United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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Besides requiring a serious withdrawal of UN forces, the Communist proposal would have given the UN a line 210 miles long as compared to the 125 miles they then had to defend. The Parallel was an arbitrary line with no military value and was, besides, objec- tionable to the Republic of Korea as emphasizing the artificial nature of the original division of Korea at the end of World War II. On 23 August the prin- cipal talks were broken off, for two months negotia- tions were conducted by subordinates, largely over alleged violations by one side or the other of the neutrality of the Kaesong area. During the early days of the talks it became evident that the Communists were trying to accomplish by devious wrangling what their armies had failed to achieve by fighting. Any equivocation, any delay that promised to serve their purposes was considered justified? The UN Command became convinced that they were using the lull to build up their defense in depth, captured equipment proved that China was supplying reinforcements. At the same time hope for peace was stirring Americans to expressed resentment of what had proved an unpopular war. Increasingly Van Fleet would find his activities restricted by the Far East Command, presumably acting on instructions from Washingtonf which doubtless reflected wide- spread unwillingness on the part of the people to sup- port the war to a successful conclusion. UN Ojjfenrive The breakoff of the principal negotiations oc- casioned by a walkout of the Red delegates on 22 August may have signalled their readiness to resume large-scale combat. In any event, the United Nations forces seized the initiative and during the last week in August began attacking in eastern Korea.5 Movement of Marine units was begun on the night of 26 August, to relieve elements of the 2d Army Division and the ROK 8th Division, deployed along the Kansas Line on the southern fringe of the Punchbowl. A suc- cessful thrust in this area would provide further se- curity for the Hwachon Reservoir, the source of both water and electricity for Seoul, and for the Chorwon- Seoul rail line. One objective of this offense was the Punchbowl itself, and on 31 August the lst Marine z' Cf. Joy, op. eit., pasrim. See also C. Berger, The Korea Knot fPhiladelphia, 19575, pp. 14-lff.g Cagle and Manson, op. eit., pp. 310-321. Also helpful is ch. VIII of vol. IV of the official history of U.S. Marine operations in Korea, unpublished at the time of this writing. A' Life QMay ll, 19531, A. Van Fleet, The Truth About Koreaf' p. l33. 5 Montross, unpublished vol. IV of the history of Marine operations in Korea. Also Miller et al., op. sit., ch. VI. Q Division with ROK Marine Units attached opened a drive northward. Writing to Chaplain Salisbury the next day, Chap- lain Kelly commented on the difficult conditions under which they were living: Our Command Post has moved up pretty far. We are approximately 4 to 5 miles behind the front line. Some of the big artillery is firing from behind us. It practically knocks us out of our beds when they open up. Physically this has been one of our toughest moves. We ran into a rough, rainy period. When we arrived in our new C.P. we found it a sea of muck. It rained for about 3 days steady. We arrived on Monday and finally late Friday afternoon we were able to move into our area and set up our tents. We spent all day Saturday just trying to get set up and dried out. II-I8 September September saw the Division engaged in heavy Hght- ing as they captured the Punchbowl and moved on to secure the northwesterly leg of the Soyang River above it. The worst of the fighting occurred between 11 and 18 September. On 11 September, as the lst Bat- talion, 7th Marines was committed against a strongly defended enemy position, Chaplain Richard T. Peeters, .Roman Catholic, and James.S. Ferris, Meth- odist, made their way to the forward aid station. More details are supplied in the citations accom- panying the Bronze Star awards subsequently given these chaplains. That of Peeters read: For 24 hours he gave spiritual and physical aid to the many casualties arriving at his command post. Learning on the following morning that the unit of which he was orig- inally a member was about to be committed, he passed through a valley subject to enemy artillery fire to rejoin it. He again stationed himself at the forward aid station and began to give assistance. In addition to his regular duties he dressed wounds, organized stretcher parties, prepared hot food for the wounded and assisted in