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HOW IT WAS! KUNSAN AIRBASE: 1954 and NOWPage 2 of 4 |
DINING HALLS:
Dining Halls: (Circa 1954)
O'Malley Dining Hall
(Thanksgiving 99)
(Courtesy MSgt John Jones
(Click on photo to enlarge) 
O'Malley Dining Hall
(Click on photo to enlarge)
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Enlisted Dining Hall: The O'Malley Enlisted Dining facility was built in the mid-80s. Gone were the benches of the 1954 Mess Hall. O'Malley's was an air-conditioned facility that featured fast food menus -- rivaling Burger King and Anthony's Pizza down the street. Take-out lunches, fast food lines and other innovations had made this facility one of the best in PACAF -- and the Air Force. Unfortunately, in 1998 the roof-mounted airconditioning system fell through the ceiling. Quality Korean construction... The O'Malley Dining Facility under went an extensive $2.4M renovation. For a period of time. the dining operations were moved to the old Seabreeze NCO Club and renamed appropriately -- the Seabreeze Dining Facility. However, it is now back at O'Malley's.
Besides O'Malley's, the C-Pad, or "Charlie's Place" Dining Facility serves flight line workers near their place of duty. It offers a full menu 5 days a week for both breakfast and lunch meals.
Panoramic view with OMalley Dining Inn on the left and Dormitories on the right (18 Dec 99) (Courtesy Texas Rogue)
Airman/NCO Mess: The chow-line concept for feeding the troops hasn't changed that much, except that the chow line in these 1954 pictures resemble what are now called "field kitchens" used for deployed troops in the field. As for separate messing facilities for NCOs and Airman, they have now been eliminated in favor of a central dining facility. Prior to the move to the Loring "collocated" Club, the old Seabreeze NCO Club (located in the old RAAF area) served as the NCO Open Mess.
 K-8 Officer Club (1951)
(Courtesy Al Gould)
Click on photo to enlargeOfficers' Open Mess: The Old Officer's Mess is one of the old structures remaining from the 1950s...though extensively modified over the years. The Officers' Mess kitchen facilities caught fire in the mid-90s and was not reconstructed. In recent years, it had been operating in the red. As a result, the O-club operations were "carried" by the NCO Club operations. In 1997, the Mess and bar operations were moved to the new Loring All-ranks Club. The "O-Club Annex" known as the "Oriental House" continued in operation serving a variety of Korean dishes but its primary attraction for Koreans were its slot machine rooms. In 2000, the vacant O-club underwent renovation and reopened as the "Korean Gardens" -- and soon became the "West Winds Golf Course Club House". The "O-House" reverted to a Korean restaurant with only Korean food. The "West Winds" serves Korean and American food, but its primary attraction for Koreans is the slot machine room. On Korean paydays, the room is full with Koreans. Though it is not publicized, the profits from the slot machines are phenomenal -- and no commander in his right mind would want to see them go. (NOTE: Though slot machines are licensed by the Korean government downtown in "Game Rooms," the payback rate is very low.)  K-8 Officer Club: Bottom of the Mark (1958)
(Courtesy Jack Stoob)
Click on photo to enlarge |
THANKSGIVING 1952  Thanksgiving Menu 1952 with a message from the WIng Commander
Thanks to James F. Farr of Farmington, Connecticut for sending this to us.
The message from the commander of the 3d Bomb Wing, E.B. Le Bailly, reads: "I wish to express during this day of Thanksgiving, my sincere appreciation for the conscientious efforts expended by the members of this command and convey my best wishes to all those serving with the United Nations forces stationed at K-8. It is with sincerity that I pray that these hostilities will be brought to a final and equitable conclusion and that this same day in the year 1953 you will be able to celebrate with your loved ones. -- E.B. Le Bailly, Colonel, USAF, Commanding"
The menu read: "Shrimp Cocktail, Soup, Roast Turkey, Cornbread dressing, Candied Sweet Potatoes, Snowflake Potatoes, Giblet gravy, Fresh Peas, Whole Grain Corn, Stuffed Celery Hearts, Cranberry sauce, Stuffed olives, Lettuce wedges, French dressing, Sweet pickles, Hot rolls, Butter, Bread, Mincemeat pie, Pumpkin pie, Fruitcake, Fruit punch, Apples, Oranges, Hard candy, Mixed nuts."
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CLUBS & OFFICER QUARTERS:
Airman/NCO Mess// Officer Quarters: (circa 1954)
Housing (circa 2000):
Loring Club (Jul 00)
(Click on photo to enlarge)
CMSgt-Junior Officer
Floor Plan (2000)
(Click on photo to enlarge) 
Junior Officer Quarters
300 Area (1999)
(Click on photo to enlarge) | | 
 BOQ billeting 1952
Click on photo to enlarge
(Courtesy Hans Petermann)
Officer's Quarters: Currently, senior USAF officers are housed in detached houses on Gunsmoke Hill (known as Signal Hill (or Beacon Hill) in the 1950s). These appear to be upgraded versions of the Occupation years' dependent housing that was later used as Senior Officer Quarters during the Korean War. aField grade officers in larger "condo-style" two-story structures with a sign proclaiming it "Benjo Heights" (Toilet Heights). Junior officers are housed in older two-story billets across the street from Gunsmoke Hill. The single rooms in the billets are spacious and include a kitchenette. The "adjemas" (house ladies) are still there, but the cost is a lot higher than in 1954.
