Korean War Project

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Paengnyong-Do Revisited By Wally Barnett Sept

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Entry: 8553 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

DENNIS LOUGHLIN wrote on December 31, 2024

The Villages FL


Comments:

TDY to P-Y-Do for a few weeks in 1968 to maintain the TACAN on the Island until
the permanent replacement arrived. Two things I remember most were my surprise
when I realized the C47 was going to land on the beach and the other was seeing
artillery pieces roll out of a cave on a nearby North Korean island and can see
they were tracking incoming C47 cargo planes.




Entry: 7707 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

ARTHUR KRIEGER wrote on January 7, 2019

Los Angeles CA


Comments:

I too was stationed at paengnyong-do from 1951953. when I arrived i was a
radar operator but our commanding officer asked me to act as supply sgt.
,which i did till the war stopped. I was one of the few that had a military
driver's license, so I was kept busy going up and down to the beach . I am now
87 years old and I wonder how many of us who served there are still alive.




Entry: 7641 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

MONTE SHRIVER wrote on October 20, 2018

Las Cruces NM


Comments:

I was stationed at Osan AFB(K-55) from August 1958 to August 1959. On
January 1, 1959, I was pay agent for PYDO. I had $25,000 in MPC which I
carried in an ammunition box. I asked the E-6 in the finance office at Osan
what would happen If I came up short. He said "well, lieutenant, you'll just
have to make it up so as I counted out the MPC I kept my eye on the length
of the line. Fortunately, we came out right. I got to stay in the Colonel's
hooch and that night a horrible blizzard hit the island and every thing
froze up. The lines to the oil burning stoves froze up and nothing on the
island had any heat. The water lines in the colonel's shower froze and
burst. The next morning when I went to the toilet which was two honeybuckets
under 2 holes to sit on I looked at the stove and there was about 8 inches
of snow on top of it. It was 5 days before a C-47 was able to land on the
beach and take us back to Osan. As other people have said, it was quite an
experience to land on the beach with a constant 35 knot crosswind and the
right wheel in the water. I was ready for a hot shower when I got back to
Osan but everything there was frozen. My orders called for 3 days TDY but I
must have been gone about a week so I learned a new term "These orders are
amended VOCO exigencies of the service being such as to preclude the
issuance of competent orders in advance".




Entry: 7634 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

WM WIERSCHKE wrote on October 16, 2018

Brillion WI


Comments:

Was a radio relay equipment repairman at Det 5 from 69-70.
Had a great time there. Maybe twenty of us. Great place to watch the SR-71s
fly from Japan through China and on to Turkey.




Entry: 7239 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

WILLIE PROCTOR wrote on May 26, 2017

Fremont North Carolina


Comments:

Was stationed on P-Y-Do (The Rock) from March 1962 until
Nov., 1962, then sent to Kunsan AFB.




Entry: 7217 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

MURRAY STOLLMAN wrote on April 29, 2017

St Pete Beach FL


Comments:

I visited PY-do exactly once! We were a flight of 3 C-
119's flying out of Ashiya AFB attempting to use C119s to
fly supplies into PY-do by landing on the beach just as
low tide was reached. Ours was the only one of the three
whose pilot was daring enough to try the landing in the
hard-packed sand as we could not use brakes. Braking in
sand would have buried our landing gear and reversing
prop pitch would have sucked sand into our engines so we
just slowed down until we could taxi up to the guys
waiting for our badly needed supplies. We off-loaded
seemingly in seconds and immediately took off again to
return to Ashiya.
The trip was a little hairy but kind of fun. Previously,
only C-47s had been used for the purpose.




