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HOW IT WAS!KUNSAN AIRBASEOTHER UNITS
(1951-1954) 3rd Air Installation Operations |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS: Time Line of Korean War -- Tanner Publication Co.
 Welcome to Kunsan City -- Extensive section with Photos, Maps, narratives tracing the history of the city from a poor fishing village to a bustling international port city with a major industrial zone.
Korean War Reference
POW/MIA in Korea -- Current articles and links to POW/MIA issues
POW/MIA Honour Plaque
Tibbo's POW/MIA Honour Page (N/A)
106 Field Battery RAA Assoc.
Peter of Queensland, Australia | 
Burt's Patriot Award
Burt's Place (N/A)
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Some of the awards this site has received. To view our awards, go to Awards.
HOW IT WAS:
KUNSAN AIR BASE
(1951-1954) |
Other Units at Kunsan Airbase (1951-1954):
3rd Air Installation OperationsWhile the 6,300 foot runway was under construction by the 808th EAB, the 27th AIS (Air Installation Squadron) -- the forerunner to the base Civil Engineers -- arrived to set up the base. They were the first USAF unit to arrive in April 1951 to get the airfield up and running. They were actually part of the Reserve unit 27th Fighter Wing (SAC) that was hurredly sent to Korea in the initial days of the war. The unit was sent from Japan to Taegu to start its operations. Arriving at Kunsan, they were greeted by the 808th and fell under their command working on water and infrastructure. When the 3rd Bomb Wing took over, the 27th AIS personnel were absorbed into the wing. When the 27th Fighter Wing departed for the states after their call-up period had expired, they left their personnel that had come to the 3rd Bomb Wing behind where they completed out their tours of duty.
Though they reused the BOQ facilities left from the Occupation Forces' 63rd Infantry Regiment, most of the base buildings had to be constructed from scratch. In Air Power, The Decisive Force in Korea (p232), it states, "All base-construction projects involved far more than building runways and their appurtenances. Since a jet air wing in combat could consume as much as 125,000 gallons of fuel each day, two detachments of the 931st Engineers supervised Korean laborers in the erection of tanks to hold a five days' supply of jet fuel at each of the major jet bases. ... In the early days at all Korean airfields, Air Force troops lived and worked in winterized tents, but more permanent buildings gradually replaced the tents. At Taegu air installations personnel contracted with Korean builders for stucco buildings. The initial cost was low, but these oriental structures rapidly deteriorated and required heavy maintenance costs. For this reason, steel quonset huts and "tropical shell" kits prefabricated in Japan were extensively used in Korea, both for housing and working quarters. Most structures were put up by Korean laborers or contractors under the supervision of base air installations personnel." The "tropical shell" kits were basically precut plywood. In early 1952, the area that is now the base golf course was filled with stacks of plywood awaiting construction. These materials were used by Korean contractors to construct the "Hansen" huts which were basically an open frame with plywood sides and top. The roof was covered with corrugated iron sheeting for water protection. Sandbags were stacked on the corrugated iron roof to keep it from flying off in high winds. Arthur Aseltine of Ann Arbor, Michigan (then of the 808th Engineering Aviation Battalion, Co. "A") recalls the empty field that is now the base golf course. "When I arrived, it was a place where a huge amount of plywood had been stored. I suppose it was used to panel the walls of the BOQ. Piles high and about a half of a football field in size. Really startled me." He continued, "A NCO club was constructed by a Korean Contractor. A whole Korean family and I suspect others moved into the club near the end of the construction project and installed a terrazzo floor, grinding it all by hand. They lived, slept and ate in that building while there. (Danny Kaye and others entertained there.) That was a gas! I will never forget the day he (the contractor) came to pickup his money for the job. Because of inflation of the Korean currency (then being 6000 Wan to a dollar) he had duffle bags full of money and hauled it off in a Jeep." The base roads were already laid out by the Occupation forces and still follow the same basic routes to this day. After the runway was complete the 3rd Bomb Wing took command of the base in August 1951 and the 27th AIS was replaced by the 3rd Air Installations Operations (AIO).
