TAIWAN CRISIS Nothing New

by Bob Buehn, Retired Navy Captain

Then, Air Force 1st Lieutenant (Later Major General) Gerry Maloney stands in front of his F-86 Saberjet in Osan, Korea in 1957. Appropriately named “Vagabond,” the jet’s name reflected the 11 relocations he made to air bases in the U.S., Korea and Taiwan since 1954. (Major General Maloney, USAF (Retired)

Major General Recalls Flying Armed Missions To Defend The Island In 1956/57.

Talk to foreign policy experts and national security advisors and you will find agreement that Taiwan could be a tinderbox for the relationship between the US and China, one that has the potential to drag both sides into war. While to some this may seem like a new problem, old hands like retired USAF Major General (MGEN) Gerald Maloney, know tensions have existed there since before the Korean War. After graduation from Stanford, MGEN Maloney was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force in 1954, and flew the F-86 Sabrejet, eventually finding himself stationed with the 311th Fighter-Bomber Squadron in Korea. In the winter of 1956-57 his unit served a “mobility” stint in Taiwan (then known as Formosa) flying with Chinese Nationals. There had been combat action in 1954-55 as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) bombed islands controlled by the Republic of China (ROC). Maloney and his squadron mates flew armed missions every day from Tainan, Formosa. The base was designated by the Air Force as WS, which became “Willy Sugar” to the pilots. “Every morning a patrol plane (ROC) would fly along the coast of China to monitor their progress in ports, railroads and landing craft,” said Maloney. “We were briefed with large maps that showed this information.” “The Chinese Nationalists told us that they thought it would be 1958 before the ports and airfields on mainland China would be ready to support an attack on Taiwan,” Maloney remembered. Today, security analysts are still speculating on China’s intentions and capabilities with regard to Taiwan. “The reason we were there was to, first, show we were willing and able to fight (to defend Taiwan), and, second, to be ready when the Chinese did invade with experience in the area and familiarity with the airfields and geography,” he said, emphasizing the word “when”. The military concept of a mobility exercise is “to get there first with the most,” as a news article about the 311th in Stars and Stripes points out. The orders were simple and to the point: “Pack up one squadron and ship it 1,200 miles to a new air strip. Keep it combat ready, make it self-sufficient.” Maloney said he and the other Air Force pilots flew day and night for three weeks without a break, then had a week off. On the off-week they were able to go to Hong Kong for liberty. The venerable F-86 Sabres always flew fully armed, ready if needed. This afforded the squadron plenty of opportunity for air-to-air gunnery training. Taking off in flights of four, with a fifth jet towing a thin banner, the pilots would make strafing runs at the white target. Scoring consisted of counting the holes in the banner once back on the ground. When not flying training missions the pilots of the 311th stood five minute alerts around the clock, two airplanes as primary and two as back up. In response to radar contact of Chinese aircraft coming out from the mainland, the alert birds would roar into the air in hot pursuit. “When we got airborne we would take up a vector to an intercept point,” said Maloney. “When they saw us coming the Chinese turned and headed back to the mainland. All we saw were tiny black dots heading away from us.” This cat-and-mouse game continued for the whole deployment, in fact, it has continued for years, right up to today. With more than 60 years perspective on the Taiwan issue, MGEN Maloney thinks the island, which today is a key part of the global economy, would be a tough nut to crack for the Chinese. “It’s 120 miles across the Taiwan Strait from China to Taiwan,” he said. “It would take thousands of ships to invade the island.” He also drew parallels between Taiwan and Ukraine, where a population fighting for its homeland is making an impressive stand against an invader. Raw combat power is one thing, but to invade and occupy a country, or an island, defended by strongwilled patriots, is another. Maloney remembers clearly the Nationalists adamantly telling him that they “are not Chinese, we are Taiwanese.” After 31 years in the Air Force and the Air Force Reserve, Maloney

eventually retired as a colonel. Later he returned to military life, taking the position of commander of the Massachusetts State Guard where he was promoted to major general. He resides in Queens Harbor and is active in the community, serving as past chair of the UNF Student Affairs Community Council and chairman emeritus of the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum.

“This cat-and-mouse game continued for the whole deployment, in fact, it has continued for years, right up to today.”