United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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On 13 October 1950 a third hospital ship arrived for Korean service. In the HAVEN were Chaplains John Reardon, Roman Catholic, and Paul K. otter, Methodist, both of whom had reported in eptember. Reardon was relieved in October 1951 by Francis Klass, and Potter in December by Edwin R. Howard. Howard in turn was relieved in October 1952 by Chaplain John R. Tufft, and in December of the same year Klass was replaced by Chaplain John D. O'Lea1y. It will be noticed that the average tour was approxi- mately 1 year during the earlier part of the warg after 1952 the time began to be extended to from 18 months to 2 years. In chapter 3 has been mentioned the hazardous minesweeping of Wonsan harbor by the U.S. Navy. At the same time General Walker's 8th Army had captured the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and the need for opening Chinnampo, its port, was im- perative, it too was heavily mined. The Navy took on a second simultaneous minesweeping job. Finally, on 20 November 1950, a deep channel was opened g the first deep draft vessel to be piloted in was the hospital ship REPOSE, with less than 1 foot of water to spare. The officer in charge of minesweeping 'radioed his congratulations to the pilot, an Australian wnaval officer named Gladstone, regretting however that he must stay aboard overnight. Gladstone re- plied that he could doubtless stand the company of 50 nurses for 1 night! 12 , Talking Letters The summer of 1952 saw introduced a novel service for badly wounded patients, unable to write letters home. Free disc recording was instituted by the ship's lwelfare departments. It came about when REPOSE, returning stateside after a 16-month tour in Korean waters, was being resupplied. Professional type re- lcorders were purchased from welfare funds, one for leach of the three hospital ships. It is believed that this is the first time such facilities were made available in forward areas. The chaplains were alerted to watch for an inca- pacitated patient, who was asked if he would like to make a recording and have it sent home without charge to himself or his family. After clearance with lthe commanding officer, the man was given time to plan what he wished to say and a time set for the actual recording. Ten minutes was required to Fill a disc on both 12 Cagle and Manson, op. cit., p. 162. The whole of ch. 5 concerns the Chinnampo minesweeping operation. sides. Often the chaplain would begin, and some- times the ward nurse would add a few words of encouragement for the folks back home. The man himself then used the remaining time, the microphone being set up by his bunk. Enclosed with a letter from the commanding officer, the disc was then mailed in a special envelope first class to any desired address in the United States. The superiority of talking lettersl' over those which otherwise would have been written by the chap- lain or someone else, is obvious. Nothing could more personally convey to a man's family a sense of his individuality than his own voice, even on a record. Services Services of worship were held daily in the hospital ships by both Protestant and Roman Catholic chap- lains. It was possible for men in their bunks to listen in over the head-sets which also carried news, music, and diversionary fare. Usually morning and eve- ning prayers were also carried to the patients in this fashion. The following examples of work by chaplains serv- ing later on may be taken as representative. Chap- lain D. O'Leary noted in his questionnaire reply that his duty in the HAVEN was particularly satisfy- ing, administering Extreme Unction, Confessions, and Holy Communion daily. At the request of the com- manding officer of the Danish hospital ship JUT- LANDIA, he cared for Roman Catholic personnel and patients aboard. Twice a week opportunity for Confessions and Communion was offered confined patients, and each Sunday, ambulatory patients. This schedule was followed from February to June 1953, when the JUTLANDIA returned to Denmark. Aboard both that ship and his own, O'Leary found it necessary to hear the confession' of non-English- speaking personnel. To meet this need questionnaires were prepared in Danish, Greek, Italian, and Korean, keyed to our own English questionnaire. The chaplains found opportunities to minister to other than their own particular parishioners Chaplain L. E. Olmon reported holding services aboard APA's fattack transportsj and CVE's Cescort carriersj without a Protestant chaplain. Special attention was also given to small ships anchored with us and to Fleet Activities and MSTS, Inchonf' As the story of the Korean War unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that laymen were being encouraged to, and were taking responsibility for religious services in the absence of chaplains. Olmon wrote: Reports -105-

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remained until November 1952. His 2-year sea tour was completed by duty in the repair ship BRIAREUS, to July 1953. Seaborne Artillery Other ships meanwhile were lending their support in engagements of various kinds. Destroyers sought out coastline bridges and railroads to shell? Heavier ships added their Ere to frontline targets. In late July, to counteract the Communist claim at the Kae- song talks that the Reds controlled a large area south of the Parallel and to keep the approaches to Seoul open, a naval force entered the Han estuary and lobbed shells into the frontlines, guided by plane spotters. The leading ship in this demonstration was the LOS ANGELES, whose chaplain was William J. Organ, a Presbyterian. In September her fire power would be used against enemy troops and gun positions in the Kojo area, and again in November, when shell- ing from LOS ANGELES was instrumental in saving the ROK I Corps, low in ammunition and in danger of being overrun by a Communist breakthrough. The NEW JERSEY