Entry: 6698 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

JAMES LORENZ wrote on January 9, 2015

Mount Ephraim NJ


Comments:

Greetings All. I was stationed on Paengnyong-do, Detachment
3(K-53), arriving by C-47 from K-16 (Seoul AB)608th AC&W
Hqs, in late December 1952. I rotated back to the ZI in
November 1953. It was great reading Wally's article on his
return to PY-do. Wally, you may have known a friend of mine
who was a radar mechanic at Det 3. Bob Crane who was a
S/Sgt at that time. He was from Greenup, IL.
Unfortunately, he passed away in 1996. I have often
wondered how things were back on the island. I was AF and
my radar site (Det 3, 608th) was on the hill right above
Chinchon-ni. During my tour I spent many hours visiting
the village and exploring the island. By way of Google
Earth I have seen that our old site is now memorial park,
and the island has paved roads and many modern amenities.
The old "schoolhouse" is still there at the bottom of the
hill at the north end of town.
At that time (early 1953) we were using a "gap filler"
auxillary radar located on the west coast of the island.
It was known as Dog Beach (old phonetic alphabet) ane we
sent a small six man crew as operators on a rotating
schedule of about a week at a time. This beach, unlike the
airstrip beach was all large smooth stones instead of
sand. I was on duty at that assignment when we received
word of the Cease-Fire. Toward the latter part of my tour,
(after the cease-fire)a company of Army Engineers arrived
and a new radar installation was constructed on a slightly
higher hill than ours about west-central on the island. It
was not yet completed when I shipped out for home. I
believe it became Det 2 and our old site Det 3 went out of
business. One of my fondest memories is of my "houseboy"
Kwan Oh Bong (Curly). A great young man of about 15 yrs
old. He lived in Chinchon-ni with his mother and sister.
We were good friends and I would go swimming with him off
the north rocky coast of the island. I have always
wondered about his life on the island. I guess he would be
about 79 years old now, as I am 84. I have never regretted
my time on PY-do. It was really an eye opener for a young
Airman from stateside. It was very primative in those
days. Best wishes to all who served there and to the
people of Paengnyong-do. James B. Lorenz, USAF A1c 1950-54




Entry: 6683 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

SYD KAHRE wrote on December 24, 2014

Quincy CA


Comments:

Dick Maniag - I was at Osan (K-55) in 1959-60. PYDo must
have been K-53.




Entry: 6207 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

CLAUDE GOLDSBY wrote on October 12, 2012

Prineville Oregon


Comments:

I was stationed on K-53 from June 1959 to 1 August 1960 first
with 1st Shoran Beaccon MSQ-1, then transfered to 58th CGS/TMG
Matador TM61C using the MSQ-1A. We put a second MSQ1A on the
knob just west of the old MSQ-1 location which had been the
608th AC&W site during the Korean war 1951/52. We also built a
Matador Launch platform on the second location but had not
received a missile when I finished my tour.




Entry: 4838 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

COLONEL BEN S. MALCOM wrote on August 14, 2011


Comments:

To Wally Burnett,

I was also on Paengnyoug-do in January 1952 thru December 1952 with the 8240 AU ( Special Forces ). I was a 1st Lt and use to attend some of your movies on top of the mountain.

I really enjoyed reading your article and it really brought back some great memories of those days . I have written a book about my SF /CIA operations in North Korea.

The title of the book is White Tigers and it has been made into a 1 hour documentary film now being shown on the History Channel. The book is available from Amazon.com.

I would love to hear from you and compare notes on 1952. We probally met in one of the movies I attended with you and your team.

Best Wishes,

Ben Malcom




Entry: 4721 PAENGNYONG-DO REVISITED BY WALLY BARNETT SEPT

DICK MANIAG wrote on November 24, 2010


Comments:

Interested in lat and long of island outpost, either k53 or k55, but believe it to be 53 as I believe 55 was on the mainland.

Not sure spelling is correct, called P Y Do, or Pany Yang
Do. Small island out in the Yellow Sea. Was attached to
the USAF 1st Shoren Beacon Squadron.

Dick Maniag, Houston






Dedicated To - Arthur Donald DeLacy - 1st Lieutenant - USMCR - MIA POW - 10/07/1951 - Heartbreak Ridge