United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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CHAPTER 6 UNITED NATIONS SUMMER-FALL OFFENSIVE 9 July-27 November 1951 The last 2 years of the Korean War included few outstanding military campaigns. The peace talks which began in July 1951 dragged on through inter- minable rdlelays and exasperating double-talk until the armistice was finally signed on 27 July 1953.1 There were of course combat operations during these 2 years, the Department of Defense has recognized five dis- tinct campaigns, each of which entitles personnel who participated in it a battle star on the Korean Service ribbon. For the most part limited to actions seesaw- ing back and forth from one hill to another, for the men who fought in them these operations were never- theless often as perilous and always more monotonous than had been the more renowned battles of the First year of the war-and mostly without the glory. War has a way of becoming commonplace to those on the home front. 93 Breathing Spell The 1st Marine Division had enjoyed a brief respite during the winter of 1950-51 at Masan. On 15 July 1951 it went into 8th Army reserve in the Hongchon area, its second and last relief from the line until May 1953. Division Chaplain Kelly suggested to the Chaplains Division that the truce talks might provide a good time for rotation, but it was felt that until the cease-Hre negotiations should have taken effect, it was best to leave the current rotation system in operation. On 20 July Kelly held a meeting of the Division chap- lains, which was addressed by Colonel Platt, G-1 C Di- vision Personnel Ofiicerj and Colonel Hager, G-4 fDivision Logistics Oflicerj. Both stressed the im- portant work being done by chaplains and expressed command appreciation for it. Chaplain Kelly em- phasized the primacy of the chaplain's spiritual minis- try and the importance of his own attitude toward his work. The job ahead of us,', he told them, is tough, but we are dedicated to God and therefore we 1See C. Turner Joy, How Communists Negotiate fNew York, 19551. Foreword by Matthew B. Ridgway, and Vatcher, Wm. Jr., Panmunjon QN.Y., 19581 should be ready to make sacrifices. Certainly we all want to go home when our time is due, but we must not build up arguments with men for getting out of here. We must help them to realize what personal sacrifices may be required. In the rest area, although the Marines were engaged in training, there was time for athletics and amateur entertainment, the chaplains had a hand in arrang- ing these. Kelly felt that they were also showing ugreat ingenuity in constructing chapelsf, From this period of relative quiet Chaplain Keene H. Capers recalled the following delightful incident. We had built a beautiful little chapel in a grove of trees. The chapel area was surrounded by a rail fence made of rough logs and painted white. The altar was made of stone. Probably more than any other chapel, this one was mine. I had cut the logs, carried the stones, built the fence. We were having our regular Sunday morning service. I had asked our Jewish chaplain, Elihu Rickel, to preach the sermon. My organist, a Korean, was playing the prelude. For some reason the music was not having its usual quieting effect. There was more talking than usual, even laughter, and then I realized what it was. The organist was playing the old hymn O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice on Thee My Saviour and My God.', But to the Marines he was playing Nobody Knows How Dry I Am! Work Goes On During these days Kelly was visited by Chaplain Ivan L. Bennett, Staff Chaplain, Far East Command fGeneral Ridgway's commandj , Chaplain Tobey Q8th Army Staff Chaplainl and Chaplain Jones QX Corps Staff Chaplainj. At the request of Chaplain W. A. Mahler, ComNavFE Staff Chaplain, Kelly lent him Chaplain Austin on Temporary Additional Duty, with the proviso that in case of emergency he would have to be immediately recalled. Several chaplains had been ill, usually with dysentery, Chaplains Uber and Wissing both contracted hepatitis, and although Uber was returned' to duty after hospitalization aboard the HAVEN in Pusan, Wissing had to be evacuated to Japan and did not return to the Division. ..92..

