Monte's Memories

Less than five years after the cessation of hostilities, a young Intelligence lieutenant was packed off to Korea to help keep the peace.

Monte Shriver was a 1st Lieutenant fresh out of intelligence school when he arrived in Korea. In addition to sparse living and working conditions, he had many varied responsibilities, more than an average young officer has now. Monty's story is presented here in words and pictures.

Living and Working

The lieutanants and some junior captains were all in hooches. We had a terrible problem with "slickie boys" visiting our quarters at night, so everything of any value (radio, tape recorder, camera, wallet, etc) was locked up each night in our wardrobe. In the summers, we kept a light on in the wardrobe to combat mildew. We had a house boy who cleaned the hooch and did our laundry. During the summer of '58, there was a very bad encephalitis epidemic in Korea, so we all slept under a mosquito net. Talk about sleeping bathed in sweat.

It was so cold there in the winter that we had to wear coats at night. I remember one night sitting there in my coat listening to "Hawaii Calling" where they would always say, "The temperature of the water at Waikiki Beach is 78 degrees."

They had just started to build some private rooms in a building behind the officers club, mostly for captains.

314th Air Division Headquarters was not air-conditioned and all heat was by the oil-burning stoves periodically refilled by 5-gallon can.

There was no base transportation so we walked everywhere we went. The only time I drove in Korea was when I was Officer of the Day (OD), and when I took the target folders to Suwon.

Visiting Paengnyeong-do (P-Y-do)

I was designated as the pay agent and sent to P-Y-do on January 1, 1959. I carried $25,000 in MPC, nothing bigger than a ten. The second night there, a blizzard hit and all the oil lines feeding the stoves froze so there was no heat anywhere on P-Y-do. I stayed the night in the Lt Col's quarters, wearing my parka and under all the blankets I could find. The water lines in his shower froze and burst. When the weather cleared, we were on the beach waiting for the C-47 to return us to Osan. Tricky landing on that beach due to constant cross winds.

In Retrospect

I recently went to Google Earth and found Osan AB and Songtan (outside the base). Now I know how Rip Van Winkle felt. I remember the AB being in a very rural area surrounded by rice paddies. The entrance to the base was just a muddy street with shacks built on each side (I have a great picture of this which I haven't scanned yet). And the multi-lane highways I saw – unbelievable. When I was there they had only paved the MSR about halfway from Yeongdeungpo to Osan. All manual labor was done with 3-man shovels – one holding the shovel and the other two manning a rope to pull the shovel.

As you might have guessed from Monte's comment about having a picture of Songtan that he hasn't scanned yet, there's more to come. Scanning the photos is a time-consuming process as I learned on a project of my own. When he's ready, he'll send more. In the meantime, enjoy Monte's Memories.