United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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the chaplain was detached by Commanding Officer Q Rear Echelonj, at Camp Lejeune, and proceeded to join his ship. He was, he wrote the Chief of Chap- lains, received most cordially by Chaplain Herbert W. Buckingham, Bapt. CAD , who had been aboard already since January. During service in the war theater the chaplains kept busy. Kapalczynski reported that during General Quarters he took his battle station on the bridge. It was his practice to pronounce a General Absolution and the Lord's Prayer over the I.M.C. fan internal communication system operating directly from the bridgej. Like so many others, he offered his services to ships without a chaplain. Even during opera- tions, on and off the Korean bombline, Sunday Divine Services were conducted for destroyers. Transporta- tion was by helicopter or highlinef' Cardinal Spellman came aboard during Christmas- tide, arriving by helicopter, and was greeted by Vice Adm. H. M. Martin, Commander 7th Fleet, whose Hag had been transferred to WISCONSIN. During a day of touring the ship he chatted with officers and men, delivered a Christmas message over the ship's radio station, WHIZ, and offered to send a personal message, when he returned home, to next-of-kin of any personnel desiring it. fMore than 600 took him up on the ofTer.j Next day, following an early Mass, the Cardinal returned ashore. Chaplain Buckingham reported that occasionally members of ship's company were wounded by enemy fire and sometimes others brought aboard for treat- ment. In December an unidentified North Korean prisoner of war, severely wounded, was transferred to WISCONSIN. A hospitalman, Harold Berger, do- nated blood for use during an operation but strenuous efforts to save his life failed. The next day, in a Casualty Coming Aboard. Helicopter approaches the landing platform of the CONSOLATION with a casualty. W -116-

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Cardinal in Korea-1951. Francis Cardinal Spellman thanks men of MAG 33 for the wonderful job you're doing for America here in Koreaf, Mass Aboard Ship. The Morning Scripture Lesson. Chaplain Eugene J. Kapalczynski holds Mass aboard the Personnel of the WISCONSIN hear the reading of Scripture WISCONSIN of the U.S. 7th Fleet. by their chaplain, H. W. Buckingham. 525322 0-auf-fa Y- l 15 -

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Ulm uns., inn.. N 1, la! .l , . Absent Rabbi. In the absence of a jewish chaplain, Lt. Qjg.j William Jasper leads the services on the ANTIETAM. surely unusual ceremony, that former enemy was buried at sea. Eight sailors acted as pallbearers, and the ship's Marine detachment and band provided military honors. Both chaplains read prayers. Hanukkah There are usually only a limited number of Jewish chaplains on active duty, assigned to large bases. The T! O also allowed a Marine division one Jewish chap- lain. Those who served in the 1st Division in Korea had been Garson Goodman, Elihu Rickel, and, in the period here under review, Reuben Siegel. In No- vember 1951 Arnold Wolf was ordered to Fleet Activities, Yokosuka to minister to Jewish personnel in units under Commander Naval Forces, Far East. Often other chaplains encourage Jewish men to conduct their own services and sometimes they do so on their own initiative. One such group was to be found in the ANTIETAM. Composed of 25 ofhcers and men, the congregation was organized in Septem- ber 1951 shortly after the ship sailed for Korea. Jew- ish religious afTairs tend to be democratically organ- ized and the presence of a rabbi is not necessary for the conduct of worship. It is, however, customary to have a president -in this case Lt. Qj.g.j William Jasper, a dental officer. Some of the men were from Conservative back- ground, others Reform, and still others Orthodox. The problem of what type service to hold was settled by encouraging a different person to conduct worship each week, so that from week to week the service would reflect first one tradition and then another. Probably the Jewish congregation in the Flying Al' was the First to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, 5712 C 1951 J . The ship had just crossed the date line, and thus its service really began the New Year for the Jewish world. Only 14 hours later would the hour of usher- ing in the New Year have arrived in New York, and 21, in Hawaii. On Yom Kippur the ship was docked at Yokosuka, and arrangements were made for the men to attend Day of Atonement services in the Army chapel at Yokohama. Sukkoth fFeast of Boothsj found the ship in the Sea of Japan, so the congregation held their own service. -117-