By Camp Casey is one of the most recognized camps in Korea that has a long history stretching all the way back to when the camp was founded during the Korean War as the base camp for the Royal Thai Battalion, the 19th Battalion Combat Team, Philippines, the US 45th Division, and the 5th and 7th Marines. On 21 March 1953, 1st Royal Australian Regiment was relieved by 2nd Royal Australian Regiment at Camp Casey, near Tongduchon, and returned to Australia later that month. The establishment of Camp Casey has a very international history that probably most soldiers serving today have no idea of.
Click to enlarge Camp Casey, South Korea. 1953-03. Private Steve Dodd, an aboriginal serviceman of 1 Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR).
Using pictures from various veterans sites I present a pictorial history of Camp Casey. Here is a 1954 image of Camp Casey that was taken just a year after the end of the Korean War and the camp was nothing but a tent city:
The camp was named in 1952 after Major Hugh Casey who was an engineer officer that was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for combat actions during the evacuation of Hungnam, North Korea. Casey died in December 1951 when the light observer plane he was flying in was shot down by ground fire and crashed on a small hill in the middle of present day Camp Casey. This hill to this day is marked by a large white cross that if you look at the picture above the hill had the cross constructed on it back in 1954.
By 1955 the living conditions on Camp Casey improve a bit when the tents were mostly replaced with quonset huts:
If you can believe it, it wasn’t until a few years ago that some 2nd Infantry Division soldiers were still either living or working in quonset huts. There is no one I know of anymore that is living in any quonset huts.
The remnants of the international foundings of Camp Casey were still evident even in 1961 with the last Thai camp in Korea located at present day Camp Castle which is located near Camp Casey:
Here is how Camp Casey looked in 1968:
Here is what the Camp Casey PX looked like in 1968:
Here is a 1995 image of the old Burger King on Camp Casey that has since been knocked down:
I ate at this Burger King many times before it was knocked down I want to say in 2003.
Here is an image of the PX and commissary area on Camp Casey in 2008:
If you look closely at the PX you will see the remnants of the old PX pictured earlier in this photo essay.
Make sure to click the links and check out the sites that have many old pictures of Camp Casey such as Bruce Richards great site. If anyone knows of any other sites that have some nice old pictures of Camp Casey please leave a link in the comments section. Thanks.
12:27 pm on April 21st, 2009 1
Hi. I am Maj. Hugh Boyd Casey’s nephew. He was my fathers older brother. I was born in 1954 and was named after my Uncle. His father , , my grandfather was Maj. General Hugh J Casey (Pat Casey to his friends)He was Chief of Engineers in the Pacific theater under general MacArthur in WWII.
I have a google alert set up for when ever anything with my name comes up. I was very pleased to see your web sight and to see the recognition for my uncle. Thank you,
Hugh Boyd Casey
Reply
April 21st, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Hugh thanks for visiting the site. You should rightfully be very proud of being named after a hero like your uncle.
Reply
4:42 am on April 22nd, 2009 2
I defended my first court-martial at Casey in 1999. Most of the officers were still living in quonset huts, the Trial Defense and SJA offices were in quonset huts, and the courtroom was a quonset hut right next to the helipad and that incredibly loud gun that went off at 1700 hours every day. We’d have to stop the trial every time a chopper landed. Panel members in the back row would scrape their heads against the rounded cielings. Finally, our next judge came in and said “enough.” He managed to get us a new courtroom and SJA office where the helicopter noise was less deafening.
Other memories: the excellent Katusa snack bar near the 2/72 motor pool, playing “Time Crisis” at the PX mini mall, and “next stop, Ahtasshi!”
Reply
5:48 pm on April 25th, 2009 3
I just added several pictures to the web page showing Camp Casey in 1954 and 1955.
http://qsl.net/wd4ngb/ccasey4.htm
Reply
8:28 am on August 28th, 2009 4
I was a USAF ALO, and lived at Camp Casey in Thorsen Hall 7/68 to 8/69. This was in Headquarters Company. The VA is denying a claim because there is no documents proving I was there. Hard to believe. Many memories and pictures but no official orders. What is interesting is the apparently none of the USAF officers sent there after the Pueblo capture can find any evidence of orders. Any ideas???
Reply
6:46 pm on August 28th, 2009 5
If I ever have a need to prove my time near the DMZ, I will have a rough time also. My 1st tour was at Casey, but spent 3 months at Camp Kaiser, about 10 miles north of Rodriguez Range. Was all over the Central part of the DMZ. My 2nd tour I was at Stanley, but spent 6 months at Camp St Barbara just west of Rodriguez Range. My unit was never at these camps, just small detachments, with no orders.
Reply
7:53 pm on February 4th, 2010 6
I served in Korea from Nov 82 to Nov 83 and was suprised to see civilian vehicles in front of the Camp Casey PX also the picture of the turtle farm looks like it was moved acrossed the main hwy where the 2nd aviation bat was located. When I arrived the farm was on the gate 1 road just beyond the PX and the in processing building and the out processing were located next to each other. It was said you were called a turtle because it took an entire year to get from one building to the other.
Reply