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This page is graphically intense with long load times due to photos. However, the photos and narratives by the men who served at Osan Air Base makes the wait well worthwhile. The opinions expressed are those of the author and in no way represents any official statement of Osan AB or the USAF.

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If you wish to listen to some golden oldies from 1940s-1990s, click on the selection on the list below. There are about 80 full-length songs to choose from. (NOTE: Song audio degraded due to space limitations, but adequate for computer listening.) Click For Music 1940s: Billie Holiday_As Time Goes By 1940s: Kate Smith_God Bless America 1940s: Mills Brothers_Glow Worm 1950s: Big Bopper_Chantilly Lace 1950s: Bill Haley Comets_Youre Never Too Old To Rock 1950s: Coasters_Yakety Yak 1950s: Danny And TheJuniors_At The Hop 1950s: Del Shannon_Handyman 1950s: Doris Day_By The Light Of The Silvery Moon 1950s: Fats Domino_I Hear You Knockin 1950s: Freddie Canon_Palisades Park 1950s: Nat King Cole_Ramblin Rose 1950s: Pat Boone_Love Letters In The Sand 1950s: Red Skelton_Pledge Of Allegiance 1950s: Ricky Nelson_Listen To The Rhythm Of The Falling Rain 1950s: Ritchie Valens_Boney Maronie 1950s: Ritchie Valens_Donna 1950s: Ritchie Valens_LaBamba 1960s: Beach Boys_Surfin USA 1960s: Beach Boys_Barbara Ann 1960s: Beatles_Strawberry Fields Forever 1960s: Bobby Vee_Go Away Little Girl 1960s: Chubby Checker_The Twist 1960s: Chuck Berry_Johnny Be Good 1960s: Crosby Stills Nash_Teach Your Children 1960s: Dean Martin_Make The World Go Away 1960s: Elvis Presley_Blue Suede Shoes 1960s: Elvis Presley_Love Me Tender 1960s: Harry Belafonte_Day O 1960s: James Darren_Goodbye Cruel World 1960s: Johnny Mathis_Chances Are 1960s: Kingsman_Louie Louie 1960s: Marcels_Blue Moon 1960s: Marvin Gaye_Lets Get It On 1960s: Paul Anka_Put Your Head On My Shoulder 1960s: Harry Belafonte_Day O 1960s: Righteous Brothers_Youve Lost That Loving Feeling 1960s: Johnny Mathis_Chances Are 1960s: Peter Paul Mary_The Marvelous Toy 1960s: Roy Orbison_Only The Lonely 1960s: Roy Orbison_Pretty Woman 1960s: Sam The Sham_Wooly Bully 1960s: Shirelles_Soldier Boy 1960s: Silhouettes_Get AJ ob 1960s: Simon And Garfunkel_Bridge Over Troubled Waters 1960s: Thunderbirds_Hippy Hippy Shake 1960s: Tony Bennett_San Francisco 1960s: Ventures_Apache 1970s: Bette Midler_The Rose 1970s: Cher_If I Could Turn Back Time 1970s: Commodores_Three Times A Lady 1970s: Crystal Gayle_Ill Do It All Over Again 1970s: Dione Warwick_Ill Never Love This Way Again 1970s: Engelbert Humperdink_Release Me 1950s: Fleetwoods_Mr Blue 1970s: Lovin Spoonful_Rain On The Roof 1970s: Mamas And Papas_Age Of Aquarius 1970s: Mamas And Papas_California Dreaming 1970s: Mamas And Papas_Monday Monday 1970s: Tina Turner_Whats Love Got To Do With It 1970s: Tony Orlando And Dawn_Tie A Yellow Ribbon 1970s: Troggs_Wild Thing 1980s: Aaron Neville Linda Ronstadt_All My Life 1980s: Bruce Springsteen_Born In The USA 1980s: Kenny Loggins_Footloose 1980s: Kim Carnes_Betty Davis Eyes 1980s: Kris Kristofferson_Loving Her Was Easier 1980s: Lee Greenwood_God Bless The USA 1980s: LindaRonstadt_Desperado 1980s: Linda Ronstadt_Thatll Be The Day 1980s: Marie Osmond Dan Seals_Meet Me In Montana 1980s: Michael Jackson_Billie Jean 1980s: Michael Jackson_You Are Not Alone 1980s: Michael Jackson And Friends_We Are The World 1980s: Michael Jackson_Ill Be There 1980s: Phil Collins_In The Air Tonight 1980s: Ricky Nelson_Garden Party 1980s: Ronnie Milsap_Lost In The 50s Tonight 1990s: Kenny G_Auld Lang Syne 1990s: Luther Vandross_Id Rather 1990s: Ricky Martin_Livin La Vida Loca Free JavaScripts provided by The JavaScript Source

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PYEONGTAEK: CAMP HUMPHREYS

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RETURN TO MAIN TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAMP HUMPHREYS HISTORY

HISTORY

Japanese Colonial Period

Pyeongtaek Air Field was first constructed in 1939 by the Japanese Navy as a supply depot using conscriptees as coolie labor. The 20,000 "conscriptees" were taken from the local area and "housed" in prison camp-like conditions until the work was completed. At that time, the building up of the low-lying areas was done by coolie labor -- with the laborers hauling sand and dirt on their backs. Korean reports claim that the treatment of the laborers was inhumane, but during the World War II such actions as "conscripting" individuals for coal mines and other "national" industries was a common practice in both Korea and Japan. One report stated that workers were released one day a week to return home as most of the "conscriptees" were from the local area.

The airstrip was added during WWII for basic flight training by the Japanese and listed as Pyeongtaek Aerodrome. The airfield was sod with a 12" under layer of packed sand that was the standard for Japanese airfields of the day. After the war, the Pyeongtaek Aerodrome became listed on maps as Pyeontaek Aerodrome. (Source: Pyeongtaek Si Sa (History).) The airfield was plotted on the 1949 Aeronautical Map of the Kyonggi area.

During the Post-war US Occupation of Korea, the US Military Government allowed Pyeongtaek Air Field to fall into a state of disrepair. Korea had no Air Force to speak of besides Japanese aircraft hastily gathered at Kimpo Airfield in Seoul. There was no constabulary (forerunner to the ROK Army) established at the time. Pyeongtaek Air Field sank into oblivion and noted on the maps as an emergency landing strip.

After the Americans pulled out of Korea in 1949, the airfield remained abandoned -- and anything of value was stripped from the base. Remember that after World War II, the country was desparately poor and anything with metal was salvaged for resale. The airfield for all intensive purposes ceased to exist.

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Korean War

Then in 1950, the North Koreans launched their attack on the South. At first the primary base for the USAF was at Suwon AB which had been built up during the Military Occupation years. Later in 1951 the directives were issued for the construction of Osan AB and construction started in Jun 1952. As a "minor" airfield, Pyeongtaek Air Field was given a K-number of "K-6" and the dirt strip was initially used by the 6147th Tactical Control Group as Forward FACs. The air field was rapidly upgraded by the 841st Engineering Aviation Battalion -- working also on Osan AB -- with perforated steel planking to create a landing strip for the T-6s. The unit relocated to the area from Taegu where it had pulled back to after the initial Chinese assault that expelled the allies from North Korea. Soon the FACs were joined by the Marine VMF-121 flying their AD Skyraiders specializing in close air support because the Skyraiders could operate off of undeveloped strips.

6147th TACGP (1951-1952) At the onset of the Korean War, the base was renamed K-6. The first to move into the area after the Chinese had been pushed back in 1951 was the 6147th Tactical Control Group (Mosquitoes Forward FAC) who flew out of there until they moved to Chunchong Airfield (later Camp Page).

Perhaps the most important element of Air Force close air support was the extensive use of airborne forward air controllers who flew 'low and slow' to search and mark targets for other aircraft to attack. Under the call sign "Mosquito," the airmen and T-6s of the 6147th Tactical Control Group provided forward air control for the duration of the war.

The Air Force continuously improved its methods of directing close air support in Korea. Advances in radar, communications, vehicles, aircraft and tactics all helped airmen to protect troops on the ground. The airmen of the Air Force, along with Navy and Marine aircrews, provided more air support to ground forces than ever before.

To meet an urgent need for close air support of ground forces in the Korean Conflict, North American manufactured LT-6s flew "Mosquito" missions spotting enemy troops and guns and marking them with smoke rockets for attack by fighter-bombers.

The 6147th Tactical Control Group, was comprised of three squadrons. The 6148th and 6149th TCS flew FAC missions, while the 6150th operated three-man Tactical Air Control Parties on the ground, using radio equipped Jeeps. These TACPs consisted of a Mosquito pilot, a radio technician, and a Jeep mechanic. New Mosquito FACs were required to serve 60 days with a TACP. TCG aircraft included C-47's as Airborne Command & Control Centers.

FAC T-6 "Texans" were LT-6G models, of which 97 were built. These differed from the trainer version in having additional radio equipment and four to six underwing racks for rocket launchers. Each rack held three 2.5" smoke rockets, or one 5" rocket.Two .30 caliber machine guns could be carried in pods under the wings, but these were generally not installed in order to improve performance, and because Senior Officers discouraged FACs from engaging targets themselves.

The "Mosquitoes" lost 33 men and 42 aircraft in Korean operations, flying 4,902 sorties. [Source: Squadron/Signal Publications, USAFAM]

Air Force veteran, former T-6 pilot and Mosquito Association member Orville Long spoke about his own combat missions in the highlighted aircraft. "The 6147th Tactical Control Group was the first and only Air Force unit to take the T-6 into combat and give the airplane its baptism of fire," Long said. "The T-6 proved its worth and the fact it could sustain considerable damage from ground fire, and still fly," he said. [Source: USAF Museum]

VMF-121 "Wolf Raiders" (1951-1957) The Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, California, was designated as the permanent station for VMF-121 prior to the Korean War. On 16 April 1951, the squadron reported to Air FMFPac and was assigned Douglas AD "Skyraider" aircraft - one of the first two squadrons in the Marine Corps to be equipped with these heavyweight attack bombers. On 2 October 1951, VMA-121 departed El Toro and boarded the USS SITKOH BAY at San Diego. On 18 October 1951, the USS SITKOH BAY docked at Yokosuka. After a brief stay in Japan, on 22 October, the squadron was assigned to MAG-33 for duty at K3 airfield, Pohang, Korea. (Source: Forum.)