The 3d AIO was the equivalent to Army Engineers -- or the modern-day USAF Civil Engineering Squadrons. In fact, the 3d AIO Headquarters was located in the same location of the present day 8th Civil Engineering Squadron. The 3rd Bomb Wing started flying from Kunsan in August 1951. According to Air Power, The Decisive Force in Korea by James T. Stewart (p230), "The shortage of Engineer Aviation units shifted responsibilities for construction of major airbase facilities and in some cases for airfield traffic surfaces on wing installation squadrons. But their mission was to repair and maintain buildings and grounds, to operate and maintain base utilities, to provide structural and crash fire protection, to train auxiliary fire fighters, and to provide organizational maintenance on assigned power equipment. Their equipment and personnel authorizations were based on the normal requirements at prepared operating bases. Thus the construction responsibilities assumed by the installation squadron constituted an almost impossible work load." In the early days of the base, there was a lot of construction going on. Arthur Aseltine of "A' Co., 808th EAB wrote about Sept 1951, "There was a huge empty area in front of our site which was later used for a PX and supply for the Air Force. When I arrived, it was a place where a huge amount of plywood had been stored. I suppose it was used to panel the walls of the BOQ. Piles high and about a half of a football field in size. Really startled me." James F. Farr of Farmington, Connecticut wrote, "We did it all Roads and grounds, plumbing, carpentry, electrical, welding and any other thing that you can put a name on that referred to building and maintaining a camp. I think that I may have worked in most of the buildings on the base, as I think all buildings and grounds came under the A.I.O." Though the flying units get all the glory, the guys who keep the bases running never get any credit at all. He wrote, "I arrived at K8 July of 1952 and departed back to the States in July of 1953. I was assigned to the base power station most of my time at K8. For a short time I was assigned to Field lighting and the base electrical shop." In yesteryear, as it is today, you never think about the guys running the power plant until you have no lights. The electricity to the base was supplied from Kunsan City's electric power plant (built in 1945), but its power was very poor and intermittent. He wrote, "Our job was to provide emergency power when the power from Kunsan went off. We had four 100 KW Generators that powered the base, not the flight line or the hospital as each had its own generator." The base power plant was "down by the rice paddy and in the same restricted area as the base P.O.L. Area."  General E.T. Collins
This ship
was the ship that I was a passenger
on with the luxury cruise to Yokohama
Japan.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
(Courtesy Jim Farr)
He wrote in a humorous tongue-in-cheek tone, "During my visit to the home of the Midnight Invader, I was privileged to have several of my quiet restful evenings interrupted by a fellow called "Bed Check Charlie," and the artillery putting on a display of fireworks. I also remember the fantastic weather and the walks to our 1st-class restaurant and on our return back to our hotel having to jump into the shower to remove several layers of dust or mud. I further recall one day as myself and other travelers were enjoying our fantastic repast at our 1st-class restaurant, suddenly the earth shook and several loud explosions caused most of us travelers to dive under tables. Most of the time I spent at K8 was uneventful and I did enjoy what I was doing. I was an Electrician before entering into the U.S.A.F. and did continue that trade during my 4 years."  James F. Farr of Farmington, Connecticut with his house boy in 1952
in front of Jamesway huts in the Airmen Billeting area
(Click on the image to enlarge)Reading between the lines -- the "Midnight Invaders" meant he never got a good night's sleep from the round-the-clock flying of the B-26s. "Bed Check Charlie" was Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes which dropped bombs on the air strips at night as part of the "night-heckling" routines. "1st class restaurant" is a snide comment about the quality of food in the mess halls down in the Airmen Billeting area. (Go to Kunsan Air Base: 1954 and Now for writeup on the mess halls and enlisted barracks life.) His remarks of the "hotel" refer to the Jamesway or Quonset huts if you were lucky -- or tents if you weren't. (Go to Unofficial 13th BS Homepage for another photo of an enlisted barracks.) His remarks about a shower to "remove layers of dust or mud" refers to the conditions of Kunsan being a dust bowl in summer and a muddy bog in the monsoon season. He went on to say that where he worked there was no running water where he could wash up. James added later, "The loud explosion I mentioned was the day of the big bang at K8 when the planes blew up on the runway. That was a very scarey time." (Go to 8th Bomb Squadron for details of this flightline accident in Dec. '52.) Electricity was supplied by the electric plant in Kunsan City (built in 1945). The electric was unreliable and amperage weak. Some people complained of the lights being so dim one could not read at night -- and many times there was no electricity at all. Almost everyone reports using candles at one time or other.
In 1952-1953, the base added an auxiliary power substation equipped with four 100KW generators to provide electricity to the base (excluding airfield lighting) when the Kunsan City plant would go off line. This substation was located on the north end of base, near the POL storage area that still exists today. Jim Farr wrote, "I think that the sub station was where the above ground tanks are. The sub station was before the POL area and just inside the gate to the area." This is a pretty good description of the area today. The electric substation for power coming into the base is located "just inside the gate" to the left as you enter. The POL area would be straight ahead with the above-ground storage tank about 200 yards ahead.
