The White Falcon - 14.01.1977, Blaðsíða 3

Pace 3
January 14, 1977
American Ferres come to Ice!and...
Defense agreement
No sign is needed to indicate that
this base is the Iceland Defense Force.
Thirty-five years ago the First Amer-
ican military forces set foot on Ice-
land and departed in 1947. Twenty-five
years ago the present command was estab-
lished here and 15 years ago the command
changed from Air Force to Navy control.
The reason that the United States has
forces in Iceland is to act as a mili-
tary protector in a land without mili-
tary forces of its own.
In World War II, when the Germans
took over Holland, Denmark, and then
went north to Norway, the British de-
cided that they must defend the sea en-
trance to Europe. Iceland, located al-
most halfway between America and Eu-
^>pe, seemed to be the right spot, as
Ja result, on May 10, 1940 Britain oc-
cupied Iceland.
In July 1941, the British were hard-
pressed for men and material in Europe
and Africa. The United States was not
yet in the war, but accepted an invi-
tation from the government of Iceland to
assume the defense of Iceland, some five
months before Pearl Harbor.
1st Army troops srrivs
The first U.S. Army troops to arrive
in Iceland were members of the Army Air
^orces, 33rd Pursuit Squadron, who sail*
ed from Norfolk, VA. and New York City
on July 27, 1941, and landed at Reykja-
vik Aug. 6. Three ships carried 87 of-
ficers and 1,139 men, plus 11,000 tons
of supplies and equipment. The Army
supplemented the 4,375 Marines of the
£*.rst Provisional Brigade, who had re-
lieved the British troops.
With the addition of the 5th Divis-
ion's 10th Infantry Regiment and the
46th Field Artillery Battalion, Army
troops numbered over 6,200. These
troops landed Sept. 15, 1941, and set
up headquarters in Reykjavik the follow-
ing day.
Army veteran John Long, who recent-
ly visited Iceland, recalls, "We were
on a ship that left from Brooklyn, NY
Sept. 9, before we knew we were going,
even though our division had been train-
ing for an overseas assignment since the
first of the year. I'd been interested
in geography and even knew how to pro-
nounce Reykjavik correctly."
Camp named Montezuma
About the landing, he said, "There
wasn't any place to stay but in the
.ship. For a couple of weeks we stayed in
cramped quarters with a lot of soldiers'
nerves getting on edge. After the cargo
ship was unloaded, we camped near
Thingvellir. Most British and Canadian
camps were named after cities from where
their troops originated. Our camp was
named Montezuma."
He continued, "That first winter was
rainy. Most of the ground work for
Meeks and Patterson Air Fields was done
then, the most difficult factor to work
with being mud. Lava rock was laid to
absorb the water. We were paid equiva-
lent of $21 to $50 a month in Kronur.
"After the U.S. entered the war the
camp was transformed into an armed camp.
Barbed wire and sandbags were put around
the camp and there was a 24-hour guard
I duty posted. Personnel no longer had
■tee access from camp and could only
leave with a pass. We had been here
tJiree months without receiving mail.
Wtien we finally had a mail call, we were
given the day off so the mail could be
sorted and read.
Marines withdraw
"During my three years in Iceland, I
had the attitude that we soldiers were
guests and treated that way. It was in-
teresting to be in another country."
By early January 1942, American
Marines started to withdraw and were all
transferred by March.
Meeks Field, now the main runway
complex of Keflavik International Air-
port, was begun in 1941 and completed
shortly before the first aircraft landed
on March 24, 1943. The airfield, larg-
est in Europe then was an important re-
fueling depot. During World War II more
Ithan 55,000 American military personnel
Bere billeted in tents, quonset huts and
kkeshift buildings around the country.
. After the war, the United States
agreed to move their forces out of Ice-
land and by April 1947, all American
military personnel departed. American
civilians were contracted to operate and
maintain the airport.
One of these men was Ray Newman,
maintenance foreman at the Public Works
Department.
