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.
5:27 am 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
1:00 pm on April 21st, 2009 2
Hugh thanks for visiting the site. You should rightfully be very proud of being named after a hero like your uncle.
9:42 pm on April 21st, 2009 3
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!"
10:48 am on April 25th, 2009 4
I just added several pictures to the web page showing Camp Casey in 1954 and 1955.
http://qsl.net/wd4ngb/ccasey4.htm
1:28 am on August 28th, 2009 5
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???
11:46 am on August 28th, 2009 6
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.
12:53 pm on February 4th, 2010 7
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.
12:03 pm on February 10th, 2010 8
The Old Burger King that you have pictured was not torn down in 2003. I believe it was flooded out then destroyed sometime in the late 90's or 2001 timeframe due to the stream that ran in front of it. When I arrived in the Land Of The Morning Calm in January of 2003 they had already constructed a new Burger King/Shopette/Mini-Mall in between the 2-72AR Motorpool and 1-72AR Motorpool. I served in HHC 2-72AR Hellraisers from 03-05 when they furled our colors and dispanded the battalion. I called it quits on my 10 year military career in December of 2005 and have remained in South Korea working as a contractor. I currently live in Seoul and work on Yongsan Main Post. But I met some great people and have alot of very good memories of the time I spent up at Camp Casey in Area I.
6:06 am on March 10th, 2010 9
whats up man i was at 122 signal from may 82- may 83 super houch i forgot about turttle farm im in oregon now i recentley went yo china i liked it alot better but i was not a soilder big differance
11:45 pm on August 26th, 2010 10
Hi, soldiers of U.S. in Korea.
I've just found this page by web search of Camp Casey for its photo.
I'm Korean civilian living in Dongduchon city.
I like to take a walk to the valley around Camp Hovey, but it is very regretful that I cannot walk through the camps toward SoYoSan, the mountain northside of Camp Casey.
Thank you for the photos in 1960's.
Good luck!
7:11 am on November 9th, 2010 11
I was at Casey from 98-99 with the 604th ASOS. That Burger King was damaged in Aug of 1998 from a massive flood. There was a park directly across the street that had so much sediment from the flood that you could walk up to the basketball hoop and sit on it.
10:06 pm on November 26th, 2010 12
I was at Casey from 11/99 to 11/00 and that BK was still there when I left. I stayed in the B's by gate 1, and that was our turn around point on the PT test run.
8:32 pm on November 27th, 2010 13
I wast stationed at Ccmp Casey 70 to 71 2nd Admin JAGC, I was a court reporter legal clerk enjoyed the pictures
1:39 am on December 13th, 2010 14
I just found this site this morning and in a way happy and in a way sad. I retired from the army 1 January 1987 after spending 241/2 years in it. My first tour was Korea, January 1963- January 1964. I was with Aco 40th Armor in at the old Camp Beavers about 10 miles up the main road above Camp Casey. In June 1963 my company was moved to the 1st CAV Division across the Imjim River around the corner from old RC#3. Our mission was to support the CAV units 8th and 9th, if the crap hit the fan. I did 2 more tours, 73-74 with C troop 4th 7th CAV, and then 76-77 with C company 1/72nd Armor in Happy Valley. I have only about 5 pictures from any of those days because my ex wife threw all of my things away in 87 during the divorce proceedings. After retiring, I thought very seriously about moving to Korea for I liked the people and I wanted to get away. But, I met my 2nd wife and still here. It is hard to visualize the the differences between each of my 3 tours to Korea and the way it is now in the same areas. I could go on and on about the differences, but won't unless someone mails me about them. I want to thank you so much for having this web site for "Old Soldiers" like myself to be able to reflect back on the good days of our youth, I was just 17 when I arrived in Korea on my 1st tour. Vic Pitts, 1SG USA RET, Kings Mountain, N.C. vctpit@aol.com
10:23 pm on January 7th, 2011 15
I have already put up one post but wan to add this one as well. The turtle name "Turtle Farm" was given to the replacement station because when you arrived there you had a long slow year ahead of you before going back to the states. That year could feel like a long time if you didn't keep busy and consentrate on your job, as I did. My 3 tours in Korea went fast to me because my units were either Tank Battalions or a CAV units and we spent a lot of time in the field or on the DMZ. One of you mentioned Rodriqez Range, I spent a lot of time during my last tour on that range doing live fire training. I left Korea the last time in July 1977, 2 months after I left there one of the tank commanders I had in my platoon, I was the platoon sergeant, was killed on Rodriquez from an M16 round from an infantry man that was also a part of the live fire exercise. He was like a brother to me and I'll never forget him. In 1987 when I retired, I was going through a divorce at the same time, and I had thought real hard about going back to Korea to live because I had made many good friends there, but I met someone here and we now have been married for 23 years. I still wish I could have made at least one more trip back to Camp Casey and the other areas that I had spent time in to include across the Imjim River on the DMZ. Once again thank you for having this web site. Vic Pitts 1SG U.S.A.RET in N.C.