numerous other ways. Three times during the night he led native stretcher bearers through mined areas and enemy fire to the rear aid station, and on his return trips brought much needed supplies. When all casualties had been evacuated, he volunteered to maintain a security watch in order that the doctor and corpsman might obtain some rest, and remained awake throughout the night guarding the aid station. Only when the battalion was re- lieved was his vigil ended. The citation for Chaplain Ferris states in part: When the battalion was engaged in the attack of a strongly fortified enemy position, he voluntarily stationed himself at the forward aid station where he could provide religious rites for, and succor to, the maximum number of Marines. In addition, he rendered distinct service to the battalion medical officer by organizing stretcher parties and performing the duties of a corpsman when large numbers of casualties were present. On one occasion, when a critically wounded Marine was reported lying in an exposed area under heavy 95-

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the period 25 January to 17 July, includes the fol- lowing: Working under extremely trying conditions which in- cluded l period of 43 consecutive days in the attack, he fre- quently was busy day and night, evacuating and cheering the many wounded, and often administering last rites on the front lines, with no regard for the danger involved nor his own fatigue. The roster of chaplains submitted on 1 August showed that the Chaplains Division had on the whole been successful in its rotation policy. Seventeen of those included in the roster of 21 April had been re- turned stateside, and 15 chaplains had reported since to the lst Marine Division. Recent arrivals had been assigned as follows: Service Bn ..... . . Stanley I. Ray ..., LT PRESBY CUSAJ Shore Party Bn .... Bashford S. Power . LTJG METH Motor Transport. . john L. Wissing. . . LT RC 5th Marines ....... Donald W. jolly. . . LTJG PRESBY CUP Medical Bn ....... Robert Schncck. LT LUTH A feeling of tense expectancy enveloped the Marines in their rest area as rumors reached them in August that the Communists were massing large reinforcements of troops and supplies in the North. Writing to Chaplain Salisbury on ll August, Chap- lain Kelly said: There are over 650,000 Chinese and North Koreans in North Korea. Including the troops in Manchuria, they can muster a million men. Allied aviators returning from reconnaissance over enemy territory reported a tremendous number of trucks heading south with supplies. The Marines remembered how such signs were observed on previous occasions before an enemy offensive. Kelly continued: On August 15 we shall have been in reserve for a month. That is about the length of time that a Division can expect to remain in reserve. So it is generally expected that any time after that may find us committed to the lines.. It is generally felt that should the peace negotiations break down, our Division will be called upon to make an amphibious landing behind the enemy lines. Kaesong Truce Talks The cease-fire negotiations had begun when the chief delegates met for the first time on 10 July, Vice Adm. C. Turner Joy, Far East Naval Com- mander, acting for the United Nations Command. Lieutenant General Nam Il was the spokesman for the enemy. After settling on an agenda, they had become stalled during August over the first item, the demarcation of a buffer zone between the opposing forces. The United Nations delegation held out for a de- militarized strip 20 miles deep in front of the current UN line: the Communists insisted on a zone extending 10 kilometers on either side of the 38th Parallel? 2Britannica Book of the Year, 1952: article, Korean War. Baptism. , - ..f --,.., ' The waters of the Hwachon Reservoir are used for baptism by Chaplain Austin on 11 July 1951. , ,. , ,, .1 nw.-, A . 1' :N ffl' ' . , f.f.. : ' ' -f . , ' t- i r e' . ,,.. E ,reread -ffwvw , Nr . 1 .. ,.s.:f me--f.u1eNft5 f ' ,, 'S , M4 srsrfss .....,...... r . 1 sr 7 1 - ri.. 94-

