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HOW IT WAS!KUNSAN AIRBASE
B Battery/6th Btn/44th Air Defense Artillery
(1964-1972)
B Battery/1st Btn/44th Air Defense Artillery
(1972-1980):
38th Brigade Patch: Gauntlet of Power |
38th Brigade Patch: Gauntlet of Power
According to Kenneth Wisz, "it was better known as 'the fist of shit'."
Welcome Sign inside TAC SiteClick on Photo to Enlarge (Courtesy Michael Goshi)
This guest book is for ALL Hawk Site visitors...whoever you are.
However, if you're an vet from the unit,
please leave your email address
so other Camp Echo Hill vets can find you...
Hawk Missile Battery: The Hawk ("Homing All the Way Killer") missile battalion was the B Battery/1st Battalion/44th Air Defense Artillery . One Hawk battery was assigned to Kunsan from 1969 to about 1980 when it was
turned over to the ROK Army. 
K-8 Battery from CH-47 Chopper (1975) | 
K-8 Battery from CH-47 Chopper (1975) |
Karl Hamner wrote, "The color photo in your web site looking out the window of a CH-47 is
indeed the B 1/44 TAC site at Kunsan. The photo clearly shows all three tiers
as mentioned in my earlier email. On the bottom left of the photo is the first
launcher in "A" firing section (the entrance gate to the TAC site is on the
right just out of the picture). The middle tier shows the generator shed
complex. Note how the road switches back just as I described it."
He went on, "On the top of the hill you can see the "A" firing section High
Power Radar Illuminator on the left with its antenna sticking out of the roof,
and the Pulse Acquisition Radar is on the far right. Notice that the two
buildings in between have no radar antennas sticking out. This would suggest
that the "B" firing section with its two radars were perhaps mobilized as we
did in Operation Team Spirit in '77-78. The photographer in the helicopter is
facing north. Kunsan AB is on the left."
The Hawk Site: The unit appears to have arrived sometime in the mid-1960s. At this time we
are unsure of the exact date. The Army troops were billeted on the Kunsan
Airbase with the other Army personnel on the south-end of the base in quonset
huts with shared latrines. The unit remained until 1980 when unit was
deactivated at Camp Reno Hill and the Hawk assets turned over to the ROK Army. NOTE: We were previously in error believing the Hawk site was a hill about a
1/2 mile north of the base. The hill had previously been used by the MACS-1
(Marine Air Control Squadron - One) from 1953 until its return to Atsugi, Japan
in 1955. The hill is currently used by a ROK Army anti-aircraft unit (armament
unknown) but suspect 30mm. The upper tier is shielded from outside view by
revetments that surround the equipment and the ROK are very secretive about
anything dealing with military installations. Kalani O'Sullivan stated, "Our one visit to the gate of the hilltop site had all the gate guards
at the fence with automatic weapons checking out our car from inside the gate.
We were definitely not welcome -- so we left." We appreciate the help of
respondents in setting us straight. Karl Hamner wrote, "There was only one TAC site at Kunsan in 1977 - B Battery 1st BN 44th
ADA. There was another TAC site just North - D Battery 1st BN 44th ADA on the
other side of the Kumgang River. I went there once to help maintenance
troubleshoot a problem on their radar illuminator. I believe this is the Biin
missile site you refer to."
He went on, "The highway outside the main gate was a straight shot to Kunsan City." Karl is referring to the original route that was laid out by the Japanese when they first built the base in 1932. This road was at first a very narrow two lane dirt road and was later paved and expanded in the 1970s. However, the road to Kunsan was altered in 1998 when a new cut in the road was completed that bypassed the levee and Okku village. This road cut was part of the expansion of the original road to a six-lane highway when the Kunsan Airport was built.
Instead of turning left at the stop light to the new cut to Kunsan City, one continues straight ahead to Okku village about a mile down the road. In the village, there are small shops along the road and a T-intersection. Karl continued, "To get to the TAC site you would turn right (heading South) outside the main gate onto a dirt road which cut through a small village." Of course, the "dirt road" has been paved and is now a two-lane road. Follow this road across the railroad tracks leading to the base until you get to a traffic circle (circa 2000).
Turn left, heading toward Kunsan City. Karl stated, "The road would then bear left heading east through open county side and rice patties." Continue down the road until a T- intersection with the high irrigation sluices to the side. Karl added, "I remember an intersection perhaps a mile down the road - turn right heading south again."
Turn right at the intersection and head towards the small fishing called "Oeeu-dong" (pronounced a-oo-dong). Karl stated, "You could see the TAC site hill on the left. There was a small cemetery on the north end of the hill. The road would lead you to a fishing village on the mud flats." 
Hill from a distance (2002)
(Courtesy Kalani O'Sullivan)Kalani O'Sullivan wrote, "The road continues straight and one observes the old Hawk hill off in the distance to the left. As one approaches the area, a sheer cliff will be seen on the north face of this hill that is yellowish brown in color. As one gets closer one will notice some graves to the left -- some a few feet from the road. At this point one is getting very close to the base of the old Hawk hill. The hill will be seen off to the left with. Now that I knew what to look for, I noticed that there was something at the top of the hill. It turned out to be a large building used by the ROK Army. The specific use of the building is unknown. There were street lights along a road about halfway up the hill. This would be the lower tier road that lead to the old helicopter pad on the north end that Karl described." 
Hill from a distance showing cliff and lower tier road (2002) 
Hill from a distance showing building (L) on second tier (2002)
Click on photos to enlarge
(Courtesy Kalani O'Sullivan)Karl continued, "Once in the village, facing south, the road would bear left and then start a very steep climb up to the top of the hill. We had to put our trucks in low gear to make it up the hill - it was so steep. At the top was the main gate. There was a Korean MP there housed in a small shack. The guard would search the truck, then open the gate for us." 
Mine Field Sign near Kunsan AB (1999)
(Click on Photo to Enlarge)
There is no Oeeu-dong "village" anymore, only scattered homes. If one continues straight, one will come to a T-intersection and the fishing inlet for Oeeu-dong village straight ahead. To the left is a heavily rutted dirt road that follows the mud flats with old falling-down farmer-style homes set back from the mud flats. To the right is the road that will lead back to the base via a secondary route. If you look to the left and behind you, that is the ridge that leads to the hilltop.
To get up the hilltop, backtrack the way you came until you see two supermarkets separated by a road that goes up a slight incline. Turn onto this road. After a bit, the road will turn into a single lane gravel road. Kalani O'Sullivan wrote, "The road follows the ridgeline up. As one heads up the hill, off to the right through the trees one can see the mudflats and fishing inlet. Off to the left, the rice fields can be seen and Kunsan AB is in the distance. There were signs that said "no trespassing" in Korean -- AND ENTRY MUST BE WITH PERMISSION -- but I play the dumb American when I go on these searching trips. If I get stopped, I plead ignorance. I continued on. The hill was steep, but not really hard to get up. I drove up in second gear. The sides of the road was lined with the trees that had grown up along the hill. However, passed a sign to the left warning that there were mines off the side of the hill."  
Fishing inlet at Oeeu-dong (2002) 
Oeeu-dong road to hill (R); No trespassing/Mine warning sign on hill (L) (2002)     
Road up the hill to site (2002)
Click on photos to enlarge
(Courtesy Kalani O'Sullivan)Kalani continued, "Sure enough, at the top of the hill was a gate with an Army guard. The guard was VERY unhappy with my presence there and VERY unhappy that I was asking questions. I asked if this was an old Hawk site thirty years ago and his answer was, "NO QUESTIONS!!!" When I brought a camera out, he pointedly said NO pictures of the site -- even BEFORE I even got a chance to ask for permission. Another guard remained hidden behind a structure to the right -- normal procedure for intruder alerts. Only when I was leaving did the second guard come out."
"The lower tier road must have been that road I saw from the bottom with the street lights along it. However, I could not see where the road started from the gate as the trees blocked the view. The hillside on all tiers were overgrown with trees, but I could see the top of the hill from the gate. On what appeared to be the second tier, I could see a large two story building off to the right as you looked from the gate. Construction looked like prefab, but I was too far away to tell for certain. Could not see any other structures because of the trees. There appeared to be an antenna of some sort at the top of the hill on a square pillbox shaped structure, but it could just as well have been an outhouse for all I know. It was too far away to tell for certain. However, one thing is certain. This was NOT a HAWK missile site anymore."
When Karl reviewed the pics of the present location he stated, "I clearly recognize "the rock" and the street lights that go around the original perimeter. I can't believe how much the Korean country side has changed in 25 years. It's green and modern now. The TAC site back in '77 had only a few small pine trees around it - now it looks like a forest." We have to add that in 1975, the Chonju Paper Company (now Hansol Paper Co.) received the contract to reforest Korea. The seedlings were distributed free to the farmers to reforest the hills near their homes. If you look at the "trees" in the photos, you will note that they are not more than 10-15 years old based upon their size. The outstanding success of the program is self-evident as one travels throughout Korea.
He continued about the present installation, "Not sure what the building is at the top of the hill - I can say for certain that it was not part of the original TAC site since most buildings up there were made of concrete block and single story. Looks like all the original structures have been torn down."
Karl described the old TAC site: "The TAC site was actually three tiers. Once inside, the lower
tier road went around the entire site. Just inside the gate on the left was an
intersection and if bearing right would start a switchback road that would take
you to the top. There is a good photo of the switchback road on your web site
looking out the window of the CH-47."
"The missiles were on the lower tier. "A" firing section had (3) launchers with
(3) missiles each. This section faced South and West. "B" section was on the
north end of the TAC site. Its missiles faced west and north. There were also
(9) missiles in this section. The missile launchers were arranged in a horse
shoe pattern covering 180 degrees to the west. I guess the military planners
assumed air attacks would come from the yellow sea and designed the TAC site
accordingly. We had no missile launchers on the east side of the TAC site."
(Probably this was because the Nike Hercules unit at Kimje -- E/4/44 (Feb
1961-Sep 1972) E/2/44 (Sep 1972-1976) ROK Army (1977 on) -- protected the
eastern approach routes. (See Camp Echo Hill for the site as it was -- and as it is now.)
Karl went on, "Our Battery Control Central (BCC) was on the middle tier. This
was the fire control nerve center of the missile battery. There were three
radar scopes inside - one for each firing section A and B, and a third scope
for the Tactical Control Officer or TCO. The TCO would find targets with the
pulse acquisition radar (PAR) and interrogate them with IFF. His job was to
track and identify targets, set priorities, assign targets to be engaged, and
issue fire commands."
