Tag: USFK

A Profile of USFK’s Western Corridor Camps

| January 13, 2010

For most GI’s serving in Korea right now the term the Western Corridor is probably something they have never even heard of before since the camps in the Western Corridor all closed down back in 2005. However, for those who served on these installations the memories of these camps will never die. The Western Corridor refers to the western sector of military camps in the 2nd Infantry Division area of operations just to the north of Seoul.  The Western Corridor camps are located to the west of the main US military hubs in Dongducheon and Uijongbu near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North from South Korea.

Camp Garry Owen

These camps in the Western Corridor housed the first line of American units that were tasked with slowing down any North Korean attack. The main unit tasked with this responsibility was the 4-7 Cavalry Regiment located at the now closed Camp Garry Owen:

Camp Garry Owen is named after an old Irish dance song that General George Custer liked after hearing some of his Irish troops singing it and he made it the official song of the 7th Cavalry Regiment. You can read more about the history of Garry Owen at the 7th Cavalry Regiment website. This camp wasn’t always called Garry Owen and in fact has gone through three name changes. It was first called Camp Rice at the time the camp was first established in 1951 during the Korean War. The land where the camp was built was originally an apple orchard. After the camp was built it was used as the headquarters for the United Nations Command (UNC) Military Armistice Conference Delegation. The UNC at the time was conducting armistice negotiations with the North Koreans and Chinese in the Pamunjom area. Two years later on July 27, 1953 UNC Commander General Mark W. Clark signed the Armistice Agreement ending the war in the Camp Rice theater. The theater was demolished in the 1970′s along with the camp changing its name to Camp Pelham in honor of a prominent Civil War artilleryman. It wasn’t until the 1980′s that the name Garry Owen would become the third and final name for the camp.

Here are the names of some of the units that have called Camp Garry Owen home: the 69th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Marine Division (which became 49th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division); 13th Field Artillery, 24th Infantry Division; 2nd Battalion, 19th Field Artillery Regiment; and 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment; 1st Battalion, 4th Artillery Regiment; E Company, 2nd Engineers Battalion; and 5th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, which became the 4-7 Cavalry Regiment. The 4-7 Cav was the last unit to call Camp Garry Owen home before closing down the camp in 2004 and relocating to Camp Hovey.
The ville right adjacent to Camp Garry Owen is the small town of Seonyu-ri:

However, the ville was known to the soldiers as Yonjugol. Many of the shops of Yonjugol used to be oriented towards the tastes of the US military, but are now today converted to more conventional businesses:

However, some signs of the former US military presence in the town are still visible:

I have never spent any time in the Camp Garry Owen ville, but from what I have heard the Paradise Club was one of the big places to take newcomers. The challenge was for the new comer to make it to the back door of the club without getting tackled by one of the girls that worked there.
Finally here is a video posted on YouTube showing all the posts buildings and the ville area before the camp closed in 2004 and I especially recommend reading all the comments from people sharing their memories about the camp:

If you have any memories about your time at Camp Garry Owen feel free to share them in the comments section as well.

Camp Stanton

The military base where the 4-7 Cavs helicopters were stationed was at the small Camp Stanton. The camp was one of the smallest in South Korea with it only being home to about 160 soldiers. Camp Stanton was divided in two by the main road through the area. One side of the camp the actual base camp and the other side is where helicopters are parked:

The camp is named after 1st Lieutenant John B. Stanton. In March 1952, during the Korean War, 1st Lt. Stanton of the 15th Aviation Company, 24th Infantry Division was killed in action after crashing his aircraft for the third time during the Korean War. His final crash was a midair collision between his Ryan Avian observation airplane and a P-51 Mustang fighter.Besides being the home of aviation units the camp was also once the home of the 2/61st Air Defense Artillery Battalion. When the camp closed in 2004 it was home to 16 Kiowa helicopters that flew in support of the 4-7 Cav.

There isn’t much left of Camp Stanton today other than the walkway bridge used to cross from the main camp over to airfield:

As you can see, today the camp has been completely leveled after it was turned over to the South Korean government:

Finally here is another YouTube video in tribute to Camp Stanton:

Camp Giant

Just down the road from Camp Garry Owen is Camp Giant:

Camp Giant was supposedly named in 1969 by Korean civilian engineers in honor of a popular American movie at the time in Korea called “Giant“. Here is an image of the camp back in 1971:

Here is a picture of the front gate of the camp when it was open:

Camp Giant is very small and can house only about one company of soldiers. The last unit to occupy the camp before it closed in 2004 was A Company 1-506 Infantry Regiment that was part of the 2nd Infantry Division 2nd Brigade Combat Team that deployed to Iraq that year. Here are pictures of what the now closed out front gate of the camp looks like today:

Here is an overview of what the camp looks like today:

Here is a picture of the barracks on the camp:

As can be seen in the below picture, many of the quonset huts from the 1971 photograph are still existent today on the camp:

Here is a picture of the post’s small gym:

As far as a ville the soldiers at the camp could walk over to Yonjugol since it is located so close to Camp Garry Owen.

Camp Howze

The next major camp in the Western Corridor is Camp Howze:

The scenic little valley where Camp Howze is located was once a farm owned by the Cho family. In 1953 the family was relocated when the US Marines made the farm their headquarters:


Picture via the Stars and Stripes.

This pagoda on the Camp Howze dates back from when the Cho family farmed in this valley:


Picture via the Stars and Stripes.

After the Marines left Korea the camp was taken over by the 24th Infantry Division from 1955-1957. It was during this time period that the quonset huts were first built on the camp. Many of these quonset huts would continue to be used by tenets units on the camp until the day Camp Howze closed. In 1957 the camp was transferred over to the 1st Cavalry Division who named the camp after the unit’s first division commander and Medal of Honor recipient Major General Robert L. Howze. The 1st Cav used the camp as its division headquarters. In 1965 the 1st Cavalry Division units in South Korea were redesignated the 2nd Infantry Division, which continued to use the camp as a division headquarters.

Here is a 1971 aerial image of Camp Howze:

The 2nd Infantry Division headquarters would move to Camp Casey in 1971 and Engineer units would then occupy the camp instead. The camp would remain an Engineer post until its closing in 2004. The last units to call the camp home was the 44th Engineer Battalion which deployed to Iraq and the headquarters for the 2nd Engineer Brigade which would deactivate in 2005. On a side note the last Engineer Brigade Commander to command the camp was Colonel “Rock” Donahue who was quite the character for those of us who knew him.

Anyway here is a 2004 picture of the Camp Howze Chapel before closing that year:


Picture via the Stars and Stripes.

Here is an image of the now closed out Camp Howze front gate today;

I have never been to the Camp Howze ville so I really don’t know anything about the place, however judging by these photographs the economic effect of the base closing is quite evident:

Finally here is a YouTube video about Camp Howze:

Camp Edwards

The next camp profiled is Camp Edwards:

Camp Edwards is just up the road from Camp Howze and is named after the Korean War Medal of Honor awardee Sergeant First Class Junior Edwards.

Like its larger camp down the road Camp Edwards was home over the year to Engineer units. Here is a 1971 image of the front gate of Camp Edwards:

From the same website comes this aerial view of Camp Edwards as well:

Here is the view of the now closed out front gate of the camp today:

The last unit to call Camp Edwards home was the 82nd Engineer Company, which redeployed off the peninsula to Hawaii. Interestingly enough after arriving in Hawaii an accident involving the unit led to the largest traffic back up in Hawaiian history known as “Black Tuesday”.

Camp Beard

The final camp profiled is Camp Beard, which is also known as RC #1:

Camp Beard is located in a valley halfway between Camp Garry Owen and Camp Stanton. I mention Camp Beard simply because it is an example of many of the camps in the Western Corridor that were closed out long before the 2004 close out of all the camps in the Western Corridor.  Here is a 1968 image of the front gate of Camp Beard which was then home to the 2-72 Armor Regiment:

I could not locate the exact date when Camp Beard closed, but I think it was in the 1970′s.  Here is what remains of the camp today:

Conclusion

When driving around the 2ID area, many old camps, which are now mostly ROK Army compounds can still be seen. It would be an interesting project to identify and take photographs of all these old camps. For now though this and all my prior postings on USFK camps will have to do.  If any one has any pictures of the old camps they want to share feel free to post them in the ROK Drop Forums.

Further Reading:

Note: You can read more from the ROK Drop featured series “A Profile of USFK Bases” at the below link:

Comments

I’ve been to a few USFK bases, and most of the buildings were barracks for soldiers and other facilities for those who work and live on base. They should let some of these anti-Americans on base. I imagine a few would become disillusioned with the movement given the chance to have the underwhelming experience of peeking behind the walls.

I don’t think that would help in the slightest. Ive dealt with these sorts of people over the years and there is no reasoning with them. If you let them tour a post, they would still swear there was polluted land in areas they were denied access (even if they were not denied access). They just hate America. Simple as that…

Great post.

I don’t know when the ADA battalion was re-flagged, but I do know that in 1992 Camp Stanton had HQ/A 5-5 ADA and D/5-5 ADA (Avenger), and that pedestrian overpass wasn’t there. My battery commander on Hovey hated having to go to the Western Corridor for weekly command & staff call.

HHB/5-5 ADA moved to Camp Sears a few years later and D/5-5 ADA moved to Stanley. I believe that was in 1996. At the same time, C/5-5 ADA (BSFV) on Casey was re-designated A/5-5 ADA.

Thanks for the memories, there are alot of them. There’d be more if it weren’t Soju…

Yes, great memories! I find all this bittersweet. Its sad to see mt old stomping grounds fading into history but at the same time this is evidence showing Korea is ready to hold its own. That is a good thing.

GI Korea,

I’m not going to pretend that I know even half as much as you do in this area, but it does seem to me that there is some merit to the claim that there has been environmental damage in the military bases. According to this article (Link), a meter-thick layer of diesel was covering the groundwater underneath Camp Edward. This is not some crackpot reporting — it is the most reputable newspaper in Korea reporting a site visit from the National Assembly.

I think part of the history is a little messed up,

The apple orchard is what became Camp Pelham and Camp Beard (RC 1) outside of Munsan, (Sonjuri was the ville next to the camps) with Pelham later changed its name to Garry Owen, and closed with that being its last naming.

Camp Rice, next to the ville of Yongugol, which was outside the town of Paju, became Garry Owen when the Cav added a second ground troop there, and the Air Cav troops moved from Camp Stanley up to Camp Mobile.

Before the Cav moved to Pelham and renamed it, there was an MP platoon there, which mainly patrolled the clubs in the local villes outside the camps in the western corridor

I was being facetious.

Very good read.

The American media is not much better, but Korea has NO “reputable” media outlets. The crazy cow bullshit just proves it.

With the billions and billions of dollars korea has made because of the stability offered by the presence of USFK, korea should clean it up.

American families and soldiers (consdired to be nothing more than “tripwires” to koreans) and the US taxpayers have suffered enough for ungrateful koreans like Tom to live in freedom.

Enough Americans have spilled their blood, enough American families have been torn apart and enough taxpayer’s money has been spent on korea. In general korea thwhich of course those who are anti-American for no reason, just aren’t worth it.

korea has to learn for once that you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Oh come on! Yeah Korean media outlets are biased, but most Koreans aren’t like Tom and these protesters. Just because they would prefer we weren’t there and get bent out of shape when some Joe gets drunk and does something stupid doesn’t mean they are unappreciative. From my own experience I’ve probably gotten about three Korean “thank you”s for every one Korean “Yankee go home!”.

JohnT,

Which Korean media outlets did you read during the mad cow protest? The three largest newspapers in Korea were all staunchly opposed to the mad cow protest, often calling it “hysteria”.

RC1 wasn’t closed until the rest of Western Corridor in 2000 or so.

When I was at Camp Page there were a lot of pollution stories in the 90s. So we took the media onto the base and showed them the HazMat collection areas and how the water flows through post, same as Yongsan, and the Army did not let anything get into the creek. Whatever was in the creek came from the other side of post. But, of course it didn’t help. Those that hated the U.S. would just find another reason.

I was also in Area 1 on the baseops side when we discovered a leak at Camp Howze. You wouldn’t believe the expense we went to for cleanup. We had to take all of the soil out and have it treated/disposed of, and not just the wet soil, and soil that ‘might’ have been contaminated.

All in all, from my experience, the U.S. does a better job of keeping the area clean than the Koreans themselves. Just go to any garage in Seoul and watch the mechanics let the oil and radiator fluid flow right into the street drain.

And why no pictures of Camp Greaves? Liberty Bell? Camp Kitty Hawk/Bonifas? You left out some significant locations and their units: The JSA Battalion, 1-9INF/1-506thINF

One of my friends served in Korea before around the late 1970’s-early 80’s and I specifically asked him about pollution. He said at that time it was really bad. Again, that’s 30 years ago now though.

I drove past Greaves about 5 months ago on a USO DMZ tour. Probably no pics because it is so hard to get pictures of it. You can’t just drive your car up to the gate. When I drove past it on the bus it looked like nothing had been torn down, it was overgrown with weeds though. I hear most of the other bases in the Western Corridor will turn into satellite campuses for some of the universities in Korea.

What a lame excuse to pollute Korean soil. It would be like me devastating American forests just because Americans did it before.

You have totally missed my point. My point is if we pollute we clean it up. How did you not read that?

The other point about the U.S. keeping it cleaner than Koreans isn’t that it’s ok to pollute, it’s that politics cloud the issue whether we keep it clean or not and there is a clear double standard.

Yeah! *giggle* I mean, er, *cough* Yeah!… Korea is ready to hold their own… I guess if you are referring to their ability to bribe the norK’s, then yeah, they can hold their own.they can

“I hear most of the other bases in the Western Corridor will turn into satellite campuses for some of the universities in Korea.”

Umm,let me see, What are those called? Oh yeah, lies.

I am doing a separate posting on the DMZ area camps that I will eventually get posted. Be patient.

If you can read Korean I think it talks about their plans for the bases in these 2 articles:

http://www.paju.go.kr/open_content/paju_today/new…

http://www.paju.go.kr/open_content/kwangtan/kwang…

Great Job on these Camps. With everything shifting South, it is good to get this information while it is still available.

There were so many Camps in that area in the late 50s, till the big reduction in 71. Be impossible to list them all.

The camp pollution issue is much like the Yongsan water dumping incident. A few gallons of formaldehyde is dumped down the drain and processed through two water treatment plants before entering the Han River is twisted to wear Koreans are going to come down with cancer and responsible for causing a mutant to kill Korean civilians in a popular monster movie. While all this hysteria is going on the fact that Korean companies continue to dump far more dangerous chemicals and pollutants into the country’s rivers are ignored. I can remember in Uijongbu riding my bike along the river running through the city that flows to the Han and seeing ajushi with septic truck dumping raw sewage straight into the river.
http://rokdrop.com/2008/03/18/gi-myths-the-2000-y…

This same phenomenon has happened with the camp pollution issue. These camps have been there since the Korean War and home to large military equipment and of course things like fuel leaks from underground storage tanks will happen. However, USFK long before any camp close outs has spent a lot of money on dealing with HAZMAT issues. HAZMAT has long been an area checked by command inspection programs. A lot of work not only in USFK but around the Army in general is put into HAZMAT. People in the Army realize this. However, the anti-US groups make absurd claims like people needing radiation suits to enter these camps while ignoring the what is going on right outside the gates of the camp. As mentioned before these environmental groups were trying to hold USFK responsible for pollution in canals running through the camps that are polluted long before they even enter the camp. I have long said the ROK government should release the environmental report. Lets see what their complaints are?

By the way the Camp Edwards fuel leak was cleaned up:
http://www.environetinc.com/proj-rem-camp.html

Now when are these Korean politicians going to go dig around ROK Army camps and see what is in that soil?

I will fully agree that the formaldehyde issue and the HAZMAT suit issue are bullshit. But seems to me that the fuel leak contamination issue is still real. I’m glad to hear that it is cleaned up though.

And thanks for responding, as always.

I think we’re missing the main point here about the pollution problem. It is irrelevant whether it exists or not as it is controlled by the SOFA agreement. The ORIGINAL agreement stated that the lands would be returned “as is” when returned to the ROK. When the first major revision was done 1990-1992, they started up “working groups” to work with the ROK government and environmental agencies on the pollution problem, but they never changed the wording in the SOFA agreement. They continued the eye-wash “working groups” until present, but the wording remains the same. The camps will be returned “as is.” The USFK — as a goodwill gesture (snark) — only cleans up environmental hazards that are immediate risks.

This is the crux. Even if the camps are screwed up to hell, the US LEGALLY does not have any responsibility. Yeah, the USFK looks like the bad guy in the ROK’s eyes, but the document that was signed in 1963 and lasted till the present gives the USFK the out.

BTW when I visited my cousin up at Camp Gary Owens many years ago the first thing I noticed (and smelled) was the pig farms right across the fence from the camp. The other side of the camp was a Korean garage with oil-soaked earth. The point is the ROK community surrounding the base had just as much fault for polluting the ground water over the years as Camp Gary Owens seemed to be in a sump-hole when compared to the surrounding community. Though the camp would have the majority of the blame, it is still irrelevant because of the SOFA wording. This is why the USFK simply walked away from the camps in the end because they knew the ROK could not take them to any international court and win.

Irrespective of SOFA, isn’t there value in having a moral high ground, leading by example, and not pissing off an ally? OJ Simpson was found LEGALLY not guilty, but he hardly came out looking like a saint in the process.

The big problem is the ROK environmental groups wanted to turn the project in Super-fund base cleanup programs that would have cost the US government BILLIONS of dollars — possibly into a trillion — because the ground water tables are not only on the camp but extend far outward into the communities. That towns grew up surrounding the camps (Yongsan is a prime example) the real estate costs to effect a Super-fund type operation would be astronomically high.

This pollution problem is NOT a USFK problem but a problem of international treaties and intergovernment actions. This is at the Presidential level and Congressional/National Assembly level discussion. The “moral high ground” is irrelevant when we start talking in terms of billions of dollars being thrown at a problem WHEN THE US IS NOT LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

My personal experience of how messy this gets comes from being an EMS Maintenance Supervisor at George AFB, CA (a superfund base) many decades ago as the pollution leeched its way down to the Belen River many miles away from the base. The cleanup in the ROK would be a bloody nightmare as cities grew up to surround the bases. If the US even hinted at accepting fiscal responsibility, the costs would sky-rocket immediately into BILLIONS of dollars.

The pollution problems do not have any simplistic solution. Remember that the ROK is one of the worst polluters themselves for dumping industrial toxic waste into rivers, green belts and rice fields. This is a massive problem that even Korea continues to stick its head in the ground and pretend it doesn’t exist.

Agreed that there is no simple solution. It’s just that one thing about this issue keep on nagging at me:

Insisting upon legal rights is not the best PR strategy — especially when the treaty was entered into when Korea had hardly any leverage and a dictator was running the country. I recently argued here that the Basic Treaty between Korea and Japan is of dubious legality because, among other things, it was entered into by a dictator who did not properly represent the country. I find SOFA to be much, much more valuable than the Basic Treaty so I don’t want to make the same argument with equal vigor, but it still nags at me.

Basically, if we (America) want to keep our billions (and I agree that billions could be at stake, although trillion sounds like a stretch,) we have to accept that we are going to piss off Koreans. In fact, I’m not sure if we have any right to tell Koreans not to get mad if we insist upon our legal rights.

Korean,

I agree with you totally that the PR from the way that the US has been forced to handle the problem sucks. From the Korean point of view, it is totally abhorrent. I can sympathize with their outlook.

However, the reality is the ROK doesn’t want to pick up the tab — and the US refuses to pick up the tab. It is a no-win situation.

This is an on-going problem with noise pollution being the latest stick-in-the-eye for all ROKAF and USAF bases.

The ROK government killed their national level EPA in about 1995 and shuttled the responsibility to the provinces who in turn rammed it down the city level throats. The environmental protection in Korea is very weak. But here at Osan AB, the Pyeongtaek City government is constantly taking samples outside of the base of the water. The noise pollution levels are well-lit on a board near the railroad tracks.

The USFK will ALWAYS end up on the short end of the stick in the PR battle with the ROK over pollution. It’s not going away and there simply is nothing the USFK can do to improve their environmental image. The projects that worked in Europe and the states on DoD property will NOT work in Korea. SIGH…more bad news for the USFK.

I have noticed some mistakes in the text of your review of the old camps in the western corridor. I would be more than happy to provide you with the corrections if you’ll contact me.

This is my first visit here.

Ken Leighty

** 1Lt, A Co 2/72nd Armor

Camp Beard

Compound Commander

RC#4, Sonyuri

1967/68

Hi,

Was that Camp Edwards (west) gate ? as I was working or playing Gate guard back in 71-72…lots of free overnight passes! lol curious! lots of fun riding bikes to turkey farm!

Do you know the name of the ville across from Camp Edwards (west)? Lke to know if it is a city now?

Negative. It’s still just a sleepy little hamlet. Can’t recall the name. Was at Camp Edwards when it closed (as a contractor).

Mike Houser, the name of the ville across from Edwards, was Yong Te ri…

The had 3 clubs there, I can only remember 1 Tree Club.

CP Stanton was HQ for the corridor ADA throughout the 70s and early 90s. Nice to see they finally got around to finding a safe way for the troopers to get down to the lower compound safely. We lost one, and had numerous close calls with the speeding traffic. If I may be so bold, seems to me the cleanest places in the ROK were the camps!! Eventhough I love Korea, and It’s culture, they have a long way to go regarding the environmental issues. Forgot how many times I saw the mixer trucks dumping raw sewage into the paddys.

Don’t know if it’s spelled right but it’e yongtari. I was at Camp

Edwards West Dec 81-82.

This probably isn’t spelled right but it was yongtari, I was there dec 81-82.

another was 7 up club

I remember stepping outside the airport terminal in Seattle, WA to have a smoke after flying home from my tour in Korea. One of my first thoughts was that I could not believe how clean everything looked. I really think that the Korean protesters on the pollution issue need to come to the USA and have a look at how we live then compare that to the way their streets look, perhaps it might convince them to worry more about cleaning up their own lifestyles and to just be thankful UN and US forces put a stop to that nutcase up North.

Nice tour of memory lane. Was at Pelham. We had no MPs so one duty was to go to all the bars in town and stop fights on weekends. Remember the first day there and my visit to Paradise Club. Also there was a bar called Club USA or something. Had an American woman that owned it. If you have seen her, you remember her.

Bones:

I thought the ville across from Camp Edwards was Kumchan (Gum Chon)?

Oh, well. It’s been too many years since I was there.

I spent time hiking around the hills, but wasn’t in the ville much.

was stationed at camp stanton from 88-89. had a blast over there. i was in G Btry 5th ADA. it was 2/61 when i got there in 88

Response to GI Korea and 40 (4/7 Medic)

About the South Korean activists protesting about pollution on US bases in ROK, you have to remember who was in power in ROK when the protests started. Yes DJ (aka closet communist, or rather servant of Kim of North Korea) was in power. Casual observers of Korean affairs may not know but DJ didn’t have much love for US. It’s pretty apparent that he and his underlings were busy looking for mud to throw on US and USFK.

But you ask how could DJ and his underlings be so effective in rousing up the anti-US sentiment among ROK citizens? It’s called 9 PM news. Not too long ago in ROK, the 9PM TV news on the 3 channels (KBS1, KBS2, MBC which are all owned and operated by ROK govt) were the all powerful information outlet in ROK. They were the authoritative source of news in ROK and most people pretty much believed what they saw/heard. No internet and no cable TV as alternative. Some newspapers were more independent but not influential enough to overcome the power of TV news.

There were some stark changes in the 9PM News when Chun Doo-Hwan (gained power through military coup) was in power and when DJ became president. When Chun was president, the 9PM news ALWAYS started with what HE did that day. EVERYDAY. Many stuff were really trivial stuff.

However when DJ became president few years later, all 9PM news ended with clips of some kind of bad behavior by USFK. One I remember is when supposedly used medical equipment including used needles were dumped near an old, unused US radar installation. Another was when a neighborhood was repeatedly flooded in monsoon season because a US military camp nearby wouldn’t cooperate with requests for digging a deeper flood channel. The list went on and on. It’s possible that the ROK people were simply heady with the newly found freedom after the military dictatorship of Chun ended. But IMO, they happened because someone or some group coordinated to rouse people’s anger against USFK. When a populace keeps hearing same thing again and again, they will eventually believe it.

Even the mad cow disease was a hoax. It was found out later that the translation of one of the interviews was altered by the producer of the segment. One of the translator who translated an interview of an American came out and said what he translated was altered when it was actually aired. Had it not been altered, it wouldn’t have supported the argument of the ROK TV producers.

And you still ask how can that be? Well, it can happen because the ROK president appoints the heads of KBS1, KBS2 and MBC as they are govt entities. The previous head of one of the TV stations (not sure which one) appointed by President Roh (another US hater), practically had to be dragged out of his post. Not 100% sure but the heads of the TV stations report directly to the president of ROK.

And a response to 4/7 Medic, your perception of how clean/dirty ROK could be skewed depending on where you spent most of your time in ROK. Obviously the villes won’t be as clean as a major US airport. But when did you leave ROK? When I visited ROK recently, Seoul was pretty clean considering it was a city of 10 million. If you went back now, you’d be surprised.

I was at Camp Edwards (east) from 74-75 and I believe the ville was called Yong te ri, with the Tree Frog club which we frequented often. Lots of great memories:

– taking my platoon through a minefield of ‘bouncing betties’in the DMZ

-almost seeing my commission disappear as a flaming white phosphorus mortar round narrowly missed men and equipment after an exceptionally energetic EOD attempt

-hunting pheasant and deer in the DMZ

-getting knocked out for a half hour at the ‘combat basketball game’

Had a great time with best engineer company in the Army-Bravo Company, 2nd Engineers-Gunfighter’s Engineers

Was stationed at Greaves, Liberty Bell and Howze during my three years of duty in Korea from Nov. 86 to Nov. 89. You’ve mixed up the names of some of the villes, but other than that, a great read. Thanks.

Club Paradise was in Sonyuri, which sat between the gates of Camp Pelham and RC#4. Yongjugol was the ville outside the gates of Camp Gary Owen. Bongilcheon was outside the gates of Camp Howze (actually, up MSR 1 toward Edwards East and West was the real village of Bongilcheon, but we called the ville outside Howze’s gates Bongilcheon. That’s how it was in the late 80’s any way.

I used to live just down the alley and to the right of the 77 Club in your picture. Our first room we rented was in the basement of the landlord’s house and in the winter the only way to heat water for a “shower” was on the ondol heater.

I was at Camp Howze from Mar 88 – Mar 89, check out the Camp Howze group on facebook for lots of pics and videos.

Seem to have forgotten good ole Camp Edwards East. Small post across from Edwards. Smalll post home of B 1/5th Mrch

I bought a camcorder when I was at Cp Howze back in 88-89. I uploaded a bunch of pics and began uploading Vids on the Cp Howze Facebook group, I also have lots of footage of JSA/Liberty Bell and even a little Greaves, Warrior Base and Freedom Bridge area. I also have footage of MSR-1 and the front of Edwards

nice….been awhile, I was there..assigned to 1/4 Fa Camp Pellam, and attached to maneuver unit 1/5 INF camp howze but spent most of my time with B company 1/5 inf at edwards east…alwayways wondered what came of these places as I heard we no longer had them…

I WAS IN CAMP PELHAM IN 1968 AND 1969 IT WAS CAMP PELHAM THEN I HAVE MOVIES OF THE FRONT GATE. WOW WHAT MEMORIES HARD TO BELIEVE HOW THINGS HAVE SINCE THEN THE PICTURES FROM 2004 LOOK ULTRA MODERN FROM WHEN I WAS THERE.

Duke of Yongugal is right. There are a couple errors. It was still called Camp Pelham when I was there in ’92. The MP Platoon was 3rd Plt, 2nd MP. They were moved to Camp Howze shortly before my arrival.Camp Howze was the headquarters of the 3rd Brigade (Inf). I still have pics of the 3rd brigade “spade” posted there in late ’92. 44th Engineer took over thru the summer/fall of that year. Awesome postings.

2nd to none- Law of the Warrior!

Was at Camp Garry Owen in Jan. ’82 for a few months, (A troop) anyone remember “calculator man”? Then to Camp Howze to be Colonel’s driver (HHC 3rd Brigade, what a gig that was!!!), then my last few months back at Gary Owen (got caught “slickying” an overnight pass). What a trip those 13 months were. The first three didn’t even seem like reality.

Ditto on Yong-ti-dae, I have a picture I can look for that should have the correctly spelled name of the place. Not much there in the 90s, I only recall a small convenience store and a fried chicken place.

I was at Camp Edwards from 97-98. The town 10 minutes away is Kumchon in case anyone is wondering.

Sad to see my old base closed (Camp Howze too).

I miss the days of being a Yonjugol ranger

i was stationed at camp garry owen mid 70’s your post bring back a lot of memories. there was a club in yonjugol called the oasis. the club was most frequented by non-com’s. i sorded in s-4 the camp wasnot dirty by anyones image.the ville and roads leading into it were beyond words as being filthy.i was one of the nco’s who had the unpleasant duty of serving under gen brady. what a prud!!!! nco’s were not allowed to assoiate with known bussiness women. but hey guys sure appreciated the memories.

i have seen some off the pictures submitted.it saddensme to see what has become of some of the campswe called home. when i was there it was not near as modern looking as some of the pictures indicate.iwonder what became maj cameron s4 officer when i was there. he was a good officer and a person charater he was the type you could look up to.

’64-’65 I was stationed at Camp Rice (outside Yonjugol)- Hq. Co. 27th/702nd Maint. Bn. I’m really confused about Camp Gary Owen. When I was at Camp Rice, I’m fairly sure that Gary Owen was in our Bn., up near the DMZ. Did the original Camp Gary Owen close, and then was Camp Rice renamed to Camp Gary Owen?

I was driver for the Adjatant, and wouldn’t trade a minute of my Camp Rice experiences. I have many slides that I hope to get uploaded soon. I would love to hear from anyone stationed @ Camp Rice during that time.

Jerry Schrag

it was my understanding that camp rice became camp garry owen .it seems to me that there was a small sign still there in 76 that indicated camp rice,before it was removed shortly after i was there.which reminds me that all the roads in the camp (which were few) were to be named after MOH soldiers. this was assigned to a young lt of which i cannot remember his name.i must say he seemed to be a decent sort. i like some of you don’t remember all of the things from 35years ago.i would like to see more post from those stationed there during the mid 70’s may jog my memory a little.

Sgt. Wing- Thanks for your info. In the ’60s, Camp rice was across the bridge from yonjugol to Tajepol, through the village approx. a half mile, and Camp Rice was on the right. It was small- less than 100 personnel, and backed up against a hill. The pictures that I have seen on the web of Camp Gary Owen, do not look like the old Camp Rice. I believe 1Lt Ken Leighty has put up some Camp Rice pictures that do look like the Camp Rice that I remember. Perhaps there are some others that have memories of Camp Rice in the ’60s.

Is anyone the least bit concerned about the possible Agent Orange exposure to everyone who served at these camps(GI and KATUSA) AFTER 1971 ??? The half life of dioxin is 9-15 years in ground soil. We drank the water in the compound and in the ville. I remember vehicles with trailer drawn “foggers” spraying periodically on RC4 (circa 1979-80). Who knows what else we were exposed to ??? Wake up Warriors !!!! Dont let the VA sweep this issue under the rug.

I was stationed at Cp. Greaves (1st/9th Inf. Bn.)”Keep up the Fire!”

from Jan 84-Jan 85. Was placed in S-4 as they needed drivers when I arrived. Sweet gig, as a deuce 1/2 driver in HHC no humping and no BS, plus we had ongoing offpost driver’s pass…..so we could cruise or trucks through Sonyuri or Yongjugol at a whim. We always went down range to Yongjugol in a group and always to same hooch area and club for overnight pass.The Niagara club!!! There was the Honeybee club and Happy Club. In Sonyuri you had the paradise and Blue Angel club. All the girls in the seedy Blue Angel would put on Breakfast stage shows of ping ping ball and lesbo activity, you always stood the risk, high risk of getting burnt (vd) if you had one of them blue angel girls, but the guys said the vd was worth it. Highlite of your was Russian Student who defected from the north at JSA on my birthday 24 Nov 1984. The north korean soldiers chased him into the south and we killed about 3 of them with our Qrf.

Oh….I was also walking guard on Freedom Bridge when Diane Feinstein the mayor of San Francisco drove by on her way to a Pan Mun Jom tour in 84.

“I was also walking guard on Freedom Bridge when Diane Feinstein the mayor of San Francisco drove by on her way to a Pan Mun Jom tour in 84.”

You had a loaded rifle and you did nothing?

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/02/14/epas-supe…

I remember correctly the clubs in Yong ju gol.

Coming from Garryowen was the..

California

Chin Ju

Cotton

US America

New Seoul

7-up

Happy

Queen Bee

Oasis

It was so wild, the girls would get into fight and they cleared the club lol

I drove up there 2 months ago, didn’t realize where I was at. It has changed that much…..

For you old timers…the clubs in TDC that’s still around is the Rondevou, Dragon, Peace and Pop store.

#64 ChickenHead, You funny.

I remember the Happy Club had a lot of blonde haired girls. And I remember one that was upstairs, but I cant remember what its name was.

bones what year were you there? i can remember most of the clubs that you mention i just needed my memory jogged a little.when i was there i worked for a maj cameron and a cpt white which were the s-4 officers in charge.i must say they each were good and fair men. look forward to hearing more post in the future.thanks for the memories.

#64 That was one of those critical moments in history. A tipping point.

Who am I fooling. In the grand scheme of things she is perfectly meaningless. Still wish he’d have taken the shot for GP.

I was at Garry Owen from 75-77 and Hovey from 86-87, did some time at Warrior Base with the 1-503rd. The photos sure don’t look like anything that I remember except maybe the barber shop, it was just outside the rec center and was air conditioned. Got a haircut once a week. Remember Yong Ju Gol well, I think I paid for a building or two. Spent most of my time at the Niagara Club, but did manage to get some time in the Happy, Oasis, 7-Club and Queen Bee. I think there was a new club opened called the Paradise. Also spent some time in some “tea houses” drinking some dark brown liquid. The Turkey Farm was open for awhile, it was off-limits when I went back in 86. Oscar, OB beer, kimchi and Crest toothpaste. Falstaff beer for $2 a case and no ration, did have to go buy a can opener for it tho. Also managed to do a little soldiering while I was there and it was good.

I spent 15 glorious months on Camp Pelham and will never forget the experience. The true test of new comers was definitely a visit to the parasite i mean paradise club. the girls were super aggressive and intimidating to a guy just in from the states. I was there from Apr 90 thru July 91 during the first gulf war hence the extended stay of three extra months. Sonjuri was the paradise club on the surface but those of us who were stationed there knew of the back alley clubs where anything and everything goes. If you remember this was still during the ration years so cigarettes and booze went for a pretty price if you knew who to deal with. i brought a leather jacket and a wool suit for a bottle of Chevas Regal! insane! love the site keep up the good work and a great post about the western corridor. PEACE

Hey all, just wanted to let you know that basically everyone who served in Korea is eligible for the Korea Defense Serice Medal (KDSM). Not that it matters all that much, but for those of us who served in that strange land under that strange armistice, it’s cool to see our service recognized. Veterans can apply to have their DD214 updated and the ribbon sent. I’ve already done it but am still waiting for the paperwork.

Anyways, I thought that was pretty cool and wanted to let you all know if you didn’t already.

I was stationed at Camp Pelham (later renamed Gary Owen) in 1983 and am looking to re-unite with Army members and also I’m hoping to get any photos from that time. Please feel free to e-mail me at hiler8@gmail.com with any info or just a hello..thanks.

