I was stationed at Saidia, 117 AC & W Sq., Det. 3 from late 1952 (I think it may have been August 1952) until May 1953 when I returned to Nouasseur for rotation.
Saidia Bar Owners (Circa 1953)
Trip from Saidia to Nouaseur
Saidia Beach House
I was originally assigned to 118 AC & W Sq. in September 1951 at Sewart AFB outside of Nashville, Tennessee. This was North Carolina National Guard unit and they were bringing it up full manning with regulars, which I was one just finishing Radio School at Scott Field. Just as matter of information Seward AFB still had segregation at the time. In very early December 1951 we were flown to Camp Kilmer and departed on USNS Henry Gibbons on December 24, 1951, we arrived about January 6, 1952 and were driven to Nouasseur AFB in 6 by 6 trucks. All of us were assigned a Dallas Hut to live in. They (Atlas Construction Co.) were still building the latrines so we had a large Lister bag to hold drinking water, a six-hole toilet and we had to walk over near the large mess hall to wash-up or take a shower. We had packed up all the radar and communications equipment which was mostly leftover WWII equipment, a AN/CPS-1 and AN/MPS-4, Radar Systems, several AN/SCR-399 and 499, radio system, and a few AN/TRC-1, UHF link radios. Our Radar Station was on a Mountain (I cannot remember the name of the mountain) about half way between Nouasseur and Casablanca off the main highway. We unpacked the equipment and fabricated Jamesway huts where radar PPI scopes and other equipment were installed. All the equipment was made operational however, we did not have many spare parts, since most of the National Guard guys had put their personal things in the spare parts boxes. For the longest time I do not think we ever became an operational unit, so I was sent to the Casablanca civilian airport to maintain some radio equipment to provide the AC & W units with local flight information.
In about August or September 1952 I was transferred to 117 AC & W Sq. who had recently arrived from Sewart AFB. I was then assigned to Saidia or Detachment 3. When I got there were only four winterized squad tents (tents over a wood frame with a wooden floor). A couple of the Radar guys were trying to put together a AN/TPS-1D it was going to go into a Dallas hut that wasn’t built yet as I remember. I think we also had to bunk with the French Foreign Legion post in Qujda for about a week, these guys did not have it easy and their quarters were terrible. They site got built over the next couple of weeks. The PX and hospital or medical center were both in trucks. Actually it was very good assignment, Saidia was a nice small town. There was a beautiful home about one block from the bench, I read on your site that was used as a bench house for people assigned to Detachment 3. We did not use it at all also we were told that during WWII it was General Mark Clark’s Headquarters while he was in North Africa. There was one bar in Saidia owned a young French couple (I will enclose a picture of the couple) they were really nice to us and we became good friends.
In May 1953 we returned to Nouasseur AFB for rotation. I will enclose a picture of the group returning from Saidia not all were returning to the ZI, some were coming down for an R & R (???). I returned on the U. S. N. S. Geiger in June of 1953, nice trip as I remember. I took a 30-day leave and reported to 1st Communications Maintenance Sq. in July 1953. Many of us who were returning from French Morocco were assigned to the 1st Comm. Maintenance Sq. The Maintenance squadrons there at Griffiss AFB later became GEEIA. Almost as soon I reported in I was send to P-Mountain, Thule, Greenland to install UHF Antennas at the transmitter and receiver sites. It was never ending job as we put them up on top of 90-foot telephone poles and they would ice up and blow down. I was part of antenna installation team. I was discharged from Griffiss AFB. About year later I reenlisted and retired in 1971. I want to say I had some the best times in my life in French Morocco, I was eighteen years old when I got there.
Hank (Henry Propp)
Syracuse, New York
E-Mail address: hpropp@twcny.rr.com