"The middle tier also housed our generators, mess hall, spare parts, and
maintenance shop/crew quarters. The upper tier housed all the radar equipment -
pulse acquisition and continuous wave radars. There were many bunkers made of
sandbags all around the site. Our radars were housed in small concrete block
buildings with a hole in the roof for the antennas to stick out. There were a
total of (4) buildings housing radar equipment on the top level. The "A" firing
section radar illuminator faced west and from it you could see Kunsan AB and
yellow sea below. I tracked many F-4 flights in and out of the base and their
practice bombing runs over the yellow sea."
"On the back side of the TAC site (east side) lower tier was our helicopter
landing pad, missile storage shed, and MP barracks. There is a very steep cliff
on the east side of the TAC site between the middle and lower level - high
enough that a fall would certainly kill you."
Looking at the 1975 photos above, the CH-47 was landing from the north. The
Hawk launchers are on the upper tier. However, we are guessing as the photos
are not definitive. The helipad designation for b/1/44 was "H708." The helipad
itself was PSP matting with the landing area painted in white. 
Chinook Schedule from the Gauntlet (1975)The Hill was reprovisioned with parts by a CH-47 that flew a regular schedule.
The CH-47 Chinook was flown by the 19th Aviation Battalion on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays. The route started from Camp Humphreys (Pyongtaek) -
Osan AB - a/2/44 - e/2/44 (H702 Nike Hercules at Kimje) - b/1/44 (H708 outside
Kunsan AB) - Kunsan AB (K-8 refuel) - d/1/44 (H520 which we think is Sochon) -
b/2/44 (H523 Sea Range at Taechon) - Reno Hill (Headquarters 44ADA) - c/2/44 -
Mangilsan - c/1/44 - a/1/44 - Osan AB - Camp Humphreys. PAX was authorized for
these flights if approved by the First Sergeant.
Hawk Operations:1964 - 1965: (B-6-44, Kunsan) It appears that the original designation of the Kunsan Hawk unit was B Battery 6th Battalion 44th ADA. On Nike Hercules Ordnance Support Unit History 12th Ordnance Detachment and Other
Support Units, Charles Rudicil in the 1964 - 1965 period wrote, "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. The CO, LTC Mearns, set up a "Guided
Missile Office, South" at Camp Humphries, 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 Humphries, 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 continued, "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. Now how's that for a story? It's all true and factual and I even have a few
copies of old orders to prove it. But I'm sure you've heard all this before.
I'm just giving it to you from my perspective. What's that I said about who
knows what will fall out when you dust off the cobwebs?"
1964 - 1969: (D-6-44: Biin) Phillip M. Johnson of Dallas, TX wrote in Jan 2005, "I was in Btty D, 6th Msl Bn, 44th Arty (HAWK) in 1964-1965. We were in a little village called Piin. I've been trying to find anything on the web about my old unit. I have no pictures of my time in Korea, and would love to have a picture of our sign over the main gate that said "Home of Murphy's Law". Also would love to have a picture of the sign post that stood outside the orderly room that was made up of a bunch of mileage distances to different places in the world. I've been looking at pictures of army installations in Korea today, and I can't believe how modern it is. In my day, we lived in tents and quanset huts, and showed movies on a sheet hung to the side of a tent. Now American soldiers can have their dependents with them, Korea makes cars, and telecommunications equipment, and everyone has cable TV. Incredible !!! In 1964-65 it was like stepping back in time a couple hundred years. The villagers mourned when a baby was born and rejoiced when someone died because they got to go live on Happy Mountain. People in the village of Piin had no concept of the rest of the world, and thought America was on the other side of the next mountain. Once, one of them asked me if there was a jeep in my village. I said yes we have jeeps in my village, and she said "More than one?" Unbelievable !!!!!"
Later we found the following images on the Korea: Tour of Duty site under the ADA units.
 
Sign post outside D-6-44 Orderly Room in Biin showing 2km to Yellow Sea. (Korea: Tour of Duty (Permission Pending))
Hayward S. Melville wrote, "I was initially employed by Raytheon as a "Tech Rep" and then in late
1965 left Raytheon and went to work for US Army Missile Command. I spent a full
year with the 6th of the 44th and the 119th ord. In 1965 I was the the lead
Raytheon engineer at Sea Range. I left Korea for the last time in April 1969
returning to the employ of Raytheon on the Patriot Missile System in Bedford,
MA."
He added, "I only had a few years exposure to Kunsan with the HAWK missile units in the
mid to late 60's, but you have most all of that correct. At that time the Unit
there was B Btry, 6th of the 44th with Bn HQ at Reno Hill and the Direct Support Unit (119th Ordnance Det.) was
WAY up north at Camp Howard. We did establish a small DSU at D Btry to support
the two southern batteries after Sea Range in 1965, but this little DSU was
only there for a short time before it was moved back to Camp Howard. D Btry was
north, across the river, from Kunsan at a village named Biin. ... We used to go
to Kunsan for PX runs and to hit the clubs. Compared to Reno Hill, it was
downtown with all the lights and attractions."
He later wrote, "Biin was the admin site for D Btry, 6/44 and was a few miles south of the tac site. It was a straight shot south from
Biin to Kunsan. The tac site was to the north, but you had to leave the MSR and
bear west."
"The abbreviated HAWK DSU was placed at Biin after the ASP at Sea Range
in 1965. I think D Battery might have been the host battery at Sea Range
that year, also. Bill Morrissey was the CWO in charge of the unit and I was
the Raytheon Field Engineer. I returned to CONUS in December or 65 leaving
the DSU there and I understand that it was eventually returned to Camp
Howard. I lived in the BOQ there at Biin when I wasn't up to no good in the
'vil'."
"The deactivation order for the 6th of the 44th was signed by Major Alvin
Schissel in 1980 and all the HAWK assets were given to the ROK. (NOTE: The 1st
Btn 44th ADA was inactivated on 30 June 1980 in Korea.) A few years
ago there was a web site that I discovered that actually cited the full text
of Al's deactivation order, but I just made a quick search and can no longer
find it. I, many years later worked with Al in Huntsville, AL, but he's dead
now. Matter-of-fact, the website to which I refer had something to do with,
or was hosted by, or was created by some outfit in Hawaii. It seems like
they were a private company with intentions of keeping the history of Korean
Air Defense alive, but unless I missed them tonight so they may have expired
before getting the history together."
"After deactivation, some of the Americans moved to the MAAG, but most of
them simply rotated out to CONUS or to Germany. I don't know what the ROK
has done with these sites, but I would be surprised if they didn't still
have the units on hills somewhere. They were, as recently as 5 years ago,
still pretending to keep their NIKE Hercules sites and missiles in
readiness, but this had been a joke in the business for years."
"I'll keep an eye out for anything that looks like it might be related to
Kunsan and the related Hawk battery. I spent many nights on that cold damp
hill. The pictures on your site sent shivers down my back. I have some
pictures of some parties in the BOQ there in Biin, but I'm being paid not to
let them get into circulation."
Hayward later wrote, "The 6th of the 44th ADA was a battalion of the 38th
ADCOM. 38th ADCOM was headquartered at Osan AB. HQ 6/44 was at Reno Hill which
is somewhat south of Hong Song on the west side of the road as it then existed.
At that time in the evolution of ADA and The Ordnance Corps, the HAWK Direct
Support Units (DSU) were NOT organic to the ADA Bn's. The DSU for the 6th of
the 44th was designated the 119th Ordance Detachment and was located at Camp
Howard up around Pyongtaek. Supporting batteries B, C, and D of 6/44 was a
serious trip and this is why after Sea Range in 1965 we put a mini DSU in Piin
to support D and B batteries."
"Following is a rundown on the 6th of the 44th as it existed in the mid to late
60's. It is an answer to a question by a good friend of mine who is still with
Raytheon (about to retire, however) and who was in Korea at Niblo Barracks in
Seoul where Raytheon had what amounted to the HAWK Depot for Korea. Nible
Barracks no longer exists, having been replaced quite some time ago by a HUGE
high rise apartment complex. Niblo Barracks was named for a BG Urban Niblo, US
Army Ordnance Corps, but before it was taken over by the US Army after Korean
War was some sort of a Japanese military installation. My friend's question
was: What was the name of the town just outside the gate of Sea Range as we
knew it in 1965?"
"Answer: The town's name was, is, Taechon Hae Soo Yok Jang. Honest! The name
means Taechon by the sea, or something similar, and is named for the nearest
town of any significance, Taechon, which is a few miles inland from the coast.
There was a NIKE Hercules battery, B Battery on a hill just before getting to
the Sea Range town and ASP firing site. The closest HAWK units were D Btry, 6th
of the 44th which was located at Piin some 50 or 60km south and C Btry, 6th of
the 44th which was located north of Sea Range some 30 or 40 km. B Btry, 6th of
the 44th was located at Kunsan AB which was further south along the coast below
Piin. To complete the Battalion picture, A Btry was located on a hill to the
north of Osan AB, the Direct Support Unit was at Camp Howard, not far from
Pyongtaek, and the Battalion HQ and AADCAP were at Reno Hill near Hong Song."
The SEA Range is now gone, but there still is a military bombing range in the
resort area of Taechon. The beach at Taechon is extremely popular in the
summer when the beaches are packed with miles upon miles of wall-to-wall
people.
Admin Site at Biin (D/6/44ADA): The Hawk admin area was located at Biin just a little south of Chunchung-dae
(Chunchung Beach) about 30km from Kunsan. Hayward S. Melville wrote, "Piin is not on Kunsan AB or even really close, but there is a
relationship between the two sites via the 6th of the 44th." He continued, "In
general,
and starting from leaving the gate of Kunsan AB, there may be more than one,
but the only one I ever used led from the base, through the countryside and
salt flats on roads that were sometimes asphalt paved and other times not,
in a generally North or North Westerly direction to the ferry landing on the
Kumgang river. You took the ferry (I have pictures of this scary operation)
and when deposited on the North side of the Kumgang river we took the only
available road due north. The road roughly paralleled the ocean to our left
(West) and you went through a few small villages as you headed north until
you ran directly into another small village, that being Biin."
"Biin is only a short distance inland from the sea and is (was) a small town
almost totally
enclosed by an ancient stone wall that was some sort of protection in the
bad old days from the bad guys who used to land their boats nearby and rape,
pillage, and plunder. I'd estimate that it was an hour or so from the ferry
landing on the north side of the river to Biin (that was 30++ years ago when
the roads were not paved, you had to share the road with lots of people, and
I was driving some sort of old Jeep-the model before the M151)."
