THE EARLY YEARS - 1955 to 1960

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REMEMBRANCES OF LINKOU (Det. 1, 6925th RSM) - SHULINKOU 1955 to 1956 Updated 22 Dec 01

Jack Tress's account with photos of life at Shulinkou in 1955 when the base was first established. "I was a brand new 2nd lieutenant, fresh out of OCS, when I was there. Several of the Chinese linguists that were there were in the same class with me at Yale...Re that picture of me standing in the entrance to the tent, that was the BOQ prior to the other metal one that was built in the fall of 1955. You can see the brick floor in the tent. As far as I know, that was the only tent with a brick floor and all of the officers (including myself) layed the bricks." [July 29, 2008] Jack Tress, Lt. Col. USAF (ret.)

Photo by Jack Tress











GETTING ESTABLISHED - SHULINKOU 1955 and 1956 Updated 23 Mar 02

Numerous photos and narrative by Al High (1955-56) a 203 linguist. "The first thing we did at Linkou was go to KuLinLin (Linkou village) to get rubber boots which would be the preferred footware for most of our tour. Work was something else, as none of us had any tech training so it was strictly OJT. We were led into OPS and were shown an SP600 and a PT-6 and went from there. Our OPS Officer was Captain George W. Card, "97 pounds of blue twisted steel" - was the way he referred to himself. Our shifts were two days on and two days off. Great for Taipei doings..."

Photo by Al High













ACROSS THE BIG POND - SHULINKOU 1955 to 1956 Added 15 Jan 05

Del Sylvester (1955-56): "During the 'early years' of Shulinkou's existence some of the young enlisted men assigned to Formosa thought of their time in Nationalist China as an exotic adventure in the Orient rather than a hardship tour in a place where the Chinese Communists threatened to invade daily. As we left the red mud and horrid living conditions on the "Hill" after 15-months for the USA, we tended to see the country through the eyes of a naive visitor; and, in an idealistic sense, that of a protector.

Photo by Jack Tress









BOOT CAMP TO THE HILL AND BACK - SHULINKOU 1956 to 1958 Added 16 Nov 07

Recollection of Frank Fredo's memories of Linkou while there from 1956 until his departure and discharge from the Army in 1958. Lots of photos.

On the left is a photo of Frank manning the .50 cal. machine gun emplacement at what was later to be named the Hou Keng installation. The site overlooked the Taiwan Strait and the beaches below where the Chicoms were expected to invade the island.

Photo by Frank Fredo











THE EARLY YEARS - SHULINKOU 1957 to 1959 Updated 08 Mar 03

Photos, history and tales of Linkou's founding years in the mid-1950s. Gary Scorby (1957-58) describes the atmosphere of Shulinkou back then: "Taiwan was a real hot spot in 1958. We were not sure how far the Chicoms would go. By info gathered, they were filling up airfields along the coast of China and making practice bomb runs at Taipei. Also, the Chicom Air Force was conducting air battles almost everyday over the Straits of Taiwan. Broadcasts from Radio Peking were telling us to get off the island because Taiwan was going to be liberated. We were at the point of taking them serious."

Photo by Don Milano













THE EARLIEST OF THE EARLY YEARS - SHULINKOU 1957 Added 29 Mar 01

Col. Stark's recount with photos. In April 1957 during the Taiwan Strait conflict Major Robert F. Stark assumed command of Det, 1, 6925th RGM at Shulinkou. Major Stark's initial appraisal of the site: "Although some, so-called, Chinese quonsets had been built for the airmen who were double-decked...the place looked like a bad dream."

Photo by Col. Robert Stark







"IHTFP", THE UNTOLD STORY - SHULINKOU 1957 Added 01 Apr 01

"Old-Timers" will recognize the initials, "IHTFP"...and they didn't stand for "In Honest Toil For Peace"...! Read this humorous account with photos by Col. Robert Stark (ret.) of the origins of the "IHTP" key chain carried by many airmen and officers at Linkou in the "Early Days".

Image by Robert Stark







