United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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l think the majority of our wounded will live. The view 'rom my foxhole is beautiful, and one thing is sure-I'll never 'orget this mountain. We expect to hold a special thanksgiving service tomorrow. Y'ou'd be interested to note The Secret Placen reading for lune 10 was entitled A Mountain to Climb -coincidence, sn't it: Keep praying-God is blessing, over 200 men have iccepted Christ out here, and to date I have baptized 97 of yur fighting Marines. Sincerely, CSD H. E. Austin. H. E. AUSTIN. Writing again to his friends on 8 July, Austin re- Jorted that his unit had been sent back to a rest area md that he was about to be detached to another mit. He wrote: I have just finished holding my final service with the 2d Battalion. Our Regimental Commander and Battalion Com- mander, along with 240 men, were present. Our Marine 'hoir sang and it was a very touching service. We have a veautiful outdoor chapel here in the regimental rest area. Seven more men made a profession of faith in Christ today .nd I am baptizing them this afternoon in the clear waters rf the Hwachon Reservoir. fMy 110th since February 28.l The Lord has been at work in our midst, and I am very hankful for the prayers of my friends. Ihaplain Austin was relieved in the 1st Marines by Ihaplain George R. Brosius and assigned to the lst Iombat Service Group at Masan. 'Such a Man as In A splendid illustration of how one chaplain-in this .ase Keene H. Capers-dealt with a Marine facing he stark face of fear in his life and helped him to tn answer founded upon religious faith is revealed n the following story.11 A Marine captain of my acquaintance, fighting in Korea vhen I was there recently, was well beloved of his men. One .ay he and two other officers undertook a reconnaissance vatrol into enemy territory. One of the three tripped a oncealed wire which detonated an antipersonnel mine. The vopular captain was killed, the other two oflicers seriously rounded. I held memorial services for the captain whose courage nd devotion to duty had won the admiration and respect if all. For my text I chose a sentence from the 6th chapter f Nehemiah, the 11th verse: Should such a man as I flee? As the service broke up I came across a young rifleman :hose presence there surprised me. We'll call him Sam. knew that Sam had been offered an opportunity to return o the rear, so as I greeted him I asked, curiously, What are ou doing here, Sam ? For reply he tossed back at me the 11 As told by K. H. Capers to Ken Jones. First published 1 the magazine Brief CDecember 19521 under the title I Vas With Your Boy in Battle. Republished as ch, III of len Jones, book of Korean stories, I Was There fNew York, 953j. Used by permission. The wording here follows that f a typescript on file in the Chaplains Division, which is not xactly reproduced in either of the published versions. 535332 O-60--7 words of Nehemiah which I had just quoted :' Should such a man as I flee? Without knowing the facts you might think that Sam was being cocky. He wasn't. In that instant a 19-year-old boy reached a magnificent pinnacle of inspired, determined, re- sourceful, and responsible manhood. Let me tell you Sam's story, which is typical of what many American boys are ex- periencing in Korea today. , When I first met Sam he was shook. That isnit good grammar but it's mighty meaningful military slang, and as the boys come home in greater and greater numbers from the fighting fronts youire going to hear the word more and more. The American fighting man in Korea who is shook has reached the razor edge of emotional endurance. He's had all he can take of mud, blood, and death. He may have some resources of physical stamina left, but his nerves are playing him false. His hands shake, his speech may be halt- ing and almost unintelligible, an uncontrollable fear, which he can't name, burns deep in his wide hollow eyes. It's an easy condition to recognize. Among fighting men it reflects no stigma of cowardice. Put under enough pressure any man will be shook. These boys are under pressure. Our troops were seesawing back and forth over the 38th Parallel at the time. It was early afternoon of a fine, clear day. My tent had just been put up at the foot of a bluff on the edge of a rice paddy. I sat at my portable desk, the Coleman lantern hung ready on the tentpole, and I was sharing a desultory bull session with my tentmates, two medical officers, and two TAC people-Tactical Air Control. Sam walked up to the tent flap and just stood there. He didn't say anything, he didn't have to say anything. I had eyes to see, and what I saw made me rise quickly, although I was careful to seem casual. Suppose we take a walk, son, I suggested as I stepped out of the tent and left the others behind. This wasnlt their kind of show. We headed toward a shallow ravine at the edge of the rice paddy, maybe 20 or 30 yards from the tent. Neither of us said anything more at the moment. When we reached the ravine Sam unslung his M-1 from his shoulder and placed it carefully on the ground. We squatted facing each other on a small hummock which may, for all I know, have been a Korean grave. Smoke . . .? I held a pack of cigarettes toward the boy, but he shook his head. I took the brief opportunity while lighting my own cigarette to study Sam. He was young-19, as I learned later. His