VMA-121 deployed to K-6 Airfield at Pyongtaek, ROK to conduct strike missions in support of infantry operations. The Squadron dropped more bomb tonnage during the Korean War than any other Navy or Marine Corps squadron, devastating enemy airfields, supply dumps, bridges, and railroad yards. During the Korean War the Squadron insignia depicted Al Capp's "WolfGirl" from the comic strip L'il Abner. The "Wolf Raiders" of VMA-121 remained in South Korea for several years after the cease-fire in 1953 finally returning to MCAS El Toro in 1957 and traded in its AD Skyraider aircraft for the F9F-8B. (Source: Wikipedia.) (SITE NOTE: VMF means Fighter and VMA means All-weather Fighter)

Anti-aircraft Defense Artillery (1951-1955) At the start of the war, the anti-aircraft defenses were handled by the segregated 76th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) unit. The unit was integrated later in the war for the worst of reasons. The Army hierarchy condemned the actions of a colored unit that fled the battlefield and with a broad brush painted all black units as being unreliable. White NCOs were integrated into the units, though most of these individuals in working under black NCOs praised their leadership. The 76th AAA was one of the last units to be integrated.

The units used Quad 50s -- four 50 caliber machine guns mounted in tandem for low-level protection and 40mm Bofors for high-altitude attacks. When the unit departed Korea to be disbanded, their 50 caliber "Quad-50s" and 40mm Bofor anti-aircraft weapons were turned over to the ROK Army.

VMF-513 "Flying Nightmares" (1953-1955) The strip was upgraded with a longer runway to handle jet aircraft. In 1953, the Marine E-3As moved from Kunsan AB (K-8) to Pyeongtaek AB (K-6). VMF(N)-513 remained at Kunsan until June 6, 1953 when they moved to Pyongtaek (K-6). However, In the Jan 1996 Marine Night Fighter Association (MNFA) Newsletter, then Lt.Col. Dave Severance recounts that the move took place physically on June 1, 1953. He said, "Col. Hutchinson had promised the Wing Commander (1st MAW) that the squadron would make the move without any loss of missions. ... With the amount of radar gear to keep functioning and with two engines to maintain on the F3Ds, turn-around times were sometimes delayed for a day or more. To meet our commitment most of the aircraft flying missions the night of 31 May would have to land at K-6 and require little or no maintenance. The plan was for all the test benches to be unplugged at K-8 early on the morning of 1 June, move them by C-117s (I think that was the "flying boxcar" designation) and plug them into preconstructed electronic bays at K-6. Other transports were to move the remaining materiel and personnel.

Dave Severance continued, "VMF(N)-513 was commited to fly their all-weather missions whenever there was atleast one field in Korea predicted to be at or above minimum conditions for aircraft landings, and visibility was sufficient for takeoff at K-8. During my 9 months with the squadron, I recall only one night we could not fly...that was the night of 31 May. Every field in Korea was socked in with fog. That meant that on the morning of 1 June our planes were ready for a mission. All we had to do was "gently" lift them off for a short flight to K-6, "tenderly" set them down on the new runway...and we were ready to meet our commitments the night of 1 June. Thanks to a bad break in the weather we were assured of meeting Col. Hutchinson's promise not to miss a mission on the move to K-6!"

Ron Stout said, "the Air Force engineers hurriedly built us a nice new 10,000 foot concrete runway at K-6 (Pyongtaek). Unfortunately they laid the concrete in winter time so that in the spring frost heave caused a large hummock to appear at mid point. That hummock made our night take-offs a very exciting proposition since it could tear the nose wheel off our plane if we hit it in the three point position." A minor correction, the Air Force had no Engineers. The folks he speaks of were the 841st Engineer Aviation Battalion (SCARWAF). "SCARWAF" means "Special Category ARmy With Air Force." This unit would later replace the 808th EAB maintained the runway at Kunsan. (NOTE: In the Jan 1996 Marine Night Fighter Association (MNFA) Newsletter, then Lt.Col. Dave Severance remembers the new strip as 5,000 feet.)


(1954) (Ken Gates)


(1954) (Ken Gates)

From Ron's statement we see that the 841st EAB (out of Osan AB) had built this runway over the "winter" and they moved in April. This indicates that the move was NOT a snap decision -- but a planned move.

• The Marines needed a longer runway for its F3D-2 Skyknight to support the new escort mission role for the B-29s. The Korean War was the first prolonged experience with the runway requirements of jet aircraft in war. The need for long, reinforced concrete runways resulted in inflexibility in air basing, with major impacts on air operations and requirements for aviation engineers to build and maintain suitable runways. It was difficult to share a runway with so many other units at Kunsan.
• Second, the runway at Kunsan was in very poor condition -- and getting worse. The taxiways were described as "tar holes". It was one of the reasons that the 474th Fighter Bomber Wing (FBW) lost one of its squadrons to Taegu during the very confusing FEAF fighter-bomber reorganization plan of March 1953. In April 1953, the 474th FBW was redesignated as the 49th FBW and reduced to only two F-84E/G squadrons. Though the runway had just undergone major repairs in March-June 1952, it was deteriorating again by the spring of 1953. One F-84 aviator noted that Kunsan was the only place he had ever landed on HALF a runway as the graders & rollers were working on the other half.
  
  
• Third, the move would cluster Marine shore-based aviation units together and ease maintenance and logistics problems. K-6 (Pyongtaek Airfield), at the present day site of Camp Humphreys, was originally constructed by the Japanese. However, the 931st Engineer Aviation Battalion (SCARWAF) repaired and built a new runway to accommodate the VMA-121, MAG-12 (flying the AD Skyraider) and the 6147th Tactical Control Group (flying the T-6 Mosquito as FACs). The VMA-121 "Green Knights" had been deployed to Pyongtaek (K-6) since mid-1951 to conduct strike missions in support of infantry operations. Flying missions as long as 14 hours, the AD Skyraider became the "Heavy Haulers" who could carry 9000 pounds of ordnance and drop them with high accuracy. The squadron dropped more bomb tonnage during the Korean War than any other Navy or Marine Corps squadron, devastating enemy airfields, supply dumps, bridges, and railroad yards. It would be sensible to cluster shore-based Marine units together.
  
  
• Fourth, in 1953 the conflict had become one of trench warfare along a stalemated front. There was savage fighting for pieces of worthless real estate. In addition, details of the truce were being ironed out at Panumjon, but negotiations kept dragging on. By March 1953, the 28,000 Marines along the front expected another Chinese push and tensions ran high. Therefore, moving the night fighter unit closer to the front would seem reasonable. The Chinese push came in June 1953 causing the U.N. forces 50,000 casualties from the Chinese attacks -- mostly ROKs.
  
  
• Fifth, a night jet interceptor was required nearer to the front. The F-94s had proven to be totally inadequate. The 319th FIS had been posted on strip alert at Suwon at the end of 1951 in case any enemy night intruders came South. Unfortunately the problem-plagued F-94A had a radar that you weren't sure if it would still be working a minute later. After the lackluster experiences with the F-94B in combat -- especially after the mid-air collision in 1953 proving the unreliability of its radar -- I would think that some planners might feel that it would be wiser to move the only other jet night fighter (the F3D-2) in the theater up closer to the front just in case enemy jet night intruders should come South. At the same time this would provide F4U-5Ns for the slower "Bedcheck Charlie". This line of reasoning is validated by the fact that four F4U-5N Corsairs from TF-77 were permanently shore-based at Kimpo under 5AF in June 1953 to counter slower prop-driven night intruder threats.

For these reasons, it would make sense to move the F3D-2 closer to the front lines for night air interdiction, ground support, backup for night CAS -- and its new mission of escorting the B-29s over the north. However, the growing friction between the Marines and the USAF leadership at Kunsan probably speeded up the process considerably. (Source: VMF-513)

Flying Operations at K-6: One story of flying at Pyongtaek is told in "Anecdotes of the VMF(N)-513, The Flying Nightmares", Flight Journal (June 1998), by Joe Rychetnik. Joe relates the tale of Frank Wilson, who recalled hunter-killer flights up and over the 38th Parallel, seeking out enemy aircraft that were violating the terms of the cease-fire. One night, a team flying from K-6 (Pyong Taek) discovered a radar target ahead, flew up close to the large bomber and dismissed it as a wandering B-29. To embarrass the Air Force pilot, the F3D pilot put on an airshow of barrel rolls and other antics in front of the plane before returning to base. On landing he learned there were no B-29s in the air, and he had missed a chance to down a Russian bomber! His C.O. glued to a desk, flipping aircraft ID cards for eight hours a day, in the dark, for two weeks." (NOTE: In the Jan 1996 Marine Night Fighter Association (MNFA) Newsletter the bomber is identified as a Yak and the C.O. who levied the punishment on the showboating pilot was Col. O'Connor.)

In Air Power, January 1986, it tells of the Navy coming to "assist" the Marines at Pyongtaek. The article says, "The most interesting cruise was that of Detachment 44N commanded by Jerry O'Rourke in 1953 aboard the USS Lake Champlain (CVA-39). The "Champ" left on an east coast deployment to Korea. As Jerry O'Rourke related. "We got there via Athens, Aden, Colombo, Ceylon and Yokosuka - one or two days in each port and lots and lots of steaming. We were immediately sent on the line two days after our arrival in Japan. On the line, we tried to do the night fighter job, but the bosses didn't want us to fy at night (ruined the movies on the hangar deck) and, besides, there were no Commie aircraft up at night anyway and that's the Air Force's job! So we tried day time combat air patrol, bombing reconnaissance, anything to justify our large size and peculiar catapult characteristics."

The article continues, "I had heard about VMF(N)-513 being ashore at K-6 ( Pyongtaek) and once I began to understand that the Navy really didn't want us aboard. I pushed and pushed to be sent ashore with the Marines. We finally were sent the orders and started flying combat with 513 the next night."

Life at K-6: Ron Stout related an anecdote about the Air Force at K-6. He said, "The Air Force had an officers club at K-6 that our pilots regarded as much more plush than their own which was abuilding at the time and pretty raw. So when the Air Force lads extended an invitation for our squadron officers to join them in a get-together they accepted with alacrity. A few days later our C.O. received a letter from the AF engineers C.O. accusing our folks of not being true officers and gentleman because after their visit several decorative items and some paintings were discovered to be missing from the AF club."

He added, "I don't know what our C.O. 's response to this vile canard was, but our officers club looked a lot less raw and undecorated after the soiree with the addition of several new decor items." To the Marines it was a "tradition" to "capture" a prize from another Service. The USAF considered it "thievery."

