In the 1960s, both the U.S. Air Force and the Army communications units were stationed on Baengnyeong Island in South Korea, an isolated island in the West Sea near the maritime border with North Korea.
With the presence of U.S. forces, electricity was introduced to the island, and Catholic military chaplain Edward Moffett (Korean name: Bu Young Bal) secured land to open the island’s first medical facility, now known as the Catholic University of Korea Hospital.
The U.S. military withdrew from the island in 1975. In the early 2010s, efforts were made to bring back a U.S. Marine Corps presence, but the plans were ultimately canceled. Today, only the living quarters that would be used by U.S. Marines in the event of emergency deployment remain.
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