US Taiwan Defense Command: Old Friends

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Old Friends

Yesterday I posted a key personnel roster from 1974 that included several individuals at USTDC. Most of the names were familiar to me, since I returned to the States in August of that year.

One name that stood out was LCDR Jay Coupe, who was our Public Affairs officer. He was a really great guy and I remember him as almost always being in a good mood -- a rare trait for Navy officers (kidding...sort of). I believe that my friend Larry Sherman and I "house-sat" for Mister Coupe when he and his wife took a trip to Hong Kong for a few days.

I did a Google search on him and was saddened to learn that he died a couple of years ago and that he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His obituary in the Washington Post revealed that he was eventually promoted to Captain 0-6 and that he was the Public Affairs officer for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

A few years ago I made contact with one guy that I knew at TDC -- Larry Driscoll, a Yeoman Second Class who also worked in J-1 -- but lost contact again a few months later. He was a good guy. There were lots of good guys. I hope that life has been kind to all of them.

How about the rest of you? Have you stayed in touch with any of the folks that you worked with in Taipei?

1 comment:

Lacey said...: I was talking about USTDC just today at lunch. Then came up and started googling names of some friends. I arrived in USTDC forty years ago this week as a CYN seaman (E-3?)and my roommate was another CYN named Don Smith. We became best friends...eventually moved out of those barracks in to the hostel. Later I was stationed in Long Beach and maintained a friendship with Don's parents who lived in Torrance, just a few miles away. After we got out of the Navy in late 1971, we visited back and forth across the country quite a few times. The last time I saw don was sometime in the eighties..can't remember exactly when, but he died at age 43 so that would be about 17 years ago. It's hard to believe it was that long ago. Well, Don was my best friend then, and I guess he still is today. As the kids now say, BFF. I still miss Don.

Thanks for the "old friends" post.; 16 September, 2008 15:18

Overview

The United States Taiwan Defense Command was a sub-unified command which reported directly to the Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC). The command was composed of personnel from all branches of the U.S. armed forces and had its headquarters in Taipei.

Operational since November 1, 1955, USTDC was a planning headquarters for the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores. In the event of hostilities, the Commander, USTDC, would have assumed an operational role and coordinated with the Government of the Republic of China in the defense of Taiwan and the Pescadores. In the event of such a contingency, three existing service commanders would have reported to the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command commander. The 327th Air Division commander would be the air component commander, the Taiwan Patrol Force commander would be the naval component commander, and the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) would be the Army component commander.

In addition to planning and peacetime responsibilities, the Commander of USTDC was assigned as the Single Senior Military Representative of Commander-in-Chief Pacific (CINCPAC). As such, he served as CINCPAC's single military spokesman on Taiwan -- exclusive of the miliitary assistance program -- and assumed responsibility for coordinating administrative and other policy matters for all U.S. armed forces on Taiwan on behalf of CINCPAC.

After twenty-three years, five months and twenty-six days of operation, the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command held its final flag retreat ceremony during the afternoon of April 26, 1979. Marine SSG D. J. Gemmecke lowered the colors for the last time.

Rear Admiral James P. Linder, the last USTDC Commander, departed Taiwan on April 28, 1979, accompanied by his wife Patricia.

Today there is no trace of the large American military compound on Chung Shan North Road in which USTDC was located. The area now contains a modern art museum, a park and a large sports stadium.

I am not a historian, but I do recognize that history unrecorded is history lost. My objective here is simply to record some of my own experiences as an Air Force enlisted man during my assignment to USTDC from 10 June 1973 until 4 September 1974, and to provide a platform for others to do the same.

Feel free to comment on any of these entries or to e-mail me with your own experiences and photographs. My e-mail address is displayed at the top and bottom of this column, or you can comment on any of my entries by clicking on "Comments" directly under each one.

Don Wiggins
SMSgt (Ret), USAF
Arkansas, USA
USTDC, J-12

Regarding Photographs

To the best of my knowledge, all photographs on this blog are either in the public domain or are displayed with the permission of their owners.

Owned photographs remain the sole property of the individuals who provided them. They are not to be downloaded, copied or reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of their owners.

Send all requests for consent to me, through the email link at the bottom of this column, and I will pass them along to the owner of the photographs.

If you see any photographs here, past or present, which you believe have been inappropriately posted, contact me at the email address shown at the bottom of this column and they will be removed.

USTDC

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Old Friends

1 comment:

Taipei

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