A USASA Field Station Fort Shemya patch

[Patchcollector]

Happy Saturday all,
I enjoy collecting the Spy and "Spook" units,so I was happy to find this United States Army Security Agency (USASA) Fort Shemya Alaska Field Station patch and add it to my collection. I believe that it is Japanese made,and is unused as the button hole has not been opened.

 

Here is some Wiki info about the ASA:

 

 

United States Army Security Agency

 

 

The United States Army Security Agency (ASA) was the United States Army's signals intelligence branch. The Latin motto of the Army Security Agency was Semper Vigilis (Vigilant Always), which echoes Thomas Jefferson's declaration that "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."The Agency existed between 1945 and 1976 and was the successor to Army signals intelligence operations dating back to World War I. ASA was under the operational control of theDirector of the National Security Agency (DIRNSA), located at Fort Meade, Maryland; but had its own tactical commander at Headquarters, ASA, Arlington Hall Station, Virginia. Besides intelligence gathering, it had responsibility for the security of Army communications and for electronic countermeasures operations. In 1977, the ASA was merged with the US Army's Military Intelligence component to create the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command(INSCOM).

History
Composed of soldiers trained in military intelligence, the ASA was tasked with monitoring and interpreting military communications of the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and their allies and client states around the world. The ASA was directly subordinate to the National Security Agency and all major field stations had NSA technical representatives present.
All gathered information had time-sensitive value depending on its importance and classification. Information was passed through intelligence channels within hours of intercept for the lowest-priority items, but in as little as 10 minutes for the most highly critical information.
ASA personnel were stationed at locations around the globe, wherever the United States had a military presence – publicly acknowledged or otherwise. In some cases, such as Eritrea, it was the primary military presence. One former Field Station, outside of Harrogate, England, in what is now North Yorkshire, was a primary listening post that was subsequently turned over to the British and became an RAF station. It is called RAF Menwith Hill and has been the site of peace protests.

 

 

Now for some info about Field Station Fort Shemya:

The Westernmost in the Agency

 

The Story of FS Shemya

 

Courtesy of Dave Shively

(from the December 1969 edition of The Hallmark)

 

 

Want to get away from it all? Want a life of peace and tranquility far from the maddening crowd? You can do it with a tour at FS Shemya. This flat, treeless chunk of rock is situated on the 174th meridian - 1,400 miles from either Anchorage or Tokyo. The island is next to the last island in Alaska's Aleutian Chain. It is the home for more than a dozen organizational activities charged with the defense of the United States. Almost in "tomorrow" - Shemya is actually past the 180th meridian which is normally the demarcation line for day change but international agreement bends the line to the west. It is the home for more than 1,000 men.

A tour on this island is not as grim as it may seem. The host unit - the 5073rd Air Base Squadron - provides all the comforts of home. Every facility normally found on non-remote posts are at Shemya. Included is a 120-watt AFRTS TV station serving the inhabitants of Shemya, the Coast Guard and Air Force units on Attu, an island 35 miles to the west. A unit newspaper, THE GLASS BALL, has now been in print for more than a year. The crafts shops provide ceramics, woodworking, photography, leather, lapidary, and electronics for the off-duty man's pleasure. A new NCO club - dedicated in 1968 - the bowling alley and gym, the 500-seat theater, and the new chapel are all within easy walking distance of the main building. And weather permitting - "The Black Pearl of the Aleutians," so named for her black sand beaches - offers beach-combing, fishing, fox hunting, and glass ball hunting. The glass balls come from Japanese fishing nets and find their way to the island via the Japanese current.

The history of the island dates back to her discovery by Vitus Bering in 1741. Bering was commissioned to find new lands rich in resources for the Czar of Imperial Russia. All of the Aleutian Islands were abounding with fur-bearing animals at that time, particularly the seal. As a result, Russia claimed the islands and the mainland of Alaska.Many years later during the Crimean War, Russia was in danger of losing her western territories and decided to sell the land to the United States. Thus, in 1867 the U.S. became the owner of the territory.

Later in the 1800's the "Gold Rush" started the population explosion on the mainland. Although the people flocked in droves to the mainland, the Aleutian Islands were inhabited only by a few native Aleuts.

The real importance of the islands was realized during World War II when the Japanese landed on the island of Attu in hopes of gaining a foothold to invade North America. But by that time Japan was at the end of her conquering advances.The 4th Regiment of the 7th U.S. Infantry landed on the island of Shemya.Air strips and barracks were built. From then until the end of the war with Japan, Shemya served as the home base for B-17 and B-24 raids on the northern island of Japan.

After the war, Shemya, no longer considered strategically important, was deactivated. Reactivation came with the "Korean Conflict." Shemya's airfields were needed for the transports flying the "Great Circle Route" from the U.S. to Japan.

With the end of the Korean "police action," Shemya was abandoned. An ASA technical team arrived in 1956 to conduct tests to determine the island's suitability for a permanent field station.A year later, Det A of HQ, USASA, Alaska at Clam Gulch on Adak Island,arrived to start the field station. Since then it has been reorganized and redesignated many times.

Today, Shemya, an Army-Air Force Joint Operation,has an important role in America's defense program.This then is Shemya the westernmost field station in the Agency.

[Patchcollector]

Back view

[Bill Scott]

Patchcollector I have never seen one of those before.Its a very neat insignia with a great history.Thanks for posting it.Scotty

[Martinjmpr]

I knew some old ASA guys when I was on active duty (I was MI.) The joke in the ASA world was that duty in Shemya was great - there was a woman behind every tree!

[tredhed2]

4th IR was assigned to Alaska Defense Cmd early in WW II when barracks were built. It was a separate IR and never assigned to the 7th ID.

 

Nice patch for sure.

[Patchcollector]

Thanks guys for the comments and info.

 

While doing some background research on the unit it became apparent to me that the Shemya "family" had some real characters.I think those "spook" types are a bit too tightly wound and come up with some unusual things to do in their spare time,which on a tiny barren island like Shemya,I would imagine they had plenty of.

 

One story I found was about the area near the radars,which were undoubtedly being monitored by the Russians.The guys would write insults in huge letters with paint on the nearby cliffs for the Russians to read.

 

 

Here is some info regarding the design of the patch;the patches shape is round,incorporating into the design a glass ball that the Japanese use to keep their fishing nets afloat,and can be found washed up on the Shemya Island shoreline.

 

Also,I believe that the round item sticking out from the ground in the forefront is the "plug" to the island that one could tug on when frustrated.

 

The animal is,I believe,a dog that was named Boozer.He was a celebrity and when he died around 1969 he was buried with full Military honors.(Actually there were three "Boozers" but that's another story)