Impression of Butterworth
by
David Schoeck, USAF (Ret'd)
Trip to Thailand, Malaysia and Australia in September 1971
Okinawa is very hot and humid in the summer. I had been working rotating shifts at Kadena Air Base as a an Air Force traffic duty officer under stressful conditions for 7-8 months and needed a break.
One humid night at the officer’s club, I met a US Navy dentist who had just returned from a trip to Australia. He had traveled through Penang, Malaysia, where the Australians had a base. Then he flew space available to Sydney, where he had a fantastic time. After listening for several hours, I was hooked.
I had to carefully plan the timing of the trip around our tight duty schedule. However, I had covered for a number of other officers by taking their duty shifts in early 1971 so I had no problem getting three weeks leave in September. Money was also a consideration as air travel and hotels were expensive on a first lieutenant’s pay. I would have to use free military air transport and quarters wherever possible. I knew that I could get to U-Tapao Royal Thai naval base with no problem as the Strategic Air Command operated a regular shuttle from Kadena Air Base using a KC135 tanker. However, the onward and return trip to Australia could be chancy and possibly expensive. Although I had travel orders and the required vaccinations, I had no reservations anywhere. Except for the air force flight to Thailand, everything would be spontaneous. I embarked on the journey September 1, 1971.
Bangkok to Penang, Malaysia - September 6
After six days in Bangkok, I made a commercial air reservation on Malaysia-Singapore Airlines to fly to Penang, Malaysia. This was before Singapore and Malaysia airlines were separated but the friendly service on the one hour flight was the best I had ever experienced. Full meal with wine, duty free shopping and they would even change currency. We landed on the single strip runway at Penang in late afternoon. The B737 stopped at the end of the runway and turned 180 degrees to taxy to the terminal (no taxyway). At the terminal, they provided the necessary entry stamp and I hired a cab for the ferry to Butterworth Royal Australian Air Base (RAAF Butterworth).
Penang is an island on the west coast of Malaysia. Its main city, Georgetown is separated by a channel from the mainland. Butterworth is on the mainland side and a ferry connected the two cities. I took the ferry and noticed several Australian airmen on board. They all wore the British style khaki shirts, shorts and knee socks. The Australians had a bus from the ferry landing to their base and offered me a ride.
Penang and Butterworth Royal Australian Air Base
September 6-8Malaysia had been independent from Britain for only about 15 years and was still struggling from the “Emergency” or communist led guerrilla war of the 1950s and more recent conflict with nearby Indonesia. Butterworth had been a British Royal Air Force base established in the colonial days and was turned over to the Australians in the late 1950s. The Australians modernized and expanded Butterworth and Canberra bombers and Sabre fighters flew missions over Malaya during the “Emergency” . By 1971, the Australians had their Butterworth base for two reasons. First, as part of a Commonwealth Far East Strategic treaty, the Australians supported Malaysia’s defense. So a squadron of Mirage fighters operated from Butterworth. Secondly, the base was a trans-shipment point for Australian operations into Vietnam using C130 and other transport aircraft. The British were in the final process of pulling out their Malaysian and Singapore bases and I saw one of the last C130 flights take off from Butterworth to the UK on September 7th.
I already had an Australian visa stamped in my passport and my orders permitted travel to Australia. I was therefore authorized to “stand by” for a C130 courier flight to Sydney.
Butterworth reminded me of the Ceylon scene in “Bridge on the River Kwai” where the British had a base in a tropical garden setting. Their Visiting Officer Quarters and clubs were open with ceiling fans but no air conditioning. Buildings were freshly painted in white and there were colorful plantings everywhere. After I settled in, I went to the Australian officers club for happy hour. This meant drinking beer - Australian style. The club was a verandah style building overlooking Penang harbor. The bar was actually two rooms; a stag stand up bar and a patio with tables. In the stag bar, it was all male officers in their khaki shirts and shorts and on the patio was a mixed crowd, including women. I went into the stag bar and ordered, “I’ll have a beer please.” There was a momentary silence, then someone said, “My God, it’s a Yank!” I suddenly became popular and never paid for anything during the evening. They wanted to know where I was going and where I had been.!