beard was scraggly, and probably had been growing for weeks. He stood about 5 feet, 9, I guessed his weight at 140 pounds, and where I could see his cheeks they were ruddy, although he was in- credibly dirty. Sam tried to speak after a moment, but emotional tension had him in an iron grip. His jaws worked, but no sound issued from his lips. Then without further ado, he burst into a tempest of tears. I didn't move, but I spoke to him softly, urging him to cry all he wanted to and pay no atten- tion to me. I knew, of course, that the release he would find through tears eventually would make it possible for him to gain some measure of control. Deep sobs racked him but after some minutes a quieter key crept in and finally, in a flat, desperate, hopeless voice he told me: Chaplain, I don't know whatls wrong, but I just can't go back on the hill! Sam wasn't the first boy Iid seen and talked with who 183-

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Ministry to Wounded It will have been noticed that one of the most fre- quently occurring references to chaplains' work con- cerns their ministry to casualties. Recalling the ad- vance to the Punchbowl, Chaplain G. A. Bingaman wrote: During June 1951 nearly 1,500 Marines passed through an emergency aid station we had set up in a 3-day period of crisis. Two doctors, two corpsmen, and three chaplains met a tremendous need in a situation described later as 'light action on the east-central front., Chaplain D. McDonald com- mented that, besides administering the last rites of his church to Catholic personnel, he prayed with men of all denominations when wounded or dying. Chap- lain Henry H. Hayes recalled that it was standard procedure in his battalion aid station to refer all men admitted with 'combat fatigue, to the chaplain before being evacuated or else returned to duty? Services Letters and reports from combat chaplains fre- quently referred to the Marines' appreciation for their presence. Many a brief religious service was held for a small group in a bunker or improvised shelter, when the chaplain would simply read a passage of Scripture and lead in prayer. Sometimes even in advanced sit- uations Protestant chaplains would administer the Lordis Supper, while Roman Catholic chaplains would hear confessions and say Mass. Chaplains re- ported numerous instances where the men themselves took the initiative in conducting devotional services. Many Testaments, prayer books, and items of devo- tional literature were distributed. Chaplain Jesse L. Swinson fa one time outfielder for the Boston Red Soxj reported: As Chaplain to the Tank Battalion I was invited by my men to ac- company them on patrols in enemy territory, which I did, and I felt it was appreciated by them. I always encouraged them to pray, and Holy Communion was available to them before and during each engage- ment. Chaplain Keene H. Capers, who was with the 1st Marines during some bitter fighting, wrote: The mere presence of a chaplain can have a tremendous influence on the fighting spirit of a battalion or a ship. For a man who has been on the line for some time the sight of the chaplain walking the lines specifically to talk to him, if he wants to talk, can affect that man's staying power. Act- ing as a mailman, carrying fruit juice, or any practical demonstration of the chaplain's abiding interests in the wel- fare of the men can give truth to the words he speaks to them in his sermons. A chaplain must be where he is needed regardless of personal inconvenience or danger. Hill 676 During the advance to the Punchbowl, the lst Ma- rines had its fiercest struggle assaulting the ridges over- looking the Hwachon Reservoir from the northeast. The battle raged most of June 9-10. A firsthand ac- count may be found in the following letter which Chaplain Henry E. Austin wrote several days later to some of his friends. CHills in this mountainous area were most frequently razor-sharp peaks, they received their names from their height, given in meters.j Aus- tinls letter is so vivid in its description and so revealing in its account of the work of combat chaplains that it is given in its entirety. OFFICE or THE CHAPLAIN 2D BATTALION 1ST MARINES F.P.O. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., I3 june 1951. DEAR FRIENDS! Many thanks for your prayers and in- terest in my work. I received a backlog of 14 letters today- up on the top of bloody Hill No. 676-elevation: 2,000 feet straight up! Some time ago, I said that I honestly thought we had the best battalion in the lst Marine Regiment and in the entire lst Division for that matter. Yesterday we met the test and our men covered themselves with glory-via the time-honored Blood, sweat, and tears route. At the moment, I have my foxhole dug right on the top of 676 which we paid for with 261 men wounded and 16 men killed. Last night was our roughest night, since I joined the 2d Battalion, so I stayed up all night and helped the doctors. It was 4 a.m. before we could evacuate the first wounded, because we had to carry them over 2M miles along a mountain ridge under enemy fire in the drizzly-dark. I helped as stretcher bearer, prayed with the seriously wounded and dying, gave out cigarettes landl water, and tried to give some comfort to the men. Some of the wounded who walked in got lost in the dark. We had to observe strict blackout regulations, but all were eventually accounted for. Everyone cooperated