The town of Piin (Biin) is still a small country town located just east of the
Highway 21 intersection that leads to Chunchong-dae beach. Behind Piin (Biin)
are high hills where the TAC site was located. It is approximately 35km from
Kunsan and the drive is relatively easy now that the interchanges have bypassed
Sochon. The new West Coast highway (Seohan) has made reaching the area very easy. The beach at Chunchong-dae is quite popular in the spring and summer
months and has just been upgraded with roads and sewers.  Escort Seoul Map
(Click on Map to Enlarge)
Kunsan and Piin are in the top center. Notice that radio communications to the
Kunsan B Battery from the Piin Tac Site was "line of sight" across the water --
meaning that there were no land masses between the Piin site on a hilltop on
the coast and the B Battery site on a coastal hill at Kunsan to interfere with
communications. |
"Heading North from Biin, and taking the left fork in the road
immediately north of town, and staying as close to the ocean as possible,
you came to the D Btry Tac Site. Heading north from Biin and taking the
right fork in the road, thus heading somewhat north easterly for a while to
get over some mountains, you eventually reached Taechon where, if you turned
hard left, you would, in half an hour or so, reach Taechon Hae Soo YokJang
(spelling??) which is where Annual Service Practice for Nike and HAWK was
held; Sea Rangeeeee for short. There was a Nike Hercules battery, B Btry of
??? BN, overlooking Sea Range and they actually fired the Nike Missiles from
that site over the ocean to the West."
(NOTE: At Camp Echo Hill, Kenneth Wisz who was the Nike E/4/44 at Kimje in 1974 wrote, "On the map I'm
attaching you'll see b/4/44 which was b/2/44 when I was in Korea. It was known
as sea (special eighth army) range. That is where the annual service practices
were held every summer with live Nike and Hawk firings at drones flown over the
Yellow Sea at Daechon (Taechon) beach.")
Hayward added, "Continuing North from Taechon, and just south of Hong Song, was
Reno
Hill, the BN HQ for the 6th of the 44th (HAWK). Reno hill also hosted the
AADCAP and some sort of long-lines radio relay site (Unicorn Tac, I think)
on top of the mountain just to the West. C Btry, 6th of the 44th was
somewhere north by north west of Hong Song, on a hill overlooking the ocean.
A Btry, 6th of the 44th was on a hill just to the north of Osan AB."
He later wrote, "The admin area was on the east side of the main street of Piin
a little south of the police station which was on the west side of the street."
He continued, "Biin was the admin site for D Btry, 6/44 and was a few miles
south of the tac site. It was a straight shot south from Biin to Kunsan. The
tac site was to the north, but you had to leave the MSR and bear west. " He
went on, "The abbreviated HAWK DSU was placed at Biin after the ASP at Sea
Range in 1965. ... I lived in the BOQ there at Biin when I wasn't up to no good
in the 'vil'."
"The admin area in Piin is, as you have properly understood my information, the
billeting and admin area for D/6/44ADA. There was a BOQ, Enlisted Barracks,
Mess Hall, Motor Pool, Supply Room, Arms Room, a small PX, theatre, barber
shop, etc. I am fairly certain that the KATUSA's also had a barracks there
also. Depending on alert status the troops would spend varying amounts of time
on the tac site where there were bunks. Food was prepared in the admin area
mess hall and trucked to the tac site."
After the U.S. turned the HAWKS over to the ROK in the 1980s, Hayward said, "It
is my understanding that when the US gave the HAWK units to the ROK that the
Koreans simply moved into the admin area in Piin and might even still be
occupying the location."
Tactical site at Biin (D/6/44ADA): The Hawk acquisition radar unit was located at Biin just a little south of
Chunchung-dae (Chunchung Beach) about 30km from Kunsan.Hayward S. Melville wrote the Tactical Site located in Biin supported the actual HAWK site at
Kunsan, B/6/44ADA. This tac site would provide the target acquisition
information for the B Battery Fire Control Unit on the hill at Kunsan. He
wrote, "By tac site I mean Tactical Site and I am referring to the actual HAWK
Site for B/6/44ADA. This site was located to the north maybe 6 or 10 clicks.
Just north of Piin as it existed in those days was a fork in the road with the
main road bearing off to the right and the minor road being the left fork. By
minor, I mean MINOR; real country road that didn't go anywhere that I can
remember except to the tac site (it didn't end at the tac site, but I never
went any further. The left fork was not the road numbered route 21 on today's
maps, but veered to the west of route 21 just north of Piin. The tac site was
located on a hill at the tip of the little peninsula located to the north and
west of Piin. Route 21 is what I mistakenly called the MSR earlier; I don't
think it was ever a real MSR, but it was the main road from Piin to Taechon."
"So, the HAWK tac site that was D/6/44 and located somewhat NW of Piin was a
permanent site and was totally distinct and different from the HAWK Battery
that was established each year from September through November at Sea Range.
There was no permanent HAWK installation of any sort at Sea Range for the other
nine months of the year. However, since D/6/44 was the closest HAWK unit to Sea
Range, the Brigade made it the host battery on several occasions, but when this
happened the "real D/6/44 tac site" was essentially deactivated for the 3 month
duration of the Sea Range ASP. There was a permanent missile site, B Btry of
???? Bn, ??? Bde, located just to the east of the Sea Range firing location,
but it was a NIKE Hercules site manned by US Army troops."
(NOTE: At Camp Echo Hill, the battery is identified as b/4/44 -- which was formerly b/2/44)
Site 44 Hawk Hill (Aug 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
1965-1966: (B-6-44, Kunsan) William E. Dickert (Bill) wrote that he was a launcher platoon leader and was at B/6/44 from Aug 65 to Sep 66. He stated that he had quite a few photos of Kunsan AB and the Admin site. Bill wrote:
I have located my prints of both the B/6/44 site and Kunsan AFB. Both are old and faded but readable. I will try to get them reproduced in a PDF format that I can e-mail to you. Both are "D" (22" X 34") sized engineering drawings.
The Kunsan AFB print is titled "PACIFIC AIR FORCES, MASTER PLAN, BASIC LAYOUT PLAN, KUNSAN AIR BASE (K-8) KOREA" and has a latest revision date of 26 FEB 65. The scale is 1" = 400' so the details are quite small.
The print for B/6/44 is titled "DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, EIGHT UNITED STATES ARMY, KOREA, TAC 5 SITE 44 (515867), HUMPHREYS DISTRICT COMMAND, ENG - 75 (R-2), INVENTORY OF MILITARY REAL PROPERTY - ARMY. Here the latest revision is rev 5, dated JAN 1965.
Bill continued, for the record:
The Army constructed a 9 man BOQ that is designated T-395. This building was a straight sided Quonset hut (20' X 72') with an attached concrete block latrine facility (20' X 33'). T-395 was located on the Southeast corner of the intersection of Avenue "A" and West 9th Street. At that time, we had the honor of having the BOQ closest to the K-8 OOM ("O" Club), which was in building 387 at that time, making it easy for us to crawl home from one of the monthly "Hail and Farewell" dinners at the club. We were also located very close to the North end of Runway 17, so we got the full effect of alert force F-100 takeoffs when the wind was from the South.
Kunsan Hawk Billet Area (Aug 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
The Administrative area was in an area bounded by West 1st Street to the South, West 2nd Street to the North, Avenue A to the West and Avenue B to the East. The admin area consisted of buildings T-1267 and 1268 along with T 1620 through 1626. Again, all of the buildings with the exception of the latrine facility were built of straight sided Quonset huts. In 1965-66 they were all painted a very ugly split-pea soup green inside and out! Just south of our admin area was Apron 36, the ROKAF pad, which was loaded with F-86's.
T-1267 was the motor pool hooch for the motor pool crew and T-1268 was the maintenance shop consisting of a 2-bay garage plus storeroom and office. This area (shown as S-504) was enclosed by a chain link fence creating our motor pool hardstand, with the access gate opening onto West 2nd Avenue. T-1627 was 20' X 24'. T-1628 was 44' X 33'.
T-1620 contained the administrative offices, rec room, armory and quartermaster stores. It was a "T" shaped building, the main part measuring 20' X 96' with the "T" addition 2-' X 48'.
T-1621 and T-1622 were the "lower 4" hooches. These buildings were open bay platoon style buildings. Each building was 20' X 96'.
S-1623 was the community latrine. It was concrete block construction and measured 39' 4" by 29" 4"
T-1624 was the E-5 hooch and was the same size as 1621 and 1622.
T-1625 was the E-6 hooch and was 20' X 48'.
T-1626 was the Senior NCO hooch and was the same size as T-1625.
LATE ADDITION (2008): Due to the lack of space on the original Tripod site, we could not add the .pdf file to the site. However, after moving the contents to our site, we now have space and it is finally added. The .pdf file was courtesy of William E. Dickert. The .pdf file is the layout drawings for the Hawk site and the buildings on Kunsan AB -- and a must see for all that have served there.
- Tac5Site441.pdf -- DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, EIGHTH UNITED STATES ARMY, KOREA, TAC 5 SITE 44 (515867), HUMPHREYS DISTRICT COMMAND, ENG-75 (R-2), INVENTORY OF MILITARY REAL PROPERTY, Sheet 1 of 1, (Revision 5 - Jan 1965)
Kunsan AB Aerial View (Aug 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
Kunsan Main Gate (Aug 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
There is only one of these quonset huts remaining in the ROKAF area. It appears to be used for storage. The other quonsets (T-1620 - T-1626) were turned over to the ROKAF after the Army left. The quonsets unbelievably were still in use as ROKAF enlisted billeting until the mid-1990s. They were torn down to construct a modern two-story dormitory for the enlisted with a ROK Base Exchange (about the size of a shoppette) in 1995.
The BOQ was torn down long ago. The area is now a parking lot for the two-story officer billets along Avenue A. The officer's club had a fire in the 1990s and never reopened. Instead a collocated officer-NCO club (Loring Club) was constructed on the main base section along Avenue C. In 2001, the club was refurbished and reopened as the Golf Course clubhouse. The bar still exists that the officers crawl home from on occasion after some of the unit parties there.
William E. Dickert later wrote about the Changhang ferry and less than optimal vehicle driving conditions, "In 1965 the battery went to Sea Range in November. I drove one of the 2 M-151's we had (B-2?). Clutch linkage broke somewhere between the pedal and the clutch. I learned how to start it in neutral, warm it up, shut it off, put the tranny in first, and restart. Got really good at clutchless shifting. Got to ChangHang and there was that damn ferry! Somehow I drove it on without a clutch and did not run off into the water off the back. Backed off on the Kunsan side, again with no clutch. The AP's at the main gate had a fit when I rolled through in first with the old man saluting back."