was similarly engaged in support of the lst Marine Division during September and early October. , PhibPac From the beginning ships of the Amphibious Force, Pacific had been engaged in the Korean conflict. Besides Force Chaplain William Kuhn and two others stationed at the Amphibious Base, Coronado, Calif., the following chaplains were on duty with PhibPac in July 1951. BAYFIELD Day, Edgar A. .... LT BAP CAD Helmich, Edward LCDR MORAVIAN MT MCKIN- C. LEY Holmes, Richard J. LT RC ELDOR ADO Kokoszka, William LT RC GEORGE J. CLYMER Ruder, Frederick LT METH CALVERT A. Of these ships BAYFIELD, GEORGE CLYMER, and CALVERT were attack transports, MT Mc- KINLEY and ELDORADO, amphibious command ships. Chaplain Robert T. Noland, Southern Baptist, served with Naval Beach Group ONE from September 1950 to January 1952. V Hospital Shipx Brief mention was made in chapter 2 of the arrival of the hospital ships CONSOLATION and REPOSE 10 Ibid., pp. 323-30, for this and following paragraph. in the war zone. Serving in CONSOLATION was Protestant Chaplain C. F. Holland. After a month at Pusan, the ship moved to Inchon to receive casual- ties from the Inchon-Seoul operation, and later, following in the wake of attacking UN forces, to Wonsan and thence to Hungnam.11 In November Roman Catholic Chaplain V. J. W. Lustig reported aboard, having traveled to Korea in the tanker CIMMARRON, He. wrote later that the crew had told him he was the first chaplain ever to have ridden in CIMMARRON, and that to the best of their knowledge his was the first Mass celebrated aboard. He mentioned also holding a Hgeneral service, a type of worship held for Protestants by Roman Catholic chaplains in the absence of a Protes- tant chaplain. The Catholic men had been holding Rosary services on their own, he reported, and the Protestants informal gatherings for worship. Lustig was aboard on Thanksgiving Day and was invited to say a blessing at dinner. Serving aboard the CONSOLATION, Chaplain Lustig had a special cabinet built in his stateroom for the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. Thus I could give daily Communion to those who desired fitJ. Some days as many as 38 patients received in their wards. Holy Viaticum was thus always available for the dying, even though we had no chapel aboard the ship. Chaplain Holland was relieved by Leroy G. Austin in the summer of 1951. Lustig served until April 1952, being replaced by Chaplain Martin J. Hoar. Austin was relieved by Chaplain Franklin C. Black in July 1952. Arthur M. Kulinski, who had earlier seen duty with the 1st Marine Division, would later relieve Chaplain Hoar in July 1953. There were thus fafter the initial buildupj two chaplains aboard at all times, their tours staggered so that continuity was provided by one experienced chaplain as the other was in turn relieved. The second AH Chospital shipj to report for duty in the war theater was REPOSE, arriving 16 Septem- ber 1950. Aboard were Chaplains Henry P. White fMethodistj and Charles F. Karnasiewicz fRoman Catholicj, both of whom had reported in August. Others subsequently assigned to REPOSE were: Allen L. Irwin ...... CONG Leonard F. White .... RC Luther E. Olmon .... LUTH Earl W. Smith ...... RC August 1951-October 1952 June 1951-October 1952 September 1952-July 1954 August 1952-March 1954 11 Montross and Canzona, op. cit., vol. III, p. 139. -104-

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International Conversation. Chaplain Walter S. Peck talks with Wong Dong Lee of the Korean Navy who is studying methods used by American Chaplains in sewing United Nations Forces. from patients that prayer groups and Bible study groups were held in frontline bunkers by lay person- nel. Ships without a chaplain reported that enlisted men and oflicers were conducting worship services, hymn sings, and Bible studyf' Anchored at Inchon, Olmon was frequently consulted for advice concern- ing such lay work, and made available supplies of religious literature. Well Donev Two of the hospital ships were honored with the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation for serv- ice terminating during the period here under review. CONSOLATION was cited for the period 11 August 1950 through 31 August 1951. REPOSE was awarded the KPUC for service from 16 September 1950 through 31 July 1951. HAVEN would later receive the same award for service from 18 October 1950 through 25 June 1952. Korean Navy Chaplaincy Chaplain H. P. White, in the REPOSE, was early in contact with the Korean Navy Chaplain Corps in its formative stage. He wrote to Chaplain Salisbury: I have tried to assist the ROK Navy in every possible way, and in turn the ROK Navy has been very helpful to us in the REPOSE. For sometime, Admiral Sohn lSoh Won Il UH of the ROK Navy was a patient aboard this ship, and we were fortunate in having his Navy band, more than 50 pieces, aboard for a concert .... The Hrst Chief of Chaplains of the Republic of Korea Navy was Lt. Comdr. Dall Bin Chung, origi- nally commissioned a line oilicer in 1948. Graduate of the Kwang Sung Methodist mission school, he later received a divinity degree from the Kwan Sei Uni- versity in Japan. Pastor and teacher before entering the Navy, Chaplain Chung had headed the educa- tional department of Methodist headquarters in Seoul and served as chaplain to the well-known Ewha Girls School there. In the Navy he rose to the position of Chief of Education and Information, and on 24 May 1951 was appointed to head the newly organized Chaplain Corps. Chaplain White's letter continued: When Chaplain Chung was made Chief of Chaplains, I did everything possible to help him get started. Words of gratitude and appreciation arrived from Admiral Sohn for this service. Chaplain Chung's office is not too far from the REPOSE, and I go over there as often as I can to assist him in getting his organization set up. He makes frequent visits to my office, and lim sure this splendid relationship will prove enriching and rewarding, 106-