United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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Chaplain Distributes Religious Literature. Arnold P. Spohn distributes religious literature to newly arrived Marine replacements. , ,-M.,-...M- lpractiee and custom. I served my men and asked Fodls pardon under the circumstances. l Chaplain Arnold P. Spohn, while in the 7th Ma- irines, at the front, administered Holy Communion at each service, including at least three services on Sun- iday at the Command Post and larger mortar groups, .and also approximately three to five services 4 days each week in the platoons along the line. l Chaplain Robert J. Schneck one Sunday afternoon ,nrigged for church on the hood of a jeep in a dry :stream bed. Enemy action had been relatively light land the banks appeared to afford cover. Some 20 men attended and received Communion. Schneck's own account continues: All went well until the chaplain was facing the altar for postcommunion prayers. The enemy took that opportunity to lob a few rounds of artillery into the valley. When the chaplain turned, his congregation had all but disappeared. 1The chaplain again faced the altar, and as he turned a sec- ond time to pray the benediction, his congregation had some- how returned. The benediction pronounced, the chaplain again faced the altar. As he turned the third time, to say a few parting words, he discovered his congregation already departed. With a sigh of thanks that nothing had happened, he turned to the altar preparatory to packing up. He was sur- prised to see everything secured and the chaplain's assistant already stepping on the jeep's starter. With a fine grin and an impatient wave the assistant declared, Come on, Boss, let's get out of here before the blessing wears off. God Fixed That One A young Marine, perhaps 19 years old, had been brought into A Company, lst Medical Battalion, in mild shock and losing blood from a missile wound through the main artery of the upper leg. The sur- geon, himself young, perhaps 27 or so, was faced with a difficult decision. To amputate would be relatively safe but would condemn the young man to a life of handicap. To attempt to repair the artery was a delicate operation requiring great skill, the surgeon had seen it done but had never performed it himself. It might save the leg, but the chances of success were slighter. Chaplain Schneck was standing by. He later wrote: The surgeon closed his eyes and so did the chaplain. And then the operation to repair the artery began. It was long and tedious. Two days post-op'l I happened to be in the surgical ward tent at the same time our surgeon friend was making his rounds. I was behind him when he reached the cot of our young Marine .... He began to talk to the patient and, while talking, almost hesitatingly touched the foot of the shattered leg. A smile appeared. Turning around, the surgeon saw mc. It's warm,' he said. Those two words meant that the arterial repair had been successful since blood was reaching the foot. I congratulated the surgeon with great warmth and respect. He looked at me momen- tarily and then remarked, Thanks for the prayers, padre. God Fixed that one. Chaplain Felder made a practice of following up through weekly visitations the men from his unit evacuated to rear area hospitals. He would carry greetings from the officers and men of the manls unit, and wrote letters of appreciation to those men for their service, for the signature of the battalion commander. Lay Leadership Numerous instances were reported of laymen assist- ing in the conduct of religious activities. A Marine major in his artillery battalion assisted Chaplain Forney by taking services when the chaplain was ful- filling commitments elsewhere. Felder reported that officers and men conducted their own services or held prayer groups between the chaplain's visits, often utilizing literature which he brought to them. In Marine Observation Squadron VMO-6, its leading chief, M. Sgt. C. W. Horton, USMC, conducted semi- weekly Bible classes at his unit's small air strip within sound of enemy fire. -121-

