I arrived at the US Army Base in Seoul Korea in late summer 1960 and was assigned to the 581st Signal Company. The 581st was reactivated in Spring 1960 to set up radio relay sites in South Korea for defense purposes.

There were 10-11 of us assigned to Tacoma Site #10 and I was named site chief. We and the other site teams assembled gear over several weeks and all teams departed one morning in October from Seoul to our respective sites. Our team included a 2 1/2 truck, a 3/4 truck, water trailers, communication gear, fuel, and food. Tacoma Site #10 was about 20-30 miles east of Kunsan on a high hilltop. On arrival we found two Quonset huts and generators. We were the first ones there except for engineers who had cleared the hilltop and built the huts.

We used the hut on the top NE corner for a barracks, the hut on the lower west side for a mess. Our modular radio unit van was set on the east side of the upper hut next to poles on which we hung antennas. We established VHF communications between Pyong Taek K6 (north) and Salt Lake site (south). We strung concertina wire around the hilltop perimeter; outside the fence was the lower hut, helicopter pad, and outhouse. We knew Koreans used the outhouse because there were footprints on the seats (they squatted). The locals didn't like our using the hill because it was sacred to them. Having no cook at Thanksgiving we mixed C-rations and local rice into mulligan stew; our attempt at coffee was even worse. By Christmas we had an army mess Sgt. and cook. We maintained our radios, posted guards, and built things for utility. We made daily runs for rations, water, and mail to K8 Kunsan Air Force Base. One time our truck driver jack-knifed the water trailer on the road up the hill and was on the verge of going over the edge; we drained the water and I jumped in the cab and luckily was able to straighten her out.

Around April 1961 I was transferred to the Beason site as site chief. Beason was an established site with a prettier view and easier duty. But Tacoma was special because we were there first. I left Korea in August 1961 and was discharged from the army in Oakland.

Robert Richards
Columbus, Ohio

Contact: Robert Richards at: rrrichards@yahoo.com