This site really helped me piece together the area on a satellite map (google earth). The strip of Sunjuri outside of Camp Pelham (later Garry Own) is now dwarfed by huge construction works behind the north side of the strip. I can send a file through e-mail if you want to see what I’ve been looking at.

hiler8@gmail.com

daniel would like the information on getting the service medal.i aslo have a couple of awards that did not get on my dd-214 any info on the procedure to get it done or addded sould be helpful . thank you and all the others that have brought back the memmories for me.

Hi Sgt Wing,

This website lays it out pretty easily: http://www.missilesofkeywest.bravepages.com/medal…

The layout for the request page has changed a bit so you won’t find the same icons, but the instructions are the same. I can also confirm that this Saturday I received my updated DD214 in the mail, with a letter stating that all of my previous (and new) medals will be sent to me within a couple weeks.

Good luck Sgt, I’m looking forward to seeing my ribbon and medal first-hand in a couple weeks!

You are correct, I was station at Camp Howze in the winter of ’71. I was attached to B Troop, 4th Sqdn 7th Cav. Before being relocated to Camp Rice. We were given the task to deploy to Dragons Mouth if and when the north made an attempt to move into Seoul. That is were 8th Army was assigned. I guess things have changed since then, in the 13 month of being there not once did I hear for our removal. Had a great time with some wonderful folks, drinking Oscar and trekking through the back country. Some hard working, poor yet proud peoples. We had them on an agricultural type of program back them. Then again it was 1971-1972 and they really hated the North. Pollution was not a big issue, however, that motor pool and diesel heater did leave a mess. Thanks for the info, I was not aware they had close the western corridor. I must say coming across this web sight has made me pull out those long ago picture I stashed away. I met some great guys, some a little crazy, some of I wouldn’t turn my back to and those I would give my right arm for. Good times I must admit especially the Moon Tea room in Seoul. Thanks for helping me recall those wonderful memories of my army days in that freezer call the Republic of South Korea….”Chav”

Help me with this issue…I have had a very difficult time with my health since I ets from Ft. Hood Texas in 1974. My face was swelling up and now I am trying to recover from nerve damage to my legs and hands. They are telling me it is neuropathy, it crippled me in 13 years ago!

Gary Owen, 81-82, A Troop 4/7th….. watching the video, did not recognize anything about gary owen….. all i know they had great living quarters…. we had the old quansin (sp?) huts, turtle ditches, maybe hot water 4 days a week…… what a time…. driving the tanks through the towns….. trying to stop 50+ tons on ice and the main gun going through a wall of one of the bars…… blowing a 9 ft hole with a HEP round in the bridge we drove across to get to the Korean tank range…… what a time…..

I just wish i could remember more of my buddies over there…. 30 years ago, where does the time go……

I spent 45 consecutive months in Korea from April 89 to January 93 and I miss it to this day. From April 89 to Aug 92 I was stationed at Camp Edwards West and the last part, due to our unit deactivation (296th FSB) was at Camp Casey with the 702nd MSB. Not only was the Army experience there less hassle and more mission driven than the state side duty stations but it was just down right fun. It is on my bucket list to go back soon just to see the country and the changes that have occured. I appreciate the write ups and such as it allows for some insight as to what has transpired since I left. As a note I saw something in the right up about the Paradise and it being in Yongjugol but I recall it being outside Pelham in Sonyuri.(Spelling) I guess they did some juggling of bases as Gary Owen was Pelham and the original Gary Owen was more south than the maps show here and at one time (during my stint there) there was Cp Howze, Cp Edwards West/East, Cp Stanton, Cp Giant, Cp Pelham and Cp Bonifas all in that area. 1/4 FA (M198 Howitzers) was at Pelham with some ADA (Avengers/Stingers/Vulcans) and the Tankers were at Gary Owen. FA at Sonyuri and Tankers in Yongjugol. But it seems they consolidated?

I was at North Camp Custer in Paju-ri with the 545th MP Co., 1st Cav. Div, from May,1964-June, 1965. Our MP station was in Yongu-gol, across from RC#1. Most of my off duty time was spent in Yongu-gol. The 21 Club, Oasis, 7up Club and the Queen Bee are the only ones I can remember. Of course none of us will ever forget the Turkey Farm.

#83, SGT Houlette. Why haven’t you gone back?? Based on what
you said, you have a strong yearning to do that. Go man!
I will bet you .25 cents hard cold cash there is no other
place you would rather visit on planet earth, what say you! If you have any trepidations about a visit there, contact me.
jfisher1946@gmail.com

Sgt. Houlette (702 MSB / 296 FSB)

Pelham was later renamed Garry Owen so there is some confusion as to the two adjacent villes. I was at Pelham in 1983 and I’m wondering if you were there and is so at what time? I’m hoping to get photos of that ville Sonyuri from the 90s. I have a good set of photos from about 1970 onwards but the 90s remains a blank. I have some further details you may want to know about or if your looking for photos let me know at hiler8@gmail.com and I’ll send some to you.

Chris Hiler

As to the time and the lack of pocket digital cameras I will admit I do not have as many as I wish. I would have been there right int he time you wanted when the “parasite” club with “Peggy” and the girls were all there. I was at Edwards from April 89 to Sept 92 and supported both the battalion of artillery at Pelham (1/4th FA) and also the guns that rotated out of 4P3 monthly from the rest of the Division for break/fix.

Of the Pelham area the ones i have found are of the field trainging area at the end of the ville at the fork where the M198′s used to setup. I found a few I snapped there when I was on the way to Camp Casey one day from the corridor with some guns which were laid for exercises and maybe the main gate. Do not think I have any others in Pelham…. carrying cameras then was not as simple and not a priority which I kick myself in the backside for all the time. I will admit the “Gun Bunnies” (13B’s) loved to party and were a bunch of great guys to know.

For the ville outside of the old Gary Owen I have some pics of the inside of the one club that looked like a cave inside with the white walls and had the “for your protection where prophylactic” in both english and korean suspending from the ceiling. yeah too funny I know.. I think at the time it was called the “Nabi club”. I will look and see what I have.

Sgt. Houlette,

I’ve seen quite a few mentions about “Nabi club” on other blog sites as well…sounds like that club and the ville Yonjugal was a real trip!

Leon LaPorte. A friend of mine on the USFK staff told me that when LaPorte was the USFK Commander, his nickname was SAM (Short Angry Man).

yongjugol was a fun ass place to be back in the day

Gary Owen was originally adjacent to the town of Yon Ji Gol before it moved to the former Camp Pelham, which is adjacent to SonYuRi. I was stationed at Camp Pelham in 81 82 as an MP and I know every nook and cranny in Paju Ri, which is the County within the western corridor. Some people don’t know about the original Camp Gary Owen and that Pelham was a separate camp with the 2/17 FA Bn, E Co, 2nd Eng, 4th Plt of the 2nd MP’s. RC4, which was right down the street from Pelham at the west end of the ville housed 2/61st ADA (Vulcan/Chapparel).

Scott,

Yeah I have seen a lot of comfsuion on blog sites about the two Villes by the original location of Garry Owen (Yon Ji Gol) and Pelham (SonYuRi). I was at Pelham and have been assembling photos and reading blog sites in an attempt to get a good sense of how the area of SonYuRi has changed over time.

http://www.camppelham.com/storiesCH.html

“confusion”

Chris, that’s a great website you have there. Brings back a ton of memories to me. I remember the Blue Angel, Kiss Me Club, Paradise Club (Kiss Me close and bought the Paradise) at that point we started calling it the parasite club. I had a great time there. Hope to go back and visit in the near future.

Hey Guys,
Was stationed in ROK in ’73. Arrived two weeks before Christmas at Camp Rice, B Trp, 4th Sqdn, 7th Cav, next to village we called Yon-gu-gol. In summer of ’73, B Trp packed up and moved south to Camp Pelham, I believe, which had a name change to Gerry Owen. Air field, helicoptors, was right across the road. Used to beg rides occasionaly. Had no crossover walkway when I was there. Flyboys were a crazy bunch, but we loved to party with them , especially “Crazy Charlie.”

Sorry, Camp Pelham was north and housed a friend of mine who belonged to an MP, or UP unit. Not sure what the name of the base we moved to was before called Gerry Owen. Will try to look it up in some of my pictures.

checked on it. the camp we moved to named Gerry Owen, was named Camp Stanton when I arrived there in ’73.

Hi Earl, good to hear from an “old timer” like you. Stanton ended up as the Air Cav camp. It was down the road from Gary Owen. I remember that place like it was yesterday. I went back in 91-93 as a civilian at casey, visited pelham and the area. Things really changed. I plan on heading back that way in the near future. I ended up getting out of the Army and joined the Marine Corps, went to language school and learned Korean….need to brush up a little.

Scott
I hope you take a digital camera with you. Man if I had the means I would take one and a flip and do a walking tour of a couple locations.

Wow Scotty,You are bringing back memories of our days stationed on Pelham in 1980. We were secluded from the troops because of our Military Police Mission. 217FA. ” If I were the cane I would go insane”. Living ,sleeping and eatong with Katusas. Teaching them american slang and all our bad 22yo habits. Living out with the locals in a hooch with my Korean wife and 2yo son. Honey Pots, Bug sprayers at night. Us out during curfew delivering the blotter From the DMZ to Camp Howze. Drinking the water pumped out of the ground next to a rice paddy. Travelling to Seoul on the red train from Munson. We all stuck together like real brothers. I got to go back to our old haunts soon and I will be coming next time.

I have some old pics of our old squad. I will post them soon.

I was at Camp Stanton in from late 72 and 73 and moved to Camp Garry Owen 74, Camp Stanton Was called Stanton Amry airfield and change to Camp Stanton and Camp Rice Became Camp Garry Owen Spent the best 2 years of my life there even thou I didn’t know it then, The camps were not dirty but they were polluited with old oil and deisel fuel, JP-4 and we did spray Agent Orange along the fence line with a garden sprayer that we filled from a 55 gallon drum that was stored in the back of the motor pool at stanton I was a PFC back then and you can guess who got detailed to spray the weeds along the fence I remember that we would pour used motor oil in back of the motor pool on the ground it look like asphalt pavement when it was dry and nothing grew back there not even wild pot plants one of the men tried I remember him using a pick-ax to try loosen the dirt it just chipped up in large chunks

@ 87 & 88, the club you guys are talking about, was the New Seoul club.

@ 84 were you there from 86 to 87? Sgt. Houlette nobody seems to remember 4P3, I do.

The Happy club had the blondes, until a GI brought his wife into the club,
(she was a natural blonde) after that the girls went to their natural hair color. The Happy club girls were the wildest (they would have you on the defensive).

The 3rd photo down from the top..an areal shot of Garry Owen (was Pelham in ’83 when I was there) and the Ville Seonju-ri. I can still make out the rout we used for PT runs.

I was at Pelham from 93-94. I was still a turtle when I celebrated a birthday there. My “friends” dropped me off at the parasite club after some heavy drinking. The next memory I have is waking up the next morning in my room, late for PT and the 1st Sgt screaming for me because my wallet was turned it at the front gate. Of course the wallet was empty. The good ole days!

I was stationed at Edwards (West)1987-88. I was ETSed in 3/88. The camp had the Forward Area Support Team (FAST), a medical company (or detachment)with helipad, some supply outfit, and my unit- C/702nd. Also, small px store, barber, nco (really for everyone) club, and a small commissary.

After a few months there I served as a vehicle inspector for vehicles being brought for repairs- good duty. Also, as CCI- case contact interviewer. Stange additional duty for a 63W. CCI had to notify club girls that a solder, uh well let’s say had too much fun with the wrong one. lol

Interesting link way above- my my office was feet away from those gas pumps. I recall a Senator (Ohio?) coming in a convoy on the way to DMZ stopping to fill up. He was kind of an ass.

Thanks for the walk down memory lane.

I served at Camp Edwards West as a medic from Feb 89-90, went through the name change from D Co 2nd Med to C Co 296 FSB. I have lots of good memories of my time there, some day I’ll get all my pics scanned in and some might be worth posting. Kum Chon was a few miles south of Camp Edwards, our Med co would run through their market every Friday on a PT run yelling our heads off. I remember the Tree Club, generally the lower enlisted went there the 7Up Club was usually the NCOs. Worked at the med clinic and saw the VD rates of the “working girls” across the Corrior. The Parasite Club was always above 90% positive.

We should get a western corridor reunion together. All years, all camps in the 3rd Brigade area.

Hey Bill W. (or anyone else), since it’s been a few years for me and I left before any closures, I suppose I fogot a lot about the planned closures. One thing that I’m not sure of as I google the Western Corridor closures is was Edwards (west) simply taken over by Edwards (east) and then simly became “Edwards”? I see some articles describe the Edwards closed in 2004 (?) and that that base had a px, commissary, etc. My memory is that West had those facilities and East did not. And, what year did West close (or at least get the change over from East)?
The picture in the link below shows “Camp Edwards” with 82nd Engineers, but it looks like Edwards (west) with the FAST being the first 2-story building and the second building being where my company had formation.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/camp-edwards-pics.htm

And Scott- a reunion for the 3rd Brigade/Western Corridor would be kind of cool. In Korea!! Some of you may know that the Korean government has sponsored/payed for Kaorean War vets to re-visit- all expenses paid. Maybe they would help with some in-county costs for us non-wartime guys to have a reunion.

Erik when I was there 89-90 FAST 3 was there along with an S&T Co. a Maint Co. and our Med Co. we were changed to a Foward Support Bn and continued the old FAST duties in Oct. 89. The first building became Bn. HQ and the second bldg was my Med Co. HQ. Camp Edwards East was across MSR 1 and had a co. of Mech Infantry. All amenties were at Edwards West. The FSB was deactivated in Sep 1992, and I guess the Engineers moved in until the camp was closed in 2004.

Check out the Camp Howze group on facebook, there’s lots of pics and even some video from other camps and MSR-1.

Just found this post on the closing of Camp Edwards: http://www.stripes.com/news/camp-edwards-closure-contiues-with-move-of-vehicles-to-camp-casey-1.25862

I have started a facebook page for Cp Howze. Please join if you are interested in https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Camp-Howze-Korea/216209051770735keeping alive its memory.

  1. Lober- I found Camp Howze on FB, but there is nothing but a cut ‘n paste from wikipedia on it. About 40 ‘likes’, including me.

Bill- your link goes to FB, but reads ‘The page you requested was not found.’

As side note- I wonder if this would be more viewed if it were a “Western Corridor, Korea’ page? (dont mean to be greedy, just an idea).

Also, are there any Western Corridor specific veterans organizations? I see lots of wartime, infantry, etc. but not for the soon to be lost WC camp folks.

Thanks for all the info guys. I haven’t thought this much about Korea since I left 23 years ago! I especially enjoy the pics.

@Erik: That’s (sounds like) the Camp Howze page you found. Here’s a link (below) to the group I’m talking about, if it doesn’t work try searching Camp Howze, Korea on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/282799627947/

To Bill Weedman #107

I remember you… as a matter of fact I looked and you were in the 296th FSB annual when they started the unit back up. If you bought one and still have it check it out…lol I was there from April 89 (C CO 702nd) to Sept 92 (296 FSB) when they deactivated the unit and sent me to Camp Casey (702nd MSB). At the time you were there I was in the Armament Section in the old Firehouse by the barber shop and drove for the Battalion Commander for a bit.

Good to see another 702/296 troop around.

I was at Camp Edwards from ’97-’98. Assigned as a 62B working up in the shop on the construction equipment. There were fighting positions when I got there which were then completely disassembled on orders of our new incoming CO who remarked (honestly) that we weren’t fighters and our main mission would be joining the garrison down in Yongsan if the balloon went up. He also added, with a bit of dark humor, that Yongsan would be gone and the charges on the overpass/tank block on the road outside would have already been blown. Pretty cool stuff

Anyone of you older guys have any specific questions about Edwards circa 97-98? The movie theatre was closed, fyi. Not sure when it was last open.

Was at Camp Pelham in 67-68. Sonyuri was the village adjacent to it and was the only place we could go w/out a more official pass, which would get you as far as Munsani, Yonjugol, maybe. Saturday was the only day we could go there and we had to be back by 11 pm. Hq batallion of the 6/37 Arty was there, along with another Arty unit. We had 3 155 batteries and one 8″ battery scattered out by the Imjin and into the no man’s land between the Imjin and the DMZ. We also had nukes.

Ah Camp Edwards. For guys like myself who were stationed at Pelham from 90-91, Camp Edwards was the place to go to use your ration card at the class six and was as far as i know the closest place to Pelham where you could meet American chicks. A couple of nights at the parasite club was enough to get you to try and meet someone else! Great time in country, we were there during the first gulf war so it was 15 months for us. I did’nt complain though. PS soon discovered Casey and other points south and Edwards was soon forgotten as far as american chicks go!

Edwards had a movie theatre!? During my 87-88 stay in the C/702nd Inspection Section (next door to Katusa snack bar) we had:
-Barber Shop
-PX (mini-mart would be an exaggeration)
-Commissary
-Katusa snack bar
-Stage-type room (mini auditorium), maybe that became the theatre?
-a gym (closed the entire I was there for remodel)
– a pool (I think?)
-the officer/NCO/enlisted club (forgot it’s name was Parasite), not too bad
-and a woodshop- hobbyshop

Had to go to Howze for movie theatre and bowling(?)Howze was the big city for us, and Casey was the camps of all camps since our world didnt have anything larger.

It’s cool hearing from Edwards’ folks (and all Western Corridor guys as well).

Alex’s reference was to the Paradise Club in Sonyuri. The theater @ Edwards (which was closed by 89-90) was across the street from the Katusa snack bar, downhill from the all ranks club on the side opposite of the pool. In the time I was there, we used it once for the annual all bases alert to give instructions out to the battalion. There was also a Clothing Sales Store as well, tucked away behind the Commissary. To Sgt. Houlette, once I put a face to the name I remember you as well, although I was much younger and thinner than now! lol

Haha Erik yeah the movie theatre was the stage-type thing too, they must have dolled it up at some point then pulled the plug, so to speak.

We had the same stuff you mention, though I don’t recall any sort of working hobbyshop. The club had slot machines, don’t know if you remember that? We also had beer vending machines in the barracks, but those were soon removed after some people got stupid.

The gym was open when I was there. We also had a USO building on camp, small little place but cool for ping-ping, darts, snacks and movie nights.

Yep, there was a pool but I only remember it being open once. We had a dog with a bad hip named MRE that used to chase all the Korean Nationals on base, he never failed to chase them. Golden Retriever as I recall.

We had a library right up near the front gate where we could check out dvds. The place even had a computer w/ internet access, that’s where I created my first email address through a strange little website called ‘hotmail’. Lol, I still have my very first email saved.

You’re right about Howze and Casey. Howze had a lot more action, and Casey, whoosh…the camp of all camps indeed. Had to wait for the bus to arrive, then take a nap for the 1.5 hour ride with my ID openly displayed for the guard check. And Casey was the only place guys could get any guaranteed mama-san action, to be polite about things. In retrospect, those trips amounted to $40 spent terribly…terribly.

One thing for certain when I was there, our chow hall was stellar. We had Soul Food day once a week (or it might have been every two weeks). People came from other camps just to get a taste. BBQ ribs, cornbread, fried chicken, collared greens, man that stuff was tasty.

Any of you guys ever head out into the little town outside Edwards? I think it was called Yong-ti-rae or something, I hesitate even calling it a town. There was absolutely nothing of importance for me there. The only thing I saw even remotely interesting was a fried chicken shop, but it was never open. Had to head into Kumchon for anything resembling real life.

Man what a time. Hated it while I was there but now I remember it fondly and am very sad to see it closed down.

Dan (#123) Were the clubs across the street gone by then? No “tree club”? the second I am sure was gfone as the business was low compared to the “Tree Club”.

Also during my time the theatre was opened for a period (less than a year) by a few of the troops working with the chaplain. (between 89-93 probably around 91ish)

As for the drive to Casey we used to race from Edwards to Casey and back for the best time. I think our Sgt Wessenberg had the best time probably at damn near 30 mins. USed to love to hear those Hmmer tires bark around the corners and dodge the RPAV’s (Rice Pattie Assault Vehicles)

Dan and Sgt. Houlette- things sure did change in a short time after I left! The chow was not something to brag about. It wasn’t terrible, but the chow hall was so hot that cooks were constantly sweating on the grills and it was obvious to us the same happened throughout the kitchen. Kind of dampens your appetite. lol. When it wss the Forward Area Support Team, the FAST commander was a major. I don’t remember why, but my buddy (Sgt. Ron Johnson) and I ended up drinking with the major across the street. We didn’t have overnight passes and when midnight came (isn’t that the expiration time for passes?) Ron and I said, ‘we better get back’. The major said abruptly ‘why, are you forgetting that i’m the FAST commander?’ so Ron and I looked at each other, smiled and ordered another beer. There was no USO, internet, or beer machines for us. The wood shop/hobby shop was first building on the left when you came on base. I do remeber the slots and the club (what was the name?) and was it Mr. Kim who managed it? I thought it was a pretty nice club.

Bill Beatty started the Camp Howze Facebook page (nice job), but I wonder if a Western Corridor page would allow a button for each camp? I dont know much about the technical parts, but it would be cool to have camp-specific deicussions and pictures, contact info, etc. Any thoughts? This duscussion tread has given me more information on Edwards than i’ve found anywhere in the past 23 years because of you folks. Thanks.

Hey Sgt Houlette, yep there were no clubs at all across the street, at least nothing I ever heard about Americans going to.. I think I walked across there probably three or four times my whole year there, just to see if I was missing what was actually in the town. I wasn’t missing anything because there was nothing to be missed.

Erik, that is bizarre. I actually write under the pseudonym ‘Ron Johnson’. Whoa.

Love the Edwards history guys, I’ve been meaning to get pictures up for a long time so this might finally get me up off my ass.

To Erik (#125) – Yeah as FAST3 we had a major and when we transitioned to the 296th FSB I beleive he simply transitioned to the XO of the 296th (Major Dempsey was the last I remember of the FAST Side) and he was very into the Korean Culture. Good guy though.

To Dan (#127) – Yeah I assume that when we left in late 92 (when the 296 was deactivated) the one real club left was the “Tree Club” but it had taken a beating due to people going to other villages or Seoul/Camp Casey. Does not surprise me that it was gone as the two main women that ran it (we called them First Seargent and Seargent Major affectionetly) were older and such.

I am looking for a place to post the Annual they had created in the first year of the 296th being reactivated as I placed it into a PDF files scanned into the PC. Includes the people and the units and such much like a school annual. Once I find a place to post it I will link it here for some of you to check out if you want.

I believe their were two clubs across the street, neither were anything to brag about, but a place to get off base for a bit and have a few beers. As I walked across MSR 1 into the village, first business on the right was a dry goods store. The first corner on the left was a food (?) store and i recall fish being layed on the ground outside to dry. Wonderful smell! If you make that left there was a restaurant that was the only place to get food (I had Ramon one time) after hours. In the rear portion of the village were apartments. Sgt. Ron Johnson’s wife and three kids lived there, unsponosored of course. 1SGT wasn’t happy, but sort of accommodating – Ron got overnight passes a bit more often. I spent the nights when I was able to get the pass. BTW Sgt Houllete- was MJR Dempsey an African American? Could be the same guy. And Dan- I would love to have any pics of Edwards. Would you be willing to e-mail them to me?

Erik… You got the stores right… first left corner was a food store of sorts much like a convenient store I guess… the one thing that sticks in my mind is the fact that that when I got there in 89 there were no street lights or traffic lights or even cross walks for the people to cross MSR1. As there was no AC in the barracks and my room faced the MSR you could count the auto/pedestrian accidents every month as you heard every one. Over the next three years as the country got more and more used to automobiles, as it struck me that after the 88 olympics they realized they had to, we recevied crosswalks then warning lights and finally a red light. Those damn taxi cabs and “Orange Crush” (The dump trucks which were orange) used to run those Rock Drops coming from the south and never see you walking across till it was too late… lol We called it “Frogger”. I lived in the Village in 91-92 and stayed in two locations… one was the “Strawberry House” as the owner had strawberry bushes.. and the second hooch was out back on the second story of an individuals house they made into an apartment. Better place as it had oil heating and not Charcoal Major Dempsey was Caucasion.

BTW Dan- before I was assigned to the inspection section I worked in the shop that you descibe working in. As you walk past the Katusa snack bar and gas pumps (cant remember what side of the gate the pumps were on), through the ‘maintenance yard’ gate, inspection section is a few feet on immediate left, ‘shop’ is all the way to the right, maybe a couple hundred feet. I believe the shop was built a few years before I got there. The the other/older buildings in the yard where welding shop, recovery (M88 tank tow truck basically), and machine shop.

I was stationed at Camp Edwards 74-75, worked at the East camp but lived at the BOQ at the West side. Since we were Engineers on the East side we made our own theatre and headquarters shack, had our own NCO club and ammo dump, not bad for a company sized unit and a lot better than what the West side offered. Although we had some legendary ‘hail and farewell’ parties at the BOQ on the West side. The camp commander would designate an LT to procure several women from the Tree Frog Club who then brought them in under cover with the band.

Yeah dude whenever i get down to scanning them in i’ll post up in here again (i’ve been sitting on an Edwards blog for awhile now so i’ll put the pics up there and you can just copy them straight off).

Ah yeah man that’s the shop I was in on the right side of the hill. The center shop was the wheeled vehicles bay. Petrol shack was way off on the left w/ the pumps.

The Katusa Snack Bar…ahh, memories of ordering Ramyun and Yakimandu while hammered on cheap beer on Friday nights in the barracks. They used to deliver to our rooms. Relatively tame in comparison to some of the stories here, but it really is cool that so many of us have awesome memories of ROK, even through different periods of time.

ALL – I have to ask if anyone here knew “Hank” the House Boy on Edwards West. The man was old enough to be my Father in 1989-1992 but he was a hard worker and busted is backside for all of us. It was my understanding that he was there for years and some of the older soldiers from the area (earlier 80′s) or even after (93 and on) from the Engineers that took over Edwards West might have known him. Always wondered what he did when the 29th FSB Deactivated. Any pics?

DAN #133 – Can you drop the link to the Edwards Blog you have?

I don’t recall the name of our house’boy’ (much older than I), but your description fits him. $30 per month for excellent services. I wish I could get the same here!

Erik & Sgt. H I was at Camp Edwards (89-90) the barracks on the left as you come on post on the rear. I don’t remember a name either. My memory though was leaving my unit coin in my pants. I went and asked him if he had seen it. He proceeds to pull out a 3 lb. coffee can full of unit coins! He said he always found them in the laundry and put them in the can until someone claimed them. I wonder whatever happened to that can…

Funny Bill. I recall my ahjussi being honest. NEVER one problem with his service, honesty, or anything. I slipped him a bottle of something rationed (Jack Daniels?)during Christmas. He was very happy with that.

Here’s another funny; aa a CPL I was on the CQ duty roster instead of CQ runner. For some reason I only pulled it one time during the year, although I didn’t make a stink over it :). We were to walk the camp every hour, I believe starting at midnight. My first round started off as a nice walk- nice weather, quiet, etc- but it was pitch black. I started from the orderly room (I believe that became the engineers orderely room) toward the gate and followed the road on around past the barber shop and eventually to the commissary and back up past the Katusa snack bar. Anyway, when I came close to the first gaurd tower i’m thinking, he’ll be saying ‘HALT, WHO GOES THERE’, etc. But he says nothing and i’m sure he could have heard me, especially as I got closer and closer. Duriing my tour the Korean gaurds in these towers were packing shot guns and they were civilian, and not known for being the best of the best. SO now i’m getting a bit worried (shot gun + trigger happy + language barrier) and I yell ‘HELLO, CQ HERE”. I then hear a little movement, but no voice. Now i’m more worried. Does this guy think i’m someone he needs to have a strategy with? Is he trigger happy? So I yell again, “HELLO, CQ HERE”. I then hear in very broken english, “WHO THERE”. “THIS IS THE CQ, CPL ANDAL”. After a long pause I hear “OK”. So not fealing real confident in this guy I say “CAN I PASS”. Another long pause and “OK”. And I was on my way. As I left that postion I had three thoughts; 1. I hope the other gaurds that I approach are more on top of things, 2 I’m glad I didn’t get to experience friendly fire first hand, and 3. i’m glad I don’t get this duty very often.

Erik… too funny.. they went on strike during the time I was there and we manned those little shacks for a time. Some of us also learned how to be “fireman” as they also turned our old armament shop near the barber shop back into the firehouse and they were going to strike also. By that time the Armament shop was down in the motorpool on the lower compound.

Just leaving a request that anyone serving at Camp Pelham during the year 1983 contact me. I have really enjoyed gathering people and stories from those times and I don’t expect to stop now!

Keep up the fire!
Spc4 Hiler
hiler8@gmail.com

Talk about a long and interesting read…I was assigned to Camp Howze from 1985-1986…Retired from the Army and lived at camp howze in the red brick apartments by the MSR until 1993…All these posts brought back many Great memories of the Villes outside most bases in the DMZ area…Those places gave a real meaning to the word Party…As a First Sergeant I had to go down range to insure my Soldiers were treating the Local working girls with respect…At least that is what the Brigade Commander Col Stack said…Col Leach was a whole different Ball Game…Division Commander Gary Luck was also a Village Monger and loved to tip a few with his men down-range…My 2 Won Worth…

Times have changed…..”lived in the red brick apartments”…in my day we had a hootch down in the ville.

Let’s see…we lose 58,000 lives preserving freedom for at least half of Korea…thousands more have sacrificed since the war. I have spent over 6 years in ROK military and civilian; I love Korea but they need to pick up the tab on this issue OR we need to pull out and let them handle their own problems from here on…

Scott M. Conn
8:48 pm on October 13th, 2011 141 Times have changed…..”lived in the red brick apartments”…in my day we had a hootch down in the ville.

Yes Times did change, Watched it being built, paid 13,000,000 won at that time it was about $15,000 usd 3 bedroom…Sold it prior to the base being closed and moved to Seoul (Yongsan area)…

Man,you guys brought back some memories! I was at Howze, 1/31 Inf Feb 84-85. I thought I was crazy when I read the confusion about Sonjuri and Yongjugul, but we cleared that up. I was 11b and recall my summer in the DMZ/Warrior Base.
Those 10 man, 24/48 hour patrols in the DMZ were some of my best memories. We shot the place up one night in summer ’84. Had to sit thru an interrogation by some brass and others afterwards, but Lt.Col Reid, our Bn CO backed us up totally. Great Commanding Officer. Anyone remember the long, steep hill getting into GP Collier? And GP Oullette was like being in the Twilight Zone. Hell, the DMZ was the Twilight Zone back then, with all the music blaring.
My back still hurts from jumping over the the fence at Howze after midnight curfew. MRI (years later) revealed a compressed disc from that little night of adventure, but no big deal, that’s my battle injury I guess!
I’d love to be part of a Western Corridor vets group, great stories!.

Check out the Camp Howze group on Facebook, there’s lots of pics and even some vids there. Also, anybody here stationed at Ft Campbell in the mid 80s to early 90s? I know a lot of guys came to the ROK from Campbell or (like me) PCS’d to Campbell from the ROK.

The 101st was my first permanent duty in 1985. 801st combat support bn. We went to NTC, West Point, and International Task Force 11 (Universal Trek) in Honduras. The big thing that sticks in my mind was how much of a running fool our bn. commander was. We didn’t look forward to those runs. What unit were you in Lourn? And, does everyone still head south (TN) to drink because of the stict laws and law enforcement in KY?

I was with 1/502 from 89-91, our previous BN Commander died from a heart attack during a run just before I got there. I saw a lot of guy’s from (1/5 INF) Camp Howze around Ft Campbell. Yeah, we started at the 101 Club on post then the Red Carpet on Tiny Town Road, then from there we usually went to the go-go clubs (Mona’s Log Cabin, Why Not?, Joann’s Back Door, The Pink Lady) working our way down 41A. The Pink Lady had the best dancers, we’ed usually start there then make a circut and finish where we started. There was another club you may remember called “The Penthouse” that burned down before I got there.

Hey guys, I haven’t forgotten about the pics I have from my time at Camp Edwards (97’98). Just been very very busy w/ work and writing. Once I get them scanned and on a computer I’ll post back, never fear.

Lourn- not much has changed at Ft. Campbell. as I was finishing a 10-mile air assualt run I saw a CSM collapse. It was a heart attack, but he survived.

Dan- Pics of Edwards would be way cool.

Erik – I did that run too, I think it was in July too and hot as a MF. A female Captain kept passing me until we got to that long steady (incline) hill. I took it easy up the hill and and let her take the lead and she even got out of my sight, when I finally reached the top of the hill and it leveled out I saw a croud around her as she was laying flat on her back, they were fanning her with towels and splashing water on her. I kept chugging away and finished the run I think at 1:13 hrs, not too bad for a 200+ pounder in that heat.

Lourn: I knew a SSgt Leib, guy with red hair, believe his first name was Randall. He was my squad leader in ROK (Camp Edwards), and I know he was previously stationed at Ft Campbell. Sound familiar?

No, was he with 1/502?

Erik – So you must left Ft Campbell for Korea in 87? Did you spend much time at any of the go-go clubs on 41A? Hey could you reply through either facebook or my email suflex@hotmail.com

Anyone from Pelham or Gary Owen (after the name change in 96) may want to join the following group on Facebook. The membership and activity on this group is increasing.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/122375117791145/

Need members for the Cp Howze, to post pics, memories, etc. thanks!!!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Camp-Howze-Korea/216209051770735

@ Bill Beatty; You know there’s already a Camp Howze group on facebook with lots of pics and even some videos, nothing wrong with having a page also except for some reason facebook won’t let me like anything anymore. I do like the pic on that page, that’s my old barracks in the foreground and I took a similar pic from our rooftop.

As an FYI I asked and now see that Joseph Helou now updated the Camp Edwards Facebook page so I will be posting some of my pics there and such. I have a few of Pelham and such and will try to get on those groups also as since I was a 45L I supported the M198′s and 4P3 from Edwards… would be cool to see some of the “Gun Bunnies” I knew….

Camp Edwards Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/139877136033939

Hi Everyone.
On a personal perspective, I like the Camp Howze FB page as that was my division HQ and a place I visited for various reasons- dental, edcucation counselor, etc. But, I also like the Camp Edwards FB page. Being such a small camp it is important for me to see conversations and pics that are specific to that camp because I would likely otherwise never see or hear anything significant about the small chunk of land that I spent a year on. I have enjoyed both pages very much and I’d sure like to see a link between the two pages. In fact, what about a link between the Howze page and other small camp’s pages? Just a few thoughts. And, thanks to all who have given me back memories that I haven’t thought about for years (mostly good )

Also, thanks to ROK Drop as well. I believe this too is an important page as it covers all of Korea’s issues/past. I certainly didn’t mean to downsize the great work here. I suppose I see the comparison between all the pages like an old high school web page (very cool), but also smaller and more focused groups like the ‘class of 1978′ would be valued as well since it focused on just those interests. Thank you all for this website, the Howze FB, and the Edwards FB.

I was stationed at Camp Edwards in 1989-1990 when it’s mission was DMZ Support (Med, Maint, S&T) we were re-designated 296th FSB while I was stationed there. Thank you to ROK Drop for keeping these bases alive, if only in the memory of us old soldiers. Thank you Erik for reminding me I have a box of photos somewhere that others stationed in the Western Corridor might find familiar. For what it’s worth, I recently saw online that the 3rd Bde of the 2ID is headed to Afghanistan. I don’t know all the units in 3rd Bde, but I do know that 3rd Bde HQ was at Camp Howze, and our FSB fell under their command, although we were still a part of DISCOM. Never quite figured that out, but I was a PFC then. I will dig out those pictures and start posting them on the Facebook page, or here on ROK Drop.

Bill
Was there a Lt. Cole there when you were there? African American, shop officer for the C/702nd maintenance activities and XO of our company. You may recall the shop office was next door to the Katusa Snack Bar. Good guy. He may have left not too long after me (March, 1988), but I just don’t recall when his tour started/ended compared to mine.

