Photographs courtesy Peter CiccarelloThis C-124 Globemaster II Tail 0-21048 sits on the tarmac at Sung Shan in 1963. I researched this aircraft and found that the Georgia ANG later inherited the plane from the Air Force.
No other aircraft can been seen in this photo. Anyone recognize the parking area?
This 1939 Plymouth 4 door sedan was owned by Peter Ciccarello, then a PFC stationed at the Sugar Building. A nice parking spot along the Keelung River.Peter had purchased the car from another GI who was leaving the island. Peter said he paid $250.00 for the car, drove it until his tour tour was complete in 1963 and sold the car to another GI for $250.00. These old cars passed from single GI to single GI for years.
Rules in 1963 required a military person to own the car for 5 years before it could be sold outside of the military.
Of course none of the normal military folks would have been in Taiwan for a 5 year period, therefore, no cars were sold on the civilian market until sometime after Peter left Taiwan in 1963.
Can someone remember when the regulations were changed to allow the sale of military owned vehicles to civilians.
Wheels of any type were transportation to young GI's back in the day. In those days, there were few cars on the road and you could park just about any place your heart desired.
Many young GI's in the early days had motorcycles.
2 comments:
The rule of 5 years to sell a car must have changed , because when I got there in 1961 I was told that I couldn't sell my '57 Chevy until I had orders to leave. I signed a contract after I was there about 6 months. The contract (maybe I can find a copy) went through the Pro Marshall and all channels and specified sale was final only with my orders. The poor buyer had to wait for another year since I got extended for a year because of the Cuban Missle Crisis.
My mother is 55 yrs old this year, but she still remembers the GI soldiers of her youth, growing up on the airbase in Pingtung, Taiwan. The soldiers would distribute M&M's to the kids in the villages, and then when they left the airport, my mom and the other kids would eagerly comb through the campsites and come up with "exotic" treasures like canned beef stew. I love the stories my mom tells about her childhood growing up in an airport. I think the GI soldiers played a big role in it. So on behalf of my mom and all the kids who lived in Pingtung Airport, thank you. During the lean years of the fifties and sixties in Taiwan, the chocolates you handed out and the canned beef stews you left behind, left the kids there with memories they'll never forget.
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