Before you say, "tsk...tsk" about this theft. Listen to what Paul Noel, Col, USMC (Ret) said about this story. "A major sin is to steal from another Marine or Marine unit --- although the latter has eased when aviation squadrons 'confiscate' momentoes from sister squadrons. To steal from another Armed Service, especially in a forward area, is a Marine avocation!!!!! Extra points if it is Navy!!!!" ... One time at K-6, I and several other officers went with the Group XO in his sedan and made off with a framed picture, probably a naked babe, from the local K-6 USAF unit O Club. This was more like a retaliation fraternity prank, although the Air Force folks did not see it that way." He continued, "The key is Marines do not steal from anyone for themselves personally -- but OK for the good of the unit --- as long as it is not from another Marine unit. Some where there would be a brother being hung out to dry. This is tradition and ancient history, but you will not find it written in an official document. Today? I hope the same."

Ron Stout then continued on about the vehicle situation at K-6. "Marines were always envious of the Air Force's seemingly endless supply of convenience items, not the least of which were what seemed to be a jeep for every airman who wanted one. Our squadron had a jeep for the C.O. and one for the exec or ops officer and both were WW II types that were badly worn."

He went on, "After we moved to K-6 and observed the AF's impressive supply of vehicles, there suddenly appeared freshly painted jeeps that happened to bear the serial number's of squadron personnel on the hood in place of the usual inventory number." He added, "Squadron lore had it that when we turned in our WW II vehicles for replacement by the Korean era vehicles. 513 had 15 jeeps in inventory, one weapons carrier (authorized), and four 6 X 6's as opposed to the T.O. authorized 2."

Paul Noel commented about this war-time practice of "boring" jeeps, "Stealing jeeps got so bad (short term) that driver would remove the rotor from the distributor when the jeep was parked. Not to be snookered, we carried a rotor in our pocket, took the jeep, and eventually abandoned it (after removing the rotor for future use.) I had a maintenance group that set a record of 30 min flat to 'liberate' a jeep trailer from the Navy, repaint in MarCorps green, stencil on new numbers, and have back up paper work."

Ron added finally, "The ongoing generosity of the Air Force lads who ran our base was greatly appreciated and made our lives much more comfortable. I hope it didn't inconvenience them too much." We're quite sure that the Air Force officers who "lost" their vehicles were glad to oblige. Right...and the tooth fairy wears combat boots.

Ron also commented on the how the NCO and Officers Clubs were built. He said, "In the same vein as the borrowing habits of the Marines was the "bargaining" within and between ranks. In some instances officers and enlisted troops would want a favor from one another that didn't fall within the definition of "military" so that whatever was wanted from the other had to be negotiated as a favor. When 513 moved to K-6 the enlisted and officers clubs were at mainside, an inconvenient walk at night when we needed to relax from the rigors of the day or after night missions." He added, "The officers and enlisted troops of 513 secured lumber and whatnot to build an officers club and an E club but the officers didn't have enough manpower to get their club built in a hurry. Negotiations were begun and eventually agreeement was reached on terms favorable to each side." He continued, "The enlisted troops found out that a Captain (pilot) was an expert stone mason in civilian life.In an exchange the captain would build a fine stone fireplace for the enlisted mens club and "volunteer" enlisted troops would show up to help build the officers club. Today,if anyone at Camp Humphreys wonders how that shack that served as the peons club happened to have such a magnificient stone fireplace, they can thank a Marine captain who's name escapes me and the two poker losers who feverishly pitched mud for him."

He added, "As an aside. One of the smartest moves the enlisted men of 513 made was getting our premiere poker player Corporal Bill Knoerr appointed to co-manage the "E" club. Due to an earlier indescretion Knoerr had to live on $7 a month pay. However, his poker skills were such that he was able to supplement his pay and live a normal life. His poker skills also translated into a bargaining ability that allowed our club to be both comfortable and prosperous during Knoerrs tenure as co-manager with Roy "Moose" Simolin." Ron went on, "After watching my friend Knoerr in action,however, I vowed never to play poker against him in my life.I've kept that promise all these years. Knoerr parlayed his skills into a job at Eastern Air Lines from where he retired as an L-1011 senior captain."

They remained at Pyongtaek (K-6) until March 1955 when the unit moved to Atsugi NAS, Japan. (Source: VMF-513)

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1960s

After the Korean War, the camp reverted to a backwater support camp where the biggest danger was described as boredom. In 1962, the airfield was re-named Camp Humphreys, in honor of CWO Benjamin K. Humphreys, of the 6th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter), who died in a helicopter accident near Osan-Ni, Kyung-Gi Do, Korea. Prior to this, K-6 was considered a "sub-post" for units in Seoul.

The Humphreys District Command was activated in 1964 as a separate installation command of the Eighth US Army. Later it was designated as the 23rd Direct Support Group which provided all direct support; supply and maintenance; storage of all conventional ammunition in Korea; AG publications and training aides; and operated the Eighth Army Milk Plant. In 1974, with the activation of the 19th Support Brigade, this was designated as US Army Garrison, Camp Humphreys.

US Army Security Agency (ASA) The 177th USASA Operations Company (successor to the 330th ASA CO) was originally located at Mia-ri at the north edge of Seoul. They moved in 1960 to K6 (later Camp Humphreys) near Pyong-tek (close to Osan AF Base). The 177th was the largest single ASA operations company in Korea. The antenna field at K6 was probably some four acres in size. In the early sixties everyone lived in quonset huts and operated out of tactical vans backed up to the operations building The OPS building was expanded into an H configuration in early 1965. They were on one side of the base by themselves, away from other Army units at Humphreys. By the late sixties the men were better housed in five two-story concrete block buildings, with two men to a room. Such luxury! They shared a mess hall with the Signal Corps and had a barber shop and a small PX. There was a library, movie theatre, USO and a large PX on the other side of Camp Humphreys. The two remote DF detachments on P-Y-do off the west coast and at Socho-ri on the east coast remained operational, as did the CRITICOM relay station. (Source: Clark Page: NASAA Site.) (SEE NSAA: 177th ASA for photos of the camp in late 1950s-1960s)


177th Co. Area (R) 177th Operations Building (1963-64) (NASAA Site)


177th Operations Building (1963-64) (NASAA Site)


(L) 177th Area (R) PFC Charlie Simpson in front of crafts shop (1961) (Charlie Simpson)


K6 Lower Four Enlisted Men's Club (1961) (NASAA)


Main Gate of K-6 (1961) (NASAA)


(L) Ken Regan and Charles O'Connell in front of 3rd Platoon Quonset (R) Cinderblock Replacement Barracks for Quonsets (1962) (Charles O'Connell)


Camp Library (1962) (Charles O'Connell)


Movie Theater with Main PX to left (1962) (Charles O'Connell)

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K-6 (1967-1968) Stephen Pohl was at Camp Humphreys in ’67-’68, with the engineering battalion. He stated in Apr 2008, "I was stationed at Camp Humphreys for 2 years. I was LUCKY... I worked in S3 as an engineer, basically an 8-5 job, and lived in the village. Once in awhile, a new HQ 2nd Lt would try to "mend my ways" and have me come back to camp each night, but the battalion commander liked me and I got along great with the Master Sgt. As I said, I was "lucky"."


(L) One of the roads in the Camp. Steve wrote, "I'm sure the water tower is still there, but I can't tell which one it is from Google Earth." (R) Inside the cafeteria (1968) (Stephen Pohl)


(L) village of Anjung-ri. "I remember that was a protestant church in the foreground." (R) the library (1968) (Stephen Pohl)


(L) "barracks"!!! They were hot in the summer and cold in the winter. (R) theater (1968) (Stephen Pohl)


(L) laundry drying. Those "house boys" did a lot of work. (R) I'm sure today's soldier would NEVER want to live like this!!!! (1968) (Stephen Pohl)


(L) the main street of Anjung-ri leading from the Main Gate (R) yes, it's true, they do/did eat dogs. The large black pot has holes in the bottom (a double boiler kind of thing), and there IS a dead dog inside it cooking. (NOTE: Poshingtang (dog soup) is still a favorite for summer fare -- and sexual potency.) (1968) (Stephen Pohl)


(L) those coal things that heated every hut (NOTE: Briquettes made of crushed charcoal. Pony carts were used for light delivery -- while oxen were used for heavy hauling.) (R) I'm not sure which village this is, except it was near Anjung-ri and on the coast (1968) (Stephen Pohl)


one of our projects. An underground bunker for 8th Army. I wonder if they ever use it?? (1968) (Stephen Pohl)


underground bunker for 8th Army. (1968) (Stephen Pohl)

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Cold War: Air Defense Artillery During the Cold War, the weaponry of the air defense artillery changed to missiles with the Nike-Hercules aimed at high-altitude bombers, while the Hawk batteries covered the major camps/bases for low-altitude aircraft. (SITE NOTE: Though the US will not admit it, there were nukes associated with the Nike-Hercules units in Korea. The intent was to have an airburst that would knock out anything in the vicinity -- but no one mentions what would happen to the folks sitting under such an airburst.) The Hawk batteries were strictly low-altitude anti-aircraft. When the Nike-Hercules was deployed to Korea by the Army, the 12th Ord Det and the 16th Ord Det (GM) (DS) were located at Camp Humphreys and supported the 4/44th ADA (NIKE) and 6/44th ADA (HAWK) Nike-Hercules and Hawk ordnance units. The 16th Ordnance Detachment (GM) (DS) was at Camp Humphreys from 1960-1965.

Charles Rudicil stated from 1964 - 1965 "the 12th Ord Det (GM)(GS) was located in Camp Ames and provided backup to the DS Detachments. Mostly they did the missile rebuild program that was in effect at the time. Actually, though I was assigned to the 12th, I never spent a day with it. When I arrived in Korea, there were 23 Missile Support Detachments and 5 conventional automotive support companies assigned to the 4th Ord Bn.

He continued, "The CO, LTC Mearns, set up a "Guided Missile Office, South" at Camp Humphreys, staffed it with a Captain, a WO, and a MSG, and placed the 5 southern missile detachments under the operational control of the GMO, South. Guess who the WO was? The Captain, later Major, was Gerald Harber and the MSG was Jerry Brown. The 12th Ord Det, the 16th Ord Det (GM)(DS) at Camp Humphreys, and the 30th Ord Det (GM)(DS) at Sea Range were the Nike units, supporting the 4/44th ADA (NIKE) and the 6/44th ADA (HAWK). It was not a very good arrangement but the best they could do with the large number of units assigned to the 4th Ord Bn.