Ferry to Changhang (Aug 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
"I recall the ferry as being a converted deck type cargo barge with an old, worn out Detroit diesel (slickied, no doubt, from the base), buried deep in the barge. Never did look down into the engine compartment because I was afraid to see how deep the water was. Most of the time the aft 2 or 3 feet was awash in smooth water. I remember the trip across against the tide taking upwards of 1 1/2 hours. Trying to find some photos of the barge from hell."
The Sea Range in Taechon is long gone. The ferry from Changhang still operates, but now there is no need for a car ferry. The ferry is strictly for passengers. Vehicular traffic use the Kumgang Estuary Dam Bridge which connects Kunsan to Changhang.
View to the north from the top of the site. (Sep 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
View to the west with Kunsan AFB in the distance (Sep 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
View to the southwest looking out over the Yellow Sea and the estuary to the south of the site. (Sep 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
View southeast from the hilltop over the salt pans. Note the mess tent in the lower left corner. This tent was replaced by a rebuilt slab-sided Quonset building (Sep 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
View looks west into a sunset. (Sep 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
Picture at Sea Range around Thanksgiving 1965. This is one of our birds at launch. (Dec 65) (Courtesy William E. Dickert)
Jim Hall of Cold Brook, NY wrote in Jan 2007, "B/6/44 July 65 to Aug 66 msl/lchr repair left as SP5 msl repair section chief. anyone remember one of the guards shooting into the msl repair building to get attention that the guard shack was on fire or when the 2 1/2 ton went over the hill and landed in the msl storage area."
1966 - 1967: (B-6-44, Kunsan) David Goff of Fayetteville, GA wrote in 2007, "Was a LT Down on the Coon Aug 66 to Jun 67, then at Reno Hill til Sept 67. Was Lt William Dickert's replacement. Hard to believe the changes there. Consider only paved rd was Hwy 1 down center of Korea and everything else was gravel held together by potholes, avg speed about 15 mph at best. Looking back is more fun than at the time."
1968-1969: (B-6-44, Kunsan) John Lashnits was the CO of B-6-44 from around February 1968 to June 1968 when he returned to Homestead. He wrote in May 2006, "I was with the 6th Bn 44th Artillery (HAWK) from July 1967 to August 1968. Initially I was Fire Control Platoon Leader at A-6-44, then moved to D-6-44 (we were host battery at Sea Range for a while that year), then to HQ-6-44 as Asst S3, then to B-6-44 as Battery Commander. So, my time at Bravo was roughly Feb. 1968 to August 1968. It was good duty, and we had an excellent group of guys making up the battery in those days. We were there for the Blue House Incident and arrival of the 4th TFW with Chuck Yeager and the F-4's. (See Pueblo Incident for Kunsan AB buildup.) Despite parts shortages and being under strength, with a lot of effort by all Bravo was able to start passing ORE's (Operational Readiness Exams) consistently. We had a 38th Brigade Command Inspection in July and earned an Excellent rating. We also had good relations with the AF types when I was there. We arranged for coordinated "runs" by the F-4's against our site and would regularly "lock them up" with our tracking radars. They loaned us a portable radio for communication with the flights. I had my Private Pilot's license at the time, and as I prepared to return to the US, the AF guys arranged for me to checkout in a G-suit and ride in the back seat on a practice mission up northeast of Seoul - it was one of the highlights of my tour in Korea. Lots of good memories (the bad ones fade faster, I know). Thanks for keeping this stuff "alive"."
Jim Cates of Lawson, MO wrote in Mar 2006, "I was at B/6/44 in 68-69 as C&A Section Chief. Winter was so cold, and the five gallon jerrycans that provided fuel for the barracks heaters always ran out during the night. We just tried to keep warm in our bunks hoping some brave soul would get up to refill the cans and restart the heater. It was a long cold trek from the barracks to the latrine and shower. Up on the hill the water tank would often go empty and we had to use that outhouse on the hillside. The cold winter wind blew in through the bottom opening and up through the hole, if you didn't make a tight seal with your butt, you could get wet. I remember we once did a one night bivouac, without mosquito netting, everyone’s face was swollen from mosquito bites we could hardly recognize each other. Many FTAs were spoken. How many games of spades did we play in the ready room? I have many more memories from Korea. I miss those good times and good friends, and my youth."
1969 - 1970: (D-6-44, Biin) Bill Dodds of Lebanon, TN added in Sep 2005, that he was at Biin from June 69 to July 70 with D-6-44, just N of Kunsan. "We had a daily mail run to Kunsan for our mail and supplies, it was a 4 hr round trip plus the ferry ride." The ferry is still there but no longer transports trucks -- they have the Kumgang Estuary Dam bridge now -- and its less than an hour drive to Biin.
1969 - 1970: (B-6-44, Kunsan)
Al Waschka was a 1Lt Platoon leader, D-6/44 in Biin from August 1970 - December 1970 and XO B-6/44 in Kunsan from December 1970 - August 1971. He wrote: "A few comments on chronology of the Hawk units on and around Kunsan. I
was assigned to D-6/44 as Service Platoon Leader in the summer of 1970.
I was at Biin for a few months and then was reassigned as Executive
Officer B-6/44 on Kunsan until August 1971. During the time I was there
the unit was definitely a part of the 6th Batallion, 44th Artillery,
which was a unit of the 38th Artillery Brigade. As you said, 6/44 was
headquartered at Reno Hill. 38th Bde Hq was at Osan. I can't shed any
light on the transition from 6/44 to 2/44, but it was definitely 6/44 in
the from August 1970 to August 1971 when I left."
Al continued, "Life at Biin was pretty primitive. I remember if I wanted something to
eat late I had to go to the back door of the NCO club and ask the cook.
No radio, no television, not a lot to do. I looked forward to an
occasional visit to Kunsan to the officer's club and BX. I
re-established the darkroom while I was there and started trying to set
up a ham radio station, but I went to B-6/44 before I got my radio from
home. When I moved to Kunsan it was like moving to the big city."
Hawk Site outside Kunsan AB. Note how the mountain is denuded of vegetation at the top. (1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
Hawk Site outside Kunsan AB. Note how the mountain is denuded of vegetation at the top. (Mar 1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
Hawk Site Entry Gate looking out over Yellow Sea. (Mar 1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
Barracks on Kunsan AB. The barracks in rear were new for USAF Permanent Party, while the Army got the quonsets. (Mar 1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
B-Battery Orderly Room on Kunsan AB. (1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
1969 - 1970: (B-6-44, Kunsan) Jim Cates of Lawson, MO wrote in the guestbook in March 2006, "I was at B/6/44 in 68-69 as C&A Section Chief. Winter was so cold, and the five gallon jerrycans that provided fuel for the barracks heaters always ran out during the night. We just tried to keep warm in our bunks hoping some brave soul would get up to refill the cans and restart the heater. It was a long cold trek from the barracks to the latrine and shower. Up on the hill the water tank would often go empty and we had to use that outhouse on the hillside. The cold winter wind blew in through the bottom opening and up through the hole, if you didn't make a tight seal with your butt, you could get wet. I remember we once did a one night bivouac, without mosquito netting, everyone’s face was swollen from mosquito bites we could hardly recognize each other. Many FTAs were spoken. How many games of spades did we play in the ready room? I have many more memories from Korea. I miss those good times and good friends, and my youth."
William P Caloia wrote in the guestbook of 94ADA (1999), "Also served in a HAWK unit at Kunsan
AB Korea B/2/44 ADA 1969-70." This would mean that by 1969, the original
designation of B Battery 6th Battalion 44th ADA had been changed to the B Battery 2nd Battalion 44th ADA. However, people such as Al Waschka contradict this stating that it was definitely "B/6/44" at least up until August 1971. Until otherwise notified, we hold this as the B/2/44 info is questionable.
Dave Hamrick wrote on Classmates.com, "I was part of a 150 man Army Unit on an Air Force base at Kunsan, Korea. We were with "B" Battery of the 44th Artillery, a Hawk Missile Unit; Air Defense. We would go to the tactical site everyday which was about a mile up on a mountain about 10 miles from the air base. Our purpose was to protect the Air Base and the fighter planes. We were known for having the highest shit house in Korea on that mountain and actually had an outhouse with the moon cut in the door. Poor duty for 13 months, but better than some places." He wrote on the Hawk Contact Page that he was a member of B/6/44 38th Brigade, "Was in Kunsan 9/69 to 9/70. Was radar mechanic on "rabbit ears" radar. Made many trips to the ville, had great fun on truck rides to the mountain, and loved guard duty on the hill. Played some golf on air base course, worked out at gym, did the craft shops airmen had, and loved to go to enlisted men's club and drink with buds" On 8/17/99, he wrote in the Fort Bliss Guestbook, "Just thought I would put some information on this site and see if any of my old buds look at it ever. Took basic Oct. '68, AIT in Hawk Missile 24Bravo MOS until July '69. Went to Korea in Aug. '69 to Oct.'70. Stationed on Air Force base in Kunsan for a year (small Army compound of about 160 men). Came back to Fort Bliss to instruct on radar (rabbit ears tracking radar, can't think what it was called). Got out Oct.'71 and moved back to Panhandle of Texas where I grew up. In Amarillo for last 28 years. If you were at any of these places at the times mentioned, send me an e-mail." Lots of things have changed. The NCO club was the old Building 1100 which was demolished in 2002, though the Gym is in the same location -- but replaced with a new structure in 2004. The golf course is still there and the crafts shops he mentions are now part of the Son Light Inn of the Base Chapel. The "ville" (A-town) was brand new then -- a GI bar row.
Quonset hut on Kunsan AB: On the sign: "Battery Commander Cpt George Kleix; XO 1Lt Jeffery Zemak; 1st Sgt Francis Rizzuto" (1969) (Ray Vivrette )
Former SP5 Charles R. [Bob] West wrote that he was at Kunsan but did a lot of traveling. "In country from 12/15/68 to 1/15/70. I was 23R20, "Mr. TDY", thanks to getting on 8th Army Pistol Team."
1972 - 1973: (B-1-44, Kunsan) In 1972, the designation was changed to B Battery 1st Battalion 44th ADA. The difference in designation between "B/2/44" and "B/1/44" was explained by
Ken Wisz saying that in 1972 all the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade's units
were redesignated. He stated, "As far as the Kunsan Hawk Btry designation goes,
my guess would be that it was b 2nd/44th in 1969/70 and later became b 1st/44th
after the redesignation of of the 38th ada bde battalions in 1972 when the
4th/44th became the 2nd/44 th." According to Global Security, it was "redesignated on 30 December 1965 as the 1st Battalion, 44th
Artillery, it reactivated on 1 March 1966 at Fort Bliss, TX. The 1st battalion,
was redesignated on 1 September 1971 as the 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense
Artillery. It inactivated on 30 June 1980 in Korea."
