Taipei Military

I served in the US Army from August of 1966 until July of 1968. In April of 1967 I had finished all my training and was
stationed at Ft. Bliss, in El Paso, Texas. Everybody in the company was waiting on orders to go overseas, probably Vietnam.
One day I finally received my orders, to APO 96263. I had no Idea where it was, nor did anyone else in the company. So I
went over to the base Post Office and asked where it was and they said Taiwan. Well, I still didn't know where it was, so I
went over to the library to try to find a map to see where the heck I was going! After a little research I finally discovered
that Taiwan was the new name for Formosa, an island off the coast of China.

I departed the US from SeaTac (Seattle-Tacoma Airport) aboard a Northwest Orient commercial flight along with a couple of
Navy guys. Following an overnight stop in Japan, the flight continued to Taipei. We arrived at Sung Shan Airport's
commercial terminial on a Sunday afternoon. None of us spoke any Mandarin. After wandering around for a while we finally
located an information desk manned by a person that spoke a little English. They dialed the telephone and handed it to me.
What a relief it was to hear an American voice answer! After explaining the situation, the voice on the other end said to go
outside and they would send a vehicle to pick us up.

Outside, what is that SMELL? That first time really catches you by surprise, nothing quite like it. Anyway, a little time passes
and a grey Navy vehicle shows up with a Chinese driver and he tells us to get in. We are driven to the Headquarters Support
Activity (HSA) East Compound on Chung Shan North Road and put up in the Enlisted Mens barracks. The driver points to the
admin building and tells us to report there the next morning.

Talk about culture shock! I was "US" (a draftee), only been in the Army for about eight months, still a PFC (E-3), half way
around the world from home, trying to figure out what the heck is going on. The next morning I get up and go over to the
admin building and start processing in. When I go by the mailroom I discover I have mail waiting for me, orders from my old
company at Ft. Bliss, Texas promoting me to Specialist Fourth Class (E-4). I have been promoted while I was on leave
pending transfer!

It turned out to be good luck. Since I was a freshly minted non-comm, I was eligible to live in a hostel operated by the
Taiwan Foreign Affairs Services Division (FASD) instead of having to live in the barracks. I moved to the hostel on Chung
Shan North Road, adjacent to the HSA East Compound.

This is the building I lived in. I was in the building on the left, first floor, on the street side of the far end. The red
building in the background is The Grand Hotel, a landmark in Taipei. The rooms in the hostel were semi-private, and
two adjacent rooms shared a connecting bath. The rooms were not air conditioned, which was a big deal given the heat
and humidity in Taipei. One of the first things I did when I moved in was purchase a window airconditioner at the PX
and have it installed.

After a little swapping around, my roommate was Jim Sharp from Houston Texas. The room sharing the connecting
bath was occupied by Frank Fellers from Columbia, South Carolina and Craig Pauley from Los Angeles, California. All of
these guys were in the same outfit I was assigned to. Frank worked in supply in the Sugar building most of the time but
would give us a hand outside if we needed it.

That's me, on the left side of the cable reel. Trust me, it was heavier than it looked! The guy on the right is my roommate,
Jim Sharp. The last name of the fellow on the left was Mitchell or Mitchum, I can't remember. Everybody just called him
Mitch. He was one of the few "RA" (regular army) in the unit. Mitch's wife was in country with him. I remember we were
having a going away party for them when we heard the news about the USS Pueblo being captured by the North Koreans. They
had already packed up all their household belongings and he was concerned he would get extended, but it worked out that he
and his wife got to go back to "the world".

There were usually 2 or 3 GI�s that worked at the Sugar Building, maintaining the exchange and ordering supplies, and
anywhere from six to eight of us that worked outside, installing cabling and telephones, and fixing troubles.Our switchboard
was also located in the Sugar Building, in the room adjacent to our offices. All of the switchboard operators were Taiwanese
civilians. They acted as a dispatch service for us. When we called in they would let us know what troubles we had and who to
contact.

The Armed Forces Network Taiwan (AFNT) studios were also located in the Sugar Building. Frank Fellers hosted an evening
show called "China Night" for a few months

I was assigned to the Taipei Military telephone system. Everybody just called it "Taipei Military". It was really kind of a world
unto its own. On paper at least, the unit was part of the Army Stratcom Long Lines Battalion, based at Grass Mountain, in
the mountains outside of Taipei. They operated the Joint OverSeas Switchboard (JOSS) which served various sites in the
Pacific. But the unit was assigned to Stratcom Operations Battalion, which mostly worked out of the HSA East Compound. We
provided telephone service for everybody in the Taipei area that had anything to do with the US, including all branches of the
military, MAAG, and various embassies. If when you picked up your phone and dialed Operator, a Chinese voice said �Taipei
Military� that was one of our phones.