He went on, "About halfway through my tour, 8th Army started playing with the COSTAR TO&Es and formed a Guided Missile Company, North (Provisional) and a Guided Missile Company, South (Provisional). All of the NIKE detachments, to include the 226th General Support Detachment at ASCOM Depot, were assigned as platoons in the South Missile Company, which was assigned to the 55th Trans Bn (AVN). I was assigned to the Operations Office (the old GMO, South) of the South Missile Company and we were given the job of making the COSTAR concept work. We were still messing with it when I departed Korea, and when the ADA won the battle with Ordnance over control of support detachments, the 4/44th DSP was formed from the remnants of the South Missile Company. (Source: The 12th Ord Det, the 16th Ord Det (GM)(DS) at Camp Humphreys.)

The 30th Ordnance Company (GMGS) Nike Platoon was at both Camp Ames and Camp Humphrey from 1968-1977. Company Headquarters was originally at Niblo Barracks in Seoul. Moved to Camp Humphrey in middle of 1973. The Nike-Hercules assets were turned over to the ROK Army in 1977-1978 and the unit disbanded. (Source: Nike Ordnance.com .)

The Direct Support Platoon, 4th Battalion, 44th ADA (later changed to 2nd Battalion, 44th ADA) was at Camp Humphreys from 1968-1977.

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1970s

US Army Security Agency SAD-III (1969-1975) John Mikes wrote, "My ASA unit was at Humphreys/Zoeckler 1970-1975." and included the URL to the U.S. Army Security Agency Special Activities Detachment-III 1969-1975 site. He said, "In late October 1970 I was assigned to SAD- III, which was headquartered at Ft. Devens and refitting at Vint Hill Farms Station, VA. In December 1970 we received orders to Camp Humphreys, South Korea. SAD III was my home until I accepted a one year early out in June 1972. Had I stayed in for my last year, I would've gone to Sinop, Turkey." The site states, "Special Activities Detachment - III sat on the hill overlooking the operations compound at the Army Security Agency Field Station at Camp Humphreys, ROK. SAD-III was officially known as Project Leftout, but no one who knows why is talking.


SAD-III on hill overlooking operations compound (Unknown) (Bill Davidson)


An overhead view looking north, with antenna field and operations buildings in the background. Taken from the water tower. (Unknown) (Bill Davidson)

SAD-III was the last of the ASA special activities units created in the 1960s. SADs-I and - II were airborne: SAD-III was ground-based. SAD-III was a mobile unit on three semi-trailers that could be bolted together in parallel to form a functioning station. Two of the trailers had three cargo containers placed end-to-end housing the communications center and equipment maintenance areas. The third trailer had two containers up front with electronic eqiupment, and a multi-frequency antenna at the rear.

A full description SAD-III's mission must await word from the U.S.Army on information declassification status. A letter requesting access to all declassified information was sent October 2003.


Taken from off post, just west of An Jong-ri, summer 1971. The side door is open, as it often was, because the crappy, undersized and overworked air conditioners were usually broken down. (Summer 1972) (John Mikes)


(L) The antenna array, with compound guard tower in the background. (R) (Unknown) (Bill Davidson)

Sad-III came into being in 1968 at Vint Hills Farm. It was intially deployed to Japan for testing late that year via ship, then returned by plane to Vint Hills in late 1969 for a complete redesign and refit. In December 1970, the trailers were loaded one each into Air Force jet transports at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington and flown to Korea.

The unit remained in Korea until 1975, when it was returned to Vint Hills for another refit. I'll let Bill Davidson, a former ASA soldier and SAD-III's last civilian rep, tell you about the end: "In January 1974 I was assigned to Project Leftout (SAD III) for 18 months. Sadly in June 1975 NSA pulled the plug on the operation. ASA left two enlisted guys to help myself and another Radiation guy named Bill Lappin pack the system for shipment back to Vint Hill Farms. The worst part of trying to get the system ready for shipment was to rebuild the wheels and breaks along with the leveling jacks which hadn't be used since the system was installed. The system was shipped from Pusan as deck cargo in early July 1975.

"The next time I saw the system was at VHF in mid August 1975 where it was being stripped down for refurbishment. After refurbishment the system was supposed to go to Germany to pick up for operations that were shut down in Turkey but in November the refurbishment was stopped "due to lack of funds." About a year later I heard that the antenna system was removed from its trailer and sent to Norway for use by the boys from Langley. That's the last I ever heard about the SAD III system."


John Mikes wrote, "Jeez, was I ever really this young? I guess I was in 1970. We had just returned from firing our M-16s, except I hung out in the trucks all day and never got around to going to the range. That's me in my army suit in the foreground, all of 19 years old and looking about 16. Behind me, carefully camouflauged so he couldn't be seen by any lifers, is Jim McGhan. And behind Jim is The Ville, An Jung-ri." (1972) (John Mikes)

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Racial Tension Violence at Camp Humphreys Racial tension between blacks and whites became a problem -- as it was throughout America and the military worldwide. On Martin Luther King's birthday in 1971, 300 soldiers marched peacefully in Camp Stanley -- but the point was that the blacks felt that they were being denied promotion and equal treatment. Racial incidents increased. In June 1971 a riot in Itaewon left 13 injured and area was placed off-limits.

Camp Humphreys had a race riot in April 1971. On 13 Apr 1971 after three days of racial incidents in Anjong-ni village outside of Camp Humphreys end as the village was temporarily put off limits. Several US soldiers were arrested on charges of arson and larceny. (Source: The US Military Experience in Korea 1871-1982, p148, Command Historian's Office, USFK/EUSA)

Lynn Carl of Atlanta, Ga wrote in Dec 2007, "Wow! Camp Humphries! I was there from 69-71, and I remember the riots. I was an MP supervisor and got caught in the middle of it. Actually the riots started down the road a Suwanne (Suhawhnee), Camp Howard the night before K6. I was the Desk Sgt that night. I remember "the green doors" in an alley, and the 8th Army CPX girls! LOL For two weeks after the riot, the only way in was by air. It was that bad. I personally had to make a decision of shoot, or no shoot, and I'll never forget it. It was the Koreans againest the blacks, and whites were caught in the middle. 600 rounds were shot over their heads at the main gate of K6 the first night. There were deaths.There were hand grenades thrown at my buddies on the gate. Oh well, thank god its long gone!"

From Lynn's comments, the "emotional intensity" of the riots were much worse than the historical records indicate. It also appears that the riots actually started at Camp Howard (returned to the ROK in the 1970s) -- and then spread to Anjung-ni outside K-6. We do not have any reports of deaths, but there may have been Korean deaths that were not reported in the USFK history.

DAY#1 Camp Howard (11 Apr 1971)

I was the Desk Sgt on the night it started at Camp Howard. Myself and another MP had gone to the village outside to check on a reported fight. When we got there, we found a black guy by the name of McClelland from Alabama drunk coming out of a bar where he had just been beating up on some Koreans according to other Koreans there. Some of the Koreans were really agitated by him. We escorted McClelland back to the main gate, and told him to get on the compound, and return to his barracks. We watched him enter the compound.

We then cruised through the ville to make sure everything had calmed down, which it had. I then returned to the MP Station at Camp Howard. About fifteen to twenty minutes later, at I'm guessing now, about 9:00pm, I got an urgent call from the main gate guard stating that there were approx. 300 Koreans getting ready to riot at the gate, and that I needed to get down there quickly.

When I got to the gate the first thing I saw was some MP's dragging McClelland in the gate on the ground. He had went over the fence or something to get back to the ville. He had been beat pretty bad, and was unconscious. The Koreans were cranking a hand siren on a tower in the ville, and this caused even more Koreans to come running to join them. At about that time they started throwing rocks at the gate guards and tried to storm the gate.

As I attempted to secure the gate they rushed it. One Korean about two feet away from me raised a brick and was getting to hit me in the head. I locked and loaded my .45 and put it to his head very quickly. He thought about it, and dropped the brick (Thank god!). Then the rocks came like rain. I called K6 MP's and requested they send backups ASAP.

In the meantime the post commander at Camp Howard put the compound on alert, and the Infantry (I believe they were) came full gear, and with tear gas grenades, and secured the front of the compounds perimeter. The Koreans had loudspeakers now, and were telling the white soldiers to turn over all the black soldiers, that they meant no harm to us white soldiers. There was a standoff now, and the Korean crowd had grown to several hundred.

In the meantime, K6 had sent four jeep loads of MP's to Howard to back us up. What happened next was a mess! The four jeeps arrived, but they had to drive through the Koreans to get in the gate. The first jeep floored it and went through with the others following. After the first one caught the Koreans off guard, they suddenly spotted the other jeeps and started stoning the jeeps very hard. One or two of the jeeps hit the concrete barriers at the gate, ejecting at least one I know of. Some of the MP's were in bad shape, one with a broken leg I remember. The medics could not get through, so a ch-47 made a night landing on the hill to medivac the injured out. As the jeeps were driving through the crowd, everything was chaos. I cannot remember, but I believe they used some gas on the Koreans. The standoff continued until early morning, but the violence stopped then.

DAY#2 K6 (12 Apr 1971)

When morning came it was not safe to drive through the ville. All traffic out of Camp Howard had to go out the back gate and around the ville to avoid trouble (this lasted for at least a week). Latter in day #2 in the evening is when everything started at An Jung Ni. At the time there were white clubs, and there were black clubs. They would throw a black man out of a white club, and visa versa. A black man tried to enter one of the white clubs, and they tried to stop him. The black man stabbed two of them, killing the club manager. (I believe three Koreans were killed in An Jung Ni that night) There were also some clubs set on fire I believe. This is where the real violence began.

Immediately the rioting started. The mobs tried to enter the front gate. Military Police setup behind sandbags with M-60 machineguns, and their M-16's. I cannot remember the MP captain’s name, but at some point when it looked like they would enter the compound, he gave the order to fire over their heads. About six hundred rounds were shot over there heads to hold them out.

At the same time all this was happening and before, there was a black militant group at another base in Korea that had stolen a case of hand grenades, some M-16's, Etc.I think it was on the second day of rioting there, some of these grenades ended up being throw at my friends on the main gate at K6. Luckily no one got hurt. Apparently the militants had traveled to K6.

Guards were put on the entire perimeter fence, because the Koreans were attempting to enter through the fence. They were just kind of hanging out waiting for a chance to get in. The front gate was closed. The only way in was by air for two weeks, or by driving way around through the CPX and coming in a back gate.

The post commander ordered An Jung Ni permanently off limits. (13 Apr 1971) The village began to die a slow death. Shops closed, all the prostitutes left. The post commander was punishing the ville it appeared. The village remained off limits for a few months. After much pleading by local officials, they finally agreed to lift the off limits, but with stipulations. The clubs had to be moved out of the narrow cramped alleys. Clubs had to allow blacks in white clubs, and some other things. The ville never was the same again after that. It seemed kind of dead, and there were allot of hard feelings, and distrust on both sides. It was really sad. (Source: Email from Lynn Carl of Atlanta, Ga in Jan 2008.)

