The United States Army Garrison Camp Page was located near Chunchon, South Korea. It enclosed 157.2 acres in North Central South Korea, near Chuncoen City, 48 miles north of Seoul, in the Kangwon province.[1]
"Citizens from the South Korean city of Chunchon said goodbye to U.S. soldiers serving at Camp Page in a ceremony last week marking the end of a 54-year mission. The base, it’s major feature an airstrip built after Chunchon was recaptured from communist forces in March 1951, is due to close by the end of next month, officials have said. The U.S. 8th Army announced this week that one of the Camp Page units, the 542nd Medical Evacuation Company, including about 120 soldiers and their equipment, will move to Fort Campbell, Ky., by April. Another Camp Page unit, the 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, will move to Camp Eagle, near the South Korean city of Wonju, about an hour’s drive south of Chunchon, according to an 8th Army statement."[2]
USAG Camp Page was named in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Col. John U. D. Page. John Upshur Dennis Page (February 8, 1904 – December 11, 1950) was an United States Army officer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Lieutenant Colonel Page received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War. "In 1951, Eighth US Army engineers prepared the runway in a burned out section of a newly recaptured town, at what would become Camp Page. On 30 January 1958 the last units of the 100th Field Artillery Rocket Battalion arrived from Japan taking up headquarters at what was known as Camp Page. Subsequently the Battalion was joined by Infantry, Engineer, Signal and Supply units and was redesigned the 4th Missile Command, a major subordinate command of the Eighth United States Army. The "Last of a Breed," the 4th Missile Command celebrated its 20th and final anniversary on 27 April 1978 and was totally inactivated in June 1978. Only the Weapons Support Detachment-Korea was retained to carry on the rites of St. Barber, and it to was inactivated in September of 1990."[3]
There were 152 buildings on the site, enclosing 725,733 square feet.[4]
Major military units at Camp Page included: 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation. Provided aviation support for the 2nd Infantry Division. Albert Love Patterson was the Commander of the 4/501 Aviation 17th Aviation Brigade, U.S. Army, Camp Page, Korea, from 1989 to 1991.[5] Richard Vincent Melnyk was the "Attack platoon leader 1-2 Aviation Regiment, U.S. Army, Camp Page, Korea, 1997." [6] "Camp Page was the home of the Apache unit linked to the 2nd Infantry at the DMZ. Camp Page consisted of 157 acres supporting the 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment and the 542nd Medical Company. The population of the camp was approximately 1300, with 700 of that being US Military personnel and 650 being civilians employed by the Department of the Army. When the facility closed it covered 145 acres with 173 buildings, 1,067 servicemembers and civilians in 15 tenant units. Its primary mission was to provide aviation support for 2nd Infantry Division." [7]
Active duty personnel: 700. Civilian: 650. All personnel live on post; most served a one year unaccompanied tour of duty. Kyong-Ku Yun was a "civil engineer, Deh Camp Page, US Army, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea, from 1989 to 1991."[8]
Commerical activities included a barber shop, Convenience store, tailor, Class VI Post Exchange, burger bar, airline ticket office, pizze delivery.
Schools: remote college courses and correspondence programs were offered, although there were no on-base schools.
There was a Base library on the post that was operated as a Non-Appropriate Fund Instrumentality (NAFI). Robert Lee Hadden was the "Supervisory librarian, USAG Camp Page, Chunchon, 1983-1984."[9]
Recreational facitilities included a recreation center; pool; tennis courts, craft shop, community club, basketball.[10]
Camp Page, near Chunchon, ROK, was the home of the Apache helicopter unit linked to the 2nd Infantry at the Demilitarized Zone until it was closed in 2005. "On 1 April 2005 Camp Page closed and preperations were made to transfer ownership of the facility to the Republic of Korea. This tranfer was completed in 2005. Mention of this shift was made in US-ROK Land Partnership Plan in 2002, when the expected date of closure was 2011."[11] "Camp Page is actually a good place to be stationed because it is located so far away from the rest of 2ID and is in a great area of Chuncheon. However, the base is located in the middle of the city near the river which has become a burden on the city with the continued development of Chuncheon. The noise of the helicopters, on this former aviation base, coming and going every day from this location in the city probably does get annoying after a while for nearby residences. Expect more base closures to come." [12]