Erik
I don’t recall a Lt. Cole, my tour started in February of 89 so he may have been gone by then. I do remember the Shop Office as most of my tour I was assigned to the new MTF (Medical Treatment Facility) that was probably under construction or dedicated during your tour. It was just downhill from the Katusa snack bar.

A couple of people pointed out a simple mistake regarding 4-7 Cav and Camp Garry Owen in particular. I was in 4-7 Cav in 76-77, both HHT and C Trp. LTC Hahn was Sqdn Cmdr at the time. There was a MAJ Mcmanamay and MAJ Machioroli as XO and S-3, 1LT Philip K Duchin was the CE officer. SFC Paul Hogan was the PSNCO. SGT Walker was the Sqdn Courier, CPT Jack Ellertson commanded C Troop. The motor pool was on the left as you entered the gate, HHT barracks on right. Sqdn HQs on top of the small hill next to some Korean graves. The large dirt field shown on current photos was the baseball field and the Rec Center stood at the north end of it. The old NCO Club is still visible on google maps

Everywhere the 4-7 Cav is stationed, they call Camp Garry Owen. There was even an FOB Garry Owen in Iraq. When I got to Camp Garry Owen in 76, it was right outside YongjulGol. Supposedly it had been called Camp Rice before the Cav moved in.
Delta Troop, the Air Cav Troop was down the road at Camp Stanton.
They had one Platoon of Infantry called the Delta Blues which was the Div Cdr’s personal pet platoon, allowed special uniforms etc. Soldiers had to go thru a special training course to be in the Delta Blues. The culmination of which was a helocast where the chopped would “accidently dunk them in a local lake. That process was stopped by the Div Surgeon because every time a soldier went in the local water he had to be given shots for a bunch of diseases (cholera/hepatitis) if he had any open cuts or ingested the water.

Supposedly, across the street from Garry Owen was what had been called RC #4 which had been given to the ROK Army. RC = Recreation Center and there was what remained of a large swimming pool that the ROK had allowed to become filled with garbage. TaejuPol was the small village before you crossed the river/bridge into Yongjulgol. Also called the “Turkey Farm”, most well known place was the “Blue Door” which was famous for cheap oral thrills.

The gate to Garry Owen circa 1976-77 is located at 37.824963, 126.844049

I might try posting a map/annotated photo when I get the chance.

We lost our telephone communications for two days once. We were on the Giant telephone exchange. You picked up the phone and told the Korean Operator what unit you wanted and they connected you. Two Sergeants First Class stood up the Korea gals who worked as operators on a date and they responded by not not allowiing any of our calls to go through except on the line line we had to Casey which was direct dial. The CSM had to tell them to go and apologize so we could get phone communications back.

@161

Erik,

Do you remember the 1SG (s) Walton and Belardo? How about commissary mom, who
was married to a Korean and sold pictures at the entrance. I was on the Contact team with SSG Christian, SGT Reilly, SPC Legg and SPC Cole. There was guy who could out drink the Koreans (Soju)he ended up in track 3 treatment, What do you know about a guy name Mosher. LOL….SFC Deramus was the 3rd shop NCOIC and CW3 Peters was the OIC. Do you remember when GEN Luck called an ALERT while we were in the chow line? LOL I could go on and on about the comical crap that went on.

@163

Greg,

I agree… When I was in the Western Corridor from 89 to 93 the Garry Owen I knew was one in the same with yours to include the Air Cav down the road at Camp Stanton. Your Coordinates nailed it. The U.S. Army played name games later when the armor moved to Camp Pelham (where 1/4 FA was) closer to Munsan and the newer RC4 (from what you knew) and closed the Garry Owen you and I knew.

greg you nailed it. camp garry owen as you described it was as i remember it. i was stationed in the s-4 shop during that time i worked for a maj cameron and later cpt/maj white. the ncoic was sfc rodell which i replaced for a short time until a replacement came in. the 1st sgt was named hawke.the ones i remember most were sgt felix sfc white ist hawke maj cameron etc. we usually frequently went to the oasis club the momason there looked out for us,we were alerted when gen brady was in the area if you remember nco’s were not allowed to associate with known business women.funny i never saw any women in the clubs that were not bussiness women ha!

Here is an annotated photo of the camp as best I remember it:

http://gregberge.com/Camp Garry Owen.html

I included some of my personal memories.

@164

Hi Bones- I believe my first 1st Sgt was Belardo. He was an ass and had something wrong with his trigger finger that made it extend always, like he was pointing. He bragged when he got orders for Leavenworth and talked abouot how he wouldn’t mind making the prisoners lives more uncomfortable. We were SO glad when his replacement arrived. My second 1st Sgt. was a big dude, black, and commanded respect just from his posture. In reality, we all respected him because of him. Good guy (if you didn’t screw up). I can’t remember his name. I was only in the commissary a few times and so I don’t remember many of the regulars/staff. Mosher does not ring a bell, but my memory sucks anyway. Wher’d he work? And, our Shop OIC was 1st Lt. Cole (good guy, I wish I could locate him), 3rd shop office was CW3 Woods (another good guy i’d like to locate), and Cpt Virgilio was our CO for most of my 2007/08 tour. When were you there, what did you do?

RE: #164, I meant 1987/88 tour, not 2007/08.

Sorry for the goof.

Greg,
Thats the Garry Owen that I spent 75-77 on in HHT. Funny that mentioned Philip Duchin, I worked for him at Ft Huachuca in the early 80′s, he was the CO of the 505th Sig Co. I remember that we called him Disco Duck when he was in the 4/7 CAV. He was quite the character.

Many fine memories of those years.

Erik,
Was CW3 Woods first name Tom, if so he’s retired and living in El Paso, TX?

HANABMF

Yes, it is Thomas! Do you have any contact info? If so, this would be the first contact I’ve had with anyone from Edwards since 1988.

BTW- how do you know him?

Erik,
I’ll get you his email address when I go back to work on Tuesday. He works for a contractor on Ft. Bliss as the PM for the DOL. I met him in the early 90s when he was the BDE Maint Officer and I was a BN Maint Officer. Good guy!

Great! What a small world. You can send me his e-mail and/or phone # to erikandal@att.net

Let him know that I was ‘the’ corporal inspector. He was a good guy, and he had a sense of humor.

BTW- what is “BDE” maint. officer? What unit?

Thanks.

He was the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Maintenance Officer. It is a small world and even smaller in the automotive Warrant Officer field. I’ll get his email to you tomorrow.

:Thanks for the memories was at Pelham 90-91 with the 502 River Rats .

Solders of the western corridor were the best I served with in my 21 years!

Camp Stanton, 95-96 F-troop 4/7 I was just leaving when they finished that overpass. Before you had to take your chances with the light and the terminator trucks.
I didn’t know that all the camps were closed. To bad no Camp Howze drink girls.

I was in seonyu-ri 62&63 CC4 is the only name I recogonize also MUNSON. I was in 77th field artillery 1st cav. HD battery. Could some one help me out with name of camp? There was a little creek dividing Seonyu-ri and camp. Was station there during Cuban crisis.

#179 – I was there from ’86-89, so the names may have changed…. when I was there, Camp Pelham was the FA camp in Sonyu-ri.

#179, I was an at north Camp Custer in Paju-ri from 64-65. You were definitely at Camp Pelham. Traveling north from Sonyu-ri you came to slicky boy corner. Stay to the left and Camp Pelham was a short distance up the road to the right. They changed the names after we left so it will be confusing but I assure you that you were at Camp Pelham. 15th S&T was also there.

Thomas,Paradise club and pictures of fish alley bring back memorys of seonyu-ri in 62. Every thing was dirt roads only hard surfaced rd was to Soel. We were country boys. All field exrecise’s was in Jan or Feb. Did all the girls want to go steady in the 80′s?

#179 I forgot to mention that slicky boy corner was in Munsan-ni. You probably remember that. Cuban Crisis found me at the Automotive School at Ft. Knox.

#182 – back in the 80′s, the girls were still all Koreans and yes, many did want to get married.

The ’88 Olympics are really what changed Korea from what it was, to what it is today. I look to the ’88 Olympics as the point in time that Korea truly emerged from their Hermit Kingdom.

I drove all those roads on a regular basis. I was a truck driver in the 17th Trans Bn at Casey and hauled to and from all the camps north of Uijongbu in 60-61. The MSR was blacktop to gate 2 at Casey, and the one from Seoul to Munson Ni was blacktop to the check point. Dirt roads with some gravel

Robert Johnson: I was a Instructor at the Automotive School at Knox 62-63 in the Chassis Section. Remember we had a Master Sgt Maxwell with a glass eye, SFC Merradith, Msgt Abshire,a Staff Sgt with a huge mustach. I was a buck sgt. I was also a platoon sgt for one of the wooded barracks. I let one of the students paint some hot rodded pictures of armt trucks and jeeps on the walls in the barracks, 1st sgt had a fit.

#185 Most of our NCO’s were shipped out during the Cuban Crisis. Only one I remember was Staff Sgt. Hershel Taylor. He came to Korea in 1965 as our new motor Sgt. I recognized him immediately and introduced myself in frontof the CO. He asked the Co if I was any good? The CO told him I was the best. Later, Taylor must have gotten a dear john because he became a vegetable. He got a compassionate reassignment back t the States. I drove him to Kimpo. The only other NCO I remember who as a black dude who could call cadence like nobody on this earth. If we weren’t in class, we had dismounted drill all the time. A pain in the butt except when he was in charge. We actually looked forward to it. I lived in an old wooden barracks that was actually at the corner of Wilson Rd. and 7th Avenue.

185 Yep, that is where I learned to march troops. I looked every where for photos from there, nothing. If you have any, I sure would love a scaned copy of ant of the school area or barracks.

I was a gear head back then, and still am. Here is my weekend play car.

http://members.tccoa.com/392bird/

185 I never had any pictures from the school or anywhere at Ft. Knox. I was a car nut long before I joined the Army. I had a 55 Chevy parked in a private lot on Wilson Rd.. The last night there, we were all going home for a couple of weeks for Christmas. They told us that we weren’t allowed to travel by POV during hours of darkness. About midnight I went to the orderly room for something and the CQ asked me why I was still there? I told him what we had been told and he laughed and told me to hit the road! Five of us with all our duffle bags and other stuff made for an interesting drive to Cincinnati. No Interstate highway, just US 42

1985 TO 1986 Camp Pelham 2/17th FA looking back on the first night we landed in South Korea and stayed in Seoul Hotel , I was fortunate and will always pride my self for that tour of duty, I have lost touch with most of my army buddies Mario Lavlenet, Art Carter , Roberto Jones, I would give anything to meet them today over a cup of coffee and reflect, some how life throws us around and we neglect to keep the best times close, I was just browsing my Face book time line change and found the Life Event page and started a post to my military time I served in South Korea which brought me to search the web and found the ROK site the pleasure to find the postings brought back vivid reflections and a smile to my face to see that although time has passed and the future is always bright , we can connect with people and a time that can improve our understanding of life and the reasons why we do the things we do, I think I shall update my life events in face book since my child hood days as see what happens,P.S. keep in touch .

To PVT Linwood Schey…( Post 189 )

Make sure to look up Camp Pelham on Facebook if you have not already as there is a Facebook page for Pelham and also Camp Edwards… not sure about the others but those two I am aware of and participate on. Never know… there might be some people there ya know of the 100 or so members.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/122375117791145/
or seach for the following entry: Camp Pelham, South Korea 2nd Infantry Division

Mr. Houlette- room dog. I was your “room-mate”, even though you lived in Yong Tae Ri.> sp. I was at Camp Edwards from ’90 to 91. 18 months, involuntarily extended. I remember a dog named JP4. Mama san at the club across the street, hung out there a lot and drank a lot of Jungle Juice??(what’s in that stuff anyway?) Did our CO’s girlfriend get killed trying to cross MSR1? Loved hanging out at the NCO Club and pool. Thank god for the NCO club. Someday I will try to post my photos too. We went to the field quite a few times supporting the artillery guys from Camp Pelham. Our 1SGT had a dog (a shepherd mix)that got kidnapped and someone shaved it’s head, hilarious. The 1st SGT also bragged that he was related to Brian Setzer?? Korea was a long strange trip.

I was stationed at Camp Stanton 1984-1985. HHB 2/61st ADA. Learned a lot about myself and the Korean culture. Kind of crazy seeing the walkway across the road to the airfield which was not there when I was. I found working with the ROK soldiers to be very enlightening and would love to see some of them again to catch up. I have some photos of the base from the top of the mountain behind the base. Does anyone know if the tank traps are still there?

I had to stop reading about the alleged pollution issue because I remember the area did not have any real sewage system. Raw sewage all over the place. I hope the new leader to the north has more sense than his predecessors?

I also remember finding all kinds of propoganda literature which was said to be dropped by the North using balloons. I have few copies of that as well.

I would give anything to live those times over again. 77-78. I was assigned to HHT at Camp Garryowen. Anyone remember SP4 Maggio? CSM Dimitri? Cpt Couch? SP4 Watson? I just remember being so young and crazy and full of life. This is a great forum and really rejuvenates me. I want to go back someday. Here; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRdftI18E2k&feature=related you can see the camp as Camp Rice before it became Camp Garry Owen. The helo pad was still a helo pad but it was also the rec center’s open space. The Quanset huts were updated to more rectangular one floor barracks when I was there. What a time warp it was.

SGT STERK-thanks for the youtube video, I sure remember all of those buildings well. I was a mechanic in Troop Maintenance back in 75-77 and spent many hours in the old barn that we called a motor pool. Its fun to remember old memories but more fun to make new ones.

SGT Sterk,

Thanks for the video. I believe Rice was renamed Pelham then later Gary Owen. There are a couple groups on Facebook dedicated to this camp and I would like to post this video in one of them. Please confirm my info above is you see this, Thanks

Chris Hiler

Camp Beard;
The pin locating Camp Beard is in the wrong place. That is Recreation Center #1. Camp Beard is across the road (top center) going up the narrow valley.

Camp Giant;
Prior to it assuming the name ‘Giant’, the compound was simply know as Post Engineers. However, a map dated July 1 1968 does refer to it as Giant. I arrived in country Oct 67 (2nd BN 72nd Armor, Camp Beard)and knew it as the PE compound.
http://koreaatourofduty.us/Installations68.html

Camp Pelham;
Officially named Camp Pelham May 9th 1960. To download the history ; http://koreaatourofduty.us/MiscTest.html

Camps that temporarily used the name Gary Owens;
Camp McGovern, Camp Rice (Yongjugol), Camp Pelham
This name Gary Owen is associated with the 7th Cav and units of it could use the name if they desired to.
http://news.webshots.com/photo/1079038943027034894fOvVhc

For those following this thread that haven’t seen this already, the below link takes you to a complete list of my “Profile” series of postings of different USFK related areas in Korea:

http://rokdrop.com/2011/08/15/archive-of-rok-drops-a-profile-series/

Chris Hiler, Use the link of Camp Rice and the same Camp Pelhem if you like. I found it on YouTube. HANABMF you are correct. Making new memories is great but lately I have gone back in time to conjure up old times. I am almost 60 years old so I’m looking back these days. I’ll get over it soon enough I suppose. I’m still trying to find SP4 Maggio who worked with me at HHT. Anybody have a 1978 HHT yearbook that would give me a first name? Thanks. By the way, this website has some great fast turn around comments.

Thank you for your post…brings back a lot of memories. I arrived at Greaves in August 1971, serving with 1/17th(MECH) Infantry, and after some months, we pingponged south of the Imjin to a Camp McKenzie. Thus far, I’ve been unable to find any info on the latter, although I found the remnants of Greaves on Google Maps. I suppose 40 years has wrought too much change. I’m interested if anyone remembers McKenzie and/or its location. I still have the same camera I used all those years ago to take a good many photos of Greaves, the DMZ, McKenzie, etc.

@ Harry Tinsley – http://www.koreaatourofduty.us

Check with the guys from the 4th SQDN 7th Cav who were also at McKenzie – Operations Center, Units, 2nd Div, 4/7th Cav

@168

I was there from June 86 to June 87, I was on the Contact team. Your right about
about 1SG Belardo with the finger, but he was cool for the time I was there. He retired at Ft. Riley and got a job selling insurance.

@189
You guys had issues with 4/7 CAV lol, there were a group of guys who called themselves “The Family” from HHB.

I was stationed with HHB, 5/5 ADA at Camp Stanton in 1992 and 1993. D Btry, 5/5 ADA was also on the camp. A and B Btry’s were at Tong du Chon. i never understood why an avenger battery and a HHB would be that close to the DMZ, but we were. If anyone was there during that time, feel free to contact me.

Sgt. Houlette! Get you A** in order and fix that M2 now! And you better not fall out in the morning PT run to Kum Chon… j/k

I was stationed at Camp Edwards in 1981-1982(Armament), 1984-1985(Armament NCOIC), 1987-1989(Armament NCOIC). I have a ton of pictures and some videos. Not only pictures that I took but also from 5 different year books. I’ve always thought about scanning the yearbook pics and putting everything up on one of my websites. I actually have a video where I mounted a Sony betamax camera in the back of a jeep and filmed the entire drive (through the front window) from the front of the Armament Shop all the way across Freedom Bridge to 4P1 on the DMZ to fix an M102 howitzer. Nice to see people from that time still around and hello to everyone that was stationed there that I don’t know. Sgt. Houlette? You remember Mike Kelly? Believe it or not, we both work here on APG in Maryland. Hope to hear from you some time!

  • Sgt. Houlette (702 MSB / 296 FSB)
    12:09 pm on     May 9th, 2012 205

LOL at SGT Stotts… glad to see ya and touch base… you need to tell Mike that I have tried to track him down and been unsuccessful..

I was stationed with S2, HHT 4/7 Cav at (old) Camp Garry Owen 1979-80. What a great bunch of guys. We were all so miserable together it was actually fun. At that time HHT and A Troop (Armored Cav) were at Camp Garry Owen, B and C Troop (Air Cav) were just a few clicks south at Camp Stanton by Changman-yi, and D Troop (Air Cav) was at Camp Stanley outside Uijong-bu with 2ID DivArty. The Romance Club and the Giant Tea Room were next to the police box at the East side of Yongju-Gol on the road to Beobwon-Ri(pronounced “Pobwonyi”). There were a few Hawk Missile ADA Batteries up on the mountains around Beobwon-Ri. YongJu-Gol was like the wild west back then. Damn near anything went. We worked hard and partied hard. I was a punk-ass 19-year old buck private when I got there and left a well-trained Spec4 in need a of rest from all the hard work and partying. When I came home in May 1980 I remember getting on the plane at Osan to fly back to Travis. I was so happy it was over and I was “going back to the world”. I swore I’d never go back to Korea again. Little did I know that I’d end up spending 8 more years in Seoul after the Olympics 88-95 and TDY throughout the Korea as a soldier and 3 more 96-99 as an Army Civilian at Yongsan. I learned to love the place. Life is a trip, no?

As the NCOIC for the 2ID carrier service, I went to every camp in the division area from Che judo to Cp Howez. Not one accident.

For everyone following this posting the below link may be of interest for those who served in the Western Corridor in the 1950s and 1960s:

http://rokdrop.com/2012/06/28/filmmaker-looking-to-interview-us-rok-military-veterans-for-documentary/

Thanks for the memories, guys! RC#4 89-91 “Attack Battery”, 5/5 ADA

My, how things have changed, especially the names of the camps.

I had a little guy named Paschall that I put thru BT in 1983. Then when I got off status and went to Germany, there he was. Is that possibly you, Pashall?

I was stationed there at camp pelham back in 1990 to 1991. I think it was the perfect place to train for our artillery exercices that we went out to the field for to prepare for any battle to come our way.

I was at C 702 86-87 I worked in 3rd shop with Sgt.D. I remember playing softball with spc Legg,sgt Holmes,sgt D,sgt Ericson, Mosher was from one of the great lake states, he was my room mate but iI don’t know anymore about him. He was a kick in the pants. I do remeber 1st sgt’s walton, and Belardo. they were both cool with me. as well as cpt.Davis. The office clerk was Balisha Jefferies.we partyed a little when she got back to the world. lost track of her. One of the most vived memerys was of sgt Riely grabbing some jackass’ junk and pulling him through one of the clubs, can’t remember the name of it but it was a cave.

Ed- I was in 702nd Co C from 87-88. I was first assigned to 3rd shop, then assigned to inspection section. I remember Balardo, but it seemed he wasn’t regarded as the nice guy. I recall him being excited to PCS to Leavenworth. We didn’t have use of the pool or old gym as they were closed for upgrades my entire tour. Was Lt. Cole there during your stay?

Erik- Was Lt Cole the shop officer. I think my chief officer was CW4 Peters. I also remiber a Sgt. Dove. For some reasone your name seems familar cant spell worth a crap sorry. I left in late May 87. I also worked with Sgt. Thorp.

You guys bring back memories. Peters was CW3 SFC was Deramis, Belardo replaced 1SG Walton, Jefferies was Company Clerk, Belardo Retired at Riley ended up selling Insurance. Legg PCS along with Kidd, Rielly was a Biker, Christian went to Carson, Mosher,you are right, if he was in jeans he was cool,if he was in a suit,look out. Garner, Commissary Mom, Katusa Snack Bar. Tree Club If you guys were to see me, you say Ohh Hail No.

#215 – Bones I was there in October of this year to see what all had changed after 20 years of being gone. the “tree club” as we knew it was demolished and a new building built in its place. the “Spring water” was done the same… seems the community was simply wanting to move on. Not to mention the entire post is demolished… no buildings at all. Have some pics and will need to simply post them up.

Bones- yea I Rembimber Mosher, he came back to post with his head bashed with a bottle, after the meds patched him up he pulled a cptQ out, put his kill a commy for mommy T on, then waited for the gate to open. He was dead set on getting who ever smacked the shit out of him. Commissary mom was Sherrie she moved to the ft Lewis area. Sg.Houlette did you do a lot of weight working.

#217 – Ed Harris I was not a big weight lifter… was more interested in lifting the OB bottles Spent a lot of time in the tree club or on bus 32 heading to Yong Ju Gol / Taking Cabs to Son Yu Ri outside of Pelham. Well…. when I was not keeping the M198′s firing for the 1/4th or supporting 4P3

Hey! Is there any way to have this website correct the order of camps up the MSR from Camp Howze? They skip over Camp Edwards West and go straight to Camp Edwards East. No mention of Camp Edwards West. Anyone else notice that? Maybe they moved the camps around and got rid of the original East Edwards during this posting of the camps, IDK. But the pictures and description clearly only show East Edwards and no West Edwards.

Sgt Stotts…. the entry they discuss is Edwards West (main Edwards by the gate and aerial view due to Commissary and such) the engineers took it from us when we disbanded 296th FSB in 1992. The Edwards East (across and down the MSR north of the ville) was our Med Company during the 296th FSB days I beleive. At one point there was an infantry company there I think when you were there in the mid 80′s? I think the confusing part is that Edwards had Engineers way back (prior to FAST3 and 296th and the Engineers of the 1992 and later era) the black and white pics of east you see… 1970 or so.

Hi Chuck, thanks for posting. Actually this website has some mistakes regarding this. Looks like they are referring to both east and west as a whole making no mention of the units that were the core of Camp Edwards West for many many years. That third picture is what was at Edwards East during the years I was at Edwards West. B Co 2nd Engineer Bn. I have a letter of appreciation for repairing their CEV (combat engineer vehicle) In 1982. The same vehicle that was used to block the North Koreans from coming across the bridge of no return during operation Paul Bunyan in the 70′s following the tree cutting incident. The last picture shows the front gate of Edwards West with the caption below it saying “the last unit to call it home was 82nd Engineers”. So I guess they took over Edwards West after your unit left? What I’m confused about is if the med unit went to Edwards East, where did the Engineer unit go that was there? At this website http://rickinbham.tripod.com/KoreaPhotos.htm scroll down to the picture of Mr. Cho and Miss Ko. They were at the NCO club at Edwards West when I was there. And you’ll also see 1971 pictures of the same 2nd Engineer Bn at Edwards East sign that was there when I was there. I don’t know exactly when C Co 702nd Mt Bn became active at Camp Edwards West but according to Ricks website it was there in 1971 and I’ve seen post on other websites indicating it was there as far back as 1968. So I can only assume that this website is only referring to the last days of the camps. But even still, they got it wrong in the fact that the last unit to call Edwards East home must have been the Med unit. So my main point is they seem to only refer to Edwards east and west as a whole and infer that the only units ever there were the Engineers.

Hello everyone I was a medic with D Co 2nd Med which became C Co 296th in Oct. 1989. We were at Camp Edwards West, there was a company of infantry at Camp Edwards East from 1989-1990 1/5 Mech I believe, do not recall the company. Our orderly room was the 2nd building on the right, just past FAST 3/ FSB HQ Bldg. The housekeeper we had said the post belonged to the engineers in the 1970s, at some point they moved the S&T Co.& Med Co. in and we became the 296th. Once the 296th was deactivated in Sep 1992, the Engineers moved back in until it’s closure in 2004.
http://www.stripes.com/news/camp-edwards-closure-contiues-with-move-of-vehicles-to-camp-casey-1.25862

As stated in Post 222 the FAST 3 to 296th transformation changed the units on both WEST and EAST. one by designation and the other by rotation. Engineers did not return until Sept 1992 (Being gone since some time in early 80′s). As 2ID Doc stated, when Fast 3 was in place the Med was on WEST due to the Infantry at EAST. (1/5th sounds correct) During the 296th run the MED company of 296th moved to East until our deactivation in Sept 92 and I was sent to Casey (C Co 702nd AGAIN) for the last few months before leaving country in Jan 92.

I got a bit confused from the posts above. From my memory, during my 87-88 tour in C702nd; D Co Meds, C 702nd, and FAST 3 were on Edwards West. Engineers were on Edwards East. I do not recall infantry on East during my time.

Erik, When I arrived in Feb 1989, the infantry was across MSR1 and as you said FAST 3, 2nd S&T, 2nd Med, & 702nd Maint were all on West Edwards. In October 1989 we were all reorganized and renamed 296th Foward Support Battalion. According to the war plan the infantry was supposed to cover our evacuation south to our first position to provide brigade support. Sgt. Houlette spent several years at Camp Edwards & in 2ID so he may be more familiar with the timing of the Engineers at Edwards East. I know it was infantry at East when I was there, I stitched more than a few up after fights. Spc Bill Weedman

More info on Camp Edwards …..
http://koreaatourofduty.us/MiscTest3.html

After the division moved out of the area it becomes very difficult to keep track of what units were moving to were as information is not as widely published.
I knew that some infantry had occupied Camp Howze over the years but never knew they also were at Edwards. It’s one of those camps you just don’t hear much about.

Erik, I was at Edwards from 86 to 87 the Contact Team (SSG Christian) 1/31 Infantry was at Edwards East. They were banned from Yongju gol.

Garryowen – 4/7 Cav
Howze – 3rd Brigade
Stanton – 2/67 ADA
Pellam – 2/17 FA, Engineers I think the 52nd
Giant – I forget
Greaves – 1/9 Infantry
4P3 – FA rotation
RC4 – detachment 2/67 ADA

Belardo was the 1SG, CPT Davis was the CO, Do you remember Mosher?

I was at Howze early 84 into 85, in 1/31 Inf (Mech). We would go to Younju gol all the time. Loved that place. What Camp was the one at Young ju gol?? I was at Edwards for 1 month, around Christmas time, helping with the mail (even though I was a grunt). The only Edwards I recall was a bit north of Howze, on the opposite side of the MSR. Not sure if that would be east or west. But west would be logical. They had a rail road line going thru it, where we (infantry) would put our APC tracks on (along with ourselves) to go down south for Team Spirit in March. I just don’t remember another Edwards, but it was a long time ago, as we all know.

Ok. Maybe you guys can help me out. I am confused. Pelham was the Son Yur-i Camp? What Camp was the Yung-ju-gol Camp? (In 1984, when I was there). Spent time in both ville’s, but really was never exactly sober while in them. The Son-yur-i girls were by far the scariest bunch. Yong-ju-gul was better. And how did some of you guys spend 3 or more years there, consecutively? They let us do that? If I had only known. Although I was crazy homesick as a 19-20 year old there. But all in all, Korea, western corridor was way better than any stateside duty. Stateside was just mundane and boring, 24/7. Western Corridor was The Twilight Zone, but it was one heck of a ride.
When I came down on levy and got my orders for Korea, everyone was laughing and telling me how screwed I was. They were telling me, “Worst place ever, bro, it’s all over for you, you will freeze to death, Frozen Chosen/Chosin”…etc etc. I was at Ft Bragg at the time, 82nd Abn.
Finally one Sgt came up to me and said, “you are going to have the time of your life there, kid.” He was right, although I didn’t believe him at the time.

Bones- I remember CPT Davis and 1SG Belardo. Mosher sounds very familiar, but I can’t place him. Where did he work?

Mike- the tracks went through Edwards West to support the S & T efforts.

Erik, ok, thanx. I should know, since I lived there for a month, temporary mail helper during Xmas time. But I just can’t recall an Edwards east. I do recall the small ville though, Yong te ri or something like that, a couple of clubs.

to Mike in #229 – YOu are correct on the Cp. Pelham situation as it was in Sonyuri(with the utopia and paradise clubs).. YongJuGol (Aju club and the like) was next to Cp.Gary Owen and Cp Stanton(air field) down the road.. Now before people on here start freaking out I want to highlight that this is the way it was between 89 and 93… at some point after that some cav commander decided to rename Cp. Pelham in Sonyuri to Cp Gary Owen all because they moved the cav to that location from Gary Own in YongJuGol. It has been discussed on a number of occasions that this “ranking officer” did not follow the proper process and the documentation around the change is missing or confusing to say the least. All i know is what was there when I was there from 89-93 and I supported M198 Howitzers at Pelham in Sonyuri and Cav M60′s and Bradleys at Gary Owen.

@Sgt Houlette;
A letter dated 22 Jan 1999 states ….

“Camp Pelham was re-designated to Camp Garry Owen in 1996. The Cav CMDR there did so on his own initiative. Subsequently, on the official records the camp is still known as Pelham. We tried to tell him how to do it by the book, but he would not listen”
‘R. Miller, EUSA Command Historian’

I’m still trying to get a conclusive answer as to whether or not the former Camp Rice (Yongjugol) was renamed or just re-designated Garry Owen. The name was also used at Camp Coursen and Camp McGovern when the 7th Cav occupied those locations back in the 60′s.

Webmaster
http://www.koreaatourofduty.us
www

Ah. That clears things up a bit for me, as I thought I remembered Pelham at Sonuri, and I was kind of sure I also remembered Garry Owen at Youn ju gol, in 1984.

How some commander can just switch a camp name like that is bizarre.

It’s like switching Ft Hood to Ft Bragg, by the stroke of a pen. Of course, 30 years later it’s going to be nothing but confusion for guys trying to recall it all. And the Soju and OB beer probably doesn’t help trying to recall. Good times.

I was positive that Camp Garryowen was not in Yongu-gol in 1964-65. I worked at the MP station across from CC-1 and Camp Beard was right next to our station. Never could understand why the change in names over the years. Pelham was definitely at Sonyu-ri in my day. My home was at North Camp Custer at the base of Charlie Block. God only knows what it may have been called in later years.

The only camps that went through temporary name chances were Camp Rice (Yongjugol) to Gary Owen and Camp Pelham (Sonyuri) to Gary Owen. In both cases the change took place after the 7th Cav moved into them.
Prior to 1964/65, Camp Coursen was temporarily called Gary Owen (again, occupied by the 7th Cav) and Camp McGovern carried both names on it’s sign. Camp McGovern, written on the left side of the arc, and Gary Owen, written on the right side.
There were other camps were the 7th Cav was stationed over the years, but there was no name change at these locations(Camp MacKenzie and Camp Jeb Stuart, to name two of them.)

I might also mention that in order for a camp to be renamed, it must follow 8th Army guidelines.
Otherwise, the name change is simply a re-designation.
Camp Pelham was re-designated Camp Gary Owen.

I was stationed at Gary Owen back from 80-82 (end of 79 to Jan 82) with A Trp 4/7 Cav. as a mechanic working on 48a5′s, 113′s, duece n a halfs, goats..etc.., etc.., etc.. went through the ROK ranger course, qualified a 48a5 during gunnery (we were short on a crew for one of the tanks so SFC Williams (motor sergeant at the time) volunteered a couple of us wrenches to shoot the tank).., I used to hang out at the Chin-ju club (interior was designed like a cave).., majority of the mechanics hung out there. I had a hootch in tagibole or however you spell it (ville right out the gate before you crossed the bridge to yongjugol).., good times there, havent been back since I left but I will return there someday.
Some of the mechanics that I remember., Doobie, Tompson, Baker, Audie, T, Valaeo, Lindy, Allen, many others that I can remember their faces, but their names slip my mind.
Thanks for the site! Brings back some really kick-ass memories!!

I remember reporting to the turtle farm in nov 1989. from there went to 1st Battalion 4th Field Artillery Regiment at Camp Pelham. Seonyu-ri was the ville outside the camp’s walls. There was this store to the left outside the gate where the koreans store keepers made custom sweat suits and sold other items. there was this pretty korean girl working there. A lot of my soldier friends tried to talk to her but she wasn’t having it. One day I went into the store and asked her brother why did she act the way she did towards us soldiers. He responded, look over the counter and look at her leg. I did as he asked and noticed that she had only one leg, also that there was a prostetic leg sitting in the corner where she was working at. He then went on to tell me that a soldier had something to do with her injury. I was astounded. He never got into detail, and I never asked for any more info. I had some good times up there, especially at 4P3 for those soldiers who know what that is. I will return one day to see how the western corridor has changed, if they allow us up there anymore.

Erik- Mosier worked in third shop when he was not on the gate. He was my room dog. I can recall one time he came back from the vil. he was shitfaced, he remberd that he had tossed a sandwich out the window earler that day he went out and retrieved it and ate ants and all.

Ed, I was drinking coffe when I read that post and spit it all over my keyboard. Thanks for the laugh. Never met a crazier bunch of guys.

I remember while in a drunken stupor one night having our cook at the EM Club fry me a whole chicken that was frozen solid. After several minutes of bickering, he decided to do it. Looked good! Bagged it up and headed for the hooch. Discovered the thing was still frozen and just left it on my footlocker. Woke up later and found my buddy, Haines was cooking it on top of our oil heater. It worked! 545th MP. Co., Camp Custer, 1964-65.

I am writing in response to some comments about the 4/7 CAV. I was there July 1973- July 1974, this being my 2nd tour in Korea in 10 years. I was Platoon Sergeant of 3rd platoon C Troop. When I arrived the name of the compound was Camp Rice and was changed to Camp Garry Owen about September that year suggested by our new CSM Hood and Squadron CO. Not only that,but they also removed an 8th Army heli pad which used to be just behind the Aid building and in back of our supply room. In 1963 I was in Aco, 2nd Bn. 15th armor which was located across the Imjim supporting the 8th and 9th CAVs with our tanks in case anything happened. The rest of our Bn. was in Yon ju gol across the road from the RC. at the same time. up the road across from the compound I was at later in 73-74, was another US compound, an artillery unit. I was there with one of our platoon sgts. visiting his brother who at the time was operating the NCO club. In 73 when I got there, that compound was ROK army and our old Bn. compound was also ROK army. In 76-77 I was back again at Casey, Platoon sergeant 2nd Plt. 1/72nd armor. We made one run across the river at night and past my old area from 1963-64 and from what I could tell all of the quanson huts were gone and the area empty. I sure hated to see all those thing sgone. Now after being retired from the army for 26 years after 24 1/2 years service, I see how life has changed over the years. Vic Pitts, 1SG, USA RET

Well what Ican give thanks to you for the geografic history
so well gather and presented.That wouldbe very apreciated memory of the camp that i expend time during the flower of our youth on the defense of Korea.