Offbase, Korea had a history of problems between minority soldiers and Koreans in the past. The tensions between black and white servicemen increased, spread through various camp areas in Korea, and exploded on the weekend of July 9, 1971, in the village of Anjong-ni. The village of Anjong-ni outside Camp Humphreys was placed off-limits after the riot between Americans and ROK citizens. Ironically, 400 bar hostess protested the off-limits as they could not make a living. Anjong-ni was placed back on limits in August 1971. (Source: 8th Army Chronology)

(SITE NOTE: It should be noted that during this time period, the US draft was still in effect. The blacks in the Air Force were all volunteers and of the upper percentiles in intelligence tests and high school graduates as a minimum -- with many having a few years of college. These individuals were not normally prone to violence. However, during the Vietnam War years, blacks in the US Army were amongst the lower intelligence percentiles and education levels. They were drawn mostly from lower-income, inner-city blacks who grew up feeling the weight of injustice in American society. Many had minor criminal records that were waived for entrance into the Army. As a general rule, blacks in the US Army were more prone to violent behavior than the USAF blacks -- and also more vocal in protests over perceived injustices to blacks. However, the USAF was not without its racial problems as well. For example, from 22 to 25 May 71 at Travis AFB as a result of racial discrimination and broad anti-war sentiment, black airmen waged a 3-day uprising . Fighting off MPs and local police reinforcements, they effectively shut down operations at the base -- including fire damage to barracks structures. (Source: Chronology Riots.)

The 8th Army historical records indicate the unrest amongst the black soldiers throughout Korea over perceived inequities in the society -- and US Army as a whole. Though blacks in the USAF did reflect the many of the same ideas as the general black populace of America, they were more likely to "blend" and attempt to work racial Equal Opportunity and Treatment (EOT) problems through the "system."

Racial violence broke out in Sept. with 60 Army and USAF personnel involved in a brawl near Osan AB. Four were hospitalized, while 31 were injured including 4 Koreans. Korus Magazine published for the first time in 1973. (SITE NOTE: According to the Pyeongtaek History, on 12 Nov 1973, a free-for-all broke out involving approximately 50 Americans. One Ya Jae-young was hurt and required treatment. No other details. Outcome of this incident unknown. (Source: Pyeongtaek City History CD, "Pyeongtaek Si Sa.") We believe the 12 Nov 73 date is actually 12 Oct 73 as there were no other racial incidents in the 8th Army Chronology (1973). We believe that Ya Jae-young was the cab driver in the Jwa-dong area that was dragged from his cab and robbed by blacks that started the incident.)

After the racial riots of 1973, the DoD instituted a policy dealing with "racial awareness." The USFK policy instituted "Black History Week" along with the observance of Martin Luther King's birthday. All soldiers arriving in country were given training on the racial problems as part of its "awareness" training.

The USFK instituted "Racial Awareness Week" for the command in 1974. In connection with Racial Awareness Week, religious services were held thoughout Eighth Army and 7th Air Force to commemorate the birthday of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. born on 15 Jan 1928. The civil rights leader was assassinated on 4 Apr 68. (Source: 8th Army Chronology (1974).) It is debatable whether the action was effective in defusing the tense racial situation. Many whites thought it was appeasement to the blacks. However, it did show that the USFK was taking the situation seriously -- and that punishment for future racial incidents would be handled harshly -- whether by black or white military personnel. The racial situation had strained military discipline within Korea to the limit.

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Mike Barth's Recollections of Life 1973-1975 Mike Barth stated, "I was at Field Station Korea from November 1973 to December 1975 and worked as a traffic analyst (TA) and later as a traffic ident (TI) guy on trick with the Hogs. The TI work was definitely the more interesting." At that time, the camp was still referred to as "Pyeongtaek Air Field Station" (K-6) The following is excerpted from his webpage at Mike Barth's webpage: Field Station on the The National Army Security Agency Association (NASAA) website. (SITE NOTE: Awaiting permission for use of the following materials and photos. Request sent on 22 Aug 2006.) Mike Barth wrote:

If I remember correctly, there were ten (count 'em, ten) bars in the village of Anjong-ni outside of Camp Humphreys. However, the passage of time has made my memory cloudy. As soon as I get through the pictures, I'll flesh out this list. My feeble memory recalls only:

• Duffy's Tavern
• T Club
• Top Hat
• Maxim Hotel
• U.N. Club
• Paradise Club
• Seven Club
• The Galaxy (thanks, David!)
• The Peacock (again, thanks, David!)
• What was the 10th club? I swear there were ten of them.

And who could forget the other landmarks, like the Conscientious Brown Door and the OB Bar?

Duffy's Tavern was the main hangout during my time, although there would be temporary allegiances to other bars for periods of time. It was still Duffy's that held our loyalty, though. On warm summer days, I remember sitting outside on the terrace drinking OB and listening to "Alice's Restaurant" and other classics along with dozens of familiar faces from FSK. There was also SAC-7, the Saturday Afternoon Club at 7 pm, where it got really drunk out. I had a pretty good time there, as I recall. And Duffy's was always a good place to hold the after-mids party, in the days when we still worked three rotating tricks.

During one of those memorable after-mids trick parties, we made up a batch of Purple Jesus. It was a combination of soju (clear liquor, taste similar to corn whiskey); OB beer (which still makes me nauseous to this day); makli (looks like milk of magnesia and is a byproduct of making rice wine); and Korean champaigne (sickeningly sweet, like Koolaid with bubbles and an alcohol content). That stuff got poured together into a chamber pot (a 'binjo' pot) and was passed from hand to hand around the table for everyone to take a drink. The rule was, if anyone put the pot down or if anyone puked, we would fill it up again. It was pretty awful and alarmingly potent. The party deteriorated after that, but a good time was had by all. After being up on Mids all night, the rest of the day would turn into a real haze as we drank crap like Purple Jesus and got into all other sorts of trouble. Those were the best parties, though. We would get between 20 and 40 guys participating, depending on the timing (if the end-of-mids fell on a weekend, we would get a load of day beggars to come play with us, in addition to the usual trick trash). I must have gone to a dozen or two dozen memorable after-mids parties, but I don't remember much. That is, I don't remember much that I'm going to tell on myself. However, during one of these parties at Duffy's Tavern, the DJ put on Barry Sadler's "Ballad of the Green Berets," to which I did an impromptu striptease act. (It must have been fate, because five years later I was at Fort Bragg, paying for my sins while attending the SF Qualification Course. But that is a different story module than my Korea days). Here is a picture of an after-mids party -- click here to see a picture of me "gettin' naked" at one of those parties. The pictures of me "gotten naked" are omitted in the interest of decorum.

When LTC Toomey took over command in 1974, we were renamed "Toomey's Tigers" and the next thing you know, there was a tiger motif popping up all over the station. There was a giant tiger statue erected (click here to see a picture) and the messhall began featuring "Super Tiger Burgers" on the menu daily. A Super Tiger Burger was basically a big hamburger with secret sauce (ketchup, mayonaise and pickle juice), but they were pretty good. That tiger statue was pretty lame, though. I was there when FSK went coed. We got our first contingent of WACs in 1974, which sort of changed things around as well. We had never sent anyone around to take the EMHO report before, but on the first day that a female came to work for the operations officer, she was sent around to collect one from the NCOs on duty. Jack Keister, who was the head TA in the Black Dragon shop, drew a .45 from the watch office and accompanied her on her rounds. The EMHO report, pronounced EEEM-OHH, was the Early Morning Hard On report. What a classic -- although it only worked once. It was sexual harrassment, but that wasn't against the rules back then, although in fairness it should have been. One good thing about being there during the transition is that I got to experience going from the ultra-macho, guys-only atmosphere to the mixed gender atmosphere. I did learn that women could do pretty much anything I could do, include pee standing up if they were of a mind to, and that was a pretty healthy lesson to learn for me at such a tender age.

Another interesting thing that started up during my tenure was the outdoor rock concerts. Essentially, these Korean bands would set up and play outdoors a la Woodstock. Like Woodstock, it also rained every damn time, but nobody really cared. We would sit out in the sun (while it lasted) drinking Boone's Farm wine and anything else we could get a hold of, and I don't really remember hearing any of the music. I do remember waking up covered with mud, soaked to the skin, and trudging back to the ASA compound with the Mother of All Hangovers and my good buddy Larry Schultz at my side.

Other happy memories include:

