CCK: The Largest U.S. Military Base in Taiwan During the Vietnam War – S5-E27
With sprawling 1,750-acre grounds and a record-setting 12,000-foot runway, CCK stood as America’s most significant Taiwan base during the Vietnam War. At times hosting as many as 8,000 U.S. troops, CCK was a vital airpower logistics hub. From its prime spot near Taichung, CCK orchestrated major Southeast Asian airlift missions, including iconic long-range C‑130 flights.
In this week’s episode, we focus on two “inside story” books, the best of which is Made in Taiwan: A Naïve American’s Chaotic Journey to Manhood in an Exotic Culture During Radical Times – by TC Brown, a former U.S. Air Force police officer. Brown’s book is full of stories about the gritty realities connected to Taiwan’s forgotten Vietnam War-era American stronghold: from falling in love with bargirls to racial tensions and marijuana smuggling. And, we’re happy to say the author will be chatting with us next week.
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Cover: The CCK Air Base in Taichung is seen in the background (via Wiki Commons) with silhouettes of various "vices" overlaid.
Below: The cover of one of two books discussed in this episode. Runway Visions: An American C-130 Pilot's Memoir of Combat Airlift Operations in Southeast Asia, 1967-1968 – by David Kirk Vaughan
Below: The cover of Made in Taiwan: A Naïve American’s Chaotic Journey to Manhood in an Exotic Culture During Radical Times – by TC Brown. Tune in next week as John and Eryk chat with the author.
READ: DAVID FRAZIER'S Book Review for the TAIPEI TIMES - Drugs, bars and girls: an American GI in Vietnam War-era Taiwan
Photos below all via the Wikipedia page on the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base (清泉崗空軍基地, CCK) Captions also via Wiki Commons.
1. CCK AB, Taiwan, Main Gate, a joint guard post of the U.S. Air Force Security Police and the ROC Air Force Military Police, 1969.
2. Bob Hope Christmas Show at CCK Air Base, Taiwan on 29 December 1969.
3. U.S. Air Force Lockheed F-104C Starfighters from the 434th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 479th Tactical Fighter Wing, at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan, in April 1965.
4. A C-130E Hercules from the 43rd Airlift Wing, Pope Air Force Base, N.C., flies over the Atlantic Ocean. The C-130 Hercules primarily performs the intratheater portion of the airlift mission. The aircraft is capable of operating from rough, dirt strips and is the prime transport for paradropping troops and equipment into hostile areas.
5. Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung. NRO-CIA - National Reconnaissance Office (CIA) Corona satellite imagery.
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