While most other GI's worked inside one of many sites in the Taipei area, we worked all around the greater Taipei area: East
and West HSA compounds, Linkou, Sung Shan Airport, various MAAG compounds, Grass Mountain, Tien Mu, as well as the
cable routes connecting the various sites. We spent most of our time out on the cable routes, working among the civilian
population.

This is me, back in the day. I think I had been called out to go to work on a trouble and was sitting around, waiting on the
driver to come pick me up. I remember it was a weekend. I know I hadn't been outside yet because my clothes aren't soaked
with perspiration and covered in salt stains! That's Jim Sharp's hand in the lower left corner of the picture. He was lying on
my bed, dozing away while I had to go work. Note the stereo equipment on the table. State of the art at the time! The girl in
the picture on top of the Fisher stereo receiver was my fiance at the time. We got married shortly after I returned to the
world. We will celebrate our 40th anniversary this year (2008). I am trying to convince her to go to Taipei with me next year
for a vacation.

The outside group would met each morning in the motor pool, close to the rear entrance of the East Compound. From the
hostel I could walk south on Chung Shan North Road, go past the Chinese guard and into the main entrance to the East
Compound, walk past the Navy Exchange and theater, and thru a little alley and come out next to the motor pool.

Since we spent so much time driving around from place to place, the Nationalist Chinese Army provided drivers for all of our
vehicles. I don't believe the US wanted to take a chance on a GI being involved in a traffic accident. One of the benefits of
having the Chinese drivers was that if we were anywhere close to the 63 Club around lunch time we would get the driver to
drop us off and go back to the motor pool. We could have a leisurely lunch, enjoy the air conditioning, and maybe play a little
pinball afterwards. Then we would catch a cab back to the motor pool.

This was the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) Non Commissioned Officers Club. Everybody knew it as the 63 Club.
Even though it was an NCO club, membership was available to enlisted men as well, since the total number of GI's stationed
in Taipei was so small. For most of those stationed in Taipei, this was THE place. There was a huge dining room with good
food at decent prices, a good band, a couple of smaller bars with pool tables and pinball machines, and a room full of slot
machines. There was also a member's night once a month with a live show and a free steak dinner. An updated version of
this building is now home to The American Club in China.

The FASD operated a mess hall in the East compound, across from the motor pool. I ate there a few times and occasionally
at the Linkou Club Annex, which was located a few blocks south of the hostel. Mostly, I ate at the 63 Club or the snack bar
in the West compound (bowling alley). I remember there was a small snack bar at the rear of the lobby in the hostel.
Sometimes I would get a sandwich there after work if I didn�t feel like going to the club. There was also a really small snack
bar off the rear lobby of the Sugar Building that we would eat at if we were there picking up supplies.

By the time I left the pedicabs had all but disappeared from the streets, replaced by Bluebird taxi cabs like the ones above. I
still remember that the fare from the 63 Club back to the East Compound gate was 5 New Taiwan dollars (NT $5), roughly 13
cents US at the time. I didn't have a car, so if I wanted to go anywhere in my off time it was either take a pedicab or taxi or
walk. Since I didn't have that much money, most of the time I walked! I remember one night I walked from the Ximending
shopping area back to the hostel. I don't know how far it was, but it took several hours!

If you have been trying to figure out what the song that has been playing is I will tell you. Its called Sukiyaki, by Kyu
Sakamoto. During the time I spent in Taipei, no matter what bar or club you might be in, I guarantee somebody would play it.
So, for me it will always be tied to my memories of Taipei.

There is an old saying "you can never go home agian". The Taipei I lived in for almost a year and a half no longer exists. In
it's place has risen a modern metropolis. Not far from where I watched a multi-story building being constructed using bamboo
scaffolding and materials delivered on pedicarts now stands Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world! Pedicabs
have given way to a modern mass rapid transit system and high speed trains extend to most areas of the island nation. The
largely agricultural economy has been replaced by an economic giant, with heavy emphasis on manufacturing and electronics.
I hope to return soon to see the many changes that have taken place.