The U.S. and South Korean flags are lowered for the last time at Camp Page on Tuesday during a ceremony marking the closure of the U.S. base. (Seth Robson / S&S)
The U.S. and South Korean flags are lowered for the last time at Camp Page on Tuesday during a ceremony marking the closure of the U.S. base. (Seth Robson / S&S)
Apache helicopters from 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, leave Camp Page for the last time Tuesday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, leave Camp Page for the last time Tuesday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
Chunchon Mayor Yu Chong-Su, second from left, and 2nd ID commander Maj. Gen. George A. Higgins, right, attended Tuesday's ceremony to close Camp Page. (Seth Robson / S&S)
CAMP PAGE, South Korea — The clatter of Apache helicopter rotors was heard for the last time here at a ceremony marking the end of a more than 50-year U.S. military presence in the South Korean city of Chunchon.
Members of 1st Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, the largest of several units based at Camp Page, paraded as the U.S. and South Korean flags came down for the last time Tuesday afternoon. Camp Page was the last remaining U.S. military base in the eastern portion of Area I, which borders the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea.
Apaches flown by 1-2’s Company A (the Razorbacks), Company B (the Paladins) and Company C (the Bushwackers) soared into the air heading south to their new home at Camp Eagle, near the South Korean city of Wonju. The Company A helicopters flew in a missing man formation marking the deaths of two Razorback pilots, Capt. Dion J. Burmaz and Chief Warrant Officer Aaron W. Cowan, in a training accident last month.
Commander Lt. Col. Chandler Sherrell said the day marked the end of a story that began in March 1951, when 8th Army Engineers with rifles on their backs prepped a runway in a burned-out section of Chunchon.
“No one imagined that 54 years later the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers and U.S. and South Korean civilians would be stationed in Chunchon. Nor did anyone envision the economic miracle, the flourishing democracy and the steadfast friendship that happened while soldiers stood guard here,” he said.
U.S. forces at Camp Page are thankful to the community, soldiers who served there and civilians who have worked there during the last half-century, he said.
The base was named for Lt. Col. John Page, who earned a Medal of Honor for his actions near the Chosun Reservoir during the Korean War. Page’s citation stated that he “remained forward,” fighting alone until he was killed in action, Sherrell said.
Like Page, “the people in Camp Page have remained forward,” he said.
The last flags to fly at Camp Page were presented to Chunchon Mayor Yu Chong-su and 2nd ID commander Maj. Gen. George A. Higgins.
“We want those who might not have known an American soldier to see that our flags flew side by side. We want the children we taught, the orphanages we helped and the businesses we sponsored to know we are proud to have served here,” Sherrell said.
Closing the camp involved removing 1,067 civilian and uniformed personnel, vacating 145 acres of land and 173 buildings, he said.
Chunchon Mayor Yu Chong-Su expressed appreciation on behalf of the people of his city for the soldiers’ and civilians’ work to provide security for South Korea and help Chunchon over the years.
“It is hard to say goodbye but I hope your time and memories of Chunchon will stay with you for a long time and I look forward to meeting you here again and we can look around and see how things have changed, walking and smiling. Soldiers of Camp Page, Chunchon loves you and will remember you forever. Goodbye … see you again,” he said.
