The longer this blog continues, the more I'm convinced that there were more Army Signal Corps soldiers stationed throughout Taiwan than I ever imagined.
We who trained at Fort Gordon, GA were the telephone operators, pole climbers, tape and card pushers, among some of the specialities.
Do your job and ask no questions unless the need to know arises. That seemed to be the sentiment.
The guys who knew the "big picture" of how communications actually worked in Taiwan were those who trained at Fort Monmouth, NJ.
Somehow, signals got on and off the island and the Signal Corps was there to do it. Microwave sites were all over the place.
Grass Mountain and Seven Star were important links, but nobody yet has written to explain just how all communications were coordinated.
Anyone knowing the complex threads of transmission in Taiwan, please fill us in.
With this post, we have pictures from Mike Aschoff who was a microwave maintenance and repair specialist at a place very near Shu Linkou Air Station.
He lived initially at the hostel outside the East Compound and was transported to and from work by military drivers. What a commute!.
Mike indicated that the shifts at the center consisted of 3 or 4 workers, but it had to be manned around the clock.
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This is the USASTRATCOM communications center and tower located very near Shu Linkou.
Not many soldiers worked there, but it certainly was crucial that it functioned well or we lost our connection.
Would this place look familiar to the Air Force men who worked at Linkou?
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Inside this complex were the machines necessary for microwave signals to be sent and received.
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We did not even think about taking pictures of our teletype equipment even though we may have been given permission.
As far as I know, nobody took interior shots at Grass Mountain.
Gary Roske has previously shown interior pictures at Gold Mountain.
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From pictures sent from other STRATCOM microwave and tech control specialists, this seems like standard equipment.
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Above, we are looking at Mike's STRATCOM ID badge which was very snazzy compared to what we bought at the PX. I believe most Stratcom folks bought them.
The unique part of this picture is the blue badge beneath Mike's. It belonged to Mike's wife who, after graduating from college, worked for the Chinese Navy.
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Many of us enjoy looking at photos of cars from the 1960s. This is from the Christmas season of 1967, probably taken from the commissary steps.
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Looking across Chung Shan North Road outside the East Compound is a banner.
It says "HEDSUPPACT TAIPEI." Most of us know it better as the West Compound.
This was Navy terminology. Later it came under the control of USTDC around 1959 according to Kent Mathieu's post on the history of the Air Force in Taiwan. Check it out by clicking here and look for HEDSUPPACT on December 7, 1962. |
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Does anyone know where this is in Taipei?
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This photo has to be in Shimending, isn't it?
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The last photo was taken in Shimending in 1969. The address of the movie theater in the photo is 116 Hanzhong St(漢中街116號).
ReplyDeleteFYI. The same location today. http://www.wretch.cc/album/show.php?i=vicwk&b=3&f=1085434425&p=4&sp=0
Great Post! The Navy Exchange went all out for the Christmas season. The huge Santa standing over the door of the exchange reminds me of the old Coca Cola Santa Claus.
ReplyDeleteIf you expand the size of the photo, you will notice the beginnings of construction on the new second floor going up on the top of the exchange. I'm not sure when the "New" exchange opened, but it was so much larger. Of course, one of the reasons for the new exchange was the fire that left everything in the old building ruined, if not by fire and soot, by the smoke odor and discoloring. If I remember correctly they put just about everything on sale for 80 or 90 percent off. You can use your imagination on where most of the sale goods ended up.
If you ever visit Hawaii and have exchange privileges, you'll want to visit the Navy Exchange at Pearl Harbor. When you put the NEX up against the BX or PX, the NEX wins every time.
Shopping in the NEX reminds you of Macy's and a visit to BX or PX reminds you of Target.
Victor, last photo was taken in 1967,don't know street or theater names.
ReplyDeleteThe name of the theater(or one of the theaters) is New World(新世界).
ReplyDeleteMy mistake, one of the movies in the photo is One Armed-Swordsman(獨臂刀) 1967, instead of Return of the One-Armed Swordsman(獨臂刀王) 1969.
Really great post you have presented. I worked at the Stratcom Receiver Site you have posted above from Jan 1959 until June 1963. Prior to Stratcom it was called ACAN and Starcom. I worked on all the Equipment shown. We had R-390 Receivers and received Single Sideband Communications from Tokyo, Luzon, Kadena, Honolulu, and Seoul. The teletype signals were fed to a bank of multiplexers shown in your photos and then passed on to an AN/TCC-7 and AN/TRC-24 to be relayed to The Facilities Control at the Sugar Building. I also served two tours on Matsu in 1960 and 1962.
ReplyDeleteIt sure is nice to see those photo's again, they bring back so many memories.
Thanks for your wonderful post. It really brings back many fond memories. I was stationed in Taipei from Jan 1959 until Jan 1963. I worked at the Stratcom Receiver Site you have shown above. I also was on Matsu two tomes in early 1960 and mid 1962. I wish I had taken many photo's because many of those memories have gone.
ReplyDeleteGary, Thanks for the kind words. Try checking out our entire blog. We have over 100 posts going back three years ago. I'll bet you will find some more memories. If not our blog, try some of the suggested sites at the bottom of this page. John
ReplyDelete