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1 1 A Spiritual Haven. As the Korean war rages with fury a short distance away, marines able to attend divine services are calmed by the words delivered by Chaplain A. M. Oliver. would be set up, using ammunition boxes, C-ration cases, or the top of a bunker. Usually the men stood, though when Communion was served some of them would kneel in ice and mud. Under such conditions baptisms would sometimes be administered. On one occasion, within a short distance of entrenched Chi- nese and North Korean positions, with friendly artil- lery beating a deafening accompaniment, Oliver baptized Marinc Pfc. M. P. Longon, using the all- purpose' helmet as a baptismal font. From a news release written by M. Sgt. P. Shee- han, Marine combat correspondent, comes the fol- lowing account of a Memorial Service held by the 5th Marines during the bleak mid-winter. As the strains of the National Anthem echoed away through the snow-covered valley, the Regimental Com- mander, Col. Frank P. Hager, introduced the lst Marine Division Commanding General, Maj. Gen. John T. Selden. He reminded the Marines that we are gathered here today to pay homage to our comrades who are no longer with us. They died with the spirit that is so well known in your unit, the 5th Marines, from Belleau Woods of World War I, to the Pacific islands of World War II, and now here in Korea. This spirit has been handed down to all those who have ever served the 5th. May God rest their souls and may you live up to the spirit for which they died. Prayers were offered by Chaplains Bashford S. Power fProtestantj, James F. Follard fRoman Catholicj, and Reuben Siegel fjewishj. The roll of the dead was read by Chaplain J. P. F. Gallagher. With the reading of the lasf name, a Marine firing squad Bred three volleys and a bugler sounded Taps. The Marines marched off the parade ground. There were tear-stained faces but they all were faces of men who shared a particular pride and a rededicated resolution. On a typical day Chaplain Henry C. Duncan would leave his battalion CP in the early morning, follow- ing the trail used by the Chigger Bearersfi as the civilian Korean laborers were called who carted sup- plies to the front lines on their backs. Accompanied by his assistant, Marine Corporal Keith Bacus, he would climb the trail straight up from a river valley some 2,300 feet to the skyline. Once on the jagged ridgeline he would go from bunker to bunker, hold- ing brief services with small groups of men, as incom- ing mortar and artillery shells crashed around. . After the service the chaplain fa former Marine line officer, with combat service at Peleliu and Okil nawaj would give the men a briefing on the news o the day, including the tactical situation-for fron line troops never know much of the big picture, but only what transpires in their own small sector. He went loaded down with stationery, corncob pipes, and other luxury', items procured from friends and vol- unteer groups stateside, and undertook commissions from the men for money orders to be sent home, radio batteries, and the precious mantles for the gasoline lanterns which provided their light. Each day's ridge-running complete, the chaplain would slip an slide down the precipitous trail to finish his duties aii the CP, ending the day by attending the staff briehngs and working into the night to write his day's report and prepare his messages for the following day. The other chaplains were similarly engaged. Chap- lain Hoar reported: I conducted five services on Ash Wednesday with an attendance of 207. Holy Com- munion was taken to the men on the frontlinesf' Chaplain William E. Brooks reported making approx- imately 650 contacts while visiting Marines in front- line .dug-in positions, and Chaplain Edmund W, Pipho spent the Hrst twelve days of March visiting men on frontline outposts and holding Divine Services there. Chaplain Fredric Forney, llth Marines, organ- ized a chapel choir, reporting that it helped increase attendance at Divine Service. Chaplain Billy N. Wolfe wrote that services were frequently interrupted by artillery fire but always completedf, As a South- ern Baptist Wolfe was accustomed to use grape juice for Communion. f'However, in the Korean winter the grape juice froze solid and I was faced with a hard decision: either deny my men the Communion serv- ice they wanted, or use wine contrary to my churchis -120-

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Ilth Marines Memorial Of all the ties of respect and friendship developed within small fighting units, perhaps none was closer than that frequently found in the gun sectionsn of the artillery. Precision and skill were essential to COIII- bat effectiveness, but no more so than the cooperation of the gun section members working as a team. Such comradeship received overt recognition when the 2d Battalion, 11th Marines dedicated a memorial hall in honor of men from their unit who had given their lives in line of duty. To save material the large tent served a triple pur- pose: it was mess hall, theater, and chapel in one. An altar was constructed of precious plywood, with a background made from cargo parachutes, and am- munition boxes fastened together provided seats. As the battalion