In 2003, James wrote, "I just made contact with another person also stationed at K-8 1952 1953 he (Jaye Sunkel) was the NCOIC at the base power station. He sent me some photos that you may be interested in." The photos are below:
 
1st Row: Substation (1952); 2nd Row: Power Station (1952)
3rd Row R: Power House Living Quarters (1952) 3rd Row L: Kunsan City Main Street
Bottom: Kunsan AB (K-8) Theater
 Rice Paddy area -- Above ground POL tank
in center. ROKAF toilet next to fence.
(Apr 00) (Click on photo to enlarge) |  POL area foreground. Power Substation left rear.
Water tower right rear on Gunsmoke Hill.
(Apr 00) (Click on photo to enlarge) |  POL area.
(Apr 00) (Click on photo to enlarge) |  Kunsan Power Substation today.
(Apr 00) (Click on photo to enlarge) |
"This area was patrolled by APs and ROK army. At night the APs had Dogs with them. The Sub Station was the only area that one could get a cup of coffee other then the mess halls. We had a coffee pot on around the clock, the fresh coffee was picked up each day from a very understanding mess Sgt. who, was the mess hall that had power one night when the Korean power failed. I pays to have the proper tools and know how."
His shop was a building about 10' X 24' and concrete pad as the location for bringing power into Kunsan Air Base from Kunsan City. He said the structure was part of a concrete pad in an L-shape. He went on to say, "Just out side of the gate to the area was an antiaircraft emplacement, but was quad 50's mounted on a half track that was next to a tent for the US Army crew. This was right at the fence facing out to the Rice Paddy." He said, "Also at the gate area was a small one man gate house for the ROK guard. Our OK's were under the command of a ROK Capt. Lee. The AP's patrolled the area with a dog. The dog was a very good watch dog. I remember that the AP's at time early in the AM when passing the Sub Station would holler in for a cup of coffee, and one of us would bring it out and leave it on a barrel then go back inside. The dog was not very sociable."  James F. Farr at the Okku Reservoir Pumping Station on the south dike.
He is facing south towards the base and the pumping station. (1952)
(Courtesy James F. Farr of Farmington, Connecticut.)During the occupation years 1945-1948, the base water was pumped from a pond (filled with polluted water from the rice paddies) behind the present day K-9 kennels. In 1951, the 27th AIS set up a water purification station with water stored in rubber bladders.
In 1952, the base received its water from the Okku Reservoir just outside the base. The water lines today follow the same basic route. The lines run from the pump station above ground along the dike portion (facing the base) down to the main road. It follows the main road to the main gate and then turns left up to the water settling tank that is still used today. This is Bldg 101 at the water treatment plant and fits the description of Kunsan's system being a "1940s water treatment system". This area became known as "Water Point" as annotated on a 1954 base map.
Jim Farr wrote about the water pumping to base, "I was at the point about 3 weeks, we had 2 old leaky gas operated pumps that we ran 24 hrs a day pumping to the water filtration station that was not to far from the base hospital. Water was full time and I think that in September of 1953 a pump burst into flame and took out the pumping station completely." Bob Lemons was operating the station at the time and received frostbite trying to fight the fire.  Okku Reservoir (1992)
(Courtesy Yeon-Kil Kim)The picture above is the east dike of Okku Reservoir next to Okku village. The road along the top is the same road to Kunsan used since 1936...though much improved as a two-lane road. Up until 1995, this was the main road into Kunsan, but a new road was built to the Kunsan Airport. Near the tree in the photo, there is a road leading down the other side of the levee to the new airport road. This levee is mentioned by Dr. Fred Ottoboni in his book Korea Between the Wars -- A Soldier's Story where the road in 1947 was so narrow that the speeding trucks would force the Koreans to jump into the water to save themselves from being hit...or GIs would maliciously kick the Koreans into the reservoir as they passed. Things are much more civil now.
For comments or inputs, contact Kalani O'Sullivan.NOTICE/DISCLAIMER: The content of this page is unofficial and the views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of anyone associated with this page or any of those linked from this site. All opinions are those of the writer and are intended for entertainment purposes only. Links to other web pages are provided for convenience and do not, in any way, constitute an endorsement of the linked pages or any commercial or private issues or products presented there. None of this site has been endorsed by the DOD, the Air Force, the 8th Fighter Wing or Mickey Mouse. All Air Force links are publicly accessible through the world-wide web. When eye-witness accounts conflict with OFFICIAL DOD materials, this website opts to lend credence to the people who were there.
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