What was America like? At one point, I asked why none of the women were in the bar. One guy said very seriously, “You don’t know Australian men mate. If a woman came in here, the place would be dead silent until she left.” A short time later, I went outside and chatted with some nursing sisters. Several Australians befriended me and I joined them for dinner. It was a rather formal affair in their club with a long sleeve dress shirt and tie required. That night it was actually comfortable in the open VOQ room, but I had the ceiling fan on.
Malaysia is a mixed palate of Malay Muslims, Chinese Buddhists, Indian Hindus and others.
Many Malaysian cities like Georgetown resembled a British colonial outpost with an Anglican church, P&O hotel, post office, statue of Queen Victoria and whitewashed buildings with empire era engravings. I toured Georgetown and it was neat and orderly - not as crowded or teaming with people as in other Asian cities. At the time, the air base and tourism bolstered its economy. About a half dozen years later, US semiconductor companies, like Intel established factories in Penang and the area is more modernized. However, on Sept 7, 1971, there were few Americans. I passed an old English cemetery and noticed one gravestone from the late 1800s said, “Killed by Chinese bandits”. Penang Hill was 2700 feet high and I took a funicular British built incline railway to the top, where it was cooler. There was a small hotel but I decided to walk into the nearby forest. I quickly noticed the sun faded under the jungle canopy. I walked beneath tall and nearly vertical trunks of the great tualand and merbau trees as well as palm, fern and other kinds of climbers, creepers and suckers of lush, green plant life. I bought some souvineers in town and returned to the base for another night with my Australian friends. That night, “The Dirty Dozen” was at the base theater.
The next morning I got an early call from “Air Movements” saying that there was space on a C130A that day for Richmond Air Base, near Sydney with intermediary stops in Singapore, Darwin (overnight) and Melbourne. At the terminal, I met two US Navy nurses stationed in Japan who were also taking the trip. However, mostly it was Australian soldiers and airmen returning home from Vietnam. Ironically, the aircraft commander was a US Air Force captain on an exchange program. He said the assignment came, “out of the chute.” The Aussie crew chief had been stationed at the Australian embassy in Washington.
Butterworth to Singapore to Darwin - September 8
Our RAAF C130A “06” was an early three prop version of the reliable transport that still fly today. We flew south and landed about an hour later at Paya Lebar international airport in Singapore. British troops were still charged with defense of Singapore, but were in the process of withdrawing. A British army major (lieutenant colonel selectee) boarded the flight in Singapore for a posting at the British mission in Canberra. He looked and talked like the actor Terry Thomas and even had a gap in his front teeth. It was interesting to get his views on various military and political matters. The C130 was very noisy, drafty and vibrated a lot. At one point, he said, “Think of it, I could have taken a BOAC VC10 instead of this bloody and drafty American built plane, but I wanted to save my government some money!”
There were also several Malaysian army officers on the flight, including a Lieutenant Colonel. They were very professional soldiers.
After taking off from Singapore, we flew over Borneo and landed about 12 hours later in Darwin, Northwest Territories of Australia. Darwin was a big air base - also in a tropical setting. We stayed at the Darwin officer's quarters and had dinner and beer with Australian, Malaysian and British officers. Darwin was bombed by Japan in 1942 and there was a plaque in base operations.
Darwin to Sydney - September 9
Our RAAF C130A took off the next morning and crossed the vast red Australian outback and arrived at RAAF Laverton, near Melbourne. It was at the end of the Australian winter and I was not prepared for the cool weather in the state of Victoria. After a year in the tropics, I was freezing in my light khaki uniform. While we waited for our plane to refuel, a TV in the terminal lounge was showing a Kentucky Fried Chicken commercial. American fast food places are now all over the world, but it was unusual to see such advertising in 1971. It was a short hop northeast to New South Wales and RAAF Richmond near Sydney.
Richmond and Sydney, Australia
The Malaysian officers enjoyed kidding with the British major. For example, in Richmond the Malaysian colonel asked his British counterpart if he wanted to walk from the terminal to the officer's mess. The major replied, "Sir, I'm afraid that I no longer have the Malayan stamina for long hikes." The colonel then said, "Yes, but I noticed in Darwin last night that you have the stamina for drinking lots of beer!" The major then said, "Yes sir, you've got me there." The British major gave me a ride into Sydney.
Butterworth is now a Royal Malaysian air base. However, I understand that some Australian squadrons still deploy there.
Yours sincerely,
David
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