and did a magnificent job. Col. Big Foot Brown personally came by the evacuation point and thanked both the doctor, the corpsmen, and the padre for seeing all the wounded. Four artillery shells hit the area at that moment, so both he, the Doc,', and I hit the deck at the same time. One thing that made Hill 676 tougher than any mountain I've seen since Suribachi on Iwo Jima was the fact that we had no air-support due to bad weather. Then, since the slope was very steep, the artillery could only continue to a certain point. The Chinese and North Koreans were really dug in and poured murderous concussion grenades, machine gun and burp-gun fire, plus mortars down our throats Clit- erallyj, so in the Marine tradition our battalion took the objective on blood and guts alone. In the face of what looked like annihilation, our men stormed up 676 and se- cured the same at 2115 19:15 p.rn.j Sunday, June 10. I never prayed more sincerely in my life and God blessed us, because most of the wounds of our men were clean, and -32-

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First Permanent Chapel. Many services were held in Korea out in the open or in tem- porary shelters. This permanent building with a seating capacity of 200 served U.S. fighting men and Korean Christians. Chapel Dedication. Chaplain Ross H. Trower talks with members of his con- gregation after the dedication. The chapel was built in two weeks. didn't know what was wrong but who couldn't go back on the hill. And I knew at once that Sam wasn't afraid of any rendezvous with death which might be waiting him on the hill.'l His problem was more subtle than physical fear. Sam was afraid he would be afraid. If that seems an anomaly, any man back from the fighting in Korea can explain it to you. I'll try to explain it myself a little further along, because it lies at the root of what's happening to your man in this war. QI say your man advisedly.l You may have sent away a boy, but a man will return in his place, and of that you may be sure! I got Sam talking about himself. He was an only child, and he and his mother had been very close to each other in the little midwestern town where they lived. As he talked the boy pulled out a badly cracked snapshot and a much- folded and grimy leaflet. That's my mom, he said simply, offering the snapshot for my inspection. I studied the portrait of a rather pretty woman who appeared on the youngish side-a typical, whole- some, small-town mother. And here's my church bulletinf' he added, unfolding the grimy leaflet. See-where's my name, right here!', The church bulletin, I noted, was dated sometime ago, and an- nounced that Sam was slated for service in Korea. He'd been carrying it with him as a pitiful link with a safe past amid the confusion and death of battle. But, as he said, there was his name, right there. The rest of my conversation with Sam need not be de- tailed here. I reminded him that we were not alone-that there was Another present-and that if he really wanted to, we three could lick any situation. I also pointed out to him-and this is terribly, terribly true-that it's easier for us to be courageous as we get older and experience more things. Sam was pretty new to combat. I knew that if I could help him overcome his fear of fear itself-get him to want to go back up there on the hill some way-half of his battle would be won. He was at the low point through which every man must pass on the road to becoming a battle-seasoned veteran. Things couldn't possibly get any worse for Sam, they could get a lot better if he rose to the challenge. Eventually, we got to talking about the prospects of hot chow-always an absorbing speculation at the front. Then I sent Sam to the nearby river with instructions to jump in, dunk himself in the shallow water, relax, soak up as much sunshine as possible, and pick me up at my tent later in the afternoon. Before the sun set I walked with Sam back up the hill to his unit, and I left him with the reminder, Son, don't forget you're never alone. There's always One other with you! It was a month after this little episode that Sam appeared at the memorial service for the captain. I taxed him with the query, I hear you turned down a chance to go down the hill? And he gave me the ringing answer: Should .ruth a man ax I fiee? An American man had been born. First Permanent Chapel The lst Combat Service Group, located in the vi- cinity of Masan, achieved the distinction of having the first permanent chapel of any Marine group in Korea. f Permanent meant anything not a tent.j Consisting of a double Arctic Quonset hut, erected on the initiative of the command, the chapel .was dedi- cated on 20 May 1951.12 At a military ceremony a 0930 the chapel was presented by the commandin oflicer, Col. John H. Cook, Jr., USMC, and accepte by the senior chaplain, Arthur M. Kulinski. Regu- larly scheduled Divine Services followed. In the after- noon Chaplain Ross H. Trower presided at a Protestant Service of Dedication, at which the choir of the Chun Ang Methodist Church sang. At the Roman Catholi Dedicatory Mass music was furnished by the choir o the Masan Catholic Church. Besides military person- nel from neighboring Army activities and the destroyer escort WISEMAN, guests included other chaplains in the area and local Korean Christian clergy. 12 Information from material on file in the jacket of Chap- lain Ross H. Trower in the Chaplains Division.