to leave Taiwan.  It's a fun read and you can find it HERE.  Oh, it would help you to know that TGOO is her father (The Great Omnipotent One).

In her email to me, she mentioned a Baskin Robbins in the east compound that her family often visited, but I'm fairly certain it wasn't there in 1973-74.  Believe me, old Don definitely would've remembered something like that.  Anyone know when it opened?

Temple Next To (Former) President Hotel

John Quinn sent this shot from his recent Taipei visit.  He said this temple used to stand next to the President Hotel.  The hotel is gone now, but the temple is still there.

[The following photo was added to this post.  See Misty's comment below.]

 

Chungshan Bridge and The Grand Shrine

Did you know that the Grand Hotel is built on the former site of the Taiwan Grand Shrine?

Did you know that today's Chungshan North Road was originally called Chokushi Road?

Did you know that the road was built as a pathway to the shrine, in preparation for a visit by Japanese Crown Prince Hirohito in 1923?

Frequent contributor George Dean alerted me to this Wikipedia article that provides a brief history of the Taiwan Grand Shrine. Included in the article is this Japanese painting of the shrine. At the bottom of the painting you'll see the bridge that I discussed yesterday.

Another Temple

Sarj took these photos of a temple in Taiwan during the early 1960s. Can anyone tell which temple it was?

Big Buddah

Sarj Bloom sent in these photos from 1962 of the "Big Buddah" that is located about 30 miles south of Taichung. He suggested this website to see what the area looks like today.

Taipei Temple

These came from Stev Pitchford:

Here are some pictures of another temple in Taipei. I don't have a name for this one, but if my memory is right, it was near the downtown area and not far from the Far East Theater.

As you can see, the workmanship was exquisite. Just imagine the skill, talent and effort it took to create this.

Taipei Temple

Stev Pitchford provided these photographs that he took in January, 1960.

He says that he always referred to it as "The Temple of a Thousand Steps" but we're wondering if anyone knows its actual name and exactly where it is located. Stev thinks it was in the northeastern outskirts of Taipei, but isn't sure about that.

He also wondered what the little girl in the third photo is doing today. Stev, I'm guessing that she's happily bouncing her grandchildren on her knee and that she would be thrilled to see this photo!