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enemy artillery Hre, he unhesitatingly proceeded to the spot where the wounded man lay and assisted in his evacuation. He continued to give assistance for a period in excess of 48 hours without rest. A third chaplain was decorated for devoted action on that same ll September. Henry H. Hayes, who had previously received the Bronze Star, was given the Letter of Commendation award. His citation reads in part: While under continuous fire from enemy artillery and mortars, he fearlessly stationed himself at the forward aid station, and with utter disregard for his own personal safety, went about ministering to the wounded and providing them the utmost in comfort and safety. When not performing these duties, he voluntarily organized and dispatched stretcher parties and medical supply trains to the infantry companies. Through his determined efforts and unselfish actions, the lives of many of the critically wounded were saved. Two Chaplains Wounded Two chaplains received light wounds during this period. Chaplain Ferris was wounded on 14 Septem- ber. Hearing that the Marine artillery unit sup- porting his regiment had received direct hits, Ferris hurried to the place and en route was knocked down by a shell which exploded about 10 feet from where he was walking. A lad accompanying the chaplain was killed. In a letter to Chaplain C. L. Drury Qthen Chaplain Corps historianj, dated 20 August 1956, Chaplain Ferris described the event: All I can say is that the good Lord was with me. It wasn't until later that evening when I had returned to my own outfit and was changing my clothes that I discovered my clothes were covered with blood, not necessarily my own blood. My clerk noticed I had a number of cuts on my back. Thinking that there might be some small splinters of shrapnel, I reported to sick bay and found everything to be O.K. An examination showed the wounds to be slight. How- ever, Ferris was reported as a casualty and his wife received a telegram to that effect before he could write and let her know that he was not seriously injured. The second chaplain wounded was E. Hollings- worth. Somehow a report was circulated which reached his wife at home that the chaplain had died of his wounds, actually the wound was not serious enough to require hospitalization. He would later re- ceive the Letter of Commendation award for uexcel- lent service . . . during operations against the en- emy . . . 20 April to 15 October l95l. His citation includes the following: Despite the threat of enemy action, he often held Divine Services for the infantry companies within easy range of the enemy positions. On one such occasion, he was wounded while holding services. He refused to be evacuated until he had reassured the Marines in their faith. The Medios If chaplains sometimes received decorations, and often both silent and expressed respect and apprecia- tion from their fellows, they in turn were warm in their regard for the sacrificial spirit evidenced around them. The Division's Jewish chaplain, E. H. Rickel, wrote of one 30-hour period in which A Medical Company cared for some 675 wounded Marines. Every man, he wrote, from highly trained specialist to truck driver, sweated and worked at furious pace according to his skill. And he quoted with obvious approval the re- mark of a surgeon, washing up after an extremely deli- cate operation, I'm damned proud to be a member of this outfit. Iive never seen anything like it. 59 About 8 olclock on Sunday evening 80 men were brought in from the enemy line, 78 turned out to be ROK Marines, 2 were North Koreans. Accompanied by interpreter and chaplain, a doctor began routine admissions work. The Korean equivalent of Where do you hurt? was repeatedly called out, as doctors and corpsmen ascertained the extent and nature of wounds and prepared initial charts. The chaplain bent down to hold a canteen of water to the mouth of one of the wounded enemy. A gleam of life flashed into the half-closed almond-shaped eyes, he lifted his head up, bowed in thanks, and drank deeply. A South Korean Marine looked on with amazement and shouted, He is the enemyf, The chaplain asked Yu to explain that here and now there were no enemies, only wounded. Chaplain Rickelis account continued: The devotion to duty of the medical personnel was rein- forced, was only equalled by the conduct of the wounded. Faces showed pain, involuntary anguished moans escaped, but at no time did anyone hear loud outbursts. The wounded waited patiently, with closed eyes, tight lips, and gratitude that they were still alive. And when they did talk, this is what one heard. 'Tm okay, Doc, take care of himf' Do you think I'll make it, chaplain? Gee, my poor wife, shclll be so hurt. A'Pray for me, padre, I promised my little boy that lid take him on a camping trip when I got back. As one warrant officer said, if that number ever hit a hospital in the States, they'd have to declare a city- wide emergency. But men can and do rise above themselves, above what they commonly think is ex- pected of them and indeed expect of themselves. Perhaps, as Rickel said, You have to see it to believe it , but when it happens, one can only pause in humble gratitude. -95-