On Nike Hercules Ordnance Support Unit History 12th Ordnance Detachment and Other
Support Units, Doyle Piland wrote about the 1972 - 1973 period, "It appears that regardless of which unit
designations were changed to what, the mission of the 30th Ordnance Company,
Nike Platoon was the combined mission of the 12th Ord Det and the 226th Od Det.
The missions of the 16th Ord Det and the 30th Ord Det were then taken over by
what was the 4/44th ADA DSP when I was there. The 4/44th DSP supported six Nike
Hercules Batteries. The 30th Ord Co Nike Platoon was located at Camp Ames and
provided backup support to two ROK Army battalion DSPs and the 4/44th (2/44th)
DSP. It also provided support for the ASCOM Depot and the Special Ammunition
Storage Company at Camp Ames which was the depot storage for all Nike and Hawk
Missiles. The Nike Platoon had two HAWK technicians attached and some HAWK missile test
sets. These technicians did all the complete round checkout for hawk missiles
in storage."
 
(R) Plotting Board in Battery Control Central (BCC) (1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty); (L) TCC and Status Panel on wall in BCC (1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
Tactical Control Console (TCC) in Battery Control Central. This is where the Tactical Control Officer (TCO) worked (Mar 1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
"A" and "B" Section Control Consoles in BCC. Night Vision Red Lighting. (Mar 1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
"A" and "B" Section Control Consoles in BCC. Normal lighting. (Mar 1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
Remote BCC. (Mar 1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
Instrumentation. (Mar 1969) (D. Welch, Korea: Tour of Duty)
Steve Lemro of Morgantown, West Virginia wrote in June 2006, "Hawk radar repair-Man I was burnt out in 1972 but we did our jobs. We played hard and worked hard. I loved the site it brought back some fine memories. Kunsan was a beautiful place and the AFB was a pretty nice place to be on-golf course, bowling alley, movie theatre-Downtown was ok except you were playing with stuff that pennicillum was having a hard time curing."
1973-1974: (B-1-44, Kunsan) Hal Stansbury of Memphis, TN wrote in Mar 2005, "Wow..was s-1 at 1/44 reno hill 1973 then battery commander of Bravo Battery Kunsan 1973..we were rated highest combat ready unit of any Hawk Battery in 38Th brigade in 14 years in 1973 ... that's after putting half the unit in jail or out of service for massive quanity of dope smoking and an occasional assault ... what a year -- a transition between the draft and volunteer Army ... so how many of you guys still have enough live brain cells to remember 1973 ... I'll never forget the first sgt and I finding a dope garden on the missle site ... what a crew ... how we could get a missle ready light not to mention find the fire button still amazes me. You guys also led the Brigade in the V.D. rate that year ... 70% of you have to be Eunichs by now. You were a trip ... God Bless you all."
Michael Goshi wrote, "I served in B Battery 1st Battalion-44th ADA in 1973. The men in the
battery went to the hill on diesel trucks through the main gate on the paved
road. This was the same road out of the main gate that went to A town and
eventually Kunsan."NOTE: We wish to thank Michael Goshi for correcting the error on our part of misidentifying the hill's location. We at first thought it was situated it a half mile north of the base, but as Michael pointed out it was east of the base. Mahalo ... from this information we were able to find the location of the site -- though with a bit of difficulty. Michael continued, "
From this road, about a third of the way to A-town, we used
to take a right turn into a dirt road. There used to be some small stores at
the corner on the Kunsan AFB of the intersection. I have pictures of these
stores." This is the intersection in Okku village where the road continues straight
ahead to pass over the levee and on to Kunsan. He indicates turns right. This
road is now a paved two lane road. 
Intersection off road to Kunsan to TAC siteClick on Photo to Enlarge (Courtesy Michael Goshi)He continued, "We used to continue on the road for perhaps five minutes. The
road gradually turned slightly to the left before we got to the base of the
hill. There were only rice fields on both sides of the dirt road. There was
some small hills in the distance on the left side." 
Road to site after turn off from main roadClick on Photo to Enlarge (Courtesy Michael Goshi)If one turns left at the traffic circle and go straight for about a mile, you will see an irrigation sluice. Turn right to the fishing village of Oeeu-dong. The hills will be on your left. Michael's description fits the description of the hill that the present road runs into. From the distance one will see the hill with a ROK Army building on top. 
From Bottom of Hill
End of Dirt Road Prior to TurnClick on Photo to Enlarge (Courtesy Michael Goshi)He continued, "When we got to the base of the hill the road turned 90 degrees
to go up the hill. It was a typical three tiered missile site with a road that
spiraled to the top. Launchers in the bottom, buildings in the middle and
radars at the very top." Currently when you follow the road to Oeeu-dong village, you will see two small stores with a road between on your left. This road turns into a gravel road that will lead to the hilltop. The view below is just after you reach the gravel road to your left. 
View Back After Turn Off to Hill
Halfway up entry roadClick on Photo to Enlarge (Courtesy Michael Goshi)He went on, "The entire trip probably took no more that 15 to 20
minutes from our billets to the top of the hill. Five minutes from our quonset
hut barracks to the main gate, 5 minutes to get to the dirt road, 5 minutes to
the base of the hill and 3 to 5 to get to the top. It took longer during the
winter as we needed to have snow chains. I don't think that the distance from
our barracks on the base to the hill was not more than five to seven miles.
However, because we had to take a huge U to get there and because most of the
travel on dirt roads the trip took longer." 
Missile Launching Crew 1973
1973 Shot of SiteClick on Photo to Enlarge (Courtesy Michael Goshi)
"From the top of the missile site we looked over the rice fields into the mud
flats and Kunsan AFB on the right. The picture on page 14 from the helicopter
is a picture of the site as I remember in 1973." 
Generator Shed Toward Heli-pad | 
Hawk Missile Launcher | 
Intersection of Switchback Road | 
Kunsan Side of Middle Road.jpg | 
Missile Maintenance Area 1973 | 
Tac Site From Dirt Entry Road | 
Top of Radar Hill | 
Turn Off at Bottom | 
View From Top Toward Entry Road | 
View of Village Below |
Click on Photo to Enlarge (Courtesy Michael Goshi)
Hal Stansbury of Memphis, Tennessee wrote in Mar 2005, "Wow..was s-1 at 1/44 reno hill 1973 then battery commander of Bravo Battery Kunsan 1973..we were rated highest combat ready unit of any Hawk Battery in 38Th brigade in 14 years in 1973..thats after putting half the unit in jail or out of service for massive quanity of dope smoking and an occasional assault...what a year a transition between the draft and volunteer Army...so how many of you guys still have enough live brain cells to remember 1973...I'll never forget the first sgt and I finding a dope garden on the missle site...what a crew ..how we could get a missle ready light not to mention find the fire button still amazes me. You guys also led the Brigade in the V.D. rate that year..70% of you have to be Eunichs by now. You were a trip..God Bless you all!"
1974 - 1975: (B-1-44, Kunsan) Kenneth Wisz who was with the Nike unit at Kimje in 1974 wrote, "The Hawk site just outside
of Kunsan AB was B/1/44." He later wrote, "It was located on a hill just
outside of Kunsan AB but as to what direction I don't know. I only stopped
there via ch47 chopper on the shuttle run that landed at most of the 1/44 and
2/44 sites plus the main radar base at Mangil-san critic." It was very close
to Kunsan AB from H708 (b/144) as the flight was only 5 minutes. The chopper
would refuel at Kunsan and make the rest of its rounds.
Kirk Dongu wrote in 2004, "I served as a 31M20 from August 1974-September 1975 at A-1-44 ADA. Except for the battery, it was pretty much the same duty up there. Except, we always thought you guys were lucky, being in civilization at Kunsan AFB. We were over an hour via dirt roads to K6 (Camp Humpreys), which was our admin spt base, etc. I returned in Nov, 2001 from a 3 year hitch as a federal civilian employee with 1st Signal Bde in Seoul. While back, I managed to get down to Kunsan. Boy, has that changed, as has everything in Korea. Looking back, we were truly living on the edge of the regular world."
1977 - 1978: (B-1-44, Kunsan) One of the HAWK technicians mentioned above was Brian Kuehl. He was a 24L20 Improved Hawk launcher and mechanical systems mechanic who
worked in the Direct Support (DS) unit for the 1/44 ADA from April 77 to April
78. He wrote, "I was in the DS unit of 1/44 ADA from april 77 to April 78. Then
returned to the DS of 2/71st ADA hawk from 79 to 81. Worked at Sea Range in the
summers of 79 and 80. Helped provide range support to the ROK army when they
fired their first live rounds of improved hawk with 1/44 after we turned it
over to them. 1/44 battalion hq was at reno hill and the dsd was at camp
howard, close to Pyongtek. 2/71st was hq at Euijonbu (Camp Red Cloud) with the
DS unit at CampTobongson, about 5 miles away. 2/71st was the northern most unit
whose tac sites covered the dmz. Was pretty tense during the unrest after Pak
Chong Hi was killed in 1980 (I think 80)."
(NOTE: On October 26, 1979, Park Chung-Hee was assassinated by Kim Chae-gyu,
director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. Tension rose and the threat
of military aggression by North Korea became ominous as its troop movements
were widely reported. The 8th TFW went on a state of alert. Then on the night
of December 12, Major General Chun Doo-Hwan, Commander of the Defense Security
Command, ousted General Chong Sung-hwa. General Chun became the new strong man
in South Korea. The Kwangju Uprising -- about a 100km south -- from May 19-22,
1980 where some 200,000 citizens and students clashed with police and military
forces did not ease the tensions any either.)
Brian continued later, "...the hill's operation was just like that of the other
improved hawk firing batteries in Korea. One week a month each battery would be
in state 3 which is hot state. That meant that they would have radar operators
and fire control people on constant watch 24 hours a day. The bunkers would
have launcher crewmen in them and live birds would be on the launchers. State
three meant that if they were handed off a target from the air force
controllers they had three minutes to have a bird in the air. But a good
crewman could arm a launcher in less than a minute. Snap up the umbillicals and
set the safe switches to arm."
"The next battery had about ten minutes. They would be in the same state of
readiness but all but a couple of fire control operators could be sleeping in
the ready rooms, which were right by the equipment. The other two batteries
were down for maintenance and training."