4:11 am on June 9th, 2011 16
[...] A Pictorial History of Camp Casey | ROK Drop Apr 21, 2009 … Make sure to click the links and check out the sites that have many old pictures of Camp Casey such … [...]
10:40 pm on June 13th, 2011 17
Thanks for your site. I served at Camp Casey in 74-75. 702nd Maint. Bat. It is just amazing how it has changed. When I was there they didn’t even have a black top highway going to Seoul until the latter part of my tour. I only saw one or two cars in the ville at that time. I took a trip back to Korea in 2000 and couldn’t believe how modern it was now. They still had a quansit hut standing as a storage shed and I told the private that was giving me a tour of the camp that we used to sleep in those and I don’t think he believed me. Although I had a Kimchee over night pass and always slept above the savoy club. You talked about the drinky girls and back then they were all Koreans and you could have a short time for $3.00 to $5 bucks and a over night was about $10. Many times I went home with them for free. They were just poor girls trying to make a living and if you treated them good they would treat you good. At 17 years old I had some of the best days of my life there. I probably would have re-enlisted to stay there but I couldn’t stay in country because I got busted for black marketing beer and whiskey. They didn’t believe in free trade and still don’t today from what I could see.
2:52 pm on November 1st, 2011 18
I was in Korea Sept 70 thru Apr 71. I remember hanging around Tokori village, had a few suits made and even took in the community bath house for 100 won. I’ve been looking around these sites trying to find out the name of the original camp I arrived at in 9/70 and then shortly after moved over the bridge into the DMZ for a few months then back to (I believe it was) Camp Hovey. The girls back then were called business girls and had to carry a VD card if they were to accompany a GI. The prices were $3 to $5 and you could have a steady girl for $90 a month. I think I did get hustled just before leaving the country by a girl saying she was pregnant. When I didn’t fall for it she never actually was. I have to say being stationed in Korea was a good experience in life I’ll never forget. Looking at the pictures of the areas now has sure changed. No paved roads when I was there. Grass houches and delapidated outhouses that drained into the river.
2:57 pm on November 1st, 2011 19
Anyone reading this can email back with any comments. I was in CoB1stBn23dInf2ndInfDiv USAR PAC. This is followup from 1st post on 11/1/11
5:29 am on December 30th, 2011 20
Stationed at Camp Casey (Turtle Farm) 2d AG Co in ’82 to ’84. Appreciate the pictures. Brings back memories. Recognized some of the club names even after all these years. But….the landscape sure has changed.
7:36 am on January 6th, 2012 21
I was station at Camp Casey from 1962 to 1963 with the 31st Artillery B BATTERY Honest John rockets. I have a lot of picture I took while over there AND WOULD LIKE TO POST THEM TO THIS SITE , But I’m not sure of how to do it need a little help on this.
My commanding officer was Cap’t Moore. I’d like to hear from anyone who was stationed with me there.
email uticave@aol.com
Thank you,
Tony Scalise
8:04 am on January 6th, 2012 22
Tony I love posting old pictures on this site. If you would like me to post the pictures just send them to me on e-mail. My e-mail address is gikoreaonline at yahoo dot com. Thanks.