• Catching cabs up to Osan Air Base to raise hell in their village (one does not always poop in one's own nest). Moose, are you out there? Remember stealing that radio and getting beaten on with stove tools? And Tom Sutherland, I remember you knocking the door off of the hinges of the OB Bar (or something similar) up in Osan and triggering a near-riot at about 10 minutes to curfew. What a wild ride back to Camp Humphreys!
• Riding the kimchee bus out to Pyong-taek, then riding the dog up to Seoul to drink icy-ass-cold Budweiser at the Naija Hotel in those tall, chilled Pilsener glasses. (click here to see the Naija Hotel entrance. Sorry -- never took any pictures of the Pilsener glasses).
• I remember Makli houses (off-limits, but the chow was good). I was sitting in one with my buddy Tucker (Harley Farrow, one of the true sons of Kentucky) one evening after another one of his escapades, when in walked four MPs. This makli house had two tables and a dirt floor and was in an alley off of an alley, so I was surprised to see the gendermes at our table all of a sudden. The head MP said, "Don't you know you aren't supposed to be in a makli house?" and I replied "Is this a makli house? I thought it was a restaurant. I'm kind of new here." If you look at some of the people pictures in the accompanying pages, you'll see I looked all of 13 years old and so people tended to believe me when I expressed wide-eyed innocense. Anyway, the MPs said "Well, you guys have already ordered your meal, so we'll just let it go this time, but don't let us catch you in here again" and then started to leave, when one of them turned real quick and said "Where did you get that blood on your shirt?" Looking closer, he saw there was blood on the side of my head, too. I said (honestly, for once) "Damned if I know. Am I bleeding? What's going on?" Turns out there was a little gash on the side of my head, but to this day I have no idea of where or why it happened, other that whenever I was out and about with Tucker, something always seemed to happen (mostly to me). No harm, no foul, though. They left us to our meal.
• MPs always seemed to get a bad rap, but they were always pretty good to me. I did enough evil to warrant being put under the jail, but I just seemed to get away with everything. I think it was my birthday when I got exceptionally liqoured up at the NCO club and had Becky, one of the new WACs, paint my fingernails for me. I didn't even slow down and just kept partying my ass off. About 4 in the morning, someone shook me awake. I was in the MP guard shack that you had to go through to get out into the village after showing your pass (although if you flashed it quick enough, a meal card would accomplish the same thing as a pass). There was a curfew from midnight to 4 am, so this was right at the end of the curfew. The MP was shaking me awake from a sound sleep on the counter of the guard shack, where I had apparently gone to sleep sometime during the curfew hours. The MP said I could go home now (assuming I was heading into the village). He said that they were going to lock me up in the drunk tank, but they were just burning with curiousity about the painted fingernails on my left hand (a nice shade of purple -- UGGGHHH!) and wanted to know what the story was. They figured if they sent me over to the MP office/jail, they'd never find out. I was still out of it, but when they asked me about the fingernail polish, I just stared at my left hand (the one with the paint) and shrugged my shoulders. I then did an about face and headed back to the ASA compound and my warm bunk. Becky explained about the fingernail polish later that day, or otherwise I would have never known where it came from.
• Christmas in Korea - twice. But as long as the village was open for business, Christmas was pretty much like any other day.
• I remember mess hall movies that cost either 50 cents, 75 cents, or a dollar, depending on whether it was any good or not. I saw some pretty good movies for 50 cents and 75 cents, but the dollar movies just weren't the same. One of our favorites was Angie Dickenson in "Big Bad Mama" which I still see on the late-late-late show occaisionally. Damn, I loved that movie. You got to see Angie's breasts and butt and everything (well, almost everything).
• I remember the curfew running from midnight to 4 a.m., and the time we sneaked back into the camp at 12:30 through the barbed wire one night after we got caught out after curfew. Thank God we weren't infiltrators. The Korean guard wouldn't take twenty bucks to let us cross over in a relatively dry spot, so we had to wade through the rice paddy and come in through a gap in the drainage ditch. I'm not sure it was worth the effort, but it turned into a challenge when the guard wouldn't let us sneak in on the dry part.
• One Christmas, myself and Larry Schultz drank a whole bunch of beers and were staggering back to the barracks (he to the E-5 NCO palace, myself to the enlisted scum barracks) when Larry suggested we decorate a tree. He pulled a baby pine tree out by the roots, and we went up to his room and stuck it in a can on his table. We sprinkled talcum powder on it and used pull tabs from beer cans and anything else we could find to decorate it (and drank many more beers). Larry went to an empty room, stole a matress and threw it on the floor for me. In the morning, we were awakened by the house boy coming into the room. He looked around the room astonished at the carnage, and just stood there with his mouth hanging open. Larry cocked up on one elbow, looked over at the houseboy and said "Mr. So, you KNOW I always entertain for the holidays!" It was one of the funniest moments of my life, punctuated by Mr. So cussing in Korean, slamming the door and tearing off down the hallway. Click here for a picture of Larry Schultz (et. al.)
• Myself, Faron Hall and James "the Witherman" Withers were the TIs on C Trick in 1975. We worked rotating trick -- 6 days on, 3 days off, six swings on, three swings off, then start all over again. The mid trick was fixed at this time -- volunteers, one and all, who never seemed to see the sun. One of our favorite escapades was to send a volunteer down to the NCO club before it closed at 11 pm (when the swing shift was ending) to buy a case of beer, then we would sit up all night drinking beer and playing monopoly. Faron Hall was competitive and took it a lot more seriously than myself or the Witherman -- we would start cheating after awhile just to keep it interesting, and then deny, deny, deny when we got caught. Sometimes, when the magic hour of 4 a.m. crawled around (and curfew was over) we would head downtown to stir up the locals, especially at the Conscientious Brown Door. Its a wonder we were not murdered.
• Although I made a princely sum of money in those days ($350 a month takehome, if I recall), it was hard to make it stretch over the entire length of a month. We could buy five bottles of liquor a month at the Class VI store on main post, and at the beginning of the month, those bottles would probably be Jack Daniels, which was around $5.00 a bottle. Toward the end of the month, we would be pooling our pennies to buy some Old Stillbrook, which was $1.85. Old Stillbrook (or Old Sunnybrook, I don't recall exactly) was pretty smooth after awhile, but those first few drinks were pretty heinous. Me and my buddy Harley "Tuck" Farrow would imbibe from the bottle and then head into town for mischief on our day off. What a life, except Tuck could get into a great deal of mischief when he put his mind to it, so it was always a real adventure.
• One of our favorite tricks while drinking either type of whiskey was the "double-inverted moon". You stand back to back and link arms at the elbows, drop trousers, and one guy bends forward at the waist and the other guy throws his legs up in the air. Seen from behind, it is two guys stacked back to back shooting a moon -- a "double-inverted." Of course, liquor has a way with balance, and the double-inverted would most often turn into two guys crashing into the side of a bunk while a couple of other guys laughed at their antics.
• "Chicken Dinner" and "Beanbag" -- if you've got to ask, I ain't gonna tell you. Larry Schultz, you know who I'm referring to. (Source: Mike Barth's.)

(L) Welcome to HHC (R) Front Door to the NCO Club Why did I never take any pictures of the inside? (1973) (Mike Barth)


(L) Some sorry individual pulled a bunch of the letters off of the NCO OPEN MESS sign. I wonder who pulled that crap? (I know but I'm not telling). (R) The Toomey's Tiger Statue I know this is hard to see, but it looked like some papier mache art project my kids bring home from school these days. Those darn Super Tiger Burgers were good, though. (1973) (Mike Barth)


(L) This is a view of the Beggar Hootch in the foreground, as seen from the third floor of one of the two enlisted pukes barracks. Over the top of the beggars hootch (for senior officers), you can see the mess hall. Over the top of the mess hall, you could see the NCO club, if you were a mind to. Off to the left is part of the wide expanse of rice paddies and swamp the separated the ASA Compound from the rest of Camp Humphreys and from Anjong-ni. (R) One of the numerous rock gardens (rock garden -- ROK garden -- how ironic is that?) that were erected in 1975. What the heck, as long as I didn't have to build it... (1973) (Mike Barth)




(L) This is a picture taken during the going away party for SSG Gwen Conners, although everyone called him Hummer (he could TELL a tall tale, and was quick to do so). I don't remember everyone's name, but here goes: Row 1 (seated): Mr. Kang (one of the Korean houseboys), Mike Barth, Hummer, Jack Keister with soon-to-be wife in his lap. Next Row: Tuck Farrow sitting in Larry Schultz' lap; Korean soon-to-be wife of the guy behind her, whose name escapes me; Mr. Di'Agostino, Nancy, Russ, "Twiggy" (James Altwegg), a comely Korean girl, unknown, and on the end is Gene (who was at Ramusan prior to coming to FSK in 1975). Back Row: Johnny (manager at Duffy's Tavern, where this was taken), Jim Early, "Pete" Peterson, Becky, Rich Carlson standing in front of "Mac" (Gary MacDonald), Ernie Cook. (R) My little slice of heaven -- My Bunk Area (1973) (Mike Barth)


Main Gate to Camp Humprheys (1973) (Mike Barth)


Anjong-ni Main Street as seen from camp gate. (1973) (Mike Barth)

Cold War: Air Traffic Control (Desiderio Army Air Field - A511) Dean Charon of Granville, MA wrote in Jun 2007, "I was stationed at Humphrey's from 1975 to 1976. It was neat seeing some of those old photos. I remember things like the Maxim club and a few of the others. I was an air traffic controller at the tower at the airfield ... I have tons of old pictures from A511. I took them in 1975-76 when I was stationed at Desiderio AAF - A511. All of these photos were taken in Pyeongtaek and one was taken at the airfield."


Desiderio Air Field - A511 (1975) (Dean Charon)


Anjung-ri (1975) (Dean Charon)


Seoul Store and Kimchi Cab, Anjung-ri (1975) (Dean Charon)

Cold War: 557 MP Company By the mid-1970s, it had several 3 story concrete block barracks as well as quonset huts. The camp had an NCO/EM club and an Officers club, Bowling Alley, Craft and Hobby Shop, Katusa Bar, PX, Class 6 store and several other stores. (Source: 557th MP Co..)

In 1977 a new 12 lane bowling center equipped with automatic pinsetters was opened in May and construction was completed on a $500,000 gymnasium in Nov. A mobile tape dubbing center was established to provide soldiers with an opportunity to reproduce reel-to-reel tapes, records, cassettes, and cartridges from a wide variety of music. (Source: USFK/EUSA Annual History 1977.

SITE NOTE: The website of Mr. John "Maddog" Madden, the 557th MP Company Website is highly recommended for a historical look at GIs at Camp Humphreys during the late 1970s.


(L) 557th MP Company (R) Main Gate Camp Humphreys (1977) (John Madden)


(L) CPX Gate (R) CPX Gate Camp Humphreys (1977) (John Madden)


(L) Perimeter Road (R) Burial mounds off-base near camp (1977) (John Madden)


(L) Anjung-ri from Main Gate (R) Anjung-ri Village (1977) (John Madden)


(L) Anjung-ri Main Streets (R) Anjung-ri Main Street (1977) (John Madden)


(L) Anjung-ri Near Folly Club (R) Anjung-ri Top Hat Alley (1977) (John Madden)


(L) Top Hat Club Drinking Oscar (Jan 1977) (R) Top Hat Club: Ms. Kim, John Madden, Ms. Chai, Homer Larch (1977) (John Madden)


(L) Camp Humphreys (Summer 1976) (R) Folly Club (1977) (John Madden)


(L) Anjung-ri from Quarry Gate Area (1977) (R) Rice Field with Oxen tilling fields (1977) (John Madden)

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1980s

The sprawling helicopter base used to be a backwater spot offering dusty roads and temporary Quonset huts — and very few creature comforts. Camp Humphreys and its neighboring town of Anjong-ni didn't share a good relationship back then, either. The racial violence in the 1970s where the local populace clashed with blacks leading to off-limits actions were still fresh in peoples minds. The town itself had remained the same with only one narrow road leading to the main gate of the camp.

In 1985 Camp Humphreys was restructured to support wartime missions and was designated the 23d Support Group. The 23rd Area Support Group was originally constituted as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 23rd Direct Support Group in the Regular Army on 24 November 1965. The unit was activated on 1 January 1966 in Korea. The unit was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 23rd Area Support Group on 4 May 1971. On 15 November 1974, the unit was inactivated in Korea. The 23d Area Support Group was reactivated on 16 August 1985 at Camp Humphreys, Korea.