"What that meant was for one week a month you were manning equipment and
jumping at every blip until you heard the IFF return, then another week you
could relax but you stayed on the hill and played cards and maintained and
watched the equipment. Then the two weeks in off state you lived down in the
admin area and partied most of the night."
"I was in a DSD. We were called when the battery level mechanics had a problem
they couldn't fix. The next level of maint were factory tech reps so we had the
serious jobs since Raytheon tech reps didn't get dirty or go out in bad
weather. Except for Pete and Rudy. Anybody in 38 Brigade during the mid to late
70's knew them. They were really sharp and worked hard. Some of the others
weren't quite so motivated."
"The only real difference between b 1/44 and the other batteries was that bravo
was the most fun to do a site call since they had the best ville to visit after
work or the sea breeze club on base."
"Also many of the Air Force pilots like to play buzz the tac site when we were
up working on the radars. But we paid them back when they returned from their
joyrides and we brought a high power illuminator lock radar up out of dummy
load into full radiate and watch then scramble and break formation when all
their threat lights came on as they crossed the mountain top on the return
trip. Received a few "talking tos" about that but the battery commander knew
the jet jockeys were always harrassing us and had it coming. It was all in fun.
During those years Korea was about the only place where Hawk missile people
really had a serious mission that wasn't all training and mock simulations."
Hayward S. Melville wrote, "I think you have the site positioned correctly as I remember that
looking at Kunsan AB from the B Btry tac site had the ocean on our right. ...
It seems to me that we had to go north of the tac site, then east, and then
south again to get to the site. And, yes, we did have fun with the AF by
tracking them with our radars. Even more fun was to have the launchers with
missiles (unarmed, of course) under direction of the tracking radars so the
missiles would be pointing directly at the aircraft as they overflew the site.
We were eventually directed not to do this by some nervous AF General who
couldn't believe that anyone in the Army was smart enough to play such a prank.
I guess they thought we would shoot them down by mistake. In reality, in those
days, the readiness posture of HAWK was so poor that if any missiles ever left
the launcher they probably fell off (it did happen)!" 
B Battery Yearbook: 1978Click on Photo to Enlarge (Courtesy Karl Hamner)Karl Hamner wrote, "I was stationed at Kunsan AB with B Battery 1st BN 44th ADA (Improved
HAWK) from May 1977 to May 1978. The Battery Commander was Captain Delosantos.
My MOS was 24C10 "Improved Hawk Firing Section Mechanic". I worked on the AN
MPQ/46 high power radar illuminator, zero length launcher, launcher loader, and
J-Box. The I-Hawk missile was a certified round so there was very little
maintenance required. You sent it back if it didn't work." 
Improved-Hawk Missile Launcher 1977 | 
I-Hawk TAC Site 1977 |
Click on Photo to Enlarge
(Courtesy Karl Hamner)Karl continued, "The TAC site was located outside the base southeast of the
airfield - we called it "The Rock". You could see the perimeter lights from
Kunsan AB at night - it was the highest hill around. We went to work every day
in the back of an open duce and a half truck - even in winter. From the TAC
site you could see the entire airbase and yellow sea. At low tide the harbor
south of the field would go dry except for narrow channels and Koreans would
harvest sea food from the mud flats. There were also salt flats - the Koreans
would flood them with sea water and collect the salt when the water evaporated."
Karl went on, "The ROK Army had 20mm Vulcan guns on the south end of the field
overlooking the yellow sea. The ROK Air Force was still flying F-86 Saber jets
- I have some pix of these too. During Operation "Team Spirit" we mobilized our
battery and set up a firing section at the south end of the runway. ROK
Army soldiers illuminated fishing boats going in and out of the harbor with
powerful spotlights. I slept on the ground under my radar. The loud noise of
the heat exchanger kept me up all night."
Enlisted Billeting on Kunsan AB: Officers would have been in the BOQ area on the north end of the base. Al Waschka a 1Lt Platoon Leader with B-6/44 from December 1970 - August 1971 wrote, "The BOQ was initially a quonset hut between the Officer's club and the runway. Soon after I arrived we took possession of a new concrete block building across the street. There were four or five rooms and a latrine in that building. The Battery Commander and a couple other officers stayed in the old building. I was lucky to get into the new building. While I was there I set up a ham radio station in my room with a wire antenna on the roof. I was regularly able to talk all over eastern asia, and occasionally got openings to the western US, but never back to the east coast." The quonset hut that Al mentioned remained in the same location, unoccupied and used for the O-club storage until the mid-1990s when it was torn down. The "new building" we are not sure of as there is no longer any structure like that in the area. In the 1980s, two story concrete structures were erected for the junior officers.
Al Waschka went on, "I recognized the pictures of the quonset huts. B-6/44 had two quonset
huts (I think the ones pictured). The one on the left was the battery headquarters with offices, arms room and supply room. The one on the right was enlisted barracks."
There were two areas for Army enlisted personnel on Kunsan AB. One was on the south
side of the base across the taxiway. The second was on the south side of the
main base near the 2-story prefab barracks. This second area was the
Hawk unit compound. 
Morning Manning Truck | 
View toward Orderly Room | 
Army Billets in Winter 1973 | 
Billets facing Hanger side |
Click on Photos to Enlarge
(Courtesy Michael Goshi)To get to these enlisted billets, the personnel would have to drive from the
main gate directly past Avenue "C" (running north-south through the base) until
Avenue "B" -- which crossed the taxiway to the south side of the base. They
would turn left on Avenue "B" and go about one block until they hit the ROKAF
area. The billets were on the right.
Karl Hamner was at Kunsan between 1977-1978 and added, "I was looking at the ROK Air Force
history in your web site and found a nice
picture of those crappy barracks where B/1/44 was housed in 1977. I remember
this very clearly as the ROK flight line was right next door as the attached
photo shows. Also, I ordered Ramen noodles from the Bulgogi House all the time.
It was right behind our barracks. My house man would bring it to my room. Never
had any problems and I'm sure the Koreans appreciated the business." Karl
added as a footnote to the photo, "PS - My room is the second barracks on the
right first room on the left."
These barracks would revert to the ROKAF later. The ROKAF section of this site
states, "The enlisted men lived in Nissen quonset huts near the flightline
area. (NOTE: This quonset hut remained in use until the mid-1990s when a new
modern barracks was built.) There was a small "restaurant" for the ROKAF in the
area called the "Bulgogi House" that was off-limits to USAF personnel. Though
all facilities on base were inspected by the Veterinary Services, the
vegetables used were from the local economy and fertilized with human "night
soil." Thus any food prepared for the Koreans was considered unfit for American
consumption."  The use of these barracks by the Army was be corroborated by Rex A. Clough, formerly of the 51st AMS PMEL, who wrote, "The Army tenant units were
billeted in the south end of the base across from the DCM complex. They were
housed in old quonset huts with a central latrine. ... The army also had quonset huts beside the Airforce Enlisted Barracks (Pre-fab 2
story with central latrine). I can't remember the exact location of these barracks (it has been 28 years),
but I do remember that the Army did complain that the Air Force really had it
easy."
Karl Hamner added, "I also have some pix of the Army barracks complex. They were miserable
tin and 2x4
construction with concrete floors and crude plywood partitions much like a
cubicle with (2) men per room. You could stand on your tip toes and look into
your neighbors room. There was one central kerosene heater per
barracks and NO air conditioning. In the winter many soldiers were too lazy to
walk to the latrine at night so they would crack the door and urinate in the
snow. The smell was awful when summer arrived. We slept in our
sleeping bags during winter - the barracks was always very cold. I found snow
on the floor one morning that had blown in through a crack in the wall." 
Hamner and Johnny
Click on Photo to Enlarge
(Courtesy Karl Hamner)Karl added that they had a houseman named "Johnny" who spoke English well and was highly opinionated. He also added that everyone adored him. 
CH-47 Downing
Click on Photo to Enlarge
(Courtesy Karl Hamner)Karl went on, "While I was at Kunsan, North Korea shot down a CH-47 over the
DMZ - there was a big stink about it and we went on alert. I have the original
article published in the Korean Herald. Also, an Airmen from the 8th TFW
murdered two prostitutes in A-Town, was tried by Korean authorities, and sent
to Suwan Prison for life." 
Life Imprisonment for Murder
Click on Photo to Enlarge
(Courtesy Karl Hamner)He added, "We were pretty tight with many guys from the 554th Red Horse
Squadron and we partied with them in the villages at night. They worked hard
and we did too. They seemed to understand us. They were the only Air Force unit
on the base that welcomed us. All other Air Force guys we called "Wing Nuts".
We loved it - - they hated us."
The billets were shared with other Army units stationed at Kunsan. Geary Sims of Co C USASTRATCOM Long Lines Battalion South in 1971 said, "There was
another Army unit there, a Hawk missile battalion. Have forgotten the unit with
the passage of years. Our Quonset Hut was in their compound and we shared the
latrine facilities."
Other Army barracks were located on the south end of the base. To get there
you would have proceeded down Avenue B past the ROKAF flightline buildings and
cross the taxiway. They would proceed down the road past the POL Dump to the
left and down into the "Charlie Pad" area. At the Base Ops, they would turn
right to pull up to their billets. To gain access from the main road one would
have to cross a little bridge that spanned the drainage ditch. The base shuttle
would travel past the billets on an hourly schedule. 
Hamner and Katusa | 
Hamner on Base | 
ROK Army March 1977 | 
ROKAF Flightline 1977 | |
Click on Photo to Enlarge
(Courtesy Karl Hamner)The billets were old quonset huts that were heated in winter by kerosene
heaters. They were the same tin and 2x4 construction with concrete floors as
the other area. There was a separated latrine that was connected with a
concrete path. Going to the latrine in winter would have been a brutal
experience. The messing facility was the "Charlie Pad" Dining Hall located
near Base Operations. This billeting area for the Army would remain in use
through the 1990s -- still with those substandard quonset huts that were not
air-conditioned in summer and still heated with an oil heater in winter. 
SP4 Vernon Belford of b/1/44 wins Soldier of the Quarter (1975) (SITE NOTE: Vernon Belford of Virginia Beach, Virginia wrote in May 2007, "Hello to any & everyone, who visits this site! WOW, what memories! I am the person pictured as "Soldier of the Quarter", & my 8 year old daughter found this site, by "googling" my name! I'd forgotten all about the 2/44 ADA, but I can tell you I had a blast while I was there from 12/74-12/76. And here's the kicker, I was alcohol & drug control NCO, due to my award, & I was doing more drugs than anyone @ Kunsan! I guess if you apply yourself, you'll get recognized & promoted!")