My family we have 3generations of doing the Samuel sotomayor 1952 Company D 65th infantry myself, Federico Sotomayor 1976 1977.Co B 2nd Engr Batallion.My Son Ricky T.Sotomayor served 20010 on aviation unit here by we only have a fallen cousin in Korea. well thanks for a job well done.and best regards( Federico Sotomayor)Senior

One thing wrong with the timeline is when the name changed from Pelham to G. Owen. I was at Pelham from 1993 to 1994 as part of the 5-17 Cav. So, it changed after that. I would like to see about the other camps not mentioned as well. FYI…Liberty Bell was handed over to the ROK’s the same year I arrived in 93, but was home to Ranger and LRRP’s units before it closed.

@ JW
You would be correct as only the 7th Cav has the right to use the name Garry Owen. Other compounds that temporarily used the name Garry Owen were, Camp Rice (Yongjugol) Camp McGovern and Camp Coursen. All compounds at the time the name was used were occupied by units of the 7th Cav.
I might also mention that Pelham was not renamed but only re-designated, as a renaming can only be done following 8th Army guidelines for it to be official. And the commander of the 7th Cav at Pelham did not follow the proper procedure and guidelines. Thus, when the camp closed, it closed as Camp Pelham in the 8th Army books.

Was at Garry Owen 84/85, A troop 4/7 Cav. The CO was William Shatuck. I recall the names of Glen Pelkey, Rae Howery, David Foster, Eric Leon, Lewy Grebin. Had a great time there in my youth, it was like another life. Like most, I have experienced some of the worst times as well as the best times while there, and to this day, damn near 30 years latter, I recall only the good times. I only spent 1 tour in the army but it allowed me to further my education upon my ETS. I’m close to 50 yrs old and often think back on my time in Korea and the great guys I met. What wonderful memories.

I was station at camp Pelham A Btry 2nd bn 19th FA,MAR 1962 April 1963. I liked the Soldiers also the South Korean people, really wouldn’t blame any of them for whatever they done.

I was stationed at Camp Edwards West in 1974. I was in Charlie Co. 702nd Maint Bat., 3rd shop and had some crazy times. Some of the people on base were Sgt Tripp ” Don’t let that biscuit ring Sparks, Sanutti, Staples, Brashears,Wortham, Spann,Evans and many others . The Tae Kwon Do instructor was Choi Song Sik, 8th degree black belt and truly a great master. We spent a lot of time in Yon Te Ri, the Tree Club and also at the “turkey farm”. We were rousted one night and told the North Koreans had come across Freedom Bridge and that this was the real deal. We had a Deuce and 1/2, a generator and 12 guys and we drove to Freedom Bridge that night with the top down, M60 at the ready and lots of rain. The North Koreans had driven a tank around a little and then went back. We also had some great party’s up near the helipad. One memorable band was the ” Nobody Like A Lizard Band”. This site brings back a LOT of memories.

I was in the 4/7 Cav at Camp Stanton in 78-79. Flew AH-1G Cobras during that tour. The little village that was basically just outside the gate of Stanton was called “Pie Won Knee”(Obviously not the correct spelling, but that’s how it was pronounced). One of the highlights of my tour at Stanton was the infamous naked march out of the officer’s club and through the village outside the gate. I was not a participant during this march (was in Seoul at the time), but there were some pilots that got in some real trouble over this midnight march which also included some very loud cadence that obviously woke the local residence out of bed … I wish I could have been there to see it! We also had the annual “Chicken Drop”. Aircrews would buy live chickens down in the village and do everything from rigging parachutes on them to placing them in cushioned boxes. We would then fly over the airfield at 1,000 ft in a UH-1 Huey, and the participants would drop there individual chicken … Closest chicken to the target on the airfield (the chicken had to survive the fall) would win the prize money. Anyway, we had some pretty good times at Stanton … Had some miserable times too.

My mistake … That little village outside the gate of Camp Stanton was called “Sinsan-ri”

I was at Camp Stanton from Jan 86 to Jan 87 when it was the ADA HHB. I worked in S-1 as a legal clerk and then as the distribution clerk. I would go to Kwang-tan to drink with the Koreans and get laid at the Korean whore houses. I did not live a “good” life while there, but I sure had some fun. Met a Korean named Jimmy who could speak English as well as any American. My friends’ name was Frank Alvarez & would like to be get in contact with him sometime as well as Paul Hansen.

KOREA IS THE ARMY’S BEST KEPT SECRET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Agent Orange Review, Vol 26 No.1 Winter 2012; Expands dates of agent orange from 1968-1969 to 1968-1971.I received a copy Mar 21,2013, I served in A Btry 2nd Bn 19th FA 1st CAV Div Camp Pelham, Mar 1962- 1963, I hopes this helps for somebody.

Was at Cp Pelham from Dec 95- Dec 96 was there when it reflagged from 5/17 to 4/7. Lots of great memories!!

I was at Garry Owen from April 1986 till May 1987 and it was HHC 4/7 and my unit A 4/7. It a time I will never forget

The info on Camp Garry Owen is incorrect. The camp name changed from Camp Rice to Camp Garry Owen in 1974. I was there when that happened. Camp Pelham is a different camp.

Ken Leighty asked: “I’m still trying to get a conclusive answer as to whether or not the former Camp Rice (Yongjugol) was renamed or just re-designated Garry Owen.”

Yes, the renaming was official. I was the squadron adjutant and did the paperwork to get the name changed. It was all done by the book.

Charles you are correct about the renaming of Camp Rice to Garry Owen for I to was there then. Not only was the name changed but the 8th Army helipad was removed if you remember and if I remember right a ball field or something else was put in its’ place. The CSM was CSM Hood and had not been there too long. I was the platoon sergeant for 3rd platoon in “C” Troop and was there from late June 73- July 74. Sure do miss those old days. I went to Fort Riley Ks. from there and in 76 volunteered to go back to Korea for my 3rd tour. I had orders for “A” troop, but when I got to the replacement station at Casey, the CSM from 1/72nd armor was told I was there and was told I was an E7 19E40 so he high jacked me and had my orders recut for “C” company 1/72. At first I was sort of ticked off, but at least I wound up with a great company of tankers and the tour turned out great. I did 3 tours there, January 1963- January 1964, 1 half with 7th ID, 40th Armor, then my company was moved across the Imjim and redesignated “A” company 1/15 Armor, of which I liked it better being on the “Z” for the duty was better and had more meaning. I retired 1 January 1987 after 24 1/2 years, and today 26 years later, I still miss those days. and the army life.

For several years, I have been trying to identify the post- referred to as “Camp Rice”. From ’64-’65, I was stationed at “Camp Rice”, which was about 1/4 mile over the bridge from Yogjugol to Taejepo. At that time, it was HQ and A Co., 27th (later 702nd) Maint. Bn. Most references- and video- do not seem to be the same Camp Rice- rather, the camp across from RC #1 in Yonjugol.
One of Ken Leighty’s pictures of Yonjugol, looking across the bridge into Taejepo, shows the original Camp Rice in the distance. Can anyone confirm that this is the camp that is being discussed here? Thanks for any help in clearing my confusion.

@ Jerry Schrag. Camp Rice was just as you described it. I was with the 545th MP’s in Yongu-gol from May, 1964 until June, 1965. 27th Maint was there when I was. Over the years I have become greatly confused with the Camp names because the names were shuffled around. My hootch was at Camp Custer at the base of Charlie block. I thought the compound across from CC-1 was known as Camp Beard but other’s have told me that Beard was actually the name of the compound that CC-1 was located.

I was stationed at camp pelham, Mar 1962-1963 A Btry 2nd bn 19th FA Bn 1ST cav Div Arty. I am 72 years old and old enough to be your great grand pa’s, and camp Pelham was called Camp rice before that, and the Village was named songju-ri and thats that.

William Mitchell…. I believe the army has tried their best to confuse us over the years. I remember a huge POL storage area in Sonyu-ri. I also remember that 15th S&T was not far away but at what we knew as Camp Pellam. You had to go through Slicky Boy corner in Munsan-ni and Pellam was on the right. Railroad track ran to it.

William Mitchell…By the way, I sailed home on the USS General “Billy Mitchell” 21 day luxury cruise!

Robert Johnson-
Thanks for confirming my Camp Rice memories. Talk about confusion…..

I was stationed at Garry Owen from 90 to 91, actually spent a few extra months in country because of stop loss for the Gulf War. Reading these posts bring back some great memories. From going downtown and falling in a turtle ditch because i was slightly intoxicated to trading MREs in the field for a hot cheesy ramen and a coke.I remember being amazed that we had beer in the soda machines in the barracks. We spent alot of time in the field freezing and dodging slicky boy, remember watching Cobra helicopters at a live fire and Koreans were beneath the birds with open trash bags catching the falling brass. Great Times Bros!

Beer in the Coke machines in the barracks. I remember that in ’84. You can bet your life that never happens these days. It truly was a different Army. Being a grunt up in the Z, I was always like “what the hell am I doing here”? But I look back with nothing but fond memories of a lot of crazy guys.

I served with first Cav attached to an armor unit in a compound adjacent to yongugol. There was also a pc there. What camp was that. 1963-1964

Great memories would like to find old Korean friends is that possible?

Sam

@Sam Leonard. They camp was Camp Beard. 2nd Bn. 15th Armor, 1st Cav. Div. I worked out of the MP Station that was next door to Beard 1964-65. The camp changed names later but I’m not sure what it became. I believe the camp was closed around 1970.

#247- Primm,

I remember CPT Shatuck. He gave me my first Article 15 (LOL) for black marketing. My RCP card got me. 1SG was Palomino (hoped I spelled it right). I was at Gary Owens from July 83 to Dec 84. I extended for 6 months as I did not want to leave as it was so fun. I remember Zettler from Arizona, Smith (Smitty) from NY, Ramos from Chicago and Stafford (?). Zettler was 3rd PLT in the quonset huts while the rest and I were in the barracks in 1st PLT. Talking about fun.

Arden Collier

I was stationed at RC#4 which was right in the middle of these camps. We were a Vulcan Stinger Btry, 1988-1989, A btry 5/5/ ada 2nd inf.
There was also Camp Pellam which was field arty.
I consider that one year in nine years of service to be my favorite!

I just found this website and it brings back many memories. I spent two years 1977-79 on a mountaintop communications relay site just above Yongugol. I was part of 1st Signal Brigade. My recollection is that Camp Beard was the ROK Ranger training base at the base of the mountain where the site I worked was located. The pictures here look so different. A lot of time has passed. I spent a great deal of my time at Mr.Won’s gym studying Tae Kwon Do. He had many US students and also taught on Camp Stanton. In the 70′s the area had a rice field right in the middle of town. The communications site I was on deactivated in 79 after the link was reengineered to a new path. I’m planning a trip to Korea in the next couple years and hope to visit this area.

I served as an 11 Delta for C/4/7 at Camp Rice/Garry Owen from March ’74/May ’75. I turned 18 there. I drove a scout gun jeep for SSgt. Johnny Brannon from Tennessee. I remeber Pvt. Miller, Sgt. Quinata from Guam, ‘wee wet willie’ Willy Williams from Bloomington, Ill., and another tall, lanky, dark-haired fellow from Mansfield, Ohio with glasses – can’t remember your name. My Top was 1st Sergeant Rheinhart and CO was Capt. Miller, I believe. It’s been awhile. Anyone that served there during that time frame please contact me. I miss you guys!

Hi guys, I was at camp Howze ( Ville ) Dongducheon the end of 1971: with the combat engineers unit. 3 months later we moved to John C Pelham (ville) Seonyu-Ri. Then I became a (UP) unit police for the duration of my time. I had a bad industrial accident, I was hit by the bucket 2 1-2 cubic yard. That was 23 yrs. ago. I have a closed head injury. The only guy I remember was Billy Batson from Mo. Other then that if anybody remembers me please contact me at wildmanrd@yahoo.com Thanks guys.

Hi Rob, I was at Howze in ’84, but the Ville outside of it was not Dongduchong. It was Bong-Il-Chon. Although the truly correct name for the area is Paj, I think. Maybe I misread your post. Sorry you got hurt over there. All the best.

GI Flashbacks: The 2004 Taxi Cab Rape Case

| May 14, 2009

There probably isn’t a greater miscarriage of justice against a USFK servicemember than what happened to this soldier upon arrival at Incheon International Airport back in 2004:

crime image

The Seoul High Court yesterday overturned the conviction by a lower court of a 49-year old taxi driver who had been charged with the rape of a 19-year old U.S. female soldier.

The man had received a 10-month prison term in the original trial after being convicted of luring the newly-arrived servicewoman from Incheon International Airport to a hotel near there where the woman said he raped her.

The woman reported the incident to U.S. military authorities, who asked for assistance from Korean prosecutors.
The appeals court ruled that the woman had shown no evidence of having refused the man’s advances, and that he used “not enough violence to constitute rape.”

The prosecution said it would take the matter to the Supreme Court. The U.S. servicewoman returned to the United States in February; the defendant’s appeal was decided without her presence. [Joong Ang Ilbo]

So what are the odds that a 19 year old US soldier who arrived in the country for the first time would just suddenly want to have sex with a 49 year old taxi driver as soon as she gets off the plane? It doesn’t make any sense, but in the Korean court system it makes perfect sense. This is an incident that if it happened today USFK and the US government would probably have made large protests about with the cab driver not being punished for his crime.  However, back in 2004 USFK was on the defensive due to the anti-US movement that had been triggered by the 2002 armored vehicle accident that killed two Korean school girls.

I have always hoped that everything turned out alright for this soldier who was raped and the perpetrator was allowed to walk.  However, remember this story the next time someone makes the claim about GIs never being punished for crimes in Korea.

Note: You can read more GI Flashbacks articles by clicking on the below link: 

DMZ Flashpoints: The Deadly 1968 Truck Ambush

| March 31, 2009

In the late night darkness of the Korean DMZ on April 14, 1968 one of the deadliest incidents along this tension filled border would occur.  That night four UN Command personnel would lose their lives after a deadly North Korean ambush of their truck. Here is how the Stars & Stripes would report the story:

ALONG THE DMZ, Korea — Observers at the scene of Sunday night’s bold ambush by Communist North Koreans who machine-gunned and killed four United Nations Command soldiers reached one conclusion: “I don’t see how anybody survived this.”

About 20 bullet holes could be seen in the shattered front windshield of the truck. Both headlights were blasted out. Three of the tires were punctured and at least 40 rounds had ripped through the truck’s rear canvas cover. Two UNC troops survived the attack, but were wounded.

A pool of dried blood, a severed wristwatch, glass fragments and discarded bandage wrappers were scattered around the ground near the truck.

A U.S. Army spokesman said parts of a Soviet fragmentation grenade were found.

Lt. Col. M. G. Engle, chief of the UNC Joint Observation Team, found several empty North Korean ammunition clips and numerous spent rounds of Soviet-made 7.62-mm bullets near the ambush scene.

Engle had arrived here to meet with a North Korean delegation at 6 a.m. Monday to investigate the ambush, but the Communists failed to show up. They had been asked by Rear Adm. J. V. Smith, UNC senior member of the Military Armistice Commission, to participate in a Joint Observer Team (JOT) investigation.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Herman A. Praeger, commander of the 8th U.S. Army Support Command Advance Camp three miles south of Panmunjom, described the machine-gun fire which cut down the relief guards as “deadly accurate and delivered from close range.”

Praeger, one of the first U.S. officials to arrive at the scene, shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday, said about 200 rounds of machine-gun fire came from both sides of the dirt road.

The three-quarter-ton truck, lights on and flying a white flag in accordance with armistice rules, carried three men in the cab and three others in the back under cover of the canvas top, according to Praeger.

The UNC guards were carrying .45-cal. pistols but it was not known whether they returned any shots, Praeger said.

The dead and injured were taken by helicopter to the 121st Evac. Hospital in ASCOM after the ambush.

The truck and guards were from the support element at the Advance Camp, not from the 2nd Inf. Div. as previously reported.

By Craig Garner, S&S Korea bureau
Pacific edition, Wednesday, April 17, 1968

Of interest is this ambush occurred at the same time that the US was negotiating for the release of the crew from the USS Pueblo that had been captured back in January 1968. Additionally President Lyndon B. Johnson was meeting the next day with ROK President Park Chung-hee in Hawaii to discuss the USS Pueblo Incident and the sending of an additional 50,000 ROK soldiers to Vietnam.  Arguably the North Koreans were sending a message about their resolve for US capitulation on the USS Pueblo issue and give Park reason to not send more troops to Vietnam.

April 16, 1968 edition of the Stars & Stripes.

 

August 17, 1968 edition of the Stars & Stripes.
April 16, 1967 edition of the Stars & Stripes.

Conclusion

This ambush of the vehicle was one that followed a series of deadly North Korean provocations during the late 1960′s to include an ambush of Camp Liberty Bell, the Camp Walley barracks bombing, along with other attacks; most notably the Blue House Raid. This period of increased North Korean attacks  would eventually come to be known as the DMZ War.  This period of American military history is little known, but had important strategic consequences for the US military that unfortunately the four UN Command soldiers killed in the truck ambush would never live to see.

You can read more DMZ Flashpoint articles at the below link:

I remember in 1980(?) an incident at the DMZ that ocurred during the turmoil after Pak Chung Hee was assassinated. An ambush in the DMZ that was emphatically denied by the North Koreans, even though the evidence of spent shells and NK hats(?) were found.

It would seem that the KCIA at the time had planned the ambush to implicate the North and bring the US closer in supporting the new military regime in South Korea. The south was in tumoil at the time with riots and many killed in demonstrations,(est 200+) by the military, at Kwang Ju (?)

What does that have to do with this article? I don’t know, but it jogged my memory.

One of the best reads on this subject was written by then Major Daniel Bolger. He is now Major General Bolger and the CG of 1st CAV. His Leavenworth Paper Number 19, Scenes from an Unfinished War: Low-Intensity Conflict in Korea, 1966-1968, is well worth the read. It can be found at: http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Bolge…

To: Moderator, TD

A writer sent a comment regarding Agent Orange drums being used/stored in ASCOM Eighth Army during his tour, I believe 1968/1969 he did not leave an E-Mail address, I would appreciate communicating with anyone who served at ASCOM who could help other Vets with similar Agent Orange exposure claims, I also served there from 1967-1969 and could help.

Respond to Diplomattoo@gmail.com

To: Moderator, TD

A writer sent a comment regarding Agent Orange drums being used/stored in ASCOM Eighth Army during his tour, I believe 1968/1969, I would appreciate communicating with anyone who served at ASCOM who could help many Vets with similar Agent Orange exposure claims, I also served there from 1967-1969 and could help.

Respond to Diplomattoo@gmail.com

yes they did store it there and sprayed it on the Fence and south tape area south of fence .

Was there saw that done and nothing grew then

my husband was in korea at the time 16 men died and they could not fire back they had no ammo in thier weapons. After this episode they were sent to the DMZwith a .45 and an m14.

I was home on leave waaiting to go to Korea on the night the truck ws ambushed. I saw the news report on tv. When I arrived in Korea I was assigned to JSA and replaced the Sgt. who was killed on the truck that was ambushed. There were firefights every night during that year along the DMZ. It was truly a forgotten war.
MIke Johnson
Sgt. E5
JSA Apr-Oct 1968

Served @ the 121 and remember these incidents well. Remember the Agent Orange also.

I served there in 68-69.

The C.O. of the Hosp. was Maj. Simpkins and X.O. was Capt. Stephen Mumford. Capt. Ilert was the next C.O..

This story was distorted by the Army from the very beginning. I suspect that they wanted to minimize things due to the Viet Nam War having priority. There were about 10 or 11 people in that vehicle. Unbelieveably, the driver survived the initial attack and was later killed after begging for his life. One guy in front survived by playing dead. Another 2 in the back. SSgt. Robert Hawkins, A Co. 1/38 Inf. put together how it was done. 3 North Koreans, an L-shaped ambush with grenades and AK-47 fire. Hours afterwards they were trailed by blood hounds into Freedom Village. SSgt. Hawkins decided not to trail the NK’s into the village for fear of civilian harm.

Sgt. John Butler A Co. 1/38 Inf.

My brother, LeRoy R. Jacks, Jr. was one of the surviving American soldiers that were in that jeep that day. There were only 6 people in that jeep, according to him. When the jeep was fired upon, the jeep stopped and the driver stood up saying “We surrender” and then they were immediately fired upon. My brother said that he got hit and one of the soldiers fell on top of him, which is probably what saved his life. He said they got close enough to take his gun out of its holster. He knew they were not taking prisoners so he just “froze” there. When he was able to finally come “home”, he showed us slides of the jeep and the clothes they had on. It was really a miracle that anyone lived that day. He also showed us slides of the “alleged” peace talks at Panmunjom where they were discussing the incident termed “The Pueblo Crisis” While they were supposed to be concerned with human lives, the two sides were trying to upstage the other side as to “which side had the higher flag”. Every day there were taller flags. This was nothing but “Trivial Pursuit” at a time when the lives of our servicemen were in jeopardy. My brother passed away 10 years ago of cancer. He was only one week away from his 55th birthday which was on July 29. He was never “proud” of the incident .

Your date is incorrect. It happened on 14 April 1968 not 17 April 1968. It happened on Easter Sunday morning. Look up Easter Sunday in 1968 and see what date it fell on. I remember the date because I was assigned to the US Army Support Group, JSA at the time. One of my worst days in the Army.

I WAS ON CHECK POST 3/THE BRIDGE/ THE DAY OF THE ATTACK WHEN THINGS BEGAN TO HAPPEN 1 A SGT E5 WAS THERE WITH A JEEP VISITING A FLUKE WHEN THE N KOKEAN COVERED 3/4 TON CAME ACROSS THE BRIDGE MY JOB WAS TO OBSERVE, LOG AND GUESS HOW MANY OCCUPANTS AT 25MPH TODAY THEY STOPPED THE JEEP CAUGHT THEM BY SURPRISE AND THEY DIDNOT LIKE IT I WAS HEADING OUTSIDE TO SEE WHAT THESE ASSHOLES WERE UP TO BUT WAS ORDERED TO STAND DOWN AND STAY PUT LOTS OF YELLING AND RUNNING AROUND OUTSIDE AND AN OFFICER DIRECTING TO SLASH ALL 4 TIRES WHICH THEY DID AND LEFT INTO JSA CALL TO MOTOR POOL SGT AND JEEP LEFT NOON CHOW RELIEF TRUCK /THE TRUCK/ WAS LATE I CALLED IN TOLD TO WAIT THELL CHECK 1 HR LATER CALLED AGAIN TOLD TO KEEP THE LINE CLEAR AND REPORT ANY THING STANGE? SOON THE TROOPS ARRIVED IWAS TOLD NOTHING REPORT BACK TO ADVANCE CAMP MY 45 TAKEN AWAY THEY WERE AFRAID OF REPRISALS AND BACK TO SEOUL IN 12HRS WE WERE TOLD NOTHING NEVER QUESTIONED AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS COVERED TILL NOW AND THE INTERNET I FIRMLY BELIVE THE GUNS AND THE MEN THAT KILLED OUR TROOPS WERE IN THE BACK OF THAT TRUCK

USFK Court Martial Results for November 2008

| November 8, 2008

Here are the latest court martial results published on the USFK website for November 2008.  Notice that another Captain was caught drunk driving which means 23 DUI’s in the last 20 months.

USFK Court-Martial Results for November 2008

At a special court-martial on 5 November 2008, Specialist Charles A. Rivera, Echo Company, 1-2 Aviation Regiment, 2d Combat Aviation Brigade, Second Infantry Division, was convicted of four specifications of assault consummated by battery, being drunk and disorderly, and failing to obey a lawful general order.  He was sentenced to reduction to Private First Class (E-3) and forfeiture of $843.00 for two months.

At a special court-martial on 13 November 2008, Private Shavonte Hampton, C Company, 302d Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, Second Infantry Division, was convicted of making a false official statement and failing to go to her appointed place of duty.  She was sentenced to confinement for six (6) months, and forfeiture of $898.00 pay per month for six (6) months.

Results of ROK Criminal Prosecutions for November 2008

In Uijeongbu District Court on 1 November 2008, SPC Toby J. Selig, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1/15th Field Artillery, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of traffic law violations.  His adjudged sentence was a 300,000 Won fine.

In Uijeongbu District Court on 5 November 2008, PFC James W. Heflin, 4th Chemical Company, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of destruction of private property.  His adjudged sentence was a 300,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 12 November 2008, CPT Derrick L. Williams, Combat Support Coordination Team #3, Eighth US Army, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 17 November 2008, PFC Michael A. Lindsay, Charlie Company, 1/72d Armor, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of inflicting bodily injury.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 20 November 2008, SPC Gregory S. Scully, Charlie Company, 1/72d Armor, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of inflicting bodily injury.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

In Incheon District Court on 21 November 2008, SSG Victor C. Aruwah, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 35th Air Defense Artillery, Eighth US Army, was convicted of a violation of the Act on the Control of Narcotics, etc. (Hemp) and of obstruction of performance of official duties.  His adjudged sentence was imprisonment for 5 years, not suspended.

In Uijeongbu District Court on 24 November 2008, SPC Samuel D. Johnson, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1/15th Field Artillery, 2d Infantry Division, was convicted of inflicting bodily injury.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

Why Immediate Withdrawal of the US Military Will Not Happen Anytime Soon

| July 4, 2008

Due to the on going US beef protests, the long chain of anti-US protests, as well as the underlying anti-Americanism prevalent in Korean society, many people have advocated for the immediate withdrawal of USFK.

usfk logo

The immediate withdrawal of USFK is something easier said then done. Listed below is my list of reasons why I believe an immediate pull out of USFK is not practical and thus will not happen anytime soon.

Take note that my list is no particular order of importance. Also this is my own personal opinion so do not take it as any indication of what the USFK command thinks on this issue. Take it for what it is worth and feel free to debate it in the comments section.

Korean Economic Impact – First of all you have all the jobs that Korean workers hold on USFK bases which would be lost if USFK pulled out. You also have all the businesses outside the camps that are another example of ways money is made from USFK.  Blackmarketing, illegal gambling, golf course scams, gate scams, housing scams, shady contracts, etc. are examples of ways that Koreans are making millions off the USFK presence in Korea.  So much money would be lost that Korean politicians would feel enormous pressure to keep USFK in Korea.

Impact on Foreign Investment – With Korea already hurting for foreign investment the loss of USFK would create another major shock to Korean attempts to draw international investors. Think about if you were going to invest your money in Korea, wouldn’t you feel better if your investment was insured by the US military presence in the country?

Korean Defense Spending – Currently the Korean government gets state of the art military capabilities courtesy of the USFK presence in their country for the small USFK upkeep fee that they pay every year that mostly goes to pay the salaries of Korean workers anyway. The Korean government has been able to put off paying the full amount to pay for their own defense for decades and are eager to keep things that way.  This allows the ROKs to take advantage of superior US technology such as command & control, intelligence, and missile defense systems that would normally be too cost prohibitive for them to pursue.

Loss of Korean Political Influence in Washington – For a country considered a middle power around the world Korea’s has an inflated importance within Washington for a nation of its size and stature should have because of the US-ROK alliance.  Korea has one of the few four star commands in the US military with the USFK commander having direct access to senior policy makers in the United States. Losing USFK would also mean a huge loss in political influence in Washington which the Korean government does not want.

Moderating American Reactions to North Korea – The Korean government knows that as long as American troops are exposed to an attack by North Korea that this moderates a US response to a North Korean provocation.  The 2ID and even soldiers on Yongsan are easy targets for a North Korean response and this tends to moderate American reactions to North Korean brinkmanship. This was one of the main reasons why the ROK government has reservations about the USFK transformation plan.  By consolidating troops on Camp Humphreys which is outside the North Korean artillery range, an American military response to North Korean brinkmanship is a greater possibility.

Lack of Unit Space in the US – Related to logistics is the fact that 27,500 soldiers that are currently in USFK plus their families would need a post back in the US that has room for them to redeploy to. When 2BCT redeployed to Iraq I knew guys that were living in rented college dorm rooms because Ft. Carson didn’t physically have room for them yet. The post hadn’t anticipated the soldiers being posted at the facility in order to build enough barracks for them. In the US you have units coming back from overseas that are living in squalor, ghetto like conditions because they are a waiting for units to deploy overseas in order to take their barracks space. This is caused by the growth of the military, base closings, as well as the prior force cut backs in Korea and the major force cut backs in Germany.

Camp Closeout Procedures – If USFK were to pull out all the camps currently occupied, all the camps would need to be cleaned and inspected before redeployment. Having personally been involved in the closeouts of smaller camps in Uijongbu I can tell you this process took about 4-6 months for smaller camps to get done. I can only imagine how long it will take to get a huge installation like Yongsan inspected and handed over.

Political Apathy in Washington – The fact of the matter is that very few politicians back in the US know much of anything about Korea. Much of their perceptions of Korea is based off the US-ROK alliance that was forged in blood during the Korean War. There have been few politicians in Washington that “get it” in regards to Korean affairs and Congressmen Henry Hyde was one of them before he past away.

Despite all the other issues with Donald Rumsfeld, in regards to Korean affairs he was another guy that understood Korea very well. When the Korean government balked at the relocation plan Rumsfeld pulled 2nd Brigade, 2ID from Korea with little forewarning to let the Korean government know he was serious about the transformation. The removal of 2nd Brigade is what began the USFK transformation. However, once Rumsfeld resigned from office the Korean government a week later reneged on the deal and the delay games preventing the USFK transformation began.

Power of the Status Quo – For anyone to tackle all the issues I have listed above it would take extraordinary dedication and effort to do so that would need to be maintained over a number of years until the pull out of forces from Korea is complete. For many political leaders, putting forth the multi-year effort necessary to withdraw USFK is simply too much work with little political payoff, so why bother? In regards to USFK you have a military unit comprised mostly of people there for one year and then going home. They to have little incentive to undertake a long term project in regards to the withdrawal of USFK.

The ones who have spent a long time in USFK and work to change things are often offset by those who have been in Korea a long time themselves and actually benefit from keeping the status quo the way it is. It is not impossible, but it is difficult to create change in USFK. There are a few other smaller issues I can think of in regards to pulling USFK out of Korea but these are the main ones that would need to be addressed that clearly show that withdrawing USFK would require a multi-year long term effort. Since such a thing isn’t going to happen anytime soon that is why I think the US government should continue to strongly push for the USFK consolidation on Camp Humphreys. The consolidation is an opportunity for USFK to cut troop numbers along with reducing the force footprint in the nation along with being in a better strategic position in regards to North Korea.

The ROK government is going to continue to do everything possible to delay the relocation. President Bush announced in April a delay in troop cuts that were anticipated as part of the Camp Humphreys relocation and he should use that as a bargaining chip in regards to the Camp Humphrey relocation. In due time those troop cuts should be restarted anyway and get the USFK force strength down to 25,000 servicemembers as planned.

Additionally I believe USFK should move units piece meal to Camp Humphreys. USFK should focus on building one unit area at a time on the expanded Camp Humphreys and fill it with soldiers currently stationed on Yongsan. Build another unit area and fill it with more soldiers from Yongsan. Physically moving people from the most visible US military presence in Korea will send a signal to Korea at large that the US is serious about the move.

If the Korean government continues to play delay games (ie- the cost sharing and camp pollution issues) then serious consideration should given in regards to removing 2ID completely from the peninsula. This would be a shock to Korean society even greater then when 2nd brigade was withdrawn that should be enough to get the Korean government moving on the relocation of US forces to Camp Humphreys.

GI Flashbacks: The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident

| June 13, 2008

Prelude to Tragedy

On the morning of June 13th, 2002 it was just another hard day of training for the soldiers of Bravo Company, 44th Engineer Battalion, who were part of the US military’s premier combat unit in Korea, the Second Infantry Division (2ID). The 2ID is the lone US combat division stationed on the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and is responsible for maintaining a credible combat deterrent to any possible North Korean aggression. A major part of maintaining a credible combat deterrent is to make sure soldiers are properly trained in both individual and collective soldier skills and that they have confidence in the equipment they use. In order to develop these skills and confidence much of a soldiers’ time while stationed in Korea is comprised of field training exercises that can last for weeks at a time.

The soldiers of Bravo Company were participating in one of the routinely scheduled brigade level exercise that are conducted to evaluate a unit’s combat readiness that is so critical to ensuring a credible combat deterrent is being kept by the Second Infantry Division. Bravo Company had been in the field for two weeks conducting continuous operations and that morning the engineers were under orders to travel to the Twin Bridges Training Area (TBTA) to link up with a mechanized infantry unit in order to participate in an expected training event there. Twin Bridges is one of the most heavily used training areas in the Second Infantry Division and most soldiers in the division are quite familiar with it. The engineers that morning prepared their equipment and began their move down Highway 56 to the training area.

accident site2
Google Earth image of convoy route to Twin Bridges from accident site.

Much like the soldiers of Bravo Company, Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun, both 13 year-old middle school students, were also beginning a typical day. They had both agreed to meet up and walk to a nearby restaurant in order to attend a friend’s birthday party being held there. As the girls were walking down the road and the engineers moved west down Highway 56, none of them had any idea that the events of this day would become one of the defining moments of the US-ROK alliance that is still causing ripple effects to this day.

 

Tragedy Strikes

Highway 56, like most of the highways in the 2ID area of operations north of Seoul, is a very narrow road with many blind corners and no shoulders. This highway is heavily used by both the American and Korean militaries to access training areas located adjacent to the highway. Bravo Company and other units had been travelling down the road all week due to the major training exercise. The engineers’ were organized themselves in a convoy with the company commander CPT Mason in a HMMWV (High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle) leading the convoy, followed by a M113 tracked vehicle and then the five largest vehicles in the convoy, M60A1 AVLB (Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge) who were followed by another HMMWV bringing up the rear of the convoy.


The AVLB driver is on the left side of the vehicle. Notice the blind spot caused by the bridge laying aparatus.

All was fine until about 20 minutes into the movement when the convoy reached a particularly narrow portion of the highway that featured a turn that sloped up a hill. As the Bravo Company convoy travelled up the hill another convoy of M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles was moving towards the Bravo Company convoy from the other direction. The engineers would find out later that this convoy of Bradleys were in fact the very ones they were travelling to meet up with. The appearance of this convoy would ultimately lead to a perfect storm of events that would that end with deadly consequences.

The lead HMMWV with CPT Mason in it saw the Bradleys coming down the opposite lane of the highway as well as seeing two young Korean girls walking along the white line on the shoulder of the road. The actions of CPT Mason at this critical moment would come under much scrutiny later on. The commander of the M113, Staff Sergeant (SSG) Murray, was directly behind Mason’s HMMWV and he saw the on coming convoy and the two girls as well. He immediately turned around and signalled to the AVLB behind him with his arms crossed to warn the vehicle commander of the impending danger.


US soldiers recreate the scene of the accident. 

The driver of the AVLB Sergeant (SGT) Mark Walker saw the Bradleys coming down the left side of the road, but could not see the two girls walking on the right side of the road due to the shape and design of the AVLB that blocked the driver’s vision to his right. The commander of the AVLB, SGT Fernando Nino who was seated above Walker was overall responsible for directing the movement of the vehicle. He did see someone with a red shirt walking along the side of the road and tried to radio to SGT Walker to stop the vehicle. Due to the noise made by a large tracked vehicle like an AVLB, the vehicle’s driver and commander can only communicate through radio head-sets that are wired to each other in the vehicle. When SGT Nino tried to communicate his warning to Walker, there was a failure with the internal radio and Walker could not hear Nino’s warning because of cross talk on the radio[ii].


Example communications microphone system used by US military.

The AVLB has a width of 3.67 meters and the right lane of the highway they were travelling on was 3.7 meters wide. Walker moved the AVLB slightly to the right in order to give his AVLB more room between him and the on coming convoy of Bradleys. This simple reaction would become something that both men in the AVLB and everybody involved in the convoy that day would regret for the rest of their lives.

