Where I Was, Korea 12/30/67 - 2/14/69
In the Army I was a Nike Missile Technician. After training at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama I was kept on as part of the cadre for several months maintaining the shop equipment at the school. Then I was packed off to Korea.
There were six Nike batteries in Korea operated by the US Army and several others operated by the Koreans. The Nike system was already on its way out and IMHO was only still in service because the Hawk system was of limited effectiveness above 30,000 ft. The big base at Camp Humphries at Pyong Taek was headquarters for the Direct Support outfit for all ADA units there but because of logistical necessity a platoon was stationed at B battery (Nike) 4th Bn. 44th ADA to support the southern batteries. I was assigned to that platoon which was attached to B Battery but not part off it. We had our own adjoining compound.
I was looking on line for info regarding camp Holliday and found little. Google maps showed basically all traces of the base to have been erased. However I found this youtube video taken by a 2 Bn. Sp. 4 while I was there. To say the least it brought back memories.
A couple of notes of interest. There are pictures at the beach. It was pretty primitive when I was there, in fact all of Korea was so the beach had few visitors except GIs. We'd go there, lounge in the sun and play football when off. There are pictures of Korean women dancing with GIs. Those pics were taken at the NCO club which had a door that opened to a street off the base. Every Korean woman there is a "soiled dove." The US Army supported prostitution in Korea. The women were licensed and army medics took care of their monthly "health checks." A junior NCO or Specialist (E4-E5) had nightly duty checking the VD cards of gals entering the club. I had it more than once and can tell you there were plenty of sob stories by gals who had missed a check up or out and out failed. There is a picture of a Korean fellow in a stack of boots. He is a houseboy - a houseboy was a body servant to a billet. At Camp Holliday I never made my rack, polished my boots or my brass or GI-ed a floor. Even at the time I looked on this as probably being contrary to good order and discipline but I sure didn't mind taking advantage of it.
One more note. The villiage by the battery had electricity from a loaner Cummins generator that was US Govt property and I'm pretty darn sure wasn't "officially" authorized. SOP at those batteries in rural areas, I know for sure at the three southern ones because we maintained them.
Note the M14s.. M14s were in use in Korea from the time I got there until I left. I never even saw an M16 while I was in the Army. Interestingly there is a picture of some guys with unloaded M14s. I personally never saw that. We always were armed on the road and our rifles were loaded with a full magazine and one in the chamber. We carried 4 spare loaded magazines for a combat load of 101 rounds. This was the period of the low intensity conflict and infiltration attempts by the North Koreans were common. The tremendous hostility of the South Koreans to the communists thwarted almost all of these. Toward the end of my tour there was an apparent attempt by the North Koreans to get at B Battery but we were told the ROKs intercepted them and wiped them out. Fine with me because we were undisciplined to the point I would have given the odds to them especially since it happened on a Friday night about 9 PM when most of the guys were in the club tossing a few down or hooking up.
So here it is. B Battery deep in the South Korean boonies when the South Korean boonies were still very 19th century.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nTx5GH4Ac0
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