Anjeong-ni Outside Main Gate (Circa 1980) (Unknown)


Anjeong-ni Outside Main Gate (Circa 1980) (Unknown)

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1990s

In 1996 a separate US Army Support Activity for Area III was activated to provide base operations and community support. A $9.7 million Community Activities Center opened in 1998. It included an auditorium, a cybercafe, a travel office, pool room, indoor swimming pool, meeting rooms, a trophy shop and a McGregor's restaurant. Humphreys also was home to Daytona West, the Army's only go-cart track in Korea.

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2000s

U.S. and local officials claim Humphreys and Anjeong-ni enjoy one of the best community relationships in the country. In 2000, the town built the camp a new walk-in gate in return for a narrow strip of land along the camp fence. That land was used for street widening, so the narrow street that runs through the business section of Anjong-ni could be turned into a multi-million dollar, vehicle-free shopping and entertainment mall.

Camp Humphreys 3658N 12702E

Camp Humphreys is located approximately 40 kilometers south of Osan. Camp Humphreys is a short distance from the city of Pyongtaek, and adjacent to the town of Anjung-ri. The airfield was originally constructed by the Japanese and was known as the Pyongtaek Airfield, during the Korean War. (SITE NOTE: See Local Korea History: 1940s.) It was called K-6 when the US Air Force repaired and built a new runway to accommodate a Marine Air Group and the 614th Tactical Control Group. In 1961 the airfield was re-named Camp Humphreys, in honor of CWO Benjamin K. Humphreys, of the 4th Transportation Company, who died in a helicopter accident near here. The Humphreys District Command was activated in 1964 as a separate installation command of the Eighth US Army. Later it was designated as the 23rd Direct Support Group which provided all direct support; supply and maintenance; storage of all conventional ammunition in Korea; AG publications and training aides; and operated the Eighth Army Milk Plant. In 1974, with the activation of the 19th Support Brigade, this was designated as US Army Garrison, Camp Humphreys. In 1985 it was restructured to support wartime missions and was designated the 23d Support Group. In 1996 a separate US Army Support Activity for Area III was activated to provide base operations and community support.


Family Housing Camp Humphreys (2002)

Cp Humphreys is located about 35 miles south of Seoul, just to the southeast of Asan Bay. There is a small mountain range about 7 miles south of Cp Humphreys with tops to 958 feet. Larger mountains are located NE-E-SW, all within 20 miles with tops to 2293 feet directly south and tops above 1000 feet mainly southeast. The Ansong River flows from the east to west toward the West Sea and passes 3 miles northwest of the airfield. About 12 miles west of Cp Humphreys the river widens and empties into the Asan Bay, near Koon-ni Range. (SITE NOTE: Kooni Range now closed.) The immediate area around Cp Humpreys is mostly agricultural and consists mainly of rice fields. There are some rolling hills in the vicinity, but for the most part the elevations are less than 150 feet. Urban areas are situated mostly to the northeast of the airfield. Pyongtaek is 4 miles northeast and Seojeong-ja is 1 mile northeast. Although Dujeong-ri is next to Cp Humphreys, to the south, most of the haze and smoke that affects the airfield comes from Pyongtaek and Seojeong-ja. ...


Family Housing Camp Humphreys (2002)

The May 24, 2000, groundbreaking ceremony for a 3-phase family housing project at Camp Humphreys. Phase I is the first of three buildings which will each have 60 field and company grade officer, warrant officer and senior noncommissioned officer multi-story apartment family units. The 5-story buildings will include 3 (1400/1350 sq. ft.), 4 (1450 sq. ft.) and 5-bedroom (1550 sq. ft.) apartment. This first phase, a nearly $12 million project, will also provide central hot water, heating and air conditioning, kitchen range, refrigerator, washer, dryer, garbage disposal, dishwasher and telephone/TV systems. Other support facilities will include utilities, water wells, grading, parking, walks, area lighting, children's play areas, multi-purpose courts, landscaping, drainage, and a perimeter wall around the complex. At least 5% of the units will be accessible and easily modifiable for the handicapped. The first phase is scheduled for completion in March 2002. (Source: GlobalSec.org.) (SITE NOTE: This construction is completed along with a new Exchange, Commissary, Post Office and centralized shopping area. This was termed as "old construction" meaning that it was already on the books before the decision to relocate the 2d ID from the DMZ area. Approximately 1600 families will be relocating to Camp Humphreys entailing new construction. The new Alaska Mining Co. next to the Bowling Alley opened in 2004. Heavy construction is proceeding with ground being excavated on the base and soil being transported to off-base land fill locations. However, the camp perimeter has not been expanded as of Dec 2005.)

According to the Stars and Stripes on 29 Dec 2005, "Under the amended Land Partnership Plan between South Korea and the United States, Camp Humphreys will triple in size, growing from about 1,230 acres to 3,558 acres by 2008. An estimated $5 billion is to be spent on construction alone. Its population also will increase, from more than 11,000 to 45,000, U.S. military officials have said.

It eventually will be the site of U.S. Forces Korea headquarters, Combined Forces Command, United Nations Command and other units and organizations including ground combat and aviation forces, officials have said. While much construction already is under way at Camp Humphreys, the enlarging of its boundaries awaits completion of the South Korean government's land purchase effort."

Ministry acquires 80% of land for U.S. base

The Defense Ministry said yesterday it has purchased nearly 80 percent of land necessary to build a new U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. The ministry has requested a local court to allow for it to claim the remaining 20 percent, it said in a statement.

The purchasing begun June 14 to implement an agreement between Korea and the United States to reposition U.S. troops in the Yongsan Garrison and the 2nd Infantry Division to Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, by 2008.

As of Dec. 22, the ministry completed buying about 2.75 million pyeong, or 78.9 percent of the total 3.5 million pyeong land required with consent from the residents and landowners. One pyeong equals 3.3 square meters. It deposited the remaining 0.73 million pyeong in the court for expropriation. It failed to buy the land plots due to disagreement with landowners over compensation or due to failure to find the owners.

The deposited land will be soon expropriated in accordance with legal procedures, the ministry said.

"The Defense Ministry will cooperate to establish a win-win strategy for the project with local residents and government by building residential towns for the moving-out people, executing 30 billion won allocated for supporting the local government," the ministry said.

(SITE NOTE: This has come a long way since the ROK dragged its feet to prevent the move as they did not want their "tripwire" on the DMZ to disappear. Originally in 2003, a 13.2-square-kilometer (3,267-acre) site in Pyeongtaek, near the present Camp Humphreys, is the U.S. choice of new home for the 2d Infantry Division and the the U.S. 8th Army. Another 3.3 square kilometers (817 acres) of land near Osan Air Base was is the prospective site for the USFK headquarters. The Americans were reportedly concerned that the private land needed for the relocation would not be made available without Seoul's active support. Protests by residents would be harder to handle without that support. (See Relocation of USFK (2003) for details.)

The chief obstacle in the Future of the Alliance (FOTA) talks on 7-8 Jun 2004 was the size of the new, integrated U.S. military facility in Pyeongtaek and Osan. U.S. negotiators said they required 1,130 hectares (2,800 acres) to build a new base. South Korea offered 970 hectares plus an additional 30-hectare parcel, which would provide space for UN Command and Combined Forces Command headquarters. U.S. delegates reportedly requested that the Korean government provide 480,000 pyeong of land for the Osan/Pyeongtaek base site, in addition to the 3.12 million pyeong of land already provided, in exchange for returning an additional 11.18 million pyeong of land from U.S. 2nd ID bases along with the 41.14 million pyeong (135.8 million sq. meter) that the United States had already promised to return under the LPP. (See Relocation of USFK (2004) for details.)

In Aug 2004, despite its agreement to procure land for the Pyongtaek relocation, the ROK was still offering "alternative" sites and stating that giving half of the land agreed on in 2004 was impossible. Donga Ilbo, "Government to Complete the Land Purchase Deal of the USFK Bases Relocation Site in Pyongtaek by Next Year" (7 Aug 2004) stated,

The Ministry of National Defense announced that they plan to complete the purchase of the 3,490,000-pyong alternative site in the Pyongtaek area in the Gyeonggi province by the end of next year. The site was designated for the relocation site for bases of the USFK's Yongsan and the 2nd Division."

Nam Dae-yon, public information officer at the Defense Ministry, said on August 6, "Currently, Korea and the U.S. are discussing ways to purchase a 740,000-pyong site around Camp Humphrey, a USFK base in Pyongtaek, and to complete the purchase of the remaining 2,750,000-pyong by next year." He responded to the Dong-A Ilbo article on August 6, which stated, "The U.S. has requested half of the Pyongtaek site within this year," by explaining, "It is true that the U.S. has suggested that, but discussions are currently in process to adjust the schedule since the request is impossible in practice."

The ministry added, "The area around Hoihwa-ri, Seotan-myon in Pyongtaek that was mentioned as the alternative site (the second area around the Osan Air Force Base, as covered in the Dong-A Ilbo on August 6) is being reconsidered to other areas, but the rest of the site will continue to be offered as the alternative site for the USFK base."

In addition, the ministry also intends to implement plans to support the local residents with the Special Law on U.S. Forces Bases Relocation Plan, which is scheduled to be submitted to the National Assembly next month. Details of the special law include establishing a collective relocation site, providing rental housing, founding the life stability subsidy, and others, considering the damages to the local residents caused by the USFK bases relocation. (NOTE: In Nov 2005 they announced the "International City" as "compensation" to the Pyeongtaek people for the "damages" the soldiers will do to their community.)

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In 2001, Anjong-ni was changing with the widening of the road to the main in the business district of town. However, the changes at Humphreys were even more dramatic. Construction projects totaling $138.1 million began. They included:

• Three high-rises with 180 family apartments. The camp now has only six family quarters, those built only a couple of years ago.
• An Army and Air Force Exchange Service shopping mall including a main exchange, a Four Seasons store, vendor shops and U.S. franchise fast-food restaurants.
• A 30,000-square-foot commissary, three times the size of the current one.
• An 80-room transient lodging facility that includes a restaurant.
• Five new enlisted barracks that includes two-person suites and "Lazyboy recliners."
• Two new bachelor officers quarters.
• A Child Development Center and teen center with a music room that offers musical instruments for rent.
• Improvements to the camp’s airfield that is said to be the busiest U.S. Army airfield outside the United States.
• A Department of Defense Dependents School for kindergarten through sixth grade.