 

Reacting to Tragedy

SSG Murray sitting on top of the M113 in front of the AVLB was unfortunate enough to have a perfect view of the tragedy that had unfolded. As Walker maneuvered the AVLB to the right hand shoulder of the road he had inadvertently struck and ran over Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun who had very nearly made it to the restaurant to attend their friend’s birthday party when tragedy struck. Murray told his driver Specialist (SPC) Joshua Ray to immediately radio CPT Mason in the lead HMMWV. CPT Mason did not respond and SPC Ray increased the speed of the M113 in order to stop the lead HMMWV and report what happened to CPT Mason.

CPT Mason’s HMMWV and SSG Murray’s M113 pulled over in the parking lot of a near by restaurant. A tearful Murray told Mason what he had saw happen. Ray wanted to rush to the scene with a first aid kit, but Murray told him it was no use, he knew nothing could be done to aid the two girls.


School pictures of Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun.

As ambulances and local police arrived on the scene the busy highway became snarled with traffic and the accompanying sounds of angry motorists thinking that the road was blocked by yet another broken down army vehicle, which is not a uncommon sight in the 2ID area, instead of being the scene of a great tragedy that it was.

As the scene continued to grow a woman from the restaurant came out to see what the commotion was all about. When she found out what was happening she was shocked because her daughter had been waiting for two of her friends to come to her birthday party at the restaurant. She went back into the restaurant and the father of one of the girls then rushed out to the scene of the accident. He like everyone else at the scene was devastated by what had happened. There was no Americans or Koreans that day, just people saddened and at a loss of words at the tragedy that unfolded. It is too bad that such a unity in grief and sorrow would not last.

 

The Initial US Military Response

The day after the tragedy the commander of the Eighth United States Army at the time General Daniel Zanini, which is the higher headquarters for the Second Infantry Division, immediately apologized the day of the incident and vowed to conduct a thorough investigation in conjunction with Korean authorities of what happened[iii]. In the coming days the families of the two victims would be visited by the commander of the 2ID, Major General Russel Honore.


Former 2ID commander General Honore

General Honore would a few years later become more famously known for being the tough, talking General that commanded the military relief operation in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Long before his hurricane fame, General Honore was dealing with a tragedy in Korea that may not have done the physical destruction of a Hurricane Katrina, but threatened to cause far more political destruction than even the fall out after the botched hurricane response.

General Honore apologized, accepted full responsibility for the accident, and offered the families an initial solation payment of one million won (about US $1,000) which is a normal Korean custom in response to such an accident. General Honore also vowed that an agreement would be reached according to Korean law to determine the overall sum of compensation payment to be given to the family since clearly 2ID was at fault for the accident.


2ID soldiers attend candle light vigil in memory of Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun.

Other efforts organized by 2ID in the wake of the accident, was a candle light vigil by the soldiers to express the grief of the division over the accident that was also used as a charity event to raise money for the victim’s families. The soldiers raised $22,000 from this effort that went to the families. Future fundraising drives would total another $30,000 that would be used to build a memorial in memory of the lives of the two girls[iv]. To this day I have never met a Korean yet that knows about these fundraising efforts immediately after the accident by the soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division.

 

Korean NGO’s Mobilize

For years Korean non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) have been chipping away at the fabric of the US-ROK alliance by finding issues to demagogue and then using effective media coverage to influence public perceptions about USFK. Many of the leaders of these groups were from the pro-Democracy movement of the 1980’s and many of them have spent time in South Korean jails at various times. These leaders blamed the US for the country’s tacit support of various military dictators that ruled the country in the past. It was illegal in South Korea to openly protest against the United States thus these pro-Democracy activists used the concept of creating NGO’s in order to mask their true anti-US intentions. A perfect example of this is a group named Green Korea, which was formed to advocate for environmental protection in Korea. However, the group very rarely advocates for any environmental causes outside of protesting US military camps for alleged environmental abuses.


Koreans protest outside US military base. Involving children is a common protest tactic.

These groups had been looking for a cause that they could rally the majority of the Korean general public around for years. The causes they had advocated before were effective to a degree but none of them truly mobilized the general public against USFK. This all changed on June 13, 2002. These anti-US groups could not have asked for a better issue to demagogue than the accident on Highway 56. Just days after the accident the anti-US groups were protesting outside of US military installations and demanding that the soldiers involved in the accident be tried in Korean courts.

On June 27, 2002 the anti-US activist groups waged a medium size protest of an estimated 200 people outside the Second Infantry Division headquarters at Camp Red Cloud in the city of Uijongbu. The protesters launched a well-planned assault on the camp in the hopes of creating effective propaganda images of US soldiers beating Korean civilians.

The protest organizers had set up a tent along the camp’s fence line that was supposed to serve as a place for people to sign a petition. However, the tent’s real purpose was to serve as cover for a group of activists who were at the back of the tent cutting a hole in the fence line. Once the hole was cut a pre-selected group of activists flooded through the hole and into Camp Red Cloud. The students marched through the main street of the camp chanting anti-US slogans and holding banners. They marched to the front gate where they confronted the US force protection guards there manning the gate. As the guards confronted the protesters to remove them from the camp the protesters chained themselves together to make the mass of protesters harder to move.

Additionally many of the protesters that had infiltrated into the camp were women. The anti-US group organizers had hoped to capture film of US soldiers striking over reacting and striking the protesters to remove them from the camp. The groups had cameramen positioned on rooftops of high apartments overlooking the camp and with bird’s eye views of the front gate. If any of these cameramen could get footage of a US soldier striking one of these protesters, preferably a female they would have won a massive propaganda victory for their efforts.

CRC Protest
Korean protesters through objects over the CRC fence in June 2002.

To further provoke the Camp Red Cloud guards a second group of protesters infiltrated along the heavily forested western fence line of the camp and cut another hole to enter the camp through. Now the camp’s guards faced infiltrators on two fronts. US soldiers rushed to apprehend the protesters and seal the hole in the fence line. It is at this hole that the protest turned particularly violent.

The US soldiers who responded to the hole in the western fence line used shields and baton to stop the flow of protesters into the camp. As they sealed the hole with their shields the protesters continued to try and push themselves through the shields. As they did this, another group of protesters threw rocks and chunks of concrete over the fence at the US soldiers in order to get them to raise their shields to protect themselves thus exposing their bodies to attack from the mob trying to get through the fence. Due to this violent stand off on the western fence line, nine US soldiers had to be hospitalized for serious injuries after the protest.

With the help of the Korean National Police the US force protection personnel were able to remove all the protesters from the camp without the anti-US groups winning a large propaganda victory. However, this didn’t stop the Korean media from sympathizing and sensationalizing what happened at Camp Red Cloud that day.

The Korea Times newspaper on June 27th reported:

“Two reporters affiliated with an Internet news firm have been under arrest since Wednesday evening on charges of trespassing on territory occupied by US military facilities, local police in Uijongbu said yesterday. Police officers are also examining the claims by some witnesses that the two reporters were beaten with clubs and dragged in chains as they were being taken into US military police custody.”

The “reporters” in question are in fact simply administrators of anti-US websites who helped cut down the fences and infiltrated into the camp. Notice how the Korea Times makes no mention that the protesters in fact chained themselves and instead leaves the reader to believe the US military chained and beat the people including these “reporters” who infiltrated into the camp. Unsurprisingly absent from the Korean media reporting of the Camp Red Cloud protest was that nine US soldiers had to be treated in a hospital due to injuries sustained from the anti-US protesters throwing concrete blocks at them.

The absurdity of these claims reached a crescendo when on July 8th the Korean Human Right’s Commission demanded to interrogate the US military policemen who arrested the protesters for breaking into the camp. When USFK would not turn over the military policemen the Human Rights Commission fined USFK.

However, overall these groups at the time were receiving very little media and public attention in the days after the accident because Korea was co-hosting the 2002 World Cup with Japan. The World Cup had the full attention of the Korean media and public due to the fact that the Korean team was in the midst of a stunning winning streak that ended in the World Cup semi-finals. The Korean soccer team’s amazing performance had brought nationalism in the country to an all time high that may never be surpassed. The anti-US groups may have failed to draw attention to their cause in June, but by July these groups were well prepared to capitalize on this rise in nationalism that would ultimately change the course of US-ROK relations forever.

 

Influence of the New Internet Media

In July the anti-US groups began to launch larger and more violent protests against USFK. The most heated protests were outside the two main camps of the Second Infantry Division, the largest installation, Camp Casey in Dongducheon and the division headquarters on Camp Red Cloud in Uijongbu.

In July, the anti-US groups began to launch an effective propaganda campaign on college campuses across the nation in order to swell their ranks during planned protests that month. They were able to do this through not only the common means of word of mouth and flyers, but through the use of internet message boards and text messaging as well. Korea is considered the world’s “most wired” country and internet cafes filled with youths spending hours at a time on the internet can be found in even the smallest towns. Nearly every South Korean walks around with cell phone, even children as young as seven years old can be seen walking and talking on a cell phone. Harnessing modern technology to spread the NGOs’ anti-US message would be easy the part, but creating a message that would mobilize the masses would prove to be the hard part.

US Soldier Wanted Poster
Wanted posters distributed for capture of “US killers” involved in the accident.

Simply telling the truth about what happened on that road side that fateful June morning along Highway 56 would not be enough to cause the general public to join the anti-US groups’ cause to expel USFK from Korea. Instead of the truth to mobilize the masses, the NGOs had to create a perception, and the perception they chose to create was one of a great injustice against the Korean people that everyone could identify with. The NGOs launched a propaganda campaign centered around creating an image of evil, non-apologetic American GI’s mercilessly running over two angelic school girls on their way to a birthday party and getting away with it. This image is so powerful because Koreans love their children just like any culture, but it was also equating the US military with the Japanese Imperial Army that colonized the Korean peninsula prior to the country’s liberation after World War II. Due to this sometime extremely brutal colonial period, many Koreans today still hold a very bitter grudge against the Japanese. The fact that the Eighth United States Army headquarters is based out of Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, which used to be the headquarters of the old Imperial Japanese military only helped to feed this perception. It would be an easy leap of logic for someone in Korea to conclude that the Japanese had disrespected and brutalized Korea than and the US military is doing it now.

Additionally Korea is a homogeneous society that instinctively groups together against any slight made against the country by foreigners. A perfect example of this is when American late night comedian Jay Leno made a joke about how Koreans like to eat dogs. This simple joke was taken by many in Korea to be a racist attack against the nation by America and the fall out from this joke lasted for weeks with demands for apologies from the comedian[v]. The NGOs knew the attitudes of the general Korean public very well and they had a strategy to take advantage of the attitudes of their Korean audience. They had already decided on a perception they wanted to create about the accident and how they were going to spread it; the only thing they needed to do was figure out how to present this message so it seemed plausible to the general public.

The NGOs decided by spreading simple disinformation through the Internet about what happened would be the most plausible way to implement their strategy. Stories on internet message boards spread about how the American soldiers had intentionally ran over the two girls[vi]. The most famous story that made its way around all the Korean internet message boards was how the US soldiers in the convoy that day were laughing at the fact that they had ran over the two girls. The laughing so angered KATUSA (Korean Augmentee to the US Army) soldiers serving with the unit that they started a fight with the laughing soldiers. This story is not supported by any of the witnesses that were at the scene that day and additionally no one can produce the KATUSA soldiers that were allegedly involved in the fight. Despite the lack of evidence to support the claim that KATUSA soldiers fought with laughing GIs that day, it is still a common belief among many Koreans that this story is in fact true[vii].

As the misinformation spread, almost over night hundreds of websites dedicated to Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun were set up by Koreans who felt legitimate grief over what happened and demanded justice against the evil, unapologetic GIs who they felt had murdered these two girls.

 

Response of Major Korean Media Outlets

The initial response of the major Korean news outlets after the accident, had at first been marginal with newspapers publishing short articles about what happened and was largely ignored by the major television broadcasters[viii]. However, by July the major media could join the anti-US feeding frenzy that was already raging on-line because the thousands of foreign visitors and media representatives to Korea who had attended the World Cup had already departed. With the world’s attention away from Korea the major media outlets were poised to take advantage of this tragedy just like the on-line media had in the weeks right after the accident.

One of the common themes in the media was that even though the US military apologized for the accident, the apology was not “sincere”[ix]. After the accident every commanding US general in USFK issued an apology after the accident happened, the US Ambassador apologized[x], an initial solation payment was made to the family, a candle light vigil by US soldiers was held, and a fundraising drive was initiated that raised $22,000 for the girl’s families and another $30,000 for a memorial in their honor. Despite all this, the Korean media declares the US military’s response insincere. Incredibly even President Bush would later go on and apologize for the accident[xi].

Before long the misinformation being put out was not limited to internet message boards and print newspapers, but was on the average Korean’s television screen as well. The networks repeated much of what was already available on-line and is wasn’t too long before the networks produced sensational misinformation of their own making. The most infamous example of misinformation was when the major news network MBC aired footage of someone claiming to be a former Korean Army tank driver who was able to “prove” in an interview that the American soldiers in the AVLB intentionally ran over the girls and then ground guided the vehicle back over the bodies again to make sure they were dead. This interview entered into the common mythology of what happened that even to this day, much like the KATUSA story, many Koreans believe this story to be true.

The print media as well repeated much of what was on-line, but also focused repeatedly on the “one-sided” SOFA Agreement[xii]. The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and South Korea lays out the legal framework of how US soldiers handled when crimes are committed in South Korea. Under the SOFA American military personnel in Korea can be charged, tried, and imprisoned under Korean law for crimes committed off duty. For crimes committed on duty these crimes would be handled by US military authorities. Since the accident on Highway 56 happened while SGT Walker and SGT Nino were on duty they do not fall under Korean law.

The Korean newspapers focused their disinformation on claiming repeatedly that no US soldiers have ever been tried in Korean courts because of the “unfair SOFA Agreement”. The newspapers continued to hype how US soldiers were allowed to commit all these crimes against Koreans and then fly back home due to the big, bad SOFA. The facts of the matter is that US soldiers that have committed crimes while off duty have in fact been tried in Korean courts and imprisoned in Korean jails since the 1960s, yet none of this information ever made it into the Korean media. To this day there are people in Korea who think that US soldiers are tried presently in Korean courts due only to the fall out from the 2002 armoured vehicle accident, when in fact they have been tried in Korean courts for decades.

Those newspapers that were at least intellectually honest enough to distinguish between crimes committed on duty and off, tried to use a 1957 decision by the United States military to allow the prosecution of a soldier who had shot and killed a Japanese woman while on duty in Japanese courts. However, what the media would not point out is that the soldier intentionally murdered the Japanese female and was rightfully handed over to the Japanese authorities for prosecution compared to the two USFK soldiers who were involved in a traffic accident.

Such sensationalism by the Korean media over this accident really should not have been unexpected. Korean journalists do not report the news in the sense that people in West expect. Citizens from western countries expect their news outlets to serve as a check and balance on the government and big business and provide factually based news. In Korea the media often reports what the government and big business want reported as well as what British journalist Michael Breen calls, “speculation, trial balloons, rumour, and deliberate distortions”[xiii] in the name of ratings.


Signs went up around Korea banning Americans from entering into restaurants and businesses.

The sensationalism by the Korean media of the armoured vehicle accident was made quite clear when on June 29, 2002 North Korean patrol boats deliberately ambushed a South Korean Naval vessel patrolling the maritime border between the two countries. Six South Korean sailors died in the attack and the South Korean government, NGOs, and media did everything possible to minimize the deliberate murder of six South Korean sailors while continuing to sensationalize the accidental death of the two school girls[xiv]. The hypocrisy is quite stunning but when it comes to the Korean media they could care less about hypocrisy and more about ratings and sensationalism of the Highway 56 traffic accident was bringing in those ratings. There would be plenty more sensationalism to come.

The slander and accusations against USFK continued to fly both on the web and through the television networks. The tragic accident had taken on a life of its own as the major media outlets competed with the new start up internet media sites in their rush to condemn these soldiers for murder. The propaganda against USFK would become so effective that US soldiers were being assaulted and spat upon on the streets of Seoul with waiting Korean news cameramen recording it all for the nation to see[xv]. Signs went up all around Seoul refusing service to Americans in restaurants, hotels, and businesses. Massive rallies were held where demonstrators burned and tore American flags.


US soldiers kidnapped, beaten, and forced to make false statements denouncing the US government on Korean TV.

Probably the most blatant example of anti-US hate was when three US soldiers on a Seoul subway were assaulted by Korean protesters travelling to a rally on university campus. The protesters beat the soldiers and then abducted them from the subway car and began dragging them towards the anti-US demonstration. Korean policemen were able to free two of the soldiers but the third soldier was dragged into the demonstration held at the university’s sports stadium. He was threatened and forced to make coerce statements against the US by the demonstrators and make forced apologies. Despite everything that happened to them, the soldiers were charged with assault by the Korean police[xvi].

It wouldn’t be long before such irrational behaviour and actions would influence the South Korean political climate as well.

 

Politicizing the Tragedy

In the summer of 2002, Korea was in the middle of a heated presidential election that year. With the NGOs and the major media taking advantage of the accident it was only natural that the politicians running for president would do so as well. Instead of responsible leadership from the Korean government mediating between the media, the public, and USFK to stop the exploitation of this tragedy; the Korean politicians in fact encouraged it and made it even worse. None of the politicians wanted to be accused by their opponents of being a lap dog of the US, so it quickly became a political race to see who could bash the US more.


Former Korean President Roh Moo-hyun

A little known human rights lawyer, Roh Moo-hyun began to attract popular attention with his populist anti-American rants and slogans that began to strike a cord with the general Korean people. Roh who had little political experience and did not even graduate from college became a serious contender for the highest office in the country simply because he ran on a platform of being more anti-American than all the other contenders.


Example of narrow roads that remain near military training areas today.

The Korean politicians had more than just political agendas to advance with their demagoguery of the 2002 armored vehicle accident. The politicians also had to deflect blame as well.Much of the infrastructure in the northern Kyongi Province where 2ID is located had not kept up with South Korea’s rapid economic progress. Massive highways, bridges, and tunnels can be found all over South Korea to the south of Seoul however, few of these infrastructure improvements can be found in the 2ID area. Most of the roads in the 2ID are extremely small, not well maintained, and heavily used by both the American and Korean militaries as well as many civilian vehicles and pedestrians. Despite the heavy use of these roads very few of them even have a shoulder for a broken down vehicle to park on or even a sidewalk for civilians to walk on. Accidents involving the US military as well as the Korean military are not uncommon due to the conditions and do lead to fatalities[xvii].

 

The Court Martial

Probably the most significant and biggest mistake made in the handling of the 2002 armoured vehicle accident was that the USFK commanding General Leon LaPorte decided to court martial both SGT Nino and SGT Walker. Since the accident happened while the two sergeants were on duty they were not subject to Korean law due to the US-ROK Status of Forces Agreement, and thus the investigation of the accident along with any potential charges against them would be handled by the US military. All though the Korean authorities had no jurisdiction over the case, USFK had the Korean police investigate the scene with them and kept the Korean authorities and media fully briefed on what was going on. Five months after the accident the Korean National Police concurred with USFK investigators that the deaths of the two girls was an accident[xviii].

Out of the 30 nations that compose the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Korea ranked as the most dangerous place to drive[xix]. The data gathered from 2003 just one year after the armoured vehicle accident showed that Korea had 137 car accidents per 10,000 vehicles on the road. Additionally for every 100,000 people involved in a traffic accident, 15 people died. Each statistic topped the OECD’s rankings. Probably the most dubious statistic is that Korea ranked first in the OECD in traffic related child deaths. 82 children died every day in Korea with 70 percent of those accident involving children walking alongside a road[xx].


Perfect example of how a narrow road is made even more dangerous due to civilian activity.

As the statistics show, a tragic accident like what happened in June 2002 is not uncommon in Korea and the reasons for these accidents happening has nothing to do with the US military and the Korean police who helped investigate the tragedy realized this. That is why the police concluded with the USFK investigators that this was a tragic accident like many other tragic accidents involving children in Korea; the only difference was that this one involved the US military.

The NGO’s involved in the protests against USFK after the accident could care less about promoting traffic safety in Korea to prevent accidents like what happened in June 2002 from happening anywhere else in Korea. All these groups were interested in was promoting their anti-US agendas. These people have little concern about the welfare of Korean children killed every year on Korean roads and if Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun were killed by a Korean vehicle these groups would be shedding no tears and could care less.

After the results of the initial investigation were released these anti-US groups immediately started declaring it was a cover up. The claims of a cover up in Korea is very easy for the general public to believe because for decades the ruling Korean dictators had often covered up many crimes and scandals caused by the government. Even though democracy has come to Korea the old beliefs of government cover ups, especially involving USFK are easy to believe.

Korean NGOs demanded that USFK hand over the two soldiers to be tried in Korean courts despite their SOFA status. This demand was especially hypocritical considering that due to Article 2 of the Korean Military Court Act, the Korean military has jurisdiction over all crimes committed by their servicemembers whether they were off duty or not[xxi]. The fact that ROK military personnel never stand trial in Korean courts is an inconvenient fact that many Koreans would rather not acknowledge. A USFK servicemember on the other hand is subject to Korean civilian court for any crime committed while off duty. With the differences in jurisdiction between the Korean and American militaries, it makes you wonder that if the Korean civilian judicial system is not good enough for the Korean military than why should it be good enough to try American soldiers in? This is an inconvenient fact that is left unaddressed by the anti-US groups and their media allies. The hypocrisy is stunning, but like I said before hypocrisy is of little significance in Korea.


SGT Walker and his defense lawyer ambushed by the Korean media. 

Probably the most stunning hypocrisy of the SOFA criticism is the fact that the Korean military has status of forces agreements with every nation that is host to deployed South Korean military personnel. In these SOFAs, the ROK Army has primary jurisdiction of crimes committed by their soldiers both on and off duty. A couple of recent examples of when the ROK military’s SOFA was activated were both in Iraq and involved the deployment of the ROK Army’s Zaytun Division outside the Kurdish capitol city of Irbil. In the first case a South Korean soldier was playing with his rifle when an accidental discharge killed a nearby Kurdish soldier[xxii].

The SOFA was activated and the Korean soldier was handled by a ROK military court martial. In 2006 a Korean soldier driving a military truck was involved in a traffic accident where he caused the death of a 53 year old Kurdish politician. Once again the South Korean military activated their SOFA. This is what Colonel Ha Du-cheol told reporters after the accident, “The traffic accident occurred in the line of duty, so we are seeking ways to compensate the victim’s family.”[xxiii] Sound familiar? It should because it is the same thing the US military did after the 2002 armoured vehicle accident, which these groups were demanding SOFA revisions for. However, when a nearly identical situation happens with a Korean soldier it receives a small passage in the newspaper and no righteous indignation from anyone complaining about an unequal SOFA between Korea and Kurdistan.

The Korean military has never allowed one of their soldiers to be tried in a foreign host nation’s civilian courts, which shouldn’t be surprising considering that Korean soldiers do not even stand trial in civilian courts in their own country. Despite all of these inconvenient facts the anti-US groups and their media allies have the nerve to condemn USFK for an unfair status of forces agreement.

Despite the sheer hypocrisy of the demands, USFK Commander General LaPorte in an attempt to placate these groups and appease Korean public sentiment, ordered the two US soldiers court martialled for negligent homicide in the hope that if all the facts were laid out during the trial; everyone would see that USFK was not conducting a cover up. General LaPorte was new to the job and probably did not understand Korean customs very well. In Korea when a traffic accident happens that involves a fatality a solation payment is made to the family of the deceased. In accordance with Korean customs and in coordination with the Korean Justice Ministry, before the court martial was announced, USFK issued a compensation payment of $147,820 American dollars to each of the victim’s families[xxiv]. In a typical traffic accident in Korea the compensation payment and apologies would have been enough to settle the dispute.

When General LaPorte made the decision to court martial the two sergeants, it only aggravated the situation because court trials in Korea are not perceived like trials in the US are. Korea is not a “rule of law” country and is instead a “rule by law” country[xxv]. So when someone goes on trial in Korea the expectation is that the person is guilty to begin with; the trial is just a determination of how guilty the person really is. This sentiment is best expressed in a Chosun Ilbo editorial that declared: “Although we had not expected much, we had hoped that the US martial court might reach a verdict that showed a little understanding of Korean sentiment. That hope turned out to be misplaced.”[xxvi] As shown by this article what mattered most to the general Korean population was “Korean sentiment” that the soldiers were guilty, not any concerns of an open and fair trial to determine the facts of what happened that day.

 
50,000 Korean protesters tear up American flags before 2002 Korean presidential election.

By putting the two sergeants on trial General LaPorte had already declared to the general Korean public that the two sergeants were guilty. When the two sergeants were acquitted of all charges it played right into the anti-US group’s claims of a cover up. The acquittals just led to more protests, bad publicity, political demagoguery, and violence against American military personnel stationed in Korea.

 

Aftermath

Following the court martial, both SGT Walker and SGT Nino were flown back to the United States and both eventually left the Army[xxvii]. Four leaders within the engineering unit involved in the accident were disciplined by the US military. The commander CPT Mason, the first sergeant, platoon sergeant, and platoon leader all received written letters of reprimand from General Honore for not following traffic safety procedures, which effectively ended their careers[xxviii].

In a letter to the editor of the Stars & Stripes SPC Joshua Ray who was the driver of the AVLB in front of the one involved in accident stated that their commander CPT Mason has ignored safety measures by driving the large vehicle on the road where the accident happened as well as not giving soldiers in the unit enough sleep before departing on the convoy[xxix]. The points Ray brings up in the article are not unique to this engineer unit. During this timeframe 2nd Infantry Division trained heavily in the field and conducted “tactical movements” on civilian roads from one training area to the next. As Ray brings up in his article such “tactical movements” in civilian areas would never happen in the United States.

However, in the United States, military units usually do not have to travel through civilian areas to get to a training area because the training areas are often located adjacent to the military base. In Korea long convoys of both wheeled and tracked vehicles have to be conducted on civilian roads to get to training areas, with many of these roads being quite narrow and passing through small towns[xxx]. In the United States a tracked vehicle would never travel on a civilian road for any reason, in Korea it was common.


A 2001 image of one of my unit’s bradleys traveling through a densely populated Korean village.

From my own personal experience I know how dangerous these convoys can be. I have led multiple convoys of Bradleys before during my time in Korea around the timeframe and even on the very road in question that the accident happened. Korean civilians in the 2nd Infantry Division area grow up around the large military equipment and have lost respect for how dangerous the equipment can be. It was a common sight back then to see Korean civilians walking on the white line on the side of the road despite heavy armoured vehicles and tanks coming down the road behind them. They would simply continue to walk on the white line with the hands over their ears to muffle the sounds of the passing tanks.

My unit had plenty of close calls with one incident I especially remember when my Bradley was driving through the densely populated city of Pocheon and a lady talking on a cell phone walked in front of my Bradley. I yelled at my driver to stop over the intercom and fortunately he stopped in time to not hit the woman who simply looked up in surprise to see a Bradley coming at her when we were barely able to stop in time from hitting her. How she remained oblivious to a 25 ton hulk of metal driving down Highway 43 is beyond me?

Unlike the SGT Nino and SGT Walker’s AVLB, my internal communications in the Bradley worked. However, it is not uncommon for these radios to go out during a convoy. 25 tons of metal bumping around on a road has the tendency to cause things to shake things out of place. That is why my unit had an SOP of at least every minute saying something over the radio to the driver to ensure communications are still working. There was a time my internal communications went out during a convoy and I started throwing candies from the turret at the open hatch of my driver to get his attention. This was our standard operating procedure to stop because it meant our communications went out and it worked the one time we had to use it.

Pedestrians and communications failures weren’t the only danger on these convoys, impatient civilian drivers were also a source of much concern. A convoy of Bradleys on a civilian road is a long, slow movement. The convoy is usually travelling around 20 miles per hour. Civilian vehicles would try to pass our convoys on blind turns and other areas where they cannot see oncoming traffic. The most dangerous civilian vehicles were the buses because they would try and pass a Bradley and then have an on coming car coming and then the bus would then merge right sometimes forcing Bradleys on to the shoulder of the road to avoid an accident. Many of my peers and I felt that it was only a matter of time before a tragic accident happens and were actually surprised it hadn’t happened already.


Highway 56 Accident Memorial built with funds raised by the soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division.


A closer look at the memorial.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the US military was not the only ones to use tracked vehicles on these roads. The Korean Army actually used these roads much more than the US military due to their much larger force footprint in the area. I have personally seen for myself tracked Korean Army vehicles in accidents with civilian vehicles[xxxi]. The dangers of driving on Korean roads in the 2ID area of operations was danger faced by both militaries.

To make matters worse is that many of these roads with heavy civilian traffic and pedestrians in the 2ID area are small and narrow and should not have tracked vehicles on them in the first place. The stretch of road on Highway 56 where the accident occurred is a perfect example of one of these poorly built roads, because there was no shoulder or sidewalk for the girls to walk on to avoid traffic. It is clear that USFK bears responsibility for what happened that day, but the US military shouldn’t be the only ones held accountable for what happened that day.

With such poor road conditions in the 2ID area that were posing a risk to civilians, why had the Korean government not done anything to expand the roads or even add sidewalks along roads with heavy military traffic? This is a question Korean politicians do not want to answer. A simple sidewalk along that road would have saved those two girls lives that day. Because of this fact it was in the interest of the Korean government to deflect any responsibility for what happened solely on the US military.


Site of the accident today. Notice how the government has since widened the road and added a sidewalk.

Also since the accident the Korean government has quietly begun expanding roads and adding sidewalks in the 2ID area in order to prevent future accidents. However, this is all too little to late for Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun. These two girls tragically became the victims of something that could have been easily prevented. If Korean societal attitudes were different (pedestrians not giving way for military vehicles), if the Korean government expanded roads and sidewalks, if the breakdown in basic safety measures within the unit did not happen, and finally if the internal communications systems of the AVLB worked properly these two girls would be alive today. It is a shame that everyone involved with this accident will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

Another shame from the aftermath of the tragedy is the wilful demagoguery and manipulation of this accident by Korean NGOs and politicians to advance their own agendas. The US military had sacrificed over 37,000 lives during the Korean War and had been helping maintain security on the Korean peninsula for over 50 years which was directly responsible for setting conditions for the economic miracle that took place in Korea. Despite all the US military has done for the Republic of Korea, not one person in the Korean government had the moral courage to mediate what happened and instead they all competed to see who can demagogue the accident the most for their own domestic political purposes. With his anti-US platform and the aid of the media, Roh Moo-hyun would prove he was the biggest demagogue of them all, by going on to win a narrow victory in the 2002 presidential election[xxxii]. Incredibly the aftermath of the June 2002 armoured vehicle accident had been enough to elect a political nobody to the presidency of South Korea.

 

Note: I am trying to make this posting as accurate as possible a depiction of what really happened on June 13, 2002 in order to disspell the number of Internet rumors and urban myths surrounding this accident. If you were a member of the unit involved in the accident please leave a comment to further clarify exactly what happened that day. Likewise if people have any more information about the Korean and USFK reactions to the accident please feel free to leave a comment as well. Please save any comments for USFK recommendations for the upcoming posting. Thanks.

References

Joshua Ray, Korean Mediator, http://koreanmediator.blogspot.com/2005/10/june-13-2002-my-personal-account-of.html, accessed 10 July 2007

Joshua Ray was a member of the unit involved in the accident and he recounts the convoy and what happened that day on both his blog and a follow up Stars & Stripes article he wrote.

[ii] Jeon Ick-jin, “Radio Blamed for Accident”, Joong Ang Ilbo, 06 August 2002, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1906943

[iii] “Lee Ho-jeong, “US Vehicle Kills Two Korean Teens”, Joong Ang Ilbo newspaper, 14 June 2002, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1904883

[iv] “USFK Statement on Highway 56 Accident”, US Embassy Korea press release, 27 July 2002, http://seoul.usembassy.gov/july_27_2002.html

[v] Donald Kirk, “America on Thin Ice In Korea”, International Herald Tribune, 01 March 2002, http://www.iht.com/articles/2002/03/01/t1_2.php

[vi] Jennifer Veale, “Just the Facts”, Foreign Policy, January/February 2007, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3737&page=2

[vii] “USFK Statement on Highway 56 Accident”, US Embassy Korea press release, 27 July 2002, http://seoul.usembassy.gov/july_27_2002.html

[viii] “Lee Ho-jeong, “US Vehicle Kills Two Korean Teens”, Joong Ang Ilbo newspaper, 14 June 2002, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1904883

[ix] “Clear Up US Army Tragedy”, Joong Ang Ilbo, 04 July 2002, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1905664

[x] Lee Chul-jae, “US Ambassador Apologizes for Deaths of Girls in June Accident”, Joong Ang Ilbo, 30 July 2002, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1906700

[xi] Min Seong-jae, “US Envoy Extends Apology from Bush”, Joong Ang Ilbo, 28 November 2002, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1911685

[xii] “Clear Up US Army Tragedy”, Joong Ang Ilbo, 04 July 2002, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1905664

[xiii] Michael Breen, The Koreans, (New York, St. Martin’s Press, 2004), Chapter 1 The Three Miracles

[xiv] “West Sea Battle Survivors Struggle to Build Future”, Chosun Ilbo, 28 June 2006, http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200606/200606280025.html

[xv] Jeremy Kirk, “Two US Soldiers Shoved, Spat On at Seoul Station”, Stars & Stripes, 21 December 2002, http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=11652&archive=true

[xvi] “Statement on Three Soldiers’, US Embassy Korea Press Release, 18 September 2002, http://seoul.usembassy.gov/september_18_2002.html

[xvii] “Two Dead as Tank Falls from Rural Bridge”, Joong Ang Ilbo newspaper, 18 February 2003, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1936133

[xviii] David Scofield, “The Mortician’s Tale”, Asia Times, 28 January 2004, http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/FA28Dg02.html

[xix] Hwang Hae-rym & T.D. Flack, “Korea Plans Drive for Safer Roads”, Stars & Stripes, January 18, 2006, http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=33528&archive=true

[xx] David Steinberg, Korean Attitudes Toward the United States (M.E. Sharpe, 2005), pg 206

[xxi] “USFK Statement on Highway 56 Accident”, US Embassy Korea press release, 27 July 2002, http://seoul.usembassy.gov/july_27_2002.html

[xxii] “Korean Soldier Accidentally Killed Iraqi”, Chosun Ilbo, 13 April 2005, http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200504/200504130032.html

[xxiii] Jung Sung-ki, “Kurd Official Killed in Traffic in Erbil”, The Korea Times, 02 February 2006, http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2006/2/kurdlocal98.htm

[xxiv] “South Korea Decides Compensation Sum for Girls Killed by US Armored Vehicle”, People’s Daily, 20 July 2002, http://english.people.com.cn/200207/20/eng20020720_100059.shtml

[xxv] Franklin Fischer, “Lawyer: Americans Can Expect Fair Trial In Korea”, Stars & Stripes, 15 April 2007, http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=52677&archive=true

[xxvi] “Not Guilty Verdict”, Chosun Ilbo newspaper, 22 November 2002, http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200211/200211210035.html

[xxvii] Teri Weaver, “Three Years Later, Walker Still Haunted By Deaths of Two Korean Girls”, Stars & Stripes, 01 May 2005, http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=27977&archive=true

[xxviii] Jeon Ik-jin & Park Hyun-young, Army Reprimanded Four After Accident that Killed Two Teenagers”, Joong Ang Ilbo, 16 December 2002, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1912434

[xxix] Joshua Ray, “Higher Ups Put Safety Second”, Stars & Stripes, 22 November 2002, http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=14274&archive=true

[xxx] Jeremy Kirk & Choe Song-won, “As Exercise at the DMZ Begins, Area Residents Say Relations with the US Are Better”, Stars & Stripes, 02 October 2003, http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=17194&archive=true

[xxxi] “Two Dead as Tank Falls from Rural Bridge”, Joong Ang Ilbo newspaper, 18 February 2003, http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=1936133

[xxxii] Jennifer Veale, “Seoul Searching”, Foreign Policy, January/February 2007, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3669

Comments

[…] Your page is on StumbleUpon […]

Rechecked my history page of these events from back in 2002 at http://kalaniosullivan.com/KunsanAB/8thFW/Howitwa… and saw how the same characters have popped up again in the latest beef issue.