Some still believe these were built by the Japanese, but there were actually built in 1946 as dependent housing units at then Camp Hillenmeyer. DoD Real property records weren't really started until 1955 or 1957 and these structures were categorized based upon the type of materials used. These structures were built from Japanese war reparation materials from Japan. Thus they were mistakenly categorized as Japanese. However, the photos on this site prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were built by the 63d Infantry 3d Battalion of the Occupation forces. (Go to How it was (1938-1951) to view pictures of the base in 1946-1947.) The dependent quarters were meant for officer dependents. (NOTE: Some of the buildings in the BOQ area was turned over to the ROKAF after the Korean War (around 1956) for the ROKAF Officers. Examples of this type of building can still be seen on base in the ROKAF area adjacent to the BOQs (300 area). The hondol chimneys (charcoal heating system) at the ends have been removed, but the exteriors retain the wood slat construction typical of the Occupation years. Until a few years ago, these housed ROKAF NCO families, but now are vacant.)
 Officer Billets (1951)
(Courtesy Al Gould)
Click on photo to enlarge
BOQ Area: Hans Petermann of San Diego, California (then a navigator with the 8th Bomb Squadron) wrote in an email, "Very interesting to learn that our BOQs were built by U.S. occupation forces. As you intimated, that was never clear to us - the impression being that they remained from the Japanese. They were, though, about the only buildings left from the occupation. In one of my first letters home (20 Sep 51- my mother kept all letters I sent home, so I have reference) I commented that we were living ten to a 3-bedroom, 1-living room house. No heat, no hot water. (I always maintained that I put on more clothes to go to bed than I wore during the day). We had electricity, but since it was connected to Kunsan, it was not always reliable and we had already spent two evenings using candles. The water was on twice daily for a two-hour period, not to conserve it, but the pumping and piping facilities were at a minimum. And all through winter had to fight frozen pipes. Finally got some warm water at the end of October, but no heat until late November and then only minimal. They didn't call it Frozen Chosen for nothing. Finally in the spring, the Army Engineers built a shower facility building near our BOQs and we could then maintain some semblance of cleanliness. Some of us had begun to compete with kimchee odor."
 Dependent housing built in 1946 for families at then Camp Hillenmeyer.
Compare the entryway roof and chimney area of this photo and the photo
of the BOQ in the brochure. (Click on the image to enlarge.)
Courtesy Robert and Betty Grenig of Tucson, Arizona.
In a later email, Hans Petermann wrote, ""Wheel" houses is a term I used to identify houses where our senior
officers lived, e.g. our wing commander, group commanders, etc. They were in a separate area that was actually on a little hill. They were about the same size as our quarters, but I never was in one so can't verify that. But visually they looked the same." This is the area now known as "Gunsmoke Hill".
In "War Stories...Jills of K-8" by Jill Lovejoy on the 3th Bomb Squadron Homepage, Jill Lovejoy was billeted in Bldg 210 on Signal Hill (Gunsmoke Hill). She remarked, "Our house had three bedrooms (one with a fireplace), one bath, living room with fireplace, dining room and large kitchen. At one time, the Army was on this base before the North Koreans passed through it twice, and this had been a dependent housing area. These houses were used for billeting for the officers (headquarters and flight crews). Most of the porcelain fixtures were gone and there was nothing in the kitchen." From her comments, it is apparent that some knew who built the quarters in the Korean War era, but unfortunately this information was soon forgotten.
 Signal Hill 1952 (Gunsmoke Hill)
Click on photo to enlarge
(Courtesy Hans Petermann)
 Senior Officer Quarters 1952
Click on photo to enlarge
(Courtesy Hans Petermann)The quarters above are still standing today. They are from left to right -- Bldg 209, Bldg 207, and Bldg 205. The buildings are almost identical to the structures of today with the exception that the exteriors have been recently "dryvit" (stucco-coated insulation) and the tile roofs replaced sometime in the past. If one goes across the street (Avenue C) and stands where this picture was taken, one can see it is identical...with the exception of the trees which are now 50 years older. Being scrub pine, they are still relatively small but their locations are identical. I first thought the structures in the 200-area were 1950s-type structures rebuilt during the rehabilitation of the base in the late 1960s, but after studying the 1953 photo above of the Senior Officer Quarters and comparing them with the existing structures from across the street, I see that these were more likely simply upgraded in the 1960s by replacing the tile roofs and doing some interior work.
Craig Hinton of the 8th Bomb Squadron recounts that the 8th BS Commander's billet in 1953 also served as the 8th's Private After Hours Bar, the "Wheel House." On the wall, the mural read the "Fighting Eighth"...a little different from the "Friendly Eighth" moniker that the unit brought with it from Japan. This building is still standing today in the 300 area, though renovated and modified extensively. The housing for officers in 1953 still were limited. There were two types...the corrugated iron Jamesway huts and the houses left over BOQs from the Occupation forces. |
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