In 1949, Newman was hired by Metcalf-
Hamilton, a Kansas City, MO contractor,
as a crane operator. He later was ad-
vanced to equipment foreman for road
work and metal working. Reminiscing,
Newman recalls 1950, "It was a prime
time for construction. Our workload
tripled with the establishment of the
Air Force base. Almost all buildings
used today were built then."
Admitting, "I liked to work, so I
stayed. Weather conditions are the
worst factors to cope with."
In 1968 he received a major promotion
to general foreman. Now, nearing re-
tirement, Newman is responsible for
maintenance work assignments.
* Life ' termed 'different ’
Newman says, "Life in those days was
different from now. Offices within
buildings were located differently;
like the Glacier Hut was the CPO Club,
and before that a civilian's club. The
Hobby Shop was a warehouse, the Beauty
Shop was Barracks 54, the Clothing Store
was a six-lane bowling alley, and the
IDF Headquarters building was a recre-
ation Center."
He said, "The Red Cross was located
off-base in Keflavik, near Stapi to give
the guys a place to go."
In 1949, Iceland and 11 other nations
•ioined together to form the North Atlan-
tic Treaty Organization (NATO).
On May 5, 1951, Iceland and the Unit-
ed States signed a pact for the defense
of Iceland by the United States. The
agreement still exists today.
Agreement activetea unite
Forty-eight hours after the Defense
Agreement of 1951 was signed, the first
contingent of U.S. Army, Navy and Air
Force units arrived in Iceland. On July
6, 1951, the base became the Iceland De-
fence Force, a subordinate unified com-
mand under Supreme Allied Commander
Atlantic for international NATO oper-
ations and under Commander in Chief At-
lantic for tactical operations and con-
trol.
The first Army tactical unit in Ice-
land was composed of major elements of
278th Regimental Combat Team. Naval
aircraft in the Iceland Defense Force
were serviced bv the Navy Fleet Air Ser-
vices Squadron. Naval patrol squadrons
were, and still are, rotated for train-
ing and operational purposes.
AFI assumes control
The first elements of the 1400th Air
Base Group arrived May 7, 1951, when Air
forces Iceland assumed all group oper-
ational responsibilities.
In March 1960, all U.S. Army units
returned to the United States. Pre-
sently, only two Army personnel serve
on active duty in Iceland and both are
assigned duty on the staff of the Com-
mander Iceland Defense Force.
Navy relieves Air Force
For better logistical and operational
control, it was decided that the Navy
should relieve the Air Force as host
military service when airborne detect-
ion operation was moved from Argentia,
Newfoundland to Iceland. On July 1,
1951, Commander Barrier Force Atlantic,
now decommissioned, moved to Keflavik
and became Commander Iceland Defense
Force.
It is not a secret that the naval
facility and surrounding installations
are largely financed and built by the
United States. Iceland's defense today,
by the United States, is certainly in
order.
Though its people are strong, hardy,
proud there are too few to support an
Army, Navy or Air Force of their own.
Also they have been completely unarmed
for centuries.
Their nearest counterpart of a mili-
tary force is the Coast Guard whose pri-
mary mission is the patrolling of fish-
ing areas and rescue.
The strategic importance of this
great country cannot be underestimated.
It is a vital link in a chain of defense
not only to itself and United States
but for all North America and other NATO
countries. Its location is still re-
ferred to today as the stopper in the
Atlantic bottle.
still protects country
by JO 2 Terry Bamthouse
The exchange has stayed in the same building for 25 years. Here the en-
trance is where the side parking lot is located.
Building T-103, formerly used as the base cheater, is now the Navy Exchange
Toyland.
T-100, now the Shoe Store, Driftwood Cafeteria, and Clothing Store once
housed a six-lane bowling alley and snack bar.

Once the Field Maintenance Hangar, Building 501, is now part of Public
Works. The taxiway for P-2s running from this hangar is now the road
traveled on from Public Works to the bank.