Lee Hoi-chang and Roh Moo-hyun were promising to renegotiate the SOFA if elected. Only now Lee Hoi-chang of the LFP has helped bring the National Assembly to a standstill — and Roh is making commentary on the Candlelight vigils and LMBs problems from the sidelines. Our favorite radical priest Fr. Moon moved from Kunsan to Seoul to head up the anti-hate movement in 2002…but now is too weak after his last ditch fight at Daechu-ri in Pyeongtaek. The cast of other anti-American activists have all shown up at the latest Candlelight vigils.

Things haven’t changed that much. I just hope the teeny-bopper Korean kids with their signs of “F_CK USA” back then have now matured into reasonable college kids of today and don’t bring up all that vomit from the past.

The photos of the masses of people filling Seoul Plaza up to Dec 2002 look the same as the latest Candlelight vigil. I wonder how many of those folks from back then want to relive the wonderful days of hating Americans. I hope not many.

What a vile experience it would be to live through it all over again…

I don’t think the beef issue will match the 2002 hatefest but I do expect the anti-US elements behind the beef protests to try and mobilize these people to take up their anti-USFK causes such as with the funding or pollution issues in the coming months.

God forbid if another traffic accident should happen in the coming months as well because the anti-US groups will jump all over it just like they did in 2002.

The beef protests is just the prelude to get the masses riled up in order to mobilize them to take on the anti-US groups real agenda which is bashing USFK.

[…] clearly-discernible facts for what it was. THE POINT OF THIS POST Yet, I suggest that you read this very concise and useful post from the ROKDrop, with which I concur on the major factual matters of the case, because I did a lot of research of […]

I am looking forward to the next posting’s list of lessons learned.

Somehow, I seriously doubt that any lessons learned would be institutionalized by the Korean government, media, NGOs, and population. They all would do the exact same thing again.

[…] and I never use that term lightly. Y’all need to make some time and read GI Korea’s post “GI Myths: The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident.” He recaps in great detail the events surrounding the deaths of two middle school girls six years […]

[…] ends. Required reading for all ex-pats, particularly Americans. Brian in Jeollanam-do’s entry GI Korea’s entry The Metropolitician’s […]

You covered everything with this post and absolutely nailed the hipocrisy of it all!

Just sickens me how so many Koreans will believe the most absurd anti-American propaganda lies:

In 2002, I had some of my university students (and this is a good university) swear that it was totally true that the vehicle drivers “laughed and celebrated their kill” and the backed up and ran over the girls again for fun.

I was absolutely stunned that someone could believe something so absurd and implausible.

I asked where they got that information and the answers were either “I read it on the Internet” or “My senior told me”.

I tell you, it’s scary how well the anti-American propaganda groups know how to manipulate their audience and get them to believe all the lies without question.

They’re accomplishing so much with the anti-beef thing- very cleverly disguising it as anti-Lee Myung Bak and a “health concern”.

Why can’t the Lee government, the American interests, and the pro-American groups understand how to really get the truth to the people and help them to believe it?

Or, at least properly let the people know they are being lied to and manipulated?

Seems we are fighting a losing battle against the anti-American groups who have the majority of the Korean public and a few Quislings wrapped around their finger!

Must Read: GI Korea on The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident…

GI Korea has an excellent and lengthy post on the background, events, and aftermath of the 2002 accident where a U.S. armored vehicle killed to schoolgirls. I arrived in Korea a few days after the accident, but things didn’t start to heat up unti…

When I heard about this tragic news of two teenaged girls, I saw it on Korean-American news in California. I am Korean myself so I know bits of current events going on in Korea when my mom watches news every night.

When I saw this news, I thought it was just tragic and sad. Then I went on my merry ways at high school. What I didn’t realize that this tragedy had turned into political mass campaign of anti-American sentiment there. I learned about it just now and I began to wonder why my mom failed to tell me that it was going on.

The act of hatred toward a country is very brutal and evil because they turn the individual’s responsibility into nation’s but Korea is not the only country that have done that. (Examples would be prior and during WWI & WWII, Red Scare) But considering today is today even back then was fairly modern and Korea is “democratic”, I am really ashamed.

I’m not apologizing for Korea because I, myself, was a victim of its racial discrimination (I don’t look like a typical Korean which is why I was mistreated while living in Korea).

I also didn’t know how Korea reacted to Virgina Tech tragedy. Again, I didn’t really pay attention (but I do now, thanks to beef issue). When I read about it, I was touched that Korea was showing its condolences but when I knew its intention, I was upset.

Thanks for writing about it. It really opened my eyes how strong the nationalism that Korea now have. America doesn’t even show its nationalism as strongly as several decades ago. When it does, it’s about troops overseas with concerns and hope.

I want to talk with Korean students on my campus (Upstate New York) and ask them how they feel about it. I wonder if they share the same sentiment after living here for few years. But there aren’t many Koreans around here during the summer…

Annie, Koreans hate the USA. That is why the USA should never let such a people in her boarders. I would put all Koreans in camps if it was up to me.

Hanbokcho,

I don’t appreciate the way you reply. It’s very immature and insensitive comment. Please think before you say anything.

[…] copious evidence gathered by GI Korea in his comprehensive post on the accident shows that this is a […]

Great post, and a important record of that history.

As you pointed out, it was US soldiers honoring the memories of Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun who introduced Koreans to candlelight vigils, which was not mentioned in a Korean Herald article HERE, which credited the idea for candlelight vigils to some anonymous Korean “netizen”.

[…] have taken.  Anyway, the article you really ought to read is from the blogger GI Korea: “GI Myths:The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident.”  I also recommend checking out the information on USinKorea.org, as well as a small […]

[…] it is absolutely disgusting what these groups are doing once again demagouging and hijacking the memories of Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun for their own partisan political purposes. Then again these are the same people that would […]

[…] are plenty of lessons to be learned from the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident from all sides of this issue to include the Korean public, government, and media, but I am going to […]

[…] deaths of two girls who were run over by a U.S. Armoured vehicle near an army base north of Seoul. ROK Drop has a really amazingly excellent write-up on what happens when misinformation, lack of crit…(re: that 2002 armoured car incident) that shows just how far you can go on anti-american emotion […]

[…] to paralyze or seize the reigns of national power.  The reaction to the 2002 traffic accident certainly seemed irrational enough (must-read link), but two girls did die; the tragedy was at least real.  This year, lacking a […]

[…] a great blog for US Forces in Korea, recently did a fantastic job of uncovering the facts of the case. Koreans still believe a lot of the lies surrounding this incident and it is an emotional issue for […]

[…] girls run over by a US military vehicle on June 13, 2002 (for more background on the incident, this post at ROK Drop is well worth reading, and the Metropolitician offers his analysis of those that used […]

[…] the report done last week by the blogger “ROK Drop” on the incident and the aftermath: http://rokdrop.com/2008/06/13/gi-myt…icle-accident/ Reading that put me in the state of mind to write this latest KT piece. While I know Koreans will […]

[…] It will be interesting to see if Brian Deutsch the K-blogger who raised the ire of Korean netizens due to his objection to the Crazy Cow Madness, with his latest article in the Korea Times taking a stab at the myth making of the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident. […]

I think that maybe sometimes Korean civilian courts are too lenient. For example, there was a U.S. soldier in his early 20’s who raped and beat an elderly Korean woman, but he only got something like 3-4 years in prison (he was tried by an ROK civilian court, as he was off duty at the time).

That said however, it is despicable how some South Koreans are dishonouring the memory of the two schoolgirls by trying to pursue an anti-American agenda at any cost. Of course, Korea activated its own SOFA with Kurdistan in Iraq, when an ROK soldier accidentally killed a 53-year-old politician in a traffic accident. Why were there virtually no articles or comments in the Korean press about that? Aren’t Kurdish people important?

A well-written post from a GI’s point of view, although I, as a Korean citizen, have to disagree with you on several points which I would rather not elaborate. BTW I agree with you that it was a very unfortunate “accident” and some of Korean NGOs grossly distorted the truth. But it also has to be true that somebody in that convoy made a fatal mistake (or a few mistakes) and got away. I believe it’s what angered most Koreans, because there had long been a perception in Korea (which may partly be true) that Americans can do whatever in Korea and get away with it.

A few factual errors: ex-president Roh was from Gyeongsang province, not Cholla. Maybe you were mistaken because Cholla province is his party’s stronghold. And he was not a little-known lawyer at that time, he had been a widely respected politician (a rarity in Korea). You may also be surprised that he refused to participate in the anti-US rally, saying that it would be imprudent for a presidential candidate to do so. All the other major presidential candidate did participate, including the leading conservative candidate Lee Hoi-chang. That he was elected in the midst of anti-americanism does not mean he was anti-american; it just is not logical.

Korean court martial sentence is generally harsher, that’s why Korean soldiers are not allowed to be tried in civilian courts. Not because of hypocrisy.

[…] it is absolutely disgusting what these groups are doing once again demagouging and hijacking the memories of Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun for their own partisan political purposes. Then again these are the same people that would […]

torreypines thanks for commenting and let me answer some of your points.

The perception that GIs can do whatever they want and get away with it in Korea is false as I have shown over and over again:

http://rokdrop.com/2008/04/22/south-korean-percep…

http://rokdrop.com/2008/02/27/gi-myths-is-the-us-…

http://rokdrop.com/2008/02/22/gi-myths-the-unfair…

However the perception held by GIs that Koreans can commit crimes against them and get away with it is actually based on reality:

http://rokdrop.com/2008/06/24/another-classic-exa…

As far as Roh yes point taken and correction made he was not from Cholla but his base of support was there. As far as Roh being anti-American the fact that he played up how he wouldn’t “kowtow to the Americans” or how he had never traveled to America and my all time favorite “is going anti-American a big deal?” all are pretty indicative of him trying to shore up the anti-American vote.

The fact that Korean soldiers are not tried in civilian courts is hypocritical if Korean citizens do not want to hold their own soldiers to the standards they expect of USFK. Also using your logic that Korean court martials are harsher then civilian courts that means that all US soldiers should be tried in court martials as well since they are harsher then Korean civilian courts.

Case in point in 2003 when a KATUSA was sexually assaulted at Camp Jackson. Since the crime happened off duty Korean courts had jurisdiction however the family of the KATUSA wanted the US to court martial him because they knew the punishment would be greater. They US soldier was sentenced to 30 years in jail. Such a sentence would have never been handed down in a Korean court.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/27/world/m…

Compare this to a ROK Army court martial that did not send a ROK Army soldier to jail for sexually assaulting a female US Army soldier on Camp Casey:

http://rokdrop.com/2007/02/16/rok-army-sexual-ass…

Well at least the ROK Army court martial put the soldier on probation unlike the Korean court who let a cab driver who raped a US Army soldier go:

http://rokdrop.com/2006/07/16/philippina-woman-ra…

As far as the accident you need to provide specific criticisms in order to properly respond because CID investigated the unit and no criminal intent was found on the leaders of the unit and the charges brought against the two soldiers in the vehicle were politically motivated as I have shown. Also as I have shown safety infraction violations led the unit leadership to all be reprimanded and their careers ended.

Also as a Korean you should know full well how traffic accidents are handled in Korea. As long as the person shows proper remorse and pays the blood money that the family accepts they don’t have a lynch mob coming after them like what the two soldiers involved in this tragic accident had coming after them.

Interesting report, how our vaulted left wing media didn’t run this into the ground is beyond belief.

My heart goes out to the familys of those 2 girls.

To the commander of that movement, he should of had a lead vechile out there to watch out for traffic and pedestrians. That’s the guy who should be punished.

The commander was in a HMMWV leading the convoy. Also remember the girls were hit by the fourth vehicle in the convoy which shows they knew they were standing in the midst of a military convoy and continued to walk on the road any way.

Soldiers in the convoy including the TC of the vehicle of that hit the girls saw them but the radio issue prevented the driver from being aware that they were walking on the road.

The fact that civilians walk on the road and do not move is not unusual in the 2ID area because the people are so used to the ROK and US military equipment and have thus lost respect for how dangerous the equipment can be. Likewise many military units got used to the civilians as well and slacked on safety procedures like this unit did by having tired drivers and no proper convoy rehearsal. I would also like to reemphasize that the commander and the other leaders in the unit were punished with General reprimands which are career killers.

It was a tragic accident that was preventable from many angles, but in no way was it worthy of the xenophobic hate that followed it.

“The most infamous example of misinformation was when the major news network MBC aired footage of someone claiming to be a former Korean Army tank driver …”

Was this “PD Notebook”? I cannot be 100% sure and the page from where that video is sourced doesn’t say what program it was from. I seem to recall kimsoft had it on his site, but no more. Can anyone confirm the name of the program? (If the owner of this site knows, could you email me at the address provided please?)

[…] Oh has been behind anti-US-ROK FTA protests as well as anti-US protests in 2002 in regards to the USFK armored vehicle accident.  He was also involved in protests to shut down the USFK bombing range at Maehyang-ri in […]

That’s not a picture of Walker and Nino at their court-martial. They were tried separately, and acquitted separately. That’s a picture of Walker’s military defense counsel, with Walker behind him. They are at the Uijongbu courthouse, months before the court-martial.

We were supposed to meet with Korean prosecutors as a bona-fide SOFA/international law requirement that the defendants be made “available” for questioning. It ended up being a set-up: Korean prosecutors never met with us, the Korean press “infiltrated” the courthouse (when someone opened the front door and led them to us), and our U.S. security detail got us out of there in a hurry.

I know because I was Walker’s military defense counsel. I’m holding up my black University of Akron Law binder in that picture. I still own it.

Jag D, thanks for commenting and clarifying the picture. Is there anything else in the posting that needs additional clarification because I am trying to make this posting as accurate as possible in regards to what happened.

Your posting is excellent, thank you for providing it. Your sources are spot-on, and your opinions are very accurate. Only other thing I would add is there were no photographers or reporters allowed in or around the courtroom at Camp Casey, except for one from Stars and Stripes I believe (T.D. Flack).

That is because the entire trial was televised closed-circuit to a Korean VIP/family/press room located a few buildings away, complete with translator services, all paid for by (who else?) the USG. Everyone in that VIP room seemed fine with the arrangements and the proceedings themselves until the consecutive not guilty verdicts were returned. Then of course the cries of kangaroo court, bad SOFA, etc. etc. began anew.

[…] I think the most disgusting example of the political nature of these protests is when the anti-US groups set up a memorial tent outside City Hall in Seoul that has blatantly linked the US beef protests with the 2002 USFK armored vehicle accident: […]

[…] as a reminder that military driver’s safety is not something that came about because of the 2002 armored vehicle accident but in fact something that has been emphasized for […]

Totally disagree with you korean bashers here. The driver of the military vehicle that KILLED Ms. Shin and Ms. Shim was a professionally trained driver of that vehicle. If he wasn’t then why was he driving it?? While he may not have intentionally killed these young ladies, he did, in fact, kill them. Therefore he is at fault and should have received a korean prison sentence. If you drive an automobile and you hit someone and kill them, because you are considered a professional driver because you have a driver’s license, you will face a prison sentence – seen it done in another province. So don’t try to shift blame onto Ms. Shin and Ms. Shim, the solder was at fault! BTW: Ms. Shin is a distant cousin of my family’s so I do take this very personally when you bash her.

Idiot, nobody is bashing Ms. Shin.

Koreans involved in fatal car accidents are not automatically thrown in jail.

For people like me, it isn’t “Korea-bashing” it is Korea’s anti-US culture bashing.

In another thread, you pull out many of the shallow Korea-defending arguments – like – It’s their country, you are guests, blah blah blah.

And now this claim that people attacking the orgy of hate South Korean society put on in the 2nd half of 2002 are bashing the poor girls who died.

Just to second what USinKorea said, Huh? is using the same old, tired arguments.

In just the last two years there were two GIs killed by taxi cab drivers and those drivers were never sent to jail for killing the GIs. The second incident was an accident but the first innocent was definitely shady with the cab driver committing a hit and run.

http://rokdrop.com/2007/05/08/naked-usfk-soldier-…

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&ar…

Here is what the cab driver was charged with after the accident:

South Korean police identified the soldier as Shannon Chalfant, according to Sgt. Chang Won-il of the Yangju police accident investigation division.

The car’s driver, Maeng Chang-je, 50, was not injured, according to Chang.

Under South Korean law, Maeng could face a fine of 40,000 won, about $40, for hitting a pedestrian, according to South Korean police.

It will be interesting to hear Huh?’s rationale when Koreans are responsible for killing GI’s in traffic accidents and are only charged a $40 fine.

I’m not even an American, but, because I’m visibly foreign, I experienced some of that anti-American (and later generally anti-Western, anti-foreigner) horsesh** as well.

I understand that in 2006 (correct me if I’m wrong), a Korean soldier accidentally ran over a Kurdish man in Iraq and killed him. The Korean army then activated its own SOFA they had with Kurdistan, so that the soldier wouldn’t be tried in a Kurdish court.

I also understand that Korean soldiers in the ROK are never tried in civilian courts for crimes they may commit, whether they’re on duty or off.

Finally, weren’t there a number of South Korean sailors who were deliberately killed by North Korean forces at about the same time in 2002? Not to mention the many young Koreans killed in traffic accidents by their fellow countrymen that year…yet, because U.S. troops were involved in that one particular, accidental tragedy, the xenophobic fit hit the shan.

Last Question first: http://www.usinkorea.org/issues/seabattle/index.h…

Traffic Accidents in Korea: http://usinkorea.org/issues/trafficaccidents/inde…

On the ROK soldier, I remember hearing something like that. The one that comes to mind more is of an ROK soldier who accidently shot a Kurd, I think it was, by being careless with his rifle.

The story on how ROK soldier crimes are handled I like best is one in the late 1990s when a guy robbed a bank with a machine gun and stun grenade. He wounded at least one person with the gun. That is highly unusual in Korea. It was a shocker. When they caught the guy several days later and heard he was a soldier – it was stunning but then the news accounts dried up. —- He was handled in Korean military court – even though the bank was off base and civilian.

In the water dumping case this guy also commented on on another thread, a month or two after that case, a Korean logging company was finally dragged into court and fined for having pumped, was it thousands??, of gallons of fromaldehyde into the Han River directly – well, through run-off due to how close to the river they were treating the wood.

That case got a fine after the practice had been ongoing. But, the USFK case gets months of protests and an ever-lasting story/justification.

Good boy “Huh” keep up the good work showing the Korean/ Kyopo mindset.

Sheesh!!! Has anybody ever heard of the “Darwin awards”

Everyone can read about US-ROK SOFA as well as the SOFA’s Korea has signed with other countries to include the Kurdish incident and the ROK soldiers who held up the bank at the below link:

http://rokdrop.com/2008/02/22/gi-myths-the-unfair…

[…] a soldier committing a crime and getting away with it because of the SOFA, they always bring up the 2002 Armoured Vehicle Accident as evidence. I always appreciate them bring up that tragic accident because it is so easy to […]

[…] Ruin Everything Popular Gusts “Protests, public space in Seoul, and cyberspace” ROK Drop – GI Myths – The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident Samedi: Korean Temples Series Gord Sellar, Roboseyo, The Korean, et. al.: Why Do Expats Complain So […]

[…] Ruin Everything Popular Gusts “Protests, public space in Seoul, and cyberspace” ROK Drop – GI Myths – The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident Samedi: Korean Temples Series Gord Sellar, Roboseyo, The Korean, et. al.: Why Do Expats Complain So […]

Is this post available in Korean? A Korean co-worker mentioned this accident to me at lunch this week, claiming that there was no apology. I told her she was misinformed, and sent her a link to this post. Her English is pretty good, but if this is available in Korean, I’d like to send her that as well. And if it isn’t available in Korean, I think this and all of your “GI myth” posts should be translated. I think there are many fair-minded Koreans out there who simply have never been told the truth. Maybe the “Korea Beat” guys could do it?

I have had offers to have the posting translated for my site but I do not have the Korean language skills to answer comments that may begin to come in from Korean commenters to answer questions and criticisms of the posting.

If someone wanted to post it in Korean on their site to where they could respond intelligently to questions from Korean commenters I would be all for it.

I will be showing this to my Korean girlfriend today, along with some of your other postings. She is under the impression that U.S. military personnel are never brought to trial in Korean courts and that there are no U.S. military personnel in Korean jails. Her evidence is “everybody says so”.

Oh, and she brought up this incident (the 2002 death of these schoolgirls) as evidence that GIs are never brought to justice. She claims that they were sent back to the U.S. to avoid prosecution in the Korean court system. I asked for her evidence…”well everybody says it’s true…”

#50,#51,

I haven’t been in Korea teaching Korean adults since 2000, but that was what everybody knew as the truth back then.

Even after a couple of major cases came up in the late 1990s, and we had gone over news articles that showed the GIs were tried and convicted in a Korean court, some of my long-term students would still end up saying some weeks later that “no” GIs are ever held to Korean justice.

This link http://usinkorea.org/crimes/12_22_1967.JPG is to a scan of an article on the first GIs to be convicted and sentenced by Korean courts: it was in 1967.

GI Korea has a lot of great information about contemporary cases. I’ve also got up some older cases that I was able to locate in the US news archives:

http://www.usinkorea.org/crimes/

Video of the protesters who cut the hole in the fence at Camp Red Cloud:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9hmNV4LojQ

[…] Korea has a detailed post clarifying misinformation surrounding the 2002 accident and its […]

Just wanted to add. Since that accident, every soldier that comes to Korea is briefed on the accident as part of the inprocessing procedure. The soldiers are taken to the site of the accident and briefed the 5Ws (and How). Also, no longer are tracked vehicles allowed to move during the day time, and I would say that 95% of tracked convoys are moved by Heavy Equipment Truck Transport run by the Korean Service Corps. So very rarely are trackes even on the ground anymore.

Was doing some fact checking today on the incident I was part of nearly 8 years ago today. Great blog post that tackles the topic from the angle I typically view the events and the aftermath from. I may be reading wrong, but one part of your article seemed to suggest that our unit (B Co, 44th Engineer Bn) left a staging area to go TO Twin Bridges.

In fact, we were staged on the outskirts of the training area awaiting Bradleys to reach us so that we could continue into the training area. Instead, CPT Mason informed us that we would leave the training area and travel a few miles down the road to the Bradleys, THEN travel back over the same road back to our staging area. We would effectively be traveling miles over the same small road twice, when we only needed to wait in place.

I personally mentioned something to CPT Mason about it during staging. So did my squad leader. I can’t quote him directly due to years of separation from the conversation, but he said something very very close to “it’s my company and I’ll do what I want”.

I was interviewed by PD Notebook in 2005 (2006?) about the incident while in Korean language school in Monterey, CA, and have been trying to get a copy of that show since then. I am very worried that they did not represent my words correctly, since Korean media has been very spotty as you have addressed well in this blog.

Currently I am back in school continuing toward my goal of intelligence/PR work in Korea while working full time for the government. I have matured since then, but there is still a lot to learn. In those days, I had a very small piece of the responsibility. That being said, I still feel three things very strongly:

1) Korean media did a great disservice to both U.S. servicemembers and the Korean people.

2) CPT Mason made a horrendously poor decision that was indicative of his and 1SG Williams’ leadership at the time.

3) I still feel like I owe a debt to the families of Shim Mi Son and Shin Hyo Soon that I am trying to repay further down the road by continuing my studies of Korean history and culture.

I am subscribing to this comment thread and would enjoy chatting with you about Korea.

Sgt. Chalfant’s still alive and in therapy as of Feb. 2009:

http://www.stripes.com/news/unit-pitches-in-to-he…

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1448501/…

heard from my korean coworker today about this event. we joke sometimes about how koreans get offended when any foreigners ‘diss’ korea. today it came up at lunch and she asked how i would feel if someone insulted the US. i told her many americans hate the US, so i people’s negative opinions don’t bother me.

she’s pretty fair about discussing cultural issues, so i was surprised at how somber she got later in the afternoon when explaining america’s injustice toward korea in the armored vehicle incident. i’m glad there is some thorough, fact-grounded information in this post to help me process her expression of korea’s disdain toward the US. i’ve heard so much about japan’s atrocities since being here (and about the dokdo conflict, etc), and have therefore come to somewhat resent korea’s ‘everyone says so’ mentality.

thank you for working to bring this incident into a new light…i do hope the tolerance and investigatory skills of korean society soon catch up to their amazing technological and economical development.

For all your citations, you got the Girard situation completely wrong (the US military who killed a Japanese woman). You say he “deliberately” killed her but that’s not what he was sentenced for, he was sentenced to 3 years for causing her death. Also strictly speaking the US shouldn’t have handed him over as he was on duty while the incident happened – in the end, mounting Japanese antagonism made sure he was handed over, which was widely protested in the states at the time.

So the Korean media def. had a point when they mentioned this case. You got it all wrong.

Marcus, here’s a link from Time magazine, 1957. The Girard case involved a soldier actually firing an empty cartridge from a GRENADE LAUNCHER — AT a group of Japanese scavengers. The cartridge stuck and killed a woman.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,…

The Sec Def at the time (1957) decided that Girard’s actions were not authorized. Well, no kidding. Firing anything from a grenade launcher at a group of civilians is pretty “unauthorized.”

The Korean media, true to form, sensationalized and hyped the Walker incident to actually compare Walker’s actions to those of Girard. Sorry, but a soldier following his commander’s orders to drive an AVLB during a training exercise, was totally authorized. The fact that Walker got in a vehicle accident — which was admittedly a horrible accident — is in no way the same act.

Unless of course you’re trying to sell papers and get Koreans enraged. Mission accompished, obviously.

One more thing I wanted to clarify is that the 2002 SOFA contained something called a “first right of jurisdiction” for on-duty incidents. In other words, once an on-duty determination was made (driving an AVLB during training was definitely on-duty), then the second question was whether the U.S. would exercise or waive its “first right” to retain jurisdiction of the soldiers. The U.S. could have waived jurisdiction and handed the soldiers over to the Korean government. Even though the incident occurred on-duty.

So when the U.S. execrcised its “first right” and announced in a press release it would retain jurisdiction, Korea went crazy for a third time (the first time being immediately after the incident, the second when Camp Red Cloud was assaulted two days after Korea’s World Cup elimination). As the article points out, this was particularly hypocritical in light of Korea’s military jurisdiction at home, and existing Korean SOFAs for its own troops abroad.

Shortly after the announcement a U.S. soldier was kidnapped by a mob under the guise of having committed an assault. He was forced to read a prepared statement saying the SOFA was bad and needed to be changed. That’s why I say “went crazy.”

JAG D

10:19 am on September 9th, 2010

So when the U.S. exercised its “first right” and announced in a press release it would retain jurisdiction, Korea went crazy for a third time (the first time being immediately after the incident

There was very little reaction for several days after the accident – as Korea was completely wrapped up in the World Cup.

Maybe I was too close to the event, or “crazy” is too strong to describe the initial reaction — but the protestors and stories on the Korean press wire — especially the myth about the Katusa fighting Walker — were nearly instantaneous / contemporaneous with the accident itself.

I’ll grant that because of the WC, a lot of the initial incendiary reaction was overshadowed. But it’s not like people just all of a sudden decided to show up at CRC and breach the Main Gate after the WC loss. The propaganda machine, and leaks of gruesome photos on protest placards (being held by citizens and kids), mobilized by the weekend of the incident, esp in Dongducheon, Uijongbu, and Yongsan. After the WC, the full movement of “crazy” found a nationwide audience, to be sure.

#63 JAG D terrible, terrible grammar.

If anyone has any constructive comments or questions on the litigation itself, just let me know. I’ll defer to Strunk & White for grammatical foibles.

the comanding general should walk into the korean parliment ask them if they want us to leave them to mercy of north korea.then if they don’t respond to the ngos we walk see how they like that.

a

As an American-raised Korean, I have an admittedly unique perception on the surrounding attitudes of the incident. While certainly I acknowledge that there was quite a large departure from rationality on the part of the protesters, I hesitate at your willingness to paint the entire country with the same brush. Surely there has been (and still is, to some extent) similar expressions by Americans and American media, if only against themselves.

Take, for example, the Vietnam War. Surely you are familiar with the photo of the public execution that was spread across the nation that demonized your presence there. What wasn’t told to the public was that the executed prisoner was guilty of espionage and that the legal penalty for such was indeed death. And yet had you told anyone who had seen that picture on TV, can you really say that the response you would have gotten would have been too different from “everybody says so?” Perhaps it may have been closer to disbelief that you could be so “stupid” as that is closer to the American Way, but even so, the basic tenet would have been the same.

The media (and by extension, liberals) are quite dangerous, and if they feed on the public’s more basic instincts (such as preservation of children and women), it becomes easy to see why the nation may have become so incited. Also keep in mind that the entire country is about the size of Delaware. Organizing the entire country is not so far-fetched, especially with the support of the media (which is already traditionally left-leaning).

And, sadly, I am sure there are those who simply went along with it because the vocal majority was so forceful with it.

Regardless, I can tell you now that while there is a faint lingering of those emotions, they are by and large gone. There are new liberals spreading new reasons to hate America, but at least they are tempered by somewhat cooler minds. The fact that there is a conservative in the Blue House helps. The fact that North Korea recently showed its true colors twice in one year helps even more, although I’m afraid that the liberals are again making the nation weak in leaning on the president to become softer.

Korea is indeed quite homogeneous, and while there are some bad points (perhaps too many), certainly there are still yet some good parts of it. America is a nation that is no longer proud of itself, a nation that is beginning to self-destruct because not only does it not defend itself but it also openly attacks itself with words, a stronger weapon than bullets or bombs could ever be. It even goes to the extent of demonizing those who *are* proud of their American culture and heritage, how can such a thing strengthen a union?

And, if the result of your multi-culturism is unending terrorism and submitting to Islam, I would then feel quite safe in our xenophobia.

But I do grant you that our country has yet a long way to go regarding certain crimes. We do not have an exemplary record in our government. That said, barely a century ago, we did not have widespread electrical power or railroads and lived under a monarchy (soon to be annexed by Japan). Today we are on the cutting-edge of technology. Sadly, our societal advances have been lagging behind, but we will catch up. America began its industrial revolution in the early 1800s, had it in full swing by 1860, and passed the 19th Amendment in 1920. And even then, it took some time before women were considered equal, as even as late as the 1950s, women were seen as little more than kitchen adornments. I’ll be generous, however, and say that from the beginning of America’s advance into the future and the social recognition of women was roughly 120 years. Given that Korea has had but sixty with which to catapult from a war-torn nation to one of the strongest economic, technological, and communication powers of the world, I believe I can safely wager that they will soon catch up socially, and faster than America has.

America has had the luxury of time and (perhaps more importantly) democracy, something I would remind readers that the Republic of Korea has not truly enjoyed until the early 1990s. We are still adjusting, and there is quite the sore spot for any perceived injustice, as there has been quite a few valid injustices already committed. I’m afraid it is a case of the victim seeing muggers everywhere they go. That, and comparatively, America has an atrociously short memory. Most of Asia (Korea included) have histories that are decidedly longer, and the memory of committed wrongdoings done by outsiders will unfortunately taint our perceptions of any further mistakes.

For the record, “outsiders” haven’t had the greatest record, and that goes all the way back to the French Catholic missionaries that spat on our culture. And while you may not be French, I am afraid that you all do indeed look quite alike. So it is not too hard to understand why we are not overly fond of foreigners.

68, So it all boils down to (we look different). Check. Quite good of you to admit your country of Korea is a racist country. (Not like I didn’t know that already)

More justification for the black, white and brown people to leave korea to the Chinese.

Too bad Obama will not listen to me.

Standing in the Twilight:

Have you ever actually been to France? Paris in particular is home to several millions of blacks, Arabs, Viets, Chinese, Latin Americans, etc. “You all look alike”?….spare me.

Why do so many Korean people condemn Japan for colonial crimes committed by Imperial Japanese over 65 years ago, but totally overlook North Korea starving 1.5 million Koreans to death, gang-raping female inmates, doing medical experiments on prisoners, administering forced abortions, torturing inmates, kidnapping foreigners (not just Koreans and Japanese, but also Filipinos, Thais, Romanians and Lebanese, amongst others), counterfeiting U.S. currency, and illegally building nuclear weapons and selling arms to terrorists? By the way, the late Kim Dae-Jung and Roh Mu-Hyeon facilitated the latter by giving so much bribe money to Kim Jong-Il.

Some Koreans will say, “That’s different, because we’re the same race/ethnic group as North Koreans.” So that makes North Korea’s current injustices accepatble, but Japan’s past ones unacceptable? Alrighty then…are you saying that it’s all right for some Koreans to disrepect foreigners and their cultures (without whom and which South Korea wouldn’t even exist today), but only vice-versa is wrong?

Why do the ROKs overlook the north Korean atrocities?

Because it’s Bush’s fault!

BTW, in the litany of North Korean crimes I have listed, I forgot to mention extensive narcotics production and trafficking (eg. heroin, methamphetamines (“meth”), cocaine, etc.). Let’s not forget to touch on that as well.

I was a MP that responded to the accident scene where Shin and Shim were killed. Forget what you heard from people who dont know, i can tell you first hand no one was laughing, no one thought it was funny! The driver of the tank was so upset I had to physically help pull him out of the tank.The images of those girls haunt me to this day and i cant sleep at night from what i saw there that day. I pray that they will never be forgoten, god knows i will remember them for the rest of my life. may they RIP and my heart goes out to their family. and for the record every soldier i know feels the way i do. some one dieing is never funny and is a sad loss.

Well I certainly remember all we heard about this, over and over. Then I also remember when we stopped hearing about it. Does anyone else?

I drove the Bradley that was coming up the other direction.
The way that this story was told is inaccurate. This has caused me alof of nightmares
Over the years.

*sigh* this is y u Yankee bastards have to leave. maybe more kids won’t be turned into roadkill if there werent as many huge ass vehicles rolling around

Kor-Amer: and how many South Korean kids get killed by reckless and/or aggressive Korean drivers each year, including in 2002? Except the anti-U.S., anti-Western, ugly xenophobic and racist bigotry was in full force that year, so that particular incident was used by radical civic groups to blame everyone who looked foreign.

The South Korean government pays the U.S. to stay, and most South Koreans just about puddinged their pants when Donald Rumsfeld threatened to pull out all the U.S. troops in response to the bigoted violence against them at the time. Of course, if that happened, then North Korea would be very tempted to reinvade, and they’d stand a fair chance of winning the second time round.

Then, instead of having a handful of South Korean kids getting killed or injured by U.S. army vehicles in tragic accidents over a period of many years, millions of them would starve to death like their counterparts in the wonderful, foreigner-free paradise of North Korea, while the magnamimous elite there gorges on gourmet food and Hennessay whiskey, drives Mercedes-Benzes, goes to Singapore, China and Switzerland for shopping, etc.

[…] a military vehicle accidentally killed two teenage girls in what would later be deemed the “Yangju Highway Incident.” The tragedy sparked a greater wave of anti-American sentiment along with Apolo Ohno 2002 […]

hanbokcho, Retired GI, shattered, Ik zou graag je gezicht gesneden in linten

rus858582, you talk big on the interwebs; but you’re just a racist, cowardly troll that is acting in support of the butchers in Pyongyang… like so many others here…

The girls killed themselves by walking where it was not safe and they should have known it was not safe…

It’s still tragic; but it’s not the GI’s fault. No matter how many banners someone makes. No matter how many curses one utters. No matter how many protest vigils one attends.

And nothing we do will bring them back. So let’s try to make fewer wars and spread less hatred and BS so eventually all the soldiers can go home.

[…] and killed them.  It was also a period of heart-rending tragedy that saw an American military vehicle kill 13-year-old middle school girls Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun, who were walking along the roadside just outside of Seoul on the […]

I talked to a Korean a few months ago about this and he too still believes that the soldiers took it as a joke. I was dumbfounded, I simply said “You understand soldiers have daughters, and sons, and mothers, and farther, and a heart as well”

I then pointed out several ROK Military accidents, to which he hushed up.