Besides the use of common recreational resources and hobby shops, the Army kept
to their own. As was previously mentioned, the Army personnel referred to the
USAF as "Wing Nuts" and normally did not associate with the USAF personnel on a
social level.
Unit activities such as sports competition were not integrated into the base.
All competitions, such as Soldier of the Quarter (above) were within the 38th
ADA Brigade structure and all guidance flowed from Reno Hill (Headquarters).
However, certainly there were soldiers like SP4 Belford who took advantage of
the educational programs at Kunsan. SP4 Belford attended LA City College
courses. However, on the whole, there was very little interaction that took
place between the USAF and Army.
History: U.S. Army Lineage stated, "1st BATTALION, 44th AIR DEFENSE ARTILLERY. ... Redesignated 30
December 1965 as the 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery. Activated 1 March 1966 at
Fort Bliss, Texas."
Prior to coming to Korea, the B/1/44 ADA was a "Duster" unit in Vietnam
Raymond Dudek wrote, "In 1970, 71, served with Alpha and Delta Btrys in viet-nam. One of them was in Phu-Bai around Hue and the other was in Dong-Ha. I believe all the duster units of 1/44th ADA were turned over to Marvin the Arvin in 71. A Duster isn't a quad 50, it was twin 40mm bofors guns, 240 rds per minute of HE. Chuck really hated them and the quad 50s which were on trucks. In 71, I went to school at redstone for CW Radar repair. In 73, I was stationed at Camp Howard in the DSP 1/44. All hawk units at that time were 1/44th. In fact, I was their at Camp Howard 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78." The duster was a M-42A1 self-propelled 40mm anti-aircraft gun system. The main armament consisted of twin 40 mm cannon mounted in an open-topped turret. These have hydraulic elevation from -3 degrees to +85 degrees, and traverse through a full 360 degrees. (See ADA Units in Vietnam for details.) (NOTE:
"Dust off" in Vietnam slang was to clear an area meaning to obliterate the
enemy from the area. Concentrated "duster" fire would cut down trees and
anything in its line of fire.)
"The 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery, with attached Battery G, 65th Artillery (M-55), and Battery G, 29th Artillery (Searchlight), supported the 3rd Marine Division in northern I Corps area. Based at Dong Ha and Da Nang, 1/44 operated from Phu Bai in the south to Con Thien in the north and Khe Sanh in the west." "Each of the Air Defense battalions had over a thousand men, but the units never fought as batteries, much less as battalions. Demands for fire support far outstripped availability of weapons, and individual fire units were quickly scattered throughout the battalions' areas of responsibility. Each Duster battery had two firing platoons, both of which could be employed independently, as could the six firing sections of each machine-gun battery. As a result, the war fought by the Air Defense gunners in Vietnam was overwhelmingly a sergeant's war, as detached platoons and firing sections found themselves under the operations control of other types of units. Normal missions for the automatic weapons included convoy security, perimeter defense, and fire support for maneuver operations."
The 1/44 ADA was in support of the 3rd Marine Division, I Corps area and was in some of the bloodiest fighting in the Khe Sahn siege.
When the unit was first assigned to Korea it was B Battery 6th Battalion 44th ADA. Hayward Melvilled stated, "All I know is that it deployed from Fort Bliss in about 1964 as the 6th of the 44th. There were four HAWK battalions deployed to Korea and the 6th of the 44th was the fourth and final. The first Bn
deployed to the DMZ in the last quarter of 1960..."
We at first thought the HAWK unit at Kunsan was part of the 1st Battalion/2nd
ADA. However, Kenneth Wisz wrote, "I found some info that states that b/1/2 was located at somewhere called Shihung. Beside the Nike units of the 2nd/44th and the HAWKs of the 1st/44th there were also HAWK units of the 1st/2nd and 2nd /71st. I have no
idea where those batteries were located."
It would be reasonable to assign a Hawk unit to protect Kunsan Airbase with the on-going live nuclear commitment of the base under the 39th Air Division (1960-1964), Deployed F-100 units (1964-1968), Det 1 475th TFW (1968-1971), 3rd
TFW (1971-1974) and 8th TFW (1974-1992) at the base, along with airfield defense of the 8th Fighter Wing, would be sufficient reason to retain the unit in place.
The 1/44 ADA (Hawk) was deactivated at Reno Hill, South Korea (Battalion HQ) in June 1980. The Hawks at Kunsan appear to have been turned over to the ROK Army who took over command of the hill in 1980. (NOTE: The hill just north of the base is still in use by a ROK Army AAA battery. The ROK Army also controls a
supply depot area that is adjacent to the hill area.)
The 1/44 ADA was reactivated as a Vulcan/Stinger unit under the 9th ID. The Stinger is the short-range air defense (SHORAD) missile for use in brigade, division and corps areas against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles,
low-flying fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The Vulcan is a multi-barrel
20mm cannon with a rapid rate of fire that replaced the Quad-50s as the
standard rapid-fire weapon.
In 2000, units of the 1-44 Air Defense Artillery (ADA) (4th Infantry Division) were equipped with Avengers. Fielding of the Avenger "A2" Slew-To-Cue (STC)
upgrade kits began at the end of FY 2000. The new air defense system upgrade
represents a significant step forward in the Avenger's digitization and will
greatly enhance system effectiveness by reducing engagement time against
hostile aircraft. The new STC upgrade will fully automate this process, causing
the turret to be slewed automatically in azimuth and elevation to the target.
At the end of the slew, the target will be in the gunner's sight, speeding the
engagement process.
The lineal descendant would be the 1st Btn, 44th ADA is at Fort Hood, Texas. The following history of the 44th ADA excerpted from 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment Shield Gules, a blend double cottised potente counterpotente, or. Crest On a wreath of the colors, or and gules, a double quatrefoil or charged with a chameleon displayed paleways barry of four gules and vert.
Motto Per Ardua (Through Difficulties).
Symbolism The shield is red for artillery with a gold blend cottised potente
counterpotente alluding to the arms of Lorraine and Champagne. The elements of
this regiment changed several times between 1917 and 1918, and the variegated
chameleon alludes to this fact. the double quatrefoil with the chameleon is an
anagram of the figure "44."
Distinctive Insignia The distinctive insignia is the shield, crest and motto of the coat of arms.
Lineage and Honors
Organized 26 March 1918 in the Regular Army from existing units in France as
the Howitzer Regiment, 30th Brigade, Coast Artillery Corps. Redesignated 7
August 1918 as the 44th Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps). Inactivated 31
August 1921 at Camp Jackson, South Carolina. Redesignated 1 July 1924 as the
44th Coast Artillery. Redesignated 13 January 1941 as the 54th Coast Artillery.
Activated 10 February 1941 at Camp Wallace, Texas. Regiment broken up 28
February - 5 June 1944 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as
follows: Headquarters and Headquarters Battery on 5 June 1944 as Headquarters
and Headquarters Battery, 152nd Coast Artillery Group. 1st Battalion on 5 June
1944 as the 606th Coast Artillery Battalion. 2nd Battalion on 28 February 1944
as the 49th Coast Artillery Battalion. 3rd Battalion on 5 June 1944 as the
607th Coast Artillery Battalion.
After 5 June 1944 the above units underwent changes as follows:Headquarters
and Headquarters Battery, 152nd Coast Artillery Group, disbanded 3 August 1944
at Camp Livingston, Louisiana Reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army as
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 54th Field Artillery Group. Activated 17
January 1955 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Redesignated 21 June 1958 as
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 54th Artillery Group. Inactivated 7
November 1969 in Vietnam.
606th Coast Artillery Battalion disbanded 3 August 1944 at Camp Livingston,
Louisiana. Reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army; concurrently
consolidated with the 54th Armored Field Artillery Battalion (active) (see
Annex 1) and consolidated unit designated as the 54th Armored Field Artillery
Battalion, an element of the 3rd Armored Division.
Inactivated 1 October 1957 in Germany and relieved from assignment to the 3rd
Armored Division 49th Coast Artillery Battalion inactivated 20 January 1946 in
the Philippine Islands. Consolidated 28 June 1950 with the 49th Field Artillery
Battalion (active) (see Annex 2) and consolidated unit designated as the 49th
Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 7th Infantry Division. Inactivated
1 July 1957 in Korea and relieved from assignment to the 7th Infantry Division.
607th Coast Artillery Battalion disbanded 31 July 1944 at Camp Rucker, Alabama.
Reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with
the 44th Field Artillery Battalion (active) (see Annex 3) and consolidated unit
designated as the 44th Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 4th
Infantry Division.
Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 54th Artillery Group; 54th Armored Field
Artillery Battalion; and the 49th and 44th Field Artillery Battalions
consolidated, reorganized, and redesignated 7 November 1969 as the 44th
Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System.
Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 44th Air Defense Artillery. Withdrawn 16
March 1988 from the Combat Arms Regimental System and reorganized under the
United States Army Regimental System with Headquarters at Fort Lewis,
Washington.
Annex 1
Constituted 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army as the 54th Field Artillery.
Redesignated 13 January 1941 as the 54th Field Artillery Battalion and assigned
to the 3rd Armored Division. Activated 15 April 1941 at Camp Beauregard,
Louisiana. Reorganized and redesignated 1 January 1942 as the 54th Field
Artillery Battalion. Inactivated 10 November 1945 in Germany. Activated 15 July
1947 at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Annex 2
Constituted 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army as the 49th Field Artillery.
Redesignated 1 June 1941 as the 49th Field Artillery Battalion, assigned to the
7th Division (later redesignated as the 7th Infantry Division), and activated
at Fort Ord, California. Inactivated 20 July 1947 in Korea. Activated 20 March
1949 in Japan.
Annex 3
Constituted 1 October 1933 in the Regular Army as the 2nd Battalion, 47th
Field Artillery. Activated 1 June 1941 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Reorganized and redesignated 17 December 1941 as the 44th Field Artillery
Battalion and assigned to the 4th Motorized Division (later redesignated as the
4th Infantry Division). Inactivated 18 February 1946 at Camp Butner, North
Carolina. Activated 15 July 1947 at Fort Ord, California.