In 2000, Area III commander, Col. Glenn DeSoto, said "Over the years, we’ve been so mission-oriented we’ve kind of let the aesthetics go.""Now, we’re trying to balance both mission and aesthetics." DeSoto said a new $900,000 tree-lined sidewalk will give people assigned to Humphreys a place to walk or run safely, he said. "We’re also totally repainting the installation," he said. "A lot of our buildings go back 30, 40, 50 years and they haven’t been painted since they were built. We won’t stop until every building here has been rehabilitated and painted." One of his favorite expressions these days is, "Don’t stand still very long or we’ll paint you." During the rehabilitation, workers are also removing asbestos, DeSoto said. Humphreys has a large lower-rank community who are not permitted to have cars, DeSota said. Because of this, they’re locating barracks and support facilities as close to operation’s areas as possible. The family housing, school, child development and teen centers all are being built adjacent to each other. (Source: Stars and Stripes.)

The May 24, 2000, groundbreaking ceremony for a 3-phase family housing project at Camp Humphreys. Phase I is the first of three buildings which will each have 60 field and company grade officer, warrant officer and senior noncommissioned officer multi-story apartment family units. The 5-story buildings will include 3 (1400/1350 sq. ft.), 4 (1450 sq. ft.) and 5-bedroom (1550 sq. ft.) apartment. This first phase, a nearly $12 million project, will also provide central hot water, heating and air conditioning, kitchen range, refrigerator, washer, dryer, garbage disposal, dishwasher and telephone/TV systems. Other support facilities will include utilities, water wells, grading, parking, walks, area lighting, children's play areas, multi-purpose courts, landscaping, drainage, and a perimeter wall around the complex. At least 5% of the units will be accessible and easily modifiable for the handicapped. The first phase completed in March 2002. (Source: Global Security.org for details of Camp.) (SITE NOTE: This construction is completed along with a new Exchange, Commissary, Post Office and centralized shopping area. This was termed as "old construction" meaning that it was already on the books before the decision to relocate the 2d ID from the DMZ area. Approximately 1600 families will be relocating to Camp Humphreys entailing new construction. The new Alaska Mining Co. next to the Bowling Alley opened in 2004. Heavy construction is proceeding with ground being excavated on the base and soil being transported to off-base land fill locations. However, the camp perimeter has not been expanded as of Dec 2005.

In 19 Oct 2007, troops at Camp Humphreys were to move into a new eight-story barracks featuring Internet and cable TV hook-up, refrigerators and microwave ovens, laundry rooms and a lot of storage space. The $13.5 million building at the post’s MP Hill section will house up to 464 occupants and has six elevators. On its first floor are a kitchen, multipurpose room and two large laundry rooms, as well as a mud room entrance where troops can clean boots and gear. Each upper floor has a lounge and smaller laundry room. In addition, the building has a small parking area and covered, ground-floor bicycle racks.

It’s the last part of an overall $16.7 million project that also saw construction of a three-story building that houses a brigade headquarters and separate operations facilities for two company-sized units. That building opened in June 2006, Reiff said. The barracks is only one of many major projects still under way at Humphreys, which is slated to triple in size in coming years to become the U.S. military’s flagship installation in South Korea. Also set to open later this month are a new gym at MP Hill and a $7.9 million child-care center for infants to preschoolers with space for up to 278 children. And, MP Hill also will see two other eight-story barracks and a new dining hall, which are to be completed in November 2008. At the post’s Zoeckler Station area, two six-story barracks are under way and set for completion in November 2008. A gym is under construction and due for completion next January. Elsewhere on post, what some are calling the “super gym” is set for completion next May.

The Humphreys Army Lodge also is being enlarged, a project due to wrap up possibly in May 2008. Meanwhile, officials are anticipating the construction of buildings just outside the existing installation on lands that include the expanded portion of Camp Humphreys.

Construction of four barracks on Parcel 1 will begin “sometime in the spring,” Reiff said. The parcel is part of an overall 2,238 acres set aside for the Humphreys expansion. Those barracks projects will be followed by others — vehicle maintenance facilities, apartments, schools and quarters for senior military leaders. This entails only the first wave of what will be built on the new lands and the existing installation before the Humphreys transformation’s scheduled completion in 2012. (Source: Stars and Stripes.)

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Major Units at Camp Humphreys (2006)

THIS IS OUTDATED DUE TO RECENT REORGANIZATION CHANGES IN 2006-2007
• 23rd Support Group -- The 23rd Area Support Group conducts noncombatant evacuation operations (NEO) of US Citizens and allied nationals if required, and conducts Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration (RSO&I) in the groups AOR and assigned TAAs and establishes and operatees GS LOGBASEs. Provides Direct Support maintenance (DS), aviation intermediate maintenance (AVIM), as well as supply support for Class I, II, III, IV, VII, and IX products throughout the theater of operations. It performs ammunition stock accountability, visibility, and surveillance for all US titled munitions in support of EUSA and ROKA. On order, it provides title transfer operations, DS/GS ammo support to EUSA, and CIS to ROKA and US Marine Forces, Korea.
  The 23rd Area Support Group is headquartered at Camp Humphreys in Pyongtaek, 130 miles northwest of Taegu. The 23rd Support Group is also responsible for the 6th Ordnance Battalion and the 194th Maintenance Battalion.
  The 23rd Area Support Group was originally constituted as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 23rd Direct Support Group in the Regular Army on 24 November 1965. The unit was activated on 1 January 1966 in Korea. The unit was reorganized and redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 23rd Area Support Group on 4 May 1971. On 15 November 1974, the unit was inactivated in Korea. The 23d Area Support Group was reactivated on 16 August 1985 at Camp Humphreys, Korea. (Source: GlobalSecurity.org.)
  
  
• 194th Maintenance Battalion -- The 194th Maintenance Battalion, located at Camp Humphreys and Wonju, consists of a headquarters and Headquarters Company, a direct support maintenance company, a supply company and two aviation intermediate maintenance companies. Its missions include aircraft recovery operations, direct support maintenance, hot refuel, water purification operations and intermediate level aircraft maintenance. Through the enhanced engine repair activity, the 194th Maintenance Battalion provides a cost avoidance program saving several million dollars per year ($26 million in FY-94). (Source: GlobalSecurity.org.)
  
  
• 348th Quartermaster Company
• 520th Maintenance Company
• C Company, 52nd Aviation Regiment -- On 16 January 1996, the Company A, 3rd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment was officially re-designated C Company, 52nd Aviation Regiment. The Company has continued in this mission to the present day providing aircraft maintenance support throughout Korea wherever and whenever needed. (Source: GlobalSecurity.org.)
  
  
• 6th Cavalry BDE -- The 8th U.S. Army's Multi-Functional Aviation Brigade (MFAB) was officially formed as the 2nd Aviation Brigade -- 16 June 2005 marked the activation the 2nd Multi-Functional Aviation Brigade (MFAB). The newly consolidated aviation unit includes Apache Longbow attack helicopters, UH-60 Blackhawk utility helicopters, CH-47 Chinook medium lift helicopters and manages the Eighth Army C-12 Huron (fixed wing aircraft) detachment. The 8th U.S. Army aviation took a big step by transforming its brigades into multifunction aviation brigades when elements of the 17th Aviation Brigade consolidated with the 3-6 Attack Helicopter Battalion from the 6th Cavalry Brigade. The 6th Cavalry cased its colors, but the spirit lived on in each trooper who will carry it forward to the MFAB.
  In late 1995 the 6th Cavalry Brigade received orders to move its flag from Fort Hood to the Republic of Korea. This move was accomplished in July of 1996. The 6th Cavalry Brigade stood up its headquarters at Camp Humphreys, Korea on 24 July 1996. To augment the Brigade, the 5-501st Attack Helicopter Battalion was redesignated as 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 6th Cavalry Brigade in July of 1996. In December 1996, the 1st Battalion 43rd Air Defense Artillery was assigned to the brigade. This last addition to the brigade creates a unique organization that provides the Commander in Chief, United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea with critical force protection assets, as well as, lethal deep strike capability. (Source: GlobalSecurity.org.)
  
  
  • 3rd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Bde -- On order, 3-6 Cav transitions to war, conducts security operations along the flanks of Combined Forces Command(CFC) in the Republic of Korea(ROK). On order, attacks to disrupt, attrit, or destroy North Korean Army(NKA) forces/targets in support of CFC campaign. In the Korean theater, by 1999 the three Apache battalions were dedicated to missions critical to the OPLAN: support of 2d Infantry Division operations (1-2 Aviation), and anti-special operations forces (anti-SOF) and deep attack operations (1-6 and 3-6 Cavalry). Although the DPRK Scud Belt is within range of Combined Forces Command (CFC) attack helicopters, it is highly unlikely that an attack helicopter battalion will be dedicated solely to Theater Missile Defense [TMD] operations due to prioritization.
    After six years of duty at Camp Humphreys, the 3rd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Brigade folded its colors to begin the transition from Korea to Fort Hood, Texas. In traditional cavalry style, the colors were carried by horseback to an awaiting AH-64D Longbow helicopter, signifying the transition the cavalry has taken, and continues to take -- the next move forward is equipping the unit with the new Longbow helicopter. This transition was part of the ongoing Army transformation that is replacing all AH-64A model Apache helicopters with the D model. In order to accomplish this mission, all the Apaches from 3rd Squadron were sent back to the United States in early May 2005.
• 52nd Ordnance Company -- Explosive Ordnance Disposal
• 343rd Support Center
• 46th Transportation Company (MDM/TRK)
• 751st Military Intelligence Bn
  • HSC, 3rd Military Intelligence Bn
  • Ops Company, 751st MI Battalion
  • B Company, 532nd MI
• Pheonix Aviation
• 3rd Military Intelligence Bn
  • HSC, 3rd MI Bn
  • A Company, 3rd MI Bn
  • B Company, 3rd MI Bn
• 2nd Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment -- The mission of the 2nd Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment is to transition to war rapidly and provide theater aviation General Support to the CINC, CFC, USFK, and EUSA flying the CH-47 Chinooks. The unit was constituted 16 January 1996 in the Regular Army as the 2d Battalion, 52d Aviation, and activated in Korea. (Source: GlobalSecurity.org.) Flies CH-47 Chinooks.
  
  
  • HHC, 2nd Bn
  • A Company, 2nd Bn
  • B Company, 2nd Bn
• 557th Military Police Company
• 249th Military Police Detachment
• 2nd Military Police Detachment (CID)
• 6th Military Police Group (CID)
• A Company, 304th Signal Battalion
• C Company, 168th Medical
• 560th Medical Company (A)
• 568th Medical