I sometimes find the Korean attitude towards foreigners a little disheartening.

#82

We had several people presumably Americans here who were joking about it for the last few days right here in this forum. I also heard many American soldiers in clubs, joking about it, and making lots of disparaging remarks about the dead kids and Koreans in general whom the Americans had nothing but contempt for, right after the killings happened. I would say very few if any American soldiers at that time cared for those girls. The ones who claimed otherwise, were all bull sh1tters.

[…] At an progressing concert, in 2002, PSY crushed a indication of an American tank, Korean media sources say, protesting a exculpation of dual U.S. troops group who were concerned in an collision that killed dual South Korean teenagers. […]

Everything is very open with a really clear clarification of the challenges.
It was definitely informative. Your site is useful. Many thanks for sharing!

I want to tell you about The Yangju highway incident as korean.
Please.. understand my grammar is not perfect.

At first, you should know, we always thank for people who fought for freedom and democracy. Korea government set up memorial monument which be carved veteran names of the Korean war. so you should know it different with ani-america that be caused by The Yangju highway incident. (in korea called 효순이 미선이 사건)

Most important is that American soldiers did not deserve punishment.

After the Yangju highway incident, we just want to deserve punishment for death. So, we suppressed a demonstration with holding candlelight to US army for giving jurisdiction.

http://www.iacenter.org/images/korea_dec14.jpg (candlelight vigil)

but they did not …and…. say “not guilty”. then, ani-american wave was spreaded in korea. ( I can’t sure… perhaps…that time, psy sang ani-american)

it’s wrong!!! whoever, anyone if they make someone death, they should pay their guilty.

what would you do if korean army kill two american girls(age 12) by tank, then korea court judge “oh. not guilty.”

To tell you the true, before we had an illusion that USA is always righteous. Because… they fought with us against north korea…. we love them.. I think that time, may be.. korean felt sense of betrayal to USA.

well…. now… korean still love USA but we never forget Hyo-sun and Mi-seon.

*if you search ‘효순이 미선이 사건’ on the internet, you can watch girls body picture which was not blotted out by a camera. then you can understand korean angry and sad.

#83,

You would have had to have been in Korea to hear Americans soldiers joking about it, if they were indeed making light of the tragedy.

#86,

What you’re not considering is why that traffic accident remained unnoticed until months later. Don’t you think that’s odd?

Tell me, how do you feel about South Koreans who cause traffic accident deaths in South Korea? Do you burn your passport in protest? Of course not.

And, face it, the reaction was not limited to ‘candlelight vigils’. In my hometown, for example, some idiot spray-painted “USA F@cking” (his grammar mistake, not mine) on a building downtown for all people to see, even kids who probably asked their parents what that obscene word meant. There aren’t any US bases anywhere near my town, which confounded me. The only Americans that I knew of were a handful of hagwon teachers and the kids of a few of my US-educated Korean colleagues.

Moreover, some American soldiers were attacked (one was killed) in the months following this.

And, to make matters worse, it wasn’t just Americans who were targeted, but anyone who seemed American to the xenophobes and the racists.

No American soldiers have been killed by South Korean since 2000. And that was done by an insane homeless man who heard voices. So puhleessee..don’t spread more unfounded rumors about what happened years ago.

Teadrinker/

Actually, if korean kill korean by traffic accident, they have to deserve punishment: may be go to jail. but not judge no guilty.
Important is if you make crime or not, it’s no matter where come.

i’m so sorry to hear that. may be.. I think, that time which you suffered hardship was after US soldiers was declared not guilty.

That time I was young, so I can’t remember exactly. but after that judgement, korean was angry. we think it’s not fair.

Like many american can’t distinguish asian nation, we was same.
if your skin is white, then some people consider as american. because korea most have been effected US than other country. we just see as american sight.

I don’t know that ->some American soldiers were attacked (one was killed) in the months following this.

but whoever, they have to pay their guilty for victim right and social justice

Tom #83.

I never heard a soldier or civilian “joke” about the 2 girls getting run over, everyone thought it was a tragedy.

But, I do know of one older Korean man(Mr. Hwang) who laughed giddely about the people jumping off of the World Trade Center on 9/11, so funny to see those flaying arms and legs.

The same guy cried when relating about North Koreans eating their own children.

I could never figure out how this guy could find the 9/11 incident amusing.

He was a typical Korean older guy.

Sure, Ole Tanker, typical Korean man jokes about jumpers at 9/11 and laughs evily muhahahahaha… while rubbing their paws together, sure.

#90

In the American justice system, if no intent or negligence can be proven, it’s possible to be found to be an accident where no one is at fault. I understand that that perception is different in the Korean justice system where there is an expectation that someone is at at fault and must be found guilty. Some Americans here who are not covered under the US military’s in-the-line-of-duty protection have been shocked to find out that even if someone runs out in front of their car and is hit, they (the driver) will always be found to be at fault.

In the situation of this accident, was there negligence? Reading through the whole article there seems to have been many places where there was negligence. However, in the public rush to fix blame on the vehicle operators, much of the negligence that existed elsewhere went unnoticed.

It’s like a plane with faulty parts that is directed to fly a mission near a populated area. If the plane fails, the crew has to eject and the plane hits an occupied home, are the plane’s crew members guilty of a crime?

JoeC/

well I think. military troop have negligence , not to driver.
In korea, because of small country, sometimes, military troop be built near small town. so if they go out for training with tank, they have to charge that inform people for prevention using road during training. but by driver statement, they did not.

After accident, we also try to investigate accident, for confirmation a statement, prosecution called driver, but US troop did not to send..

So government asked to giving jurisdiction, (because of SOFA, if US troop did not agree, korea government can’t investigate US soldier crime.)

but they rejected our asking, and judged ‘not guilty’ without our opinion. there was only US troop judge.

yes. your right. korea justice system different with america justice system. our system is similar Germany justice system.
if driver take judge in our court, they might judge accidental homicide, even though they did not go to jail.

well maybe.. korean just angered that we couldn’t do anything even our little girls death. (that make us more sad)

anyway. I want to tell you Mi-seon father words after 10 year (2012)
“at first I was so sad but I didn’t think, they make dead intentionally. I hope diver become free from guilt.”

Tom: you make some good points. Also, after the Apolo Ohno incident in Salt Lake City, there were some Koreans putting up pro-bin Laden websites and praising the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the U.S.

As others have pointed out, the so-called “Sunshine Policy” was an abject failure, as North Korea didn’t reciprocate and start to reform itself. The billions of dollars given to the DPRK has simply made it more dangerous, as witnessed by torpedo attacks which have killed many South Korean sailors, or the shelling of the Yeon-Pyeon Island.

It also has made Iran more dangerous, since North Korea has conducted extensive trade in nuclear and missile technology with that country, which wouldn’t have been as great if South Korea hadn’t been funneling money to the North. Israel and Saudi Arabia would not be wrong in expressing some anger against South Korea for that, as Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened both of those countries (Saudi abd Israel) before.

[…] of Koreans (70 percent of those under 25) did not have a good impression of the U.S. (Website ROK Drop has an in depth look at the […]

[…] of Koreans (70 percent of those under 25) did not have a good impression of the U.S. (Website ROK Drop has an in depth look at the […]

[…] was also a period of heart-rending tragedy that saw an American military vehicle kill 13-year-old middle school girls Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun, who were walking along the roadside just outside of Seoul on the […]

As a Korean American, the facts posted on this site regarding the above referenced incident angers me. I am angry at the Korean media and its leaders for portraying American soldiers as evil doers who murdered with intent or were “laughing” at having created “roadkill”.

1> Anti-American leaders (including educators) have taken over the system in Korea and are maintaining an ideology of hatred towards America.

2> The U.S. military may have had issues with their radio system BUT the GIRLS WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN THERE!!!

Death is always tragic, no matter the circumstances. However, the media was also tasteless in posting pictures of the disfigured girls’ bodies online and in papers. The pictures just incited more negative reaction.

Lastly, to all the idiotic people protesting against the U.S., GET YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS OUT OF THE STATES BEFORE PROTESTING!

The hypocrisy behind the anti-American protesters never cease to amaze me – almost every single one of them have relatives or friends who are in the U.S. Most are here legally, some are not. Some came to chase after the American dream, others came to give birth to anchor babies. Bottom line: they are all in the States to “receive” and not “give”.

A message to native Koreans: It is okay for you, native Koreans, to hate on the U.S. It is your right. However, please stay out of the U.S. If you have friends or family members, please have them leave the U.S. We don’t want you/them here, either! Don’t bother learning English, if you hate the U.S. so much. Learn anything other than American style English and please don’t feel that your entitled ar$e is OWED anything by Americans.

I love my Korean identity but the way native Koreans have been behaving on the political platform regarding military and anti-American issues really makes me consider otherwise. I love the culture but hate the idiot anti-Americans.

-Angry Korean American (or should I write, American of Korean descent)-

#89,
Someone was attacked, stabbed. So, I might have confused two different attacks. Remains that someone tried to kill that soldier.

#94,

I was disgusted by the way certain people used the death of these two girls to further their political agenda. I’m happy Koreans nowadays aren’t going to allow themselves to be so easily fooled by these pro-North Korean groups.

[…] GI Flashback: The 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident (ROK Drop) — A detailed viewpoint from the U.S. military side on what happened with the 2002 tank accident. […]

[…] was also a period of heart-rending tragedy that saw an American military vehicle kill 13-year-old middle school girls Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun, who were walking along the roadside just outside of Seoul on the […]

I remember this incident. I was in Korea then. The thing that stuck out in my mind – but was too insensitive and politically incorrect to say – was that the girls bear a little of the blame themselves. In typical Korean style, they kept walking even though a loudass group of tracks were coming up behind them. Now my unit in the States used to share a motor pool with Abrahms tanks, and when you were walking down the vehicle rows and heard them behind you…you got out of the way.

Same with this. There’s no way those girls didn’t hear or feel the vibrations from the tracks. They should have got off the road or ran ahead to cross the bridge instead of trying to walk along the bridge letting the tracks pass just a few feet from them.

It was a sad loss of life, but it could have been avoided with a little common sense.

I will always remember this day. I was in the convoy right behind the bridge layers. I was riding along with my CPT in a hummer with a group of LMTVs behind us. We where taking parts to a different part of Twin Bridges. I remember seeing the other convoy approaching and every one in the convoys trying to make room by inching the vehicles closer to the edge of the pavement. Then everything came to a stand still and my CPT dismounted to see if there was a problem. He came running back to grab poncho liners / blankets to cover the bodies and had us set up a Traffic Control Point (TCP) to turn around the vehicles behind us. I remember walking up to inform him that the TCP was set and saw a dozen or so Soldiers standing around the girls, silent, most had tears in their eyes. I had never seen a senior leader cry before. I’m glad you have this page outlining the facts of the situation. I was a young Soldier then and didn’t understand what was going on in the media. I was stationed at Casey and only knew that certain days we couldn’t leave the base or could only leave by going out through Camp Hovey (sp?). We pulled guard at the gates and set up vehicle check points after the Red Cloud incident but I never really understood why. I knew it had been a terrible accident but had never heard that the media was portraying the accident as a blatant murder. Those streets where narrow and dangerous but what was worse was how they had us drive for hours on end with little to no sleep. I will never forget this day and continue to use it as a reminder when ever I give a Convoy Safety Brief.

what was worse was how they had us drive for hours on end with little to no sleep

This was an accident waiting to happen.

Stumbled upon this while looking for news on that 2ID accident. Having read the stories and seen all the arguments and sensationalism I had never actually seen visuals from the time of the accident. I think it really gives better context to the whole thing:

(These are pretty raw, if you don’t want to see pictures of dead girls on the road don’t click the link! :x)
http://uncoveringtheworld.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/two-korean-school-girls-killed-in-armored-vehicle-accident-south-korea/

Here’s how it looks today:
http://map.daum.net/?panoid=1024907711&pan=265.0&tilt=5.6&zoom=0&map_type=TYPE_SKYVIEW&map_hybrid=true&map_attribute=ROADVIEW&urlX=488850&urlY=1210533&urlLevel=3

You can see based on the driver’s position and that there’s machinery blocking his view to the front-right that there’s no way he’d of seen them actually getting hit. The right tread’s touching grass and the left is touching the median line so there was literally no more room. Of course this isn’t to say the driver is free of any repsonsbility.

There’s blame enough for all in this event:
* Why’d the convoy try to pass knowing those kids were to the right? It should’ve stopped and forced them to get to the other side before passing.
* Why’d the Korean government find it acceptable to keep roads in such conditions despite the massive buildup in vehicular traffic, why did it also agree to allow immensly wide, slow to control vechicles travel these roads? They are responsible for providing safe lanes of travel.
* Why’d USFK continue to drive super heavy track vehicles while fully knowing how Koreans aren’t the most aware travellers and that traffic density added to poor road conditions meant sooner or later something real bad was going to happen.
* Why didn’t the girls get over to the right? You surely could hear that beast coming up the road and I know if it were me I’d of gotten the hell out of there, I’m not one to put my life into the hands of another.

You can see now via Daum that there’s a sidewalk but as all too often with government, too little too late. There’s still roads in Korea on and off base with heavy traffic and moderate pedestrian traffic with no sidewalks (yeah I’m looking at you USAG Yongsan, you’ve been there like 70 years what the F were you waiting for? :evil:).

In any case if you’re going to be one of those people who like to use this event to bolster some other argument pro or anti US(FK) that really has nothing to do with this event then I suggest right before you do so to look at those photos and get it deep in your head that you’re using those dead girls, you should be ashamed.

(And here’s the soapbox, I’m done with it…)

Too late, Smokes.

We have been through this… well… since 2002. Eleven years. There is little you can add to the discussion.

Yes: Why didn’t the girls walk up the incline out of the roadway when the big, slow, noisy tracked vehicles started to get close.

No: Did the drivers of the tracked vehicles decide they were going to hunt middle school girls that day.

This event, and the protests than followed it, probably generated more discussion than any other event I’ve ever discussed.

Oddly enough, if the World Cup hadn’t been in full swing in Korea at the time, it might have been even worse.

On the whole look at how complex it was by the time everything had setlled down. What started as an accident turned into a huge mess staring misinformation, ignorance, subversion, ____ism, etc…

Social poisoning was at its highest in Korea I’d say, thanks to the dubious Roh’s and incompetent LaPorte’s actions. Wouldn’t be surprised if LTG “Grandstand” Honore excaerbated things but haven’t seen anything to indicate as such.

Makes me wonder why it takes things like this and the Osan Hundcuff’ing to get the RoK and USFK talking to ensure the relationship stays a good one?

[…] background of the story is the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, and the accident in which a US tank killed two Korean girls. There are three main characters and there are chapters for every one of […]

Thanks for this post. It’s hard to find detailed information on what actually happened. I know someone who was a KATUSA soldier stationed there during that time, and he has talked about how he was asked to go talk to protestors, but he was afraid of them. It made me very curious about the full story – thanks again.

I do want to mention one thing after reading all the comments. I don’t think this was the drivers’ fault, but I also disagree with the folks blaming the girls. They were not adults, they were 14, an age where you have really developed a sense of bravado and invincibility, and are much less likely to be careful, especially in the presence of a peer. If it had been two adults walking, it probably would have turned out differently, because they would have had a better sense of danger and not care about following what the other was doing. I’m not saying that better common sense on their part wouldn’t have helped – just that there’s a reason we don’t charge kids with making life and death decisions or send them into dangerous situations. They can’t be expected to be developmentally equipped at that age to handle situations with proper caution.

Based on comments from those who were there, this seems to be a tragic accident, with the only fault factor being a systemic lack of sufficient caution by command. Several other commenters have mentioned this incident’s use in training, now. It’s very sad that a lack of caution had to be remedied by the death of two kids… but then, that is the case for many major accidents and disasters.

I served in Korea Feb 1978-Feb 1979 HHB 2/17FA and luckily we had wheeled vehicles, no tracks and also operated in much rural areas. I looked at the site of former Camp Pelham and was surprised at how built up Sunyu-ri is now. I do remember taking my Gama goat M561 on a mail run to Seoul during the winter and that was harrowing enough.

 

 

ROK Drop Book Review: Seasons in the Kingdom

| May 28, 2008

There are very few countries that have had as many things happen to it in such a short time then Korea.  The nation in just the past 55 years since the end of the Korean War has faced communist insurgencies, coups, break neck economic development, assassinations, economic collapse, as well as a successful democracy movement.  Throughout all these years American servicemembers rotating for mostly one year tours on the peninsula have bared witness to all the set backs and accomplishments of the Republic of Korea.

Despite this constant presence of the American military in Korean society, very little has been written about the GI experience in Korea.  This is what makes Tim Norris’s book, Seasons in the Kingdom such a unique addition to the growing number of Korea related books.  Norris’s book is a historical work of fiction that follows the life of a US Army soldier who was drafted into the Army and instead of being sent to Vietnam was sent to South Korea to complete a tour of duty on the peninsula between 1973-1974.


1964 picture of ASCOM City.

The soldier, Mike is given orders to work as a guard at the 8th Army Confinement Facility, which at that time was located on the outskirts of Incheon in an area known as ASCOM (Army Support Command).  ASCOM was the US military’s main logistical support hub at the time and the only remnants of it that remains today is Camp Market.  The story initially develops by following Mike’s interactions with fellow soldiers in the barracks before getting into the meat of the story, which is his life in the “ville” which are the small camptowns located outside US military installations in Korea.


1968 image of a ville outside a US military camp.

For those that have served on the Korean peninsula during or near this time frame; this book should really bring back memories of what it was like back then as Norris explains in great detail, not only what the life of a GI was like in the ville, but the girls working there as well.  Norris does a great job describing the girls working in these clubs by really bringing home to the reader that these girls were more than just prostitutes, but people who also had hopes and dreams before being shackled by the club system.


1968 photo of US military barracks bunk.

In order to describe the life of the numerous Korean prostitutes working in the GI camptowns, Norris has Mike meet the beautiful Songhi.  Songhi’s life like many in Korea was filled with bitter disappointment and strife after she was locked into the club system by a scheming ajumma when she was forced to quit college due to her father not having enough money to pay for her education and Songhi’s younger brother as well.  Songhi like many girls working in the ville dream of marrying a GI in order to escape the club system that has trapped her and to bring her a better life in America.

The rest of the story develops as Mike eventually purchases Songhi from the club ajumma to become what was known back then as a “yobo”.  The yobo system no longer exists today, but back then GIs could purchase girls from the clubs, set them up in a small apartment, and that woman would effectively be their girlfriend for the entire year they were in Korea.  Being a yobo was highly sought after by the club girls because it meant they no longer had to prostitute themselves in the club anymore and increased their chances of marrying a GI.


1968 photograph of a Korean girl outside a US military club in Korea.


Sign posted on base in 1968 warning soldiers of club girls with STDs.

As their relationship develops both Songhi and Mike have unrealistic expectations of each other, but neither seems to realize it until Songhi becomes pregnant with Mike’s baby.  The book concludes with Mike completing his tour of duty in Korea and having to come face to face with what kind of life and future he wanted to have with Songhi.

The story is compelling, but the real reason why I recommend people should read this book is not for the story, but to get a better understanding of the conditions servicemembers serving in Korea during this time frame experienced.  This book makes clear the latent racism and the huge drug problem that plagued the US military in the 1970s.  The drug problem in the ranks was so bad that soldiers were arrested for using their M-16s to murder Korean drug dealers when drug deals went bad.  In fact two soldiers were so high on drugs that they took their weapons and had a stand off on Seoul Tower with the Korean police before finally giving themselves up.

The book also describes how some guards used to beat black prisoners and how some clubs became segregated by race as well. The racism was just between white and black soldiers but many soldiers also directed their racism and frustrations at the Koreans as well.  Even in the 1970’s “gook” was still a common term for a Korean.


1969 picture of Korean women in Seoul.

Likewise the Koreans themselves were very racist.  The prostitutes in the ville were considered the bottom of society and often insulted in the streets for associating with GIs, especially black GIs.  Children of these women often had no other options in Korean society other than becoming workers in the camp system themselves.


1968 image of a village woman.

In many aspects the US military’s behaviour back then was less then admirable and it is easy to see why many 386 generation Koreans still hold negative stereotypes of the US military based off their experiences from growing up during this time frame.  Like the incredible progress Korea has made over the years, US military has come a long way as well and this book is a welcome reminder of that.  Hopefully one day the ville system still in place today will be the last reminder of this time.

____________________________________________________

Note: More reviews of the book can be read here and Seasons in the Kingdom is available on Amazon for those interested in purchasing the book.

That Mishelov site is great for pictures of that time period.

A wall with Korean whores names with STD’s. It seems as if Korea was one big whore house then.

I guess with all the red light dist, room salons, business clubs, da bang’s (coffee shops), booking clubs (sure is a long list and there is more LOL)in Korea these days, things sure have changed and sure have stayed the same.

It is a great site for pictures especially high quality color pictures of that time period.

[…] GIKorea at ROKDrop.com reminds us that the US forces in Korea have come a long way since 1974 as well. May 26, 2008 […]

Thanks for the great review of my novel, Seasons in the Kingdom. I appreciate it and all that you do.
Best,
Tim at nandupress!

[…] from reader’s of this novel, many by Korean Service Veterans & others. ROK Drop Review. Go here to read review at ROK Drop, which includes other links for Korea and Korean Veterans. This is the most recent review, but be […]

I was stationed on a missile tact side in south korea in the year 1970, while there i caught Tuberculosis and had to be flown back to the states to be treated for my ten remaining month in the service and was given a early release in feb 3 1972, my memory of the place is not so good , i nearly died over their with active Tuberculosis , and still suffer with breathing problems assocated with my old Tuberculosis, I think if i had not had relationships with the korean woman my health and life would have been of a better quality..but i was young and stupid like all young people back then, and i never knew the risk that i was taking back them as far as my health was conserned, I have never read the book about korea, maybe i will in the future ..good day stanley Ray Mcqueen

Tim no problem it was a great book and I enjoyed reading it.

Stanley sorry to hear about the TB. Korea has come a long ways since then but it is still not uncommon to hear about people getting diagnosed with TB unfortunately. I do recommend you check out the book since you were stationed in Korea back then. You would probably enjoy it.

I visited Ascom City on my recent trip to Korea. Amazingly parts of Sin-Chon, my village, and Cherry Hill are still there. Photos to follow soon on my website. I visited the house where I lived and walked some of those alleyways. The rice fields around our compound are now all apartments blocks that loom over the remaining parts of the old villages. Will update when photos are available.

Best,

Tim Norris

I have just posted images of Sinchon, Cherry Hill, and the village nearby. These images are from my recent trip, but they alleyways are still there from my time in Korea. I also have a few comparative shots of the village from then and now.

Best, and more to come.

Tim

I was on the DMZ in ’67-’68 and I can tell you it was all business when we were on the zone, very serious stuff. There was a huge difference between being stationed on the DMZ and near Seoul. I only made it to Seoul once and it was only about 35 miles away. The life in the ‘ville was probably the same except for the racism, as far as I knew all races coexisted very well. I had a number of black friends, although we didn’t have too many black guys in my infantry unit, perhaps more were stationed down south. The Koreans were still very much appreciative of what we did for them during the Korean War although many GI’s were jerks to the Korean people.

I will buy the book and thanks for writing of your experiences.

I enjoyed reading your book Tim.

As I worked for the NCO Club Admin office I seen a lot of the interaction between the Korean women and the GI’s as you spoke of in your book.

I spent a few days at the Ascom City base just prior to my departure from Korea.

I really enjoyed the Korean language cross refrence in your glossary. I liked the Military Language and Bamboo English too.

I look forward to seeing your recent pictures of Korea.

Paul in Tampa

Tim, great photos of the old ville. I liked your before and after shots that show how much the area has changed.

I’m glad you enjoyed your return trip to Korea.

Sounds like me…I ordered the book…I’m sure it will be a great read and a real memory jogger. I was there in the late 50s and 1969-70.

I was in the 249th 1968-1969

If you will tell me how I will send you a picture.

Paul, be sure to check out my website at http://www.nandupress.com.
thanks tim

Tim

Thank you for helping Ronnie Partin and I to get in touch with each other after over 35 years, since being in the 249th together in 1968.

I was fresh out of basic training in 1979 assigned to the 249th MP Det Confinement Facility. As soon as I reported to the First Sergent he had me, himself and two of my buddies breaking the ice up in the duck pond. I knew this place was wieird. After my tour I releized how much I missed it. No I did’t have a YOBO I was still playing the bars and saving money instead one sucking me dry. We only had one attempt escape.

Steve,

I’d like to hear from you. You would probably down at Camp Humphreys. I remember when we moved the stockade down there in ’75. It was a big deal to move into modern facilities. I have many posted pics and more coming of the 249th at Ascom City. Any photos or stories please send them my way.

Best,

Tim Norris

Steve,

website is http://www.nandupress.com.
Thanks. Tim

Tim,

I have no pic’s I was just 17 and too excited leaving home for the first time, my one year flew by fast. We had a pretty good softball team and that duck pond we had came in handy in the summer months. By the way chickens can swim. The problem with the pond was the ducks and chickens kept missing, we thought it was the KATUSA. found out it was the perimiter guards that stayed in our compound, TASTY If you have pics of the Humphry’s 249th mp could you send them at steven.gunn@kbr.com I’m presently a civilian in IRAQ for DOD.

Hi Tim,

I have just ordered the book! I was one of the few civilian women who followed my husband to South Korea.

05/69-09/70. We lived in the village of Bupyong Dong about a 15 minute walk from the post. We took many pictures as we spent a lot of time at the craft shop on the base. We did the developing ourselves. It sure was an interesting time. We have a lot of stories! I was fortunate to secure a job at the 121st evacuation hospital and witnessed the Pueblo crew arriving. I have often wondered how the area is now. Anxious to read the book.

Jennifer, glad to hear from you. You can contact me direct at nandupress.com…I have my email addresses there. Best to you. Interested in pictures of the village when you have the time to share. Tim Norris

Jennifer,

Thanks for commenting and I would be interested in seeing any photos you may have as well. If you want you can post them over at the ROK Drop Forums to share with everyone:

http://rokdrop.com/forums/

Where is the lovely song you had on your site “arirang”.

tim,

i have many photos of ascom and the guys

in my unit,the 728th MP, company A.

i was stationed there from january 1968 to

may 1969.

have not read your book but plan to do so.

gerry landrum

Gerry,

Thanks for your comments. You may want to check out my website where I have some excellent donated photos to look at. Look forward to hearing from you.

Best,

Tim

tim i was in the 249th mp 1969-1970 i was the only one that was in the stockade, tdy and perment party all in 18 months

Gerry,

Just wanted to check to see if you received your book?

Best, Tim

Charles,

Glad you have made contact…check out my website http://www.nandupress.com for photos and other information about 249th MP Detachment…best, tim

Tim

I just came back from Korea, I went in October 2009 returned to America November 2009. I did not go back to where the old 249th was when I served there in 1968-1969,the ASCOM Area, but much has changed and become very modernised, I spent one month in down town Soul Korea on my last trip to Korea in 2009.

Landrum, I was assigned to A Co. 728th MPs November 15, 1970 for about 3 months before being transferred to Yongsan. I never really knew what the hell the post’s name was. Did you know Daniel Dwyer, Joins, or Roy Areana?

Oh! believe me when I say C Co. lived on a condemmed ROK Marine compound it wasn’t better then A Co. barracks. Yongsan Compound was nice but the MPs didn’t live there, we were half way between Yongsan and the Han River, right by the bus station.

I was assigned to A co. 728th MP Co. February 1968 to May 1969. Co. C 728th Mp Bn 1969 to 1971. 1975 Camp Market. 2ND infantry div MP Camp Pelham, PDSK 1978 Wanshmnee Security for the Norther Operations district for the pipeline. A total of 8 years in Korea.

I’d like to comment on Dave L’s statement:

“although many GI’s were jerks to the Korean people.”

John Duncan, director of UCLA Center for Korean Studies, made a similar statement. His first contact with Korea was, you guessed it, via US Army.

“He (John Duncan) also recalled that during his Army stint he was repulsed by the behavior of many fellow G.I.’s towards South Korean employees and locals they came in contact with near the demilitarized zone.”

Here’s the link:
http://www.international.ucla.edu/korea/news/arti…

I was stationed at camp Wentzel for a short time in 70. Was a section sgt with a 4 duece mortar platoon 2nd/9th/HqHq. I remember life being quite grand there, modern facilities and all. I remember Spoonbill Bridge as a pontoon structure close by on the river. I also remember my first of many visits to the vil. We soon packed up everything, turned the camp over to the Korean Army and moved down the river just north of Libby Bridge. Our platoon however was stationed several miles away from the main camp out closer to the MDL. Our little camp was knowns as RC#10. It was quite primative but we had alot of freedom there and took turns with long stays in Souel, ChangPaRi and I believe PoeWaNe, parden my spellings. It was an interesting experience at RC#10, to be caressed to sleep each night by the loud Speakers on the north side of the fence. I recall a huge hard drug problem in at the main camp but our tight little group preferred beer and pot. I also recall our platoon being all white or asian. But I had several black friends I had made prior to our separation from the rest of the Company and I often joined them in the village. One night all hell broke loose and two of my black friends came into the club where I was, grabbed me saying nothing and slipped me down a dark ally and they told me to get the hell out of there. The next day I learned that there had been a big clash between black and white soldiers with serious injuries. The girls were my fondest memories as they by the most part were attractive and very pleasant ladies. I had a yobo for most of the time I was there and she was beautiful and very smart. The guys I hung out with were polite and always helpful to the Koren people. Needless to say I enjoyed my stay in Korea and have very fond memories of the Korean People and especially the home rice and the kimchi.

I was at Greaves and Liberty Bell… what camp was north of Libby? I remember RC#4 and Camp Pelham in Sonju-ri, but north of the river, when I was there in the 80’s, we only had Greaves, Liberty Bell and Bonifas (plus tent city).

Found your blog on AskJeeves, great information, but the site looks awkward in doing my browser setup, but will work fine in IE. choose figure.

I read this book and am kind of torn over hit. The story of Mark and Songhi is magnificent and they way he brings the juicy girls into three dimensions is simply wonderful. But the editing was horrible! And I am not referring to a misspelled word here in there. Repeat sentences and even whole paragraphs one after the other is just a total no go!

One minor point. I found Songhi’s background story to be a tad distracting. Yeah, I know you can find club girls in similar situations. But come on, did she have to be a drop out from an elite university?

Was stationed at Taegu with the 503 MP Det. After ASCOM started to close we be came A Co 728th MP Bn, had alot of MP’s from ASCOM. We were split up between Pusan Taegu and Waegwan. I ended up at Camp Carroll in Waegwan with many of the MP’s from ASCOM. Went there the first time to escort three GI’s to the stockade after the Taegu riots.

Chris in Dallas: I agree. I haven’t been able to finish it yet because of the editing and some of the writing. I can’t understand why broken English was used to portray a conversation between two Koreans (presumably speaking Korean). I thought it somewhat demeaning. Also, some of the prose used to describe various scenes was waaaay too wordy. But, I will finish it for no other reason than the story line.

I WAS STATIONED WITH 121ST. EVACUATION HOSPITAL IN ASCOM CITY, FROM NOVEMBER 1960 – FEBRUARY 1962. I WAS A MEDIC WITH THIS HOSPITAL. THE LONGEST TIME I EVER HAD OFF IN ALL THOSE MONTHS THERE WAS 3 DAYS. MY RNR WAS CANCELLED BECAUSE OF WHO KNOWS WHY! THEN I WAS EXTENTED BY UNCLE SAM FOR 3 ADDITIONAL MONTHS. I CAME HOME ON THE USS GAFFEY. AFTER SERVING THERE I WAS STATIONED UPSTATE NEW YORK, WHERE I BECAME ILL AND WAS GIVEN A MEDICAL RETIREMENT FROM THE ARMY.
ALBERT PACELLO

A Profile of the Korea Training Center (KTC)

| May 25, 2008

Introduction

A place soldiers in the 2nd Infantry Division become very familiar with during a tour in Korea is the Korea Training Center (KTC).  The KTC is where gunneries for Bradley and tank crews is often held along with live fire exercises for both aerial and rotary wing platforms.

Helicopters parked at the Korea Training Center.

The KTC has additional ranges and land for just about any other type of training exercise needed for Second Infantry Division units.  The range is located about 16 kilometers northeast of the Second Infantry Division installation of Camp Casey as the crow flies, but due to the rugged terrain the drive to the KTC takes about an hour to complete from the camp by a military vehicle:

The KTC is bordered by the small farming community of Yeongpyeong-ri which is considered part of the larger Pocheon city municipality:

Driving through Yeongpyeong-ri no one would have any idea that in the valley just to north of town is Korea’s premier range training complex if it wasn’t for the one sign indicating which direction to turn to reach the range.  The small village is totally unlike other villages and cities bordering US military installations because there are no clubs and absolutely no signs of a US military presence in the area due to regulations restricting soldiers from leaving the range complex.

Local Concerns

However, just like we have seen with other USFK range locations, the local residents are demanding compensation for having to live next to the range:

Pocheon city officials are asking the South Korean government for millions of dollars worth of funding to make up for the continued presence of U.S. Forces Korea’s largest live-fire range.

Although USFK plans to relocate its northernmost bases south of Seoul by 2012, it will continue to use the 22 ranges within the Rodriguez Range complex in Pocheon.

Kim Hong-jin, chief of Pocheon’s Policy Development Division, said that local residents put up with noise, property damage and disruptions to daily life that call for governmental compensation.  [Stars & Stripes]

As of 2008 no agreement has been reached on paying any compensation to residents living near the range complex. (Update: As of 2016 still no agreement has been reached.)  I have always found it interesting how it seems that residents only complain about USFK tanks, bombs, and airplanes making noise while the Korean military’s noise does not draw the same complaints.

(Update: Misfired TOW Missile Strikes Building Outside of Rodriguez Range Limits)

Rodriguez Range

For troops stationed in the 2nd Infantry Division the noise at the Korea Training Center means they are receiving the best live fire training available in South Korea:

Tanks doing gunnery at the KTC. Image via VOA News.

The multipurpose range complex (MPRC) at the KTC is primarily used to support Abrams and Bradley gunnery exercises on the main Rodriguez Range (Called Rod Range for short by GIs) as well as on the adjacent Warrior Valley range.  The range is a bit unusual to most gunnery ranges in the United States because units literally fire into the side of a mountain:

On the other side of the mountain there are actually a number of South Korean villages:

With the threat of civilian damage maintaining range fans is extremely important when firing at the KTC compared to firing at ranges located in the United States.  Watching night fires at the range can be extremely impressive when viewing ricochets hit off the side of the mountain and put on a mini fireworks show.

The US armored crews are not the only ones that use the range, the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army units use the range as well:

US and ROK soldiers train together at the KTC. Image via Army.mil.

Having fired Bradley Table VIII gunnery on Rodriguez Range more times then I can remember, I have found it to be one of the most difficult ranges to fire on during the summer months because of vegetation and that obscures the green pop up targets. Guys that fire well on Rod Range earn it.  However, I have also fired on the Warrior Valley range and have found that one to be quite an easy range to fire on thus causing most units to want their crews to fire on Rodriguez Range if possible to get the maximum training value out of the gunnery exercise.

Other Training Ranges

The KTC is also able to support Artillery, Mortar, Close Air Support, and Apache gunneries as well.  The range is also used for aerial gunnery from Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters.  The range is also being increasingly used by Stryker units that have been rotating to the peninsula in recent years for training.  The KTC also has a number of small arms and grenade ranges as well for soldiers to train on.  The range is also being increasingly used for convoy live fires by logistical units as well:

Finally the range has been upgraded to include an Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) range.  This new range was recently used by the US Marines who deployed to South Korea during the recent Key Resolve exercise to teach and train with the Korean military in urban warfare tactics:

Support Facilities

Something soldiers stationed in Korea appreciate about the KTC is that the range has a small support area with open bay barracks, showers, a KATUSA snack bar, and even a small pizza shack.