Campaign Participation Credit
World War I
Champagne-Marne St. Mihiel Lorraine 1918 Alsace 1918 Champagne 1918
World War II
Normandy (with arrowhead) Northern France Rhineland Ardennes-Alsace Central
Europe
Aleutian Islands (with arrowhead) Northern Solomons Eastern Mandates Leyte
Ryukyus
Korean War
UN Defensive UN Offensive CCF Intervention First UN Counteroffensive CCF Spring
Offensive UN Summer-Fall Offensive Second Korean Winter Korea, Summer-Fall 1952
Third Korean Winter Korea, Summer 1953
Vietnam
Counteroffensive, Phase II Counteroffensive, Phase III Tet Counteroffensive
Counteroffensive, Phase IV Counteroffensive, Phase V Counteroffensive, Phase VI
Tet 69/Counteroffensive Summer-Fall 1969 Winter-Spring 1970 Sanctuary
Counteroffensive
Counteroffensive, Phase VII Consolidation I Consolidation II
Southwest Asia
Defense of Saudi Arabia
Liberation and Defense of Kuwait
Decorations
Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered BEACHES OF NORMANDY
Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered ST. LO Presidential
Unit Citation (Navy), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1966-1967
Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered QUANG TRI-THUA THIEN
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1966-1967
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1968-1969
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Streamer embroidered KOREA 1978-1980
Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First Class, Streamer
embroidered VIETNAM 1966-1969
44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment Colors are held by the 1st Bn, 44th ADA.
COL (Ret) John M. House, Honorary Colonel, 9507
TBD, Honorary Warrant Officer
CSM (Ret) Robert W. Harman, Honorary Sergeant Major, 9806
HAWK Missile: The Basic HAWK was developed in the 1950s and initially fielded in 1960. The
system was first upgraded as the Improved HAWK in 1970. In Aug 75, the initial
conversion of a Basic HAWK battalion in Korea to the Improved HAWK
configuration involved two batteries.
Upgraded many times since then, the Hawk is still in use today. The HAWK is a
medium range, surface-to-air guided missile that provides air defense coverage
against low-to-medium-altitude aircraft. It is a mobile, all-weather day and
night system. The missile is highly lethal, reliable, and effective against
electronic countermeasures. 
HAWK Missile launchThe Hawk was originally named for the predatory bird but later the name was
turned into an acronym for "Homing All the Way Killer." The HAWK system has
provided US forces with low to medium altitude air defense for the past forty
years. The Hawk System has been the Marine Corp's primary air defense since the
early 1960's. Basic HAWK was developed in the 1950s and initially fielded in
1960. The system has been upgraded through a series of product improvements
beginning with the Improved HAWK in 1970.
Current Hawk Deployment: The Phase III product improvement and the latest missile modification were
first fielded in the early 1990s to the US Army and US Marine Corps (USMC). The
system has maintained it's effectiveness against succeeding generations of high
technology aircraft through periodic preplanned product improvement programs.
An evolving system, HAWK is now in its Phase III configuration with research
and development underway to obtain a tactical missile defense capability.
This success lead many NATO countries to adopt HAWK as a primary air defense
weapon. Today, HAWK systems are in the arsenals of over fifteen countries,
including most of NATO countries. In the coming years, HAWK will continue its
prominent position by undergoing system upgrades to allow it to deal with the
changing nature of the battlefield threat.
Although HAWK missile batteries were deployed by the U.S. Army during the
conflicts in Vietnam and Persian Gulf, American troops have never fired this
weapon in combat. The first combat use of HAWK occurred in 1967 when Israel
successfully fired the missiles during the Six Day War with Egypt. Even though
it was not used by the coalition during Operation Desert Storm, the HAWK
missile did see action during the Persian Gulf War. Kuwaiti air defense units
equipped with U.S. HAWK antiaircraft missiles downed about 22 Iraqi aircraft
and one combat helicopter during the invasion of 2 August 1990.
Current developments will provide an engagement capability against Tactical
Ballistic Missiles (TBM). The US Marine Corps and the Ballistic Missile Defense
Organization (BMDO) have jointly funded improvements to the Marine Corp's HAWK
system. The HAWK has been modified and tested to intercept short-range
ballistic missiles. Because HAWK is a well established system, the current
program of upgrades and enhancements is seen as a low risk, near-term missile
defense solution against short-range ballistic missiles and other airborne
threats such as aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles. In this role, HAWK can be
considered a lower-tier missile defense system. All US HAWK systems are owned
and operated by the Marine Corps and, as the Marine's only ballistic missile
defense system, it will be relied on to protect Marine expeditionary forces. In
September 1994, two LANCE target missiles were successfully intercepted by the
modified HAWK system in an operational test by Fleet Marine Forces at White
Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. By the end of 1997 over one third of the
active Marine Corps HAWK equipment has been modified to provide a basic,
short-range tactical ballistic missile defense (TBMD) for expeditionary Marine
forces. The entire fleet inventory was modified by the end of 1998 year.
Units with HAWK missiles are teamed with acquisition radar, a command post, a
tracking radar, an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, and three to four
launchers with three missiles each. The system can be divided into three
sections: acquisition, fire control, and firing sections. Target detection is
provided to the fire control section from pulse and continuous wave radars for
engagement evaluation. Target data can also be received from remote sensors via
data link. The fire control section locks onto the target with high-powered
tracking radar. A missile or missiles can be launched manually or in an
automatic mode from the firing section by the fire control section. Radars and
missile have extensive electronic counter counter measures (ECCM) capabilities.
The HAWK Fire Unit is the basic element of the HAWK system.. The actual firing
battery has two identical fire units, each consisting of a command post that
houses the operator console, a continuous wave acquisition radar (CWAR) for
target surveillance, a high power illuminator for target tracking, MK XII IFF
interrogator set, and three launchers with three missiles each. Normally the
HAWK is deployed in a battalion configuration, communicating with the
controlling unit (usually a TSQ-73 Missile Minder) over an Army Tactical Data
Link (ATDL-1) connection as well as on voice.
The TSQ-73 Missile Minder Fire Direction Center (FDC) is the system used for
the Army HAWK Battalion and Air Defense Brigade. The TSQ-73 supplies command,
control and communications for the Army fire units (both Patriot and HAWK) and
provides a link to the Air Force C3I units (MCE and AWACS). The Brigade and
HAWK battalion units rely on information passed over the data links to produce
a comprehensive air picture, while the HAWK battalion can also deploy the Pulse
Acquisition Radar (PAR) to generate its own air picture. With the command and
control of Army fire units being moved to the Information Coordination Center
(ICC) and Army ADTOC (Air Defense Tactical Operations Center), the TSQ-73 is
gradually being phased out over the next several years. However, it still plays
a vital role in the coordination of SAM assets into the integrated theater air
defense environment. Technical Specifications
Contractor Raytheon
Mission surface-to-air missile defense
Length 12.5 feet (3.81 meters)
Diameter 13.5 inches (3.84 centimeters)
Weight 1400 pounds (635 kilograms)
Range Officially: 14.9 miles (24 kilometers) 40 km, in excess of 20 NM
Speed Officially: Supersonic 800 m/sec, in excess of mach 2.4
Altitude Officially: 30,000 feet (9.14 kilometers) in excess of 60 KFT
Propulsion Solid propellant rocket motor
Guidance system Radar directed semi-active homing
Warheads One 300 pound (136.2 kg) high explosive missile
Type of fire Operator directed/automatic modes
Magazine capacity 48 missiles/battery
Missile guidance Semi-active homing
Target detection Continuous wave radar and pulse acquisition radars
Target tracking High power illuminating continuous wave radar and passive
optical
Rate of fire 1 missile every 3 seconds
Sensors High power continuous wave radar (HIPIR) Continuous wave acquisition
radar (CWAR) Pulse Acquisition Radar (PAR) and passive optical scan
Crew Officer: 2 Enlisted: 49
First capability Air Defense - 1962 Missile Defense -
Quantity total inventory is 37,000 missiles
The following photos are from the FAS: Hawk Missile Gallery. 
Hawk Radar Antenna | 
Hawk Radar Antenna |
Hawk Missiles | 
Hawk Missiles
| Miguel A. Hernandez SFC, US ARMY (RET), wrote in 2005, "I am the one standing under the missile facing to the left and my backside facing foward(the short one) second man from left to right. I am talking to the crew chief, the crew chief has his hand on the launcher console, and one hand on his hip. this picture was probably taking in 1980-81 at fort bliss TX hawk park. at the time i was just a new guy in the unit (1/7ada, 11 brigade), I remember the guy in the back of the launcher, use to be an E-7 in Korea, but got court martial and reduced in rank to E-3. i don't remember the names of the others but just the faces. To find this picture is like finding my old friend, memories, and hope that one day I may get to find some of them...thanks for the memories." |
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Links:
Hill 468 -- Life on Hill 468, a Hawk site above Camp Red Cloud.
FAS: Special Weapons: HAWK
Raytheon
U.S. Army Nike unit at Kimje (Camp Echo Hill): This unit's history was first created as a subsection in the "Kunsan AB: How It Was..." site, but it soon become apparent that this unit was a separate entity with no
ties to Kunsan AB except that it was supported by the Kunsan (K-8) for food and
medical supplies. Therefore, a separate site was created for this unit which
will be linked to from the Kunsan AB site. The site URL is
http://kalaniosullivan.com/NikeKimje.tripod.com/Howitwasnike.html. Kenneth Wisz wrote, "E/2/44 (E battery/2nd Battalion/44th Air Defense Artillery) was the
southernmost of the US Army's 6 Nike sites strung out along the west coast of
Korea. We were under the operational control of the Air Force HQ at Osan AB."
Thus the unit was not formerly in the Kunsan AB organizational chain but only
relied on it for supplies. He wrote, "We were the only Nike battery that got
most of our logistical support from Kunsan -- food, medical, px , pojee, etc.
The others got theirs from Camp Humphreys up at Pyongtaek."
Kenneth wrote a little about the unit history, "e/2/44 was originally e/4/44
and arrived in Korea on Feb 26, 1961. It got it's "special weapons capability"
(nukes) in April 1962. The basic Nike system was exchange for the improved
system in June 1967. On Sept 13, 1972 e/4/44 was redesignated e/2/44. I believe
it was turned over to the ROK Army in 1976." Actually, it was turned over to
the ROK Army in April 1977.
38th Brigade Patch: Gauntlet of Power
According to Kenneth Wisz, "it was better known as 'the fist of shit'."
Nike Hercules MissileHe continued, "We had 2 sections of conventional h.e. (high explosive) warheads
and 1 with the big boomers. (NOTE: "Big boomers" refers to nuclear warheads on
the Nike Hercules.) We shipped the big boomers out in early 1975 as we were
preparing to turn the sites over to the ROK army in 1976."
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 U.S. Army,
or Mickey Mouse. All links are publicly accessible through the world-wide web. If there is any discrepancy between eye-witness accounts and OFFICIAL DOD records, this site opts to lend credence
to the eye-witness views.
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