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june 1951, summing up the regiment's operations dur- ing the preceding 2 weeks. Colonel Brown wrote: A lot of comrades, officers and men, have died or been injured in this police action.', I fear that more, very prob- ably, will be before it is over. But you are making tradi- tions of valor and professional skill that will rank alongside of, or outrank, the achievements of Marines of the First World War, the Second World War, and all our minor cam- paigns. And I urge you all to believe, whether or not you are, or have been, religiously inclined, that in this struggle for decency among men, we are fighting on the side of the Lord. The Communists who oppose us are fighting to deny His existence. One thing at least is plain: The Communist in- vasion of the Republic of Korea had shown itself a serious menace to the spirit of freedom 5 this was no minor police actionf, but full-scale war, and in the balance lay the future of, at the least, common decency among mankind. Just as plainly the balance had been tipped by the United Nations forces in the di- rection of victory. Truce Talks At this juncture the Communists made a new move. On 23 June 1951 Jacob A. Malik, Russian delegate to the United Nations, in a radio address in New York suggested the possibility of truce talks in Korea.17 Y' For brief introduction, see Cagle and Manson, op. fit., pp. 3103.5 includes extended quotation from Cthenl Rear Adm. Arleigh Burke, Deputy Chief of Staff, ComNavFE, the second Navy member of the UN delegation. Admiral Joy was, of course, head of the delegation. Two days later the Chinese Communist regime un- oiiicially endorsed the proposal. The United Nations Command immediately signified its willingness to dis- cuss preliminary terms, and on 8 July truce negotia- tions began at Kaesong, a site near the Parallel and just inside the Communist lines. This date marks the end of the 5th Korean Campaign. The first meeting of the main delegations was sched- uled for 10 July. Although the talks had begun, ac- tual fighting did not stop, though limited to minor skirmishing and patrol actions. Writing to Chaplain Salisbury on the 10th, Division Chaplain Kelly said: The best news that our Division received was the word that we are to go into Corps Reserve of the X Army Corps. The plan is that we are to pull out of the line and move down near Hongchon for rest and training. The boys really need the rest. It has been a long hard grind, and our casual- ties have been heavy. We have been attacking and being attacked since February. And during that time we stopped two major offensives. ' The move to the rest area was scheduled to begin 15 July. A little more than a year had passed since North Korean forces had crossed the 38th Parallel, the year of the heaviest fighting during the whole con- Hict. Five of the ten campaigns which would be rec- ognized by the Defense Department had taken place within this period. It remained to be seen whether a military truce might be arranged which would allow representatives of the contending powers to work out a settlement for the political future of Korea. .,.91m

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1 l Mgt... Memorial Service, Hongchon. Chaplain Francis W. Kelley gives the invocation at services held 3 August for marines who died in Korea. Behind him, left to right, are: Maj. Gen. Gerald C. Thomas, Commanding General of the Division, Brig. Gen. William J. Whaling, Assistant Division Commander, and Chaplain Rickel. Chaplain Hollingsworth also participated but is not pictured here. On 3 August a memorial service was held in memory of those Marines who had given their lives since 29 De- cember 1950. Chaplain Kelly gave the invocation, prayer was offered by Chaplain John E. Hollingsworth, and the benediction given by Chaplain Elihu Rickel. The address was given by Maj. Gen. Gerald C. Thomas, Commanding General, lst Marine Division. A letter sent from General Thomas to bereaved families included the following: The ceremony . . . was held on a hillside in the valley of the Hongchon River, in an area where a considerable number of the heroes whom we gathered to honor had fallen. Several thousand men of the Division attended, and I know that I ex- press the heartfelt sentiment of each one present when I say that we share fully in your sorrow and bereavement. Chaplain Joseph C. F itzgerald, 11th Marines Regi- mental Chaplain, was cited for meritorious serv- ice . . . during operations against enemy aggressor forces in Korea from 14 January to 15 July 1951, a period stretching from the Pohang guerrilla hunt until the Division went into reserve. The citation accom- panying the Bronze Star reads in part: An able and resourceful officer, Lieutenant Commander Fitzgerald displayed exceptional understanding and confi- dence in ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of the men in the regiment. Exposing himself to intense enemy fire on many occasions, he unfailingly gave immediate consolation to the wounded, lending comfort to them in their distress. Chaplain joseph D. McDonald, Regimental Chap- lain of the lst Marines, was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Bronze Star. His citation, covering