However, for those of us who have under gone Bradley Table VIII gunnery at Rodriguez Range there is little time to enjoy these facilities because firers spend the vast majority of their time out on the range mostly waiting in line to fire and simply sleep in their vehicles.  However, the soldiers out there to support the gunnery live quite well in one of the best support facilities I have seen at a US gunnery range.

Conclusion

Overall the Korea Training Center is a good facility to keep USFK soldiers properly trained and certified on their respective weapon systems.  The range continues to improve with more technological updates and innovations being installed at the range.  There is probably not a more important training area for USFK in all of Korea then the KTC.  This means that the Korea Training Center will continue to play a major role in the training of USFK forces now and well into the future.

Note: You can read more from the ROK Drop featured series “A Profile of USFK Bases” at the below link:

Comments:

Small update… there is no longer a small pizza shack, as well as a Shopette trailer. Right next to the haircut place, they now have a somewhat bigger shopetter and an american snack bar that serves anthony’s pizza as well. Hell they even now have an internet cafe in there. And as a bonus for shits and giggles they have an ajosshi with a table right outside selling his little wares and every now and then the brand new car salesman are there with a car on display.

Dont know about how well the support facilities compare to others as I havent been to JRTC and NTC in awhile, but YTC (Yakima Training Center near FT Lewis) has pretty good facilities.

Thanks for the update. It appears the support facilities at KTC continue to improve.

Last time I was at NTC just the big shoppette behind where units put their tents up was allowed to be used by trainees. YTC has the small camp area but when I did gunnery there we were not allowed to use it. We stayed out in the field in tents the whole time and fired gunnery and went back to Lewis.

[…] in South Korea were messages to his comrades on top secret military targets. Sometimes he was just too blatant about it. His little “Korea Finder” games he played where readers had to guess the […]

I was stationed in this area on 2 of my tours. I spent several months just north of this at Camp Kaiser, nex to Uncheon City. Back in 1960 it was called Unchon-ni. I drove a truck, and used the back road that went just to the west of Rod Range, up through what was called Greek Valley, then into the rear gate of Cp Kaiser.

The other place was at Camp St Barbara, which was just about 2 miles west of Rod Range, where old highway 37 crossed the Hantan river. There is a air strip there that is still used by some of the aviation units while at Rod. It is R228 or G228.

If any of you guys use 228, please get some pictures. I was there in 1970.

The village there is Baekui-ri. Had some GREAT Times there.

[…] http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/ckaiser.htm &#149 Found on Google, Windows Live, Yahoo! Search, Ask.com A Profile of the Korea Training Center Pocheon city officials are asking the South Korean government for …. I spent several months just […]

[…] urban warfare facility at Rodriguez Range has really come along over the last few years to provide some great training for 2ID […]

I was at K-2, Taegu, June 1952 to May 1953. I am looking for the site of the Naktong Gunnery Range so I can post a brass plaque in commemoration of the site. It was on the Naktong River 5 hours in a 6by or 83 miles along the river to the North. No one living today seems to know where it was including 3 who were there. If you know please contact me at 44-208 Malae Place, Kaneohe, Hawaii 808 254-1221. I will give you photos. I have returned to Korea 4 times, 5th at the end of August 2010 on a revisit program sponsered by the Korean Government. I wish to return to the site and leave a commemoration plaque. Please help if you know. aloha, Harry

Bruce,
Here’s a google map shot of Baekui-ri today. If you zoom in you can see the airstrip you spoke of just north of Highway 37. Doesn’t seem like much is happening there that would qualify as GREAT Times. Would love to hear your war stories from back in the day! My first tour there was in 90 and my last in 2011. Trying to get hired as a contractor up at KTC and if I do, I’ll get you some street shots of Baekui-ri when i do.
Matt

Harry,
If you’d like, shoot me any info (local landmarks, etc.) you have near the Naktong Gunnery Range and I’ll do what I can to help. Is it up by Andong? If so, it’s likely a ROKAF range now or overgrown, but I’ve lived in Daegu on and off for six years (my dad was stationed at K2 for a year in 69) and I also do alot of hiking. Wish me luck!
Matt

Matt,
Between some of the readers here, and GI Korea, I have added some recent photos of the southern part of Camp St Barbara and Baekui-ri (called Peggy Lee back in the day). It was a small village, but had at least 8 clubs back in the 60s and early 70s when the camp was occupied full time by US troops.

Here is the most recent photos:
http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/stb-now-2.htm

Bruce,
Looking at those pictures gives a great idea of what St. Barbara was like (I’m assuming the camp is now the ROK military camp that abuts the airfield)? The range facilities look like they’re kept up (I noticed range towers near some of them), but I’ll bet most units just roll down to Rod Range to shoot small arms vs. trying to coordinate with the ROKs. Cool! My offer is still on for the street shots if I get that job!
Matt

Matt,
Would love to see anything you can get from the area. The big thing about Cp St Barbara was the 8 inch and 175 mm Arty units that were there, a Battalion of each, plus the St Barbara Artillery Range that was at the north end of the camp. All the 1st Cav, 7th Inf, and 2nd Inf div, and I Corp Artillery units did all there firing there.

The small village was like a large Recreation Center, since the locals treated the GIs very well. I had 4 tours in Korea, and the time at St Barbara was the best of them. I walked the road from there, up past Rod Range, on the back road to Uncheon, called Unchon-ni back then. Nice scenery

i spent three or four days out at G228 in early 2009 for crew drills. it was pretty overgrown at the time. google maps shows some development on the parking apron and nearby that wasn’t there four years ago. sorry no landmark photos, but we took a group picture.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=73457341678
http://goo.gl/maps/Gc4o9

Wow, this brought back a few memories! I was there serving as Apache Troop 1SG Dec 96-Dec 97. Not sure if this is the right forum for a question, however here goes. I Squadron photo was taken at the Korean Training Center during one of our Gunneries. I believe it was mid summer / early fall and was shot between the snack bar and ready line. The photo included the 4/7 Command Group standing in frount of and on top of an M1A1. I would love to have a copy for my collection. I PCSed before I could get a copy. Thanks for listening and loved the site. ‘GARRY OWEN’

DMZ Flashpoints: The 1967 Camp Liberty Bell Attack

| May 20, 2008

Prelude to Attack

There have been many flashpoints on the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) over the years with patrols being ambushed and even an American barracks being bombed, but there has probably never been a North Korean attack as brazen as the ambush on Camp Liberty Bell.  On the afternoon of August 28, 1967 soldiers of Charlie Company 76th Engineer Battalion had just returned to Camp Liberty Bell for dinner after a hard day of working on improving the main road that travels north to the Korean armistice village of Panmunjom located 2.3 kilometers north of the camp.

camp liberty bell map
Map of the DMZ via The Advocate website

The August 31, 1967 edition of the Pacific Stars & Stripes newspaper.

Chow Hall Ambush

Some soldiers were sitting down on tables eating while many others were still waiting in line to get their food. As the soldiers went through their daily ritual to get their chow shots suddenly rang out and bullets smashed into the chow hall tent. Soldiers ran for cover and others turned over the chow hall tables in hopes they would provide adequate cover from the incoming bullets.

camp Liberty Bell1
Hill overlooking Camp Liberty Bell where North Korean commandos attacked the camp in 1967.  Image via the 2ID Association website.

The soldiers outside also raced for cover and spotted the gunmen on a 100 meter hill overlooking Camp Liberty Bell firing down on the American soldiers. The camp’s quick reaction force (QRF) raced to prepare a counterattack against the enemy. With shots still ringing out, the quick reaction force advanced up a road leading to the top of the hill to intercept the gunmen. The QRF took two casualties as they advanced up the road when one of the American soldiers stepped on a landmine planted by the North Korean commandos.  By the time the QRF was able to get to the top of the hill the commandos had fled. The QRF estimates that they saw about 9-12 North Korean commandos on the hill and found over 1,000 rounds of unspent Soviet 7.62 ammo left at the firing position on the hill. The QRF followed the commandos’ tracks leading from the position and determined they had successfully crossed back over the DMZ to North Korea.

camp liberty bell google earth
In this modern day Google Earth image you can see the hill that rises above the current Camp Bonifas where Camp Liberty Bell at the time time of the attack was located.  The proximity of the DMZ fence made escape very easy for the North Korean commandos. 

The aftermath of the attack saw Camp Liberty Bell with pools of blood splattered across the compound mixed with the shouts of pain and suffering from the wounded. Unfortunately three soldiers could not shout out in pain because they lied dead on the ground after the North Korean attack. The initial dead included one American, Specialist Michael Vogel and two Korean KATUSA soldiers that died in the unprovoked attack. Private First Class Curtis Rivers was seriously wounded and would later die of his wounds raising the death toll further.

August 31, 1967 edition of the Pacific Stars & Stripes.

Attack Aftermath

The attack was considered the most serious attack since the signing of the Korean armistice agreement in 1953 that involved an area south of the demilitarized zone. The attack followed two North Korean ambushes launched on August 10, 1967 that killed three US soldiers.

Camp Liberty Bell Gate
Photo of the Camp Liberty Bell front gate in 1973 via The Advocate website.

The attack on Camp Liberty Bell proved even more deadly with four soldiers dead and many more wounded. In total twenty-six people were wounded in the attack that included fourteen US soldiers, nine South Korean soldiers, and three Korean civilian employees. The United Nations Command made the usual protests against the North Koreans during a meeting a Panmunjom and of course the North Korean communists denied all knowledge of the attack. This attack would be one in a long series of attacks that would occur against frontline forces stationed in Korea in what would eventually come to be known as the “DMZ War“.

August 31, 1967 edition of the Pacific Stars & Stripes.

For more DMZ Flashpoints articles please click the below link:

A Profile of US Military Bases In Seoul

| May 13, 2008

Introduction

The heart of United States Forces Korea is without a doubt Yongsan Garrison, which is appropriately located in the middle of the city that is at the heart of the entire nation of South Korea, Seoul.

Seoul is a vibrant and massive city with a population of over 10 million people. In the middle of this megalopolis is the expansive USFK camp Yongsan Garrison. To put the location of Yongsan Garrison into perspective imagine a 630 acre foreign military base in the middle of Manhattan in New York. That is what Yongsan Garrison is like.

The camp wasn’t always surrounded by such dense urban sprawl. It was originally constructed as an Army garrison during the Imperial Japanese colonial period of Korea between 1904-1945. In fact some of the older buildings that remain on Yongsan can be dated back to the Japanese colonial period. When the Japanese built the Garrison is was located south of Seoul which was mostly farmland at the time and close to the Han River. The Han River was where boats from the Yellow Sea would travel up to deliver goods to Seoul. This was also convenient for transporting military supplies and personnel as well to the garrison.


Old Japanese brick prison administration building picture via Army-Technology.com.

Interestingly enough the Yongsan area was actually used even prior to the arrival of the Japanese colonial forces as a military area for foreign armies due to its closeness to the Han River. In the 13th century the area was used as a garrison for the occupying Mongolian Army as well as in the 16th century by the invading Japanese samurai as part of the Hideyoshi invasion of Korea. Prior to the Japanese colonization of Korea in the 20th century the area had been used by the Chinese military as well who set up a headquarters in the Yongsan area in 1882. Due to its foreign military history it is easy to see why many Koreans have mixed feelings about the location of US troops at Yongsan Garrison.


Regimental Bachelor Officers’ Quarters; later Imperial Japanese Army Hospital; now JUSMAG-K Headquarters.

During the colonial period, Yongsan Garrison would remain under Japanese control until it was handed over to the United States military with the surrender of the Japanese Imperial Army at the end of World War II. The garrison was used by US military occupying forces until 1948 and after the withdrawal of the occupying force, the garrison was used by the US military’s Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG) soldiers that advised and helped train the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army.

In June 1950 with the start of the Korean War, Yongsan Garrison was captured in less then a week by the invading North Korean forces. With the September 1950 Incheon Landing Operation led by General Douglas MacArthur, Yongsan would be recaptured by the US military to only be lost yet again a few months later with the Chinese entry into the war. By March 1951 the US military and their allies had recaptured Seoul and Yongsan Garrison once again from the Chinese. Considering the amount of warfare the garrison saw during the Korean War it is amazing how many of the old Imperial Japanese buildings actually survived the conflict.

Today most of the brick buildings seen on Yongsan Garrison date from the Japanese colonial period.

After the Korean War, Yongsan Garrison went on to become the home of United States Forces Korea (USFK), the United Nations Command (UNC), the Combined Forces Command (CFC), as well as the home of Eighth United States Army (EUSA). With such commands that are important both militarily as well as diplomatically, Yongsan Garrison is of extreme importance to both the United States and Korea.

Yongsan Garrison Today

Yongsan Garrison is currently home to over 25,000 US military servicemembers, DOD civilian contractors, and their families. In addition approximately 1,000 Korean Augmentees to the US Army (KATUSAs) serve on the compound along with 3,000 Korean civilian employees. Some of the major units stationed on Yongsan or its satellite camps are the USFK headquarters, 8th US Army headquarters, 18th Medical Command, 121 General Hospital, 175th Finance, Armed Forces Network Korea, Corps of Engineers Far East District, 1st Signal Brigade, and the 501st Military Intelligence to name a few.


8th Army Headquarters on Yongsan Garrison.


Combined Forces Command Headquarters on Yongsan Garrison.

Yongsan Garrison is currently considered one of the top installations in the entire US Army by recently receiving third place in the Army Communities of Excellence competition. The recognition is well deserved considering the excellent facilities on the post. The post is divided into North and South Posts which are divided by a wide Korean public road. In recent years an overpass was constructed over this road to allow vehicles to drive from each side of the garrison without having to exit on to the Korean road.


121 General Hospital image via Wikipedia.

As I said before the facilities on the post are excellent. Yongsan has a very big Post Exchange (PX) and a massive commissary stocked with every type of American food you can think of. The post has most of the popular fast food restaurants as well as fine dining at restaurants located at the four star hotel the Dragon Hill Lodge on south post. The post’s Navy Club also continues to be a popular attraction on the compound. (Update: Navy Club closed in 2015.)


The Post Exchange (PX) on Yongsan Garrison.

An important difference between Yongsan Garrison and most other USFK facilities in Korea is the amount of families that live on Yongsan. Due to the number of families living on the post the installation operates a number of schools and community programs to create a good family environment on the compound. For soldiers stationed in the 2nd Infantry Division without their families it is a strange experience to go to Yongsan and see junior NCOs driving privately owned vehicles and taking their families shopping at the commissary.


Yongsan Apartment Housing.

The majority of the command sponsored families live on South Post or over at Hannam Village. The majority of housing on South Post is in individual homes while Hannam Village is composed of a highrise apartment complex of 1162 apartments that vary between 2, 3, & 4 bedrooms that are a 20 minute walk from Yongsan Garrison. I have heard nothing but good things about the housing on South Post where the majority of senior leadership lives; however I have heard nothing, but bad things about the Hannam Village where mostly junior soldiers live. Not only have I heard and read bad things about the apartments from people who live there, but the Stars & Stripes has reported on it as well.  (Update: Hannam Village was closed in 2014.)

Those that are not housed on South Post or over at Hannam Village are authorized to live in an off post apartment. Off post apartments can be very hit and miss in quality and are notorious for landlord sharks defrauding the military and servicemembers out of money.

Dragon Hill Lodge

One of the key attractions of USFK is without a doubt the Dragon Hill Lodge hotel located on the south post of Yongsan Garrison. This massive hotel opened in May 1990 and was constructed using Morale Welfare & Recreation (MWR) funds raised through soldier programs such as the slot machines in operation on USFK camps in Korea. No Congressional funding was used to construct the hotel and to this day the hotel operates through an MWR program called the Armed Forces Recreational Centers. The Dragon Hill Lodge is one of four AFRC hotels across the globe with the others being in Hawaii, Germany, and Florida.

The hotel has 394 rooms and suites that come with queen size beds, sofas, private bathrooms, DVD players, etc. The hotel also has a number of western style restaurants to include fast food such as Subway and Pizza Hut. My personal favourite is the Oasis Mexican Restaurant that I believe serves the best Mexican food in Korea. The hotel also has a massive exercise and swimming facility for its guests. It is also popular for weddings and other large catered functions.

The Dragon Hill Lodge is rated as a four star hotel and for those staying there it definitely deserves its rating. I have only stayed at the Dragon Hill Lodge on TDY orders and have enjoyed every time I have stayed there. However, the one downside of the hotel is its price. Prices for rooms are based on rank and duty status and the average cost for a room is over $200. There are various reasons for the high prices at the hotel, but for soldiers on leave most can get a hotel room for less then a $100.


The Dragon Hill Lodge on Yongsan Garrison.

Even with the projected closing of Yongsan Garrison by 2012 the Dragon Hill Lodge is scheduled to remain a US military property which will mean that US servicemembers will be able to continue to use this great facility even after it closes.

Camp Kim

Located literally across the street from the main post of Yongsan Garrison is Camp Kim. Camp Kim is known to most GIs stationed in Korea as where the Seoul United Service Organization (USO) is located. Going to the USO is the only reason I have ever personally visited Camp Kim. The USO actually runs an excellent facility at Camp Kim and the best I have seen in USFK. Definitely worth checking out if you are a soldier stationed in Korea.

However, there is more to Camp Kim then just the USO. The camp is also home to the Special Operations Command – Korea (SOCKOR) which is the lone US special forces unit assigned to the Korean theatre of operations. The 1st Signal Brigade Project Support Directorate is also located at the camp. This directorate provides a number of technical and communications support capabilities for USFK.

Camp Kim also houses the Vehicle Processing Center for USFK which provides customer service for privately owned vehicles (POVs) of USFK servicemembers and their families. Finally the Korean Service Corps (KSC) is based out of Camp Kim which is a large organization of Korean civilian workers that provide direct peace time and combat support services to the US military in Korea.

Camp Coiner

On the northern part of the land that encompasses Yongsan Garrison is the small USFK installation of Camp Coiner. This camp was named after 2nd Lieutenant Randall Coiner assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for actions taken in 1953 during the Korean War near the village of Sokkagae.

Quonset huts on Camp Coiner.  Picture from the Stars & Stripes.

Prior to the US military taking control of the camp from the Imperial Japanese Army, Camp Coiner was used as a garrison for a horse drawn artillery unit. Currently the camp is home to elements of 8th PERSCOM, the 8th MP Brigade, 17th Aviation Brigade, and the 1st Signal Brigade. The camp is relatively small and only encompasses a total of 55 acres.  (Update: In the future Camp Coiner will be tore down and become the location of a new US embassy compound.

Far East District Compound

The US Army’s Corps of Engineers Far East District has been based out of the extremely small Far East District Compound a block from Seoul’s massive Dongdaemun shopping district. The land that the compound was constructed on was originally owned by Seoul National University, but with the outbreak of the Korean War the South Korean government seized the land in order for the Corps of Engineers to start operations from the camp in 1951.

Since then with the economic development of Seoul, the surrounding community has swallowed up the small camp which some citizens of Seoul view as a eye sore. It also has been targeted by anti-US protesters from Hanchongryun that burned a hole in the US flag on the post. Recently the camp has been targeted by protesters angered by not being paid for services rendered while working on the project to expand Camp Humphreys.

The Far East District Compound is scheduled to be handed over back to the Korean government as part of the USFK transformation plan which has led to internal Korean fight between the ROK Ministry of Defense and Seoul National University over who really owns the land. Currently the compound is scheduled to close by 2012 and the land will be sold by the Ministry of Defense to the Korean National Housing Corporation. The camp is 142,000 square feet in size and is estimated that each 10.8 square feet in the compound is worth $85,000. The property is worth hundreds of millions of dollars thus making it quite clear why Seoul National University and the Ministry Defense are fighting over who controls the property.

Camp Jackson

Located in the far northern Dobong-gu suburb of Seoul is the small US military installation Camp Jackson. The camp was named after Private First Class George W. Jackson who was awarded the Silver Star during the Korean War. The camp is one of the smallest in Korea but probably has the prettiest back drop of any camp with the massive granite spires of beautiful Mt. Dobong soaring over the camp.

Camp Jackson used to be home to a field artillery Target Acquisition Battery that was assigned about 100 soldiers on the camp. In 1968 on the slopes of Mt. Dobong outside of the camp a continuing gun fight with Korean soldiers against North Korean infiltrators sent to kill Korean President Park Chung-hee erupted and could be heard from the camp.

Today there is no field artillery unit stationed on the installation and instead Camp Jackson is home to the Wightmen Non-commissioned Officer Academy that trains newly promoted US Army E-5 sergeants in basic NCO skills. Camp Jackson is also home to the very unique Korean Augmentee to the United States Army (KATUSA) training academy. Korea is the one US ally that has a sizable number of soldiers that serve side by side in US units. These Korean Army soldiers are called KATUSAs. The KATUSA program was first initiated in the early years of the Korean War to provide US units with translators and local cultural knowledge. KATUSAs continue to provide these important capabilities along with conducting clerical, driving, maintenance, etc. work within their respective units.

All ROK Army draftees that are selected for the KATUSA program after passing rigorous English language tests must attend the KATUSA academy at Camp Jackson. For all KATUSAs this is their first initiation into serving with US soldiers. The NCOs that train both the NCOs and KATUSAs at the academy are of high quality but unfortunately a sexual assault against a KATUSA trainee mired the school’s image a few years ago. Since then the academy has had a clean record and continues to produce great young NCOs and KATUSA soldiers for the United States Forces Korea.

Camp Jackson is scheduled to be handed back over to the Korean government as part of the USFK transformation plan by 2012.  (Update: The relocation plan to move the NCO Academy to Camp Humphreys has been delayed to 2017.)

K-16

The K-16 airbase is located just south of the Han River in the Seoul suburb of Soengnam. The airbase was actually the old Seoul City Airport which during the Korean War was converted into a full time military base. It received the name K-16 because airfields during the war were given code names. The original name of the base was Seoul Airbase but its codename of K-16 is what stuck and it continues to be identified as K-16 Airbase to this day.

The airbase today is 86 acres in size and controlled by the Korean Air Force 15th Composite Wing who plays host to the US Army’s 2-2 Aviation Battalion and its support units such as the 595th Maintenance Company. The 2-2 Aviation Battalion is equipped with Blackhawk helicopters and only moved to the base in 2005 from their former home at Camp Stanley in Uijongbu. The battalion was moved from Camp Stanley as part of the USFK transformation plan. K-16 also hosts a small security force that is responsible for defending Camp Post Tango located on the base. CP Tango is the primary warfighting center where any contingency on the Korean peninsula would be commanded and controlled from.

The airbase is also the entry and departure point for many VIPs flying to and from Seoul to include the South Korean president and American government officials. However, the thing that K-16 is probably most known for to USFK servicemembers is the nearby Sungnam golf course. The Sungnam golf course is not only popular with US servicemembers but with Koreans as well.

It is important to note that there are no plans to close the airfield as part of the USFK transformation plan to consolidate units around the hubs of Camp Humphreys and Osan Airbase. In fact money is actually flowing into K-16 now with major upgrades to the facilities taking place including brand new apartments for the servicemembers to be housed in.

Camp Market

Camp Market is yet another military installation that was originally constructed by the Imperial Japanese army in the 1930’s as a logistics base for supplies coming through the port of Incheon. Like with Yongsan Garrison, the Camp Market area was handed over to the US occupation troops after World War II. The area was captured by the North Koreans in the opening week of the Korean War and was recaptured in September 1950 with the Incheon Landing Operation. After the landing General McArthur used the area as a logistical base. The camp was lost again in December 1950 with the entry of the Chinese into the war. The camp was recaptured from the Chinese in March 1951.

After the Korean War the area became known as a logistical base for the US Marine Corps and in 1963 the area was given to the US Army which established the Army Support Command (ASCOM) in the area. ASCOM became the main logistical hub for the US military until most of the land and facilities for ASCOM was closed and turned over to the Korean government in 1973. Only the Camp Market area was not turned over and remains a small logistical base for USFK in Incheon.

Today Camp Market is composed of 34 warehouses that has a combined total of 852,495 square feet of storage space to store goods and supplies for USFK facilities. The Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office as well as the Army Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) distribution and bakery is based out of Camp Market to provides products and baked goods to PXs and commissaries across USFK. Approximately 600 civilians work at Camp Market with the vast majority of them being Korean contract workers.

The Future of USFK Facilities in Seoul

As the decades passed in Seoul and the Korean economic miracle took hold of the city, it began to grow at a remarkable rate to where today Yongsan Garrison has been totally engulfed and surrounded by the city. A dense urban environment surrounds the garrison on all sides instead of the farmland that surrounded the garrison when it was first constructed by the Japanese.

This urban development has caused many problems for the US military in Korea because the 630 acres that composes the garrison causes both development and traffic problems for the city of Seoul. The location of the garrison also allows activists groups to easily use the garrison to conduct their anti-US protests at any time.

Recognizing the problems of the current location of Yongsan Garrison the United States military has tried for years to get the base relocated outside of Seoul and has been continually met with South Korean governmental delays to any proposed move. The first proposal to move the garrison was actually initiated back in 1987 with then Korean President Roh Tae-woo. By 1990 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to relocate Yongsan Garrison.

However, in 1993 a new Korean president had come to power, Kim Young-sam who that year canceled the plan move, deeming it to expensive because Seoul was to pay for the cost of moving the garrison. However, it was probably no coincidence that the Korean government also killed the Yongsan move the same year the North Korean nuclear crisis was happening and the nation was on the brink of war with the North Koreans. After war was avoided with the signing of the Agreed Framework talks about relocating the garrison were effectively delayed even further with the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.

Talks to relocate Yongsan did not seriously heat up again until 2003 when US President George Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pushed the Korean government to relocate the garrison. On January 17, 2004 during the Sixth Future of the Alliance talks, an agreement was struck to relocate Yongsan Garrison to Camp Humphreys which is located about 50 kilometers south of Seoul. A small area of land would remain controlled by the US military at Yongsan to serve as the home for a new US embassy as well as keeping the Dragon Hill Lodge for the use of US servicemembers. The remainder of Yongsan was supposed to be turned into Seoul’s very own Central Park, but business interests and politics may sink this idea.

The original plan was to have the base relocated by 2008. However, technical problems and South Korean governmental delay games pushed the date of the relocation back to 2010, then 2013 and then finally back to 2012. Now there is even attempts by the South Korean government to push the relocation all the way back to 2015. With such governmental delay games being played out it is easy to see that Yongsan Garrison is probably going to be around for many more years to come and I can think of quite a few people who will be happy about that.  (Update: Most of Yongsan Garrison is hoped to be moved to Camp Humphreys by the end of 2017.)

Note: You can read more from the ROK Drop featured series “A Profile of USFK Bases” at the below link:

Comments

 

[…] TChahng: May 12th, 2008 at 10:55 pm […]

In my opinion the 2012 move date will never happen. Years ago I believed all the misinformation being put out by leadership about a 2008 move – not anymore!

Great work GI Korea, nicely written. And thanks for including the FED Compound. Most folks don’t even know we’re here.

Just one correction. The Google Earth image for Dragon Hill incorrectly identifies the building. The push pin identifies the First Replacement Company’s facility, Bldg. 4034 which is across the parking lot from DHL. DHL is actually the large “X” shaped gray roof at the bottom of the image (under the copyrights).

thanks again.

Fred, thanks and you are correct about mislabeling DHL. I was sloppy with the pin mark and have fixed the image. Thanks.

Pete I am at the point now that I won’t believe Yongsan will really move until I actually see it happen with my own two eyes.

Great post. How do you find the time to do these?

And I think you’re right on the final point, Yongsan will likely be a USFK base for the foreseeable future. Any ROK politico with half a brain knows that soon after the U.S. is gone from Seoul and then Korea, either the Chinese or the Japanese will want to establish a foothold. Stability in northeast Asia hinges on stability on the Korean peninsula.

Who can Korea depend upon to be the Hidden Dragon behind her Crouching Tiger? Someday that will be necessary, and I will say, Hell Yes!

These long posts like this one I actually type up as a Word file and leave it saved on my desktop and just slowly add to it over time. Once it is done I just cut and paste it into my blogging program. I have been slowly typing up this Yongsan post for probably about three months.

You forgot CP TANGO…

I too admire how you can keep a fairly steady stream of these posts coming week after week given your busy professional schedule.

I admire the consistency – which I sorely lack. I can only manage to work in heated spurts.

[…] Click here to read more. Click here to return to Korea Click here to return to MySpace News. […]

[…] main logistical support hub at the time and the only remnants of it that remains today is Camp Market.  The story initially develops by following Mike’s interactions with fellow soldiers in the […]

[…] … metacomm.co.kr/forum/USAG%20Humphreys%20Relocation… • Found on Google A Profile of USFK Camps in Seoul May 13, 2008 … The US Army?s Corps of Engineers Far East District has been based …. Camp […]

[…] expect to live in back in the states. Even families that are command sponsored find themselves in Yongsan for example living in the Hanam Apartments which I have often heard referred to as “The Ghetto”. This is a […]

I was in the 135th FST and i served in Korea from 1996 to 1997, i will never forget the team of people i met there, if anyone can read this please email me any jobs that can help our soldiers in the duty. I am a US Army Vet, and i am so proud of the work we did there, we took over Mash, i designed the coin for the 135th FST, I would love to hear from anyone there, it really brings back so many good memories. To all those in 121 GH i miss you all…….

Great stuff. I have a picture of Camp Coiner in my collection that will show how the area looked in 1960. I am sure you can not see any of that big hill now, since the area is all high rises now.

http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/cpcoiner1960.jpg

I spent 61-62 at Camp Coiner and going to all signal corps sites to set up our carrier communications deuce and a half. any pics of TV hill Uijongbu, Pyontec

I was with MILPERCEN-K at Coiner in 80-81 and USAGY in 84-85 (and even Camp Stanley in 73-74). If anyone has any photos of these locations during these periods, I’d appreciate the memories.

Station at Camp Coiner, 67-68, looking to conect with others, signal

Stationed at Camp Long Wonju 1973-1974 lookimg for buddie Robert Gambrell stationed Camp long 1972-1973

in 1973 K-16 was little more than the small Air Base and maybe 10 farm houses across the road does CXamp Long still exist where I set up communications van on a duce and a half with generator

I was station at Camp Market. It seems surreal that I spent two years there. I was only required one year, but within the first 6 months I extend my tour for the rest of my enlistment. What a weird place. You could run around the installation in less than half an hour and it was surrounded by large apartment buildings. At times it was a lonely place when everyone left home for the weekend. Once you step outside, it was a diffrent world. It seemed I was the only foreigner walking around on that part of the city. I use to get stared at all the time. Alot of shady deals went down at the commisary and at the “club” or casino. Korean women who were married to officers showed up in their BMWs and load their vehicles with beer and other items they would sell of post. The casino was closed for GI’s at 10pm during the weekend, but oddly you could see the Korean national patrons playing the slot machines with the doors locked. The club manager always kicked me out when I showed up with my camcorder!

I was 1SGT of an MI Co on Camp Coiner in 1987-88 (the Olympics). Great tour of duty, loved Itaewon.

What can you tell me about Camp Grey (not to be confused with Camp Grey Annex), located (previously) in Yongdungpo.

Greatest time of my life spent @ Seoul American High School,,71-74..Those who hated Korea, never really “saw” Korea, the culture shock of the far east and the pre concieved ideas blind some people.

Raul N Aguilar

I’m wondering why it never occurred to me to extend my stay in Korea at Camp Pelham in 1983. Had I known how boring stateside duty was (at least at Fort Ord)I would have spent my whole enlistment time in Korea. I clearly remember that moment on the runway..leaving the country..we all cheered when we heard and felt the rubber wheel lift off that runway when we departed. But deep down I felt sad..feeling like I had just scratched the surface of the experience and yet was leaving and would probably never be there again. I’m so grateful for sites such as this where I can check out the scene there a little bit and see the same sort of sentiments from others who served there. If ESL teaching paid a bit more..I’d probably be heading back now.

For anyone that served in the Seoul area in the 1950s or 1960s the below link may be of interest:

http://rokdrop.com/2012/06/28/filmmaker-looking-to-interview-us-rok-military-veterans-for-documentary/

I think there is a small error about Ascom City in your history. Ascom was indeed a Marine supply point during and for a short time (no pun intended) after the Korean War, but I think it became property of the US Army in early 1954. I went to Korea on my first tour in 1956 on the USS Freeman and we processed through Ascom and boarded unheated trains for Uijongbu. I spent a month in the 121 Evac hospital in 1961 on my second tour and it was indeed at Ascom and I didn’t see a Marine. The Marines withdrew from Korea in either 1954 or ’55 and the 24th Infantry Division took their place. I served with the 7th Div just south of Kumwha.

Richard Sullivan has it right. I went thru there in Feb 1960 also was assigned there July 1962 thru August 1964. It became ASCOM when the seven technical services were combined and consolidated I believe early 1963 to form a depot. I worked on the eventual movement of supplies to Waegwan Camp Carroll before I went to Japan.

Ascom was a supply depot before the Korean War as I was surprised to read on page 509 of Roy Appleman’s “From the Naktong to the Yalu” nearly 50 years ago in his account of the Inchon landing and subsequent liberation of Seoul.

“…During the night of 16-17 September, the 2d Battalion, 5th Marines, occupied a forward defensive position commanding the Seoul highway just west of Ascom City. Behind it the 1st Battalion held a high hill…”

Anyone as rabid about military history as me or someone with just a little curiosity of what happened where they were assigned would find the Army’s official history very interesting.

Ascom was a supply depot before the Korean War thats very true I believe the 24th Infantry Division had it prior to the war but not sure. I actually found a picture showing the Marines moving thru Bupyong Dong about three days ago sent it to my son who was a marine and a avid Korean War junkie. Him and his brother actually lived for a year on that same street while I was in Vietnam.

Sorry Richard your right 24th took it after the war from the Marines my mistake. Sometimes its had to keep it straight in my head. Ha Ha

Ron, I never made a MISTEAK! Where/when were you in Vietnam? I was there also.

1st time was 1965 at the Inventory Control Center down by the docks in Saigon. Then I was at Hq,USARV Long Binh 1968,1969. I was pretty lucky tour wise. Also spent two tours on Okinawa, Panama,Hawaii,Korea (two times) and one year at the Pentagon before I retired.

My 1st tour in Korea was 1960 7th Cav Camp Custer. I recall the 1st meal in Korea while at ASCOM was always a steak. Anytime of the day. Beat that junk on the ship.

I arrived in Korea on 5 January 1965 at Incheon aboard the USS Breckinridge bound for 7th Inf Div at Camp Casey. On Aug. 15, 1965, was transferred to Yongsan Garrison for assignment with the 199th Personnel Services Company. Separated from the US Army as SP5, at the 38th Replacement Co., then stationed at ASCOM/Camp Market on 23 Feb. 1966. Was hired as a temp GS3, Clerk-Typist with the ACofS, G5, Civil Affairs, 8th US Army on May 1, 1966. Thus began my civil service career. With the exception of nearly 3 years (Oct ’81-April ’82 and May 2007 – May 2009) I have lived in Korea and worked as a Public Affairs Specialist or Officer for about 35 years. Retired on 30 Sep 2008 at my last Public Affairs Officer position with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, California with 41 years of service (included 2 years of active duty). Worked on Yongsan Garrison for most of my life and living in numerous places in Seoul and now living in Yongin, near the Korean Folk Village.
I enjoy living in Korea and probably know more about this nation than I do about the US. I’ve traveled to almost all of the US military installations in Korea in the ’60s and ’70s and less travel in the ’80s, 90s and later.
Enjoy reading the comments and seeing the photos on the web related to our US military presence in the Republic of Korea. Appreciate the efforts of people like you who post these items of history.

I was never a military brat but I lived with my father in Seoul for many years. My dad worked for Dunham and Smith who supplied the military with food stuffs, electrical goods and you name it. So I was familiar with many of the bases. Especially Osan. I am looking forward to going back to Yongsan where I spent many of fond memories.