gathered for the dedication ceremony, under the leadership of the battalion commander, men of all faiths listened in respectful silence as the names were read of those artillerymen, their buddies, whose lives had become a sacrifice in the cause of justice and world order. Both Protestant and Roman Catholic chaplains took part. Rotation The tour of duty for chaplains in Korea had thus far averaged around 6 months. Chaplain P. Man- nion, Assistant Director of the Chaplains Division, wrote to Chaplain Peck on 6 February 1952: On the recommendation of the Fleet and Force Chaplains and responsible line officers, it has been determined to lengthen the tour of duty in Korea to about 10 months. This change in policy will not affect chaplains presently on duty, but only those who will be ordered after 1 February. We shall do everything in our power to relieve the chap- lains presently on duty with the lst Marine Division at the end of the sixth month or during the seventh month. How- ever, as you know, there are so many due for rotation in April that we may find difficulty in getting them all out on schedule. Beginning in February orders were written so that a chaplain might be detached, not when a named re- lief reported in, but within a 1- to 2-month period. Giving the Division Chaplain a measure of latitude regarding the detachment of chaplains serving with him was thought by Peck to have several advantages. He wrote on 14 February. We have received the dispatch containing orders for de- tachment of Chaplains Ruleman, Vierling, and Fenning in March or April, and Chaplain Curtis in April or May. That is the best way of writing orders, as far as coverage is con- cerned out here. I believe that method of naming 1 or 2 months will keep a situation from developing where we are overstrength or under on our coverage. On 29 February, he wrote further: The information lin a recent letter from the Chaplains Divisionj, from which I can figure ETA lestimated time of arrivalj in Korea is a tremendous help. That information coupled with the way the orders are now being written . . . will make it possible not to have so many switches of assign- ment right after a man gets here, as happened when I first came and there were the same large numbers of chaplains being replaced. It will also prohibit an overlay of chap- lains by having us at no time over our complement fexcept over Easter, perhaps, when you said to retain the chaplains in order to be amply strengthened at that timel. This is a really perfect system from our standpoint. To know in advance who is coming and when, and who is to go and when, makes it possible for whoever has my job to do a far better job, and by not being faced with necessity of changing the chaplains around too much, they can do a better job. Later Peck reported, The command here waits for word from this ofiice before executing orders on chaplains. Chaplain TXO With units of the Division increasingly deployed over widespread areas, it was difficult with seven Roman Catholic chaplains to effect adequate cov- erage. Peck frequently noted in his weekly letters to the Chief of Chaplains the need for an additional one, especially since rear echelon units had of neces- sity been receiving Catholic ministrations from Army chaplains and non-English speaking Korean priests. Notified that an eighth Roman Catholic chaplain was on his way, Peck wrote on 29 February: p We are especially glad for the eighth Catholic chaplain, he is more needed now than before. To give you some idea: of our geographical problem, these two new concentrations of our men ll,O00 in 1 new place and 1,500 in anotherzl are approximately 55 miles apart, 1 of them 8 miles over rugged hills from the Division CP, the other 47 miles the other way., A 1 In the same letter Peck wrote concerning the Table' of Organization for chaplains serving with a Marine! Division. N If this Division is committed to action it needs all of thel chaplains listed on the complement given at the top of my roster, of these eight Q81 should be Catholic. If a cease-1 fire and armistice is reached, and the Division becomes a part of occupation troops, I am convinced adequate cov-, erage could be given . . . with four Q4-l fewer Protestants. With a different geographical and terrain setup, which would be the case if we were pulled out of Korea, that could be increased to read five C5j fewer Protestants and one flj less Catholic. However, that is only in the case of a so-called peacetime setup and not committed to action. Someone did a splendid piece of work when the comple-5 ment for a Marine Division was set up. It is perfect for times when committed to action. It is a bit heavy otherwise. -122-