USASTRATCOM

This blog was created for USASTRATCOM Long Lines Battalion Army personnel who served in Taiwan during the 1965-72 time frame. Specifically, those who lived and worked in and around Taipei are the target. If you worked at the Grass Mountain or Gold Mountain facilities or anywhere in downtown Taipei, we would like to hear from you. All are welcome to visit and contribute to this blog. Your comments and pictures are encouraged.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Grass Mountain, Taipei, Taiwan, 2012

A very good friend of this blog recently was in Taipei and decided to make the pilgrimage to the old Grass Mountain site. The pictures taken are outstanding.

Well, pilgrimage is actually meant in a secular manner. Still, if former USASTRATCOM and USACC soldiers made the trek up the mountainside to the site, they might recall fondly their days working at either the Grass or Gold  Mountain complexes.

Since this posting is being published slightly after our second year as an active blog, you might want to see the pictures of the place taken by Gary Roske and me during our tour of duty.

It was our first posting in August of 2010, and it can be seen by clicking HERE. 


Here is the overhead view of the site as it appears today.  The coordinates are on the picture, so if you have a GPS device, you should be able to find it easily.  Recalculating!

If you make it up the hill, turn right at the McDonald's and follow the blue line up another hill and around and around until finally reaching Grass Mountain.

This corner wasn't here in 1969 because there was no road to the right as shown here.  A new barracks building can be seen in the middle of the picture.  Back then, this is where the work station guards had their living quarters. 

Still climbing the road past the corner on the previous picture, we can almost see the main gate appearing a few hundred feet up and to the right. Notice that the road is still ascending.


Here is the main gate which is now more strongly constructed.  The wall around the complex replaced the chain link fence from 1960s


All this picture does is give a better angle into the site through and over the front gate. 

This is the road overlooking the site.  Most folks who have taken pictures recently find that there are very few clear shots of any buildings down below.

The long overgrowth is there for a purpose. This is still a military installation and not a tourist attraction. 

The guard house at the main gate can be seen above the tall grass.

Moving from right to left down the length of the complex, this picture is very similar in location as the one taken in 1969.

Another picture shows the water plant at the far right as well as the power plant and the main building.  Next to the water plant is the building which used to house classrooms, offices and teletype repair.

This photo is not much different than the previous one.  The power building and main building can be seen more easily. 

The main building, shown here, has been added onto and the new barracks at the far left is also shown.  These barracks replaced our old Day Room.

Finally, the original mess hall and two-story barracks are shown here.  Perpendicular to it is the new barracks building. 

12 comments:

  1. My dad, Col. E.D. McSherry was assigned to MAAG back in the 1954. We lived for awhile in the Hostel and then in an American compound down the road. I went to school in Taipei at a Chinese-American school. Dr. Dale McSherry

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    1. My Dad, the late LT. COl (ret) served in Taiwan in 1954-1956, He was a Capt then in the AG. I still have an invitation from President & Madame Chiang Kai-Shek to my parents for a celebration for the third anniversary of the MAAG Mission.

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  2. Dale,
    Your family members were part of the Taiwan "American Pioneers." How wonderful was that! Even the school mentioned is new to me. Thanks for writing. John

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  3. Well still ther in some usage
    found a co-worker on face book
    Sam Christopher worked with Bill Padden
    he said Bill Moved to FLA.??
    Gus

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  4. Sgt Moreno was there from 04/67 - 02/71. Worked in NARC and relay center.

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  5. Sgt Moreno worked in DSTE Mobile trailers with Sgt Cabernet among others.

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  6. You know, if you just put your name in your comment, there is a possibility that Sgt. Moreno might read it and try to get in touch. Gary Roske is the best at bringing people together. Check Gary and Dan. Like to hear from you. John

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  7. I was in Taipei(Formosa)1954/55,working out of the MAAG compound. As Army Signal Corps we installed the first teletype site, near Taipei. Set up communications with a site I had helped install back in the USA. Our team lived in a hostile on grass Mt.(Young ming Shaun)Also the first site on Grass Mountain.These sites were turned over to operations. After 13 months,shipped back to Ft.Myer Va.Enjoyed Taiwan(Formosa) Sgt.Amos Risinger.

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  8. Amos,
    Great to read of your work sites and installations in Taiwan. You were really part of the early days of the communication operations. Thank you writing.

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  9. I worked the DSTE blue machine at Camp Samae San, Thailand from 1/73 to 8/73. Our RI was RUMOUHA. Our customers included U.S. Army Support Thailand and Military Equipment Deliveries to Cambodia (MEDTC).

    Terry W. Colvin
    ( a few miles south of Hua Hin, Thailand )

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  10. Interesting to hear of your assignments in Thailand. Thanks for your note, Terry.

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