United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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positions. ' Actual fighting occurred more often than not between combat outposts and opposing probing patrols. In the east the lines lay well north of the 38th Parallel, slanting up and down steep hills divided by valleys wide enough only for a little stream or some- times a narrow, twisting road connecting one tiny inhabited area with the next, usually a considerable distance away. This area, which would always be associated in their minds with the craterlike Punch- bowl, Marines of the lst Division had now left behind, doubtless without regret. After 600 trucks had shut- tled back and forth transferring some 6,000 loads of gear a distance of 180 miles, the Division dug in as MR. A. Gugeler led.j, Combat Operations in Korea Cwashington, 19540, pp. 24-3f. Miller, op. cit., p. 210. the western anchor of the 8th Army front.u Now under operational control of I Army Corps, its mission was to block the way to Seoul should the Communists attempt a new invasion of the South. Both the Di- vision and the lst Marine Aircraft Wing were now in new locations, their individual units often widely scattered. From the latter part of March 1952 the scene of the operations with which our account is chiefly concerned shifted to the western side of the Korean peninsula. Division Chaplain Slattery wrote to the Chief of Chaplains on 21 April: Spring is upon us, thanks be to God the Commies are not. Blossoms are on the hillsides. Dust is thick on our hides but our hearts are highf, Lynn Montross, Cavalry of the Sky, p. 180. -133-

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Robinson held services in the hangar deck or forward elevator when troops were embarked and in the ready room or compartment formerly housing catapult machinery when traveling without troops. Chaplain Handran found an amazing response to daily services on transports. In addition to daily Mass, he arranged a service for Protestants composed of Bible reading, prayers, and hymns, usually con- ducted by a lay leader. All were well attended, though, he added, It may be they had no place else to go. Chaplain Holmes reported a daily weekday attendance at Protestant services between 250 and 300 men. On a single voyage into Korean waters, as many at 600 copies of the complete Bible would be distributed to men requesting it. Chaplain Sydnor reported that in addition to their contribution to the March of Dimes, sailors in the GENERAL WILLIAM MITCHELL pledged S900 to help a young lady, Miss Bunting, in California at- tend commercial art school. Miss Bunting who was stricken 5 years before with polio was a guest of the ship in port, and was presented to the captain and taken for a tour of the vessel. MSTS chaplains, under the leadership of Staff Chaplain Thompson, cooperated with the annual American Red Cross campaign. The first ship mak- ing its contribution in 1952 was the GENERAL E. D. PATRICK, where Paul F. Erickson was chaplain. Chaplain Thompson reported to the Chaplains Divi- sion that in 1951 MSTS ships in the Pacific area had contributed 847,671 to various charities. Panmunjom Talks Meanwhile, during the entire 5 months of the 7th Korean Campaign, full-scale talks had continued at Panmunjom. Resumed on 25 October 1951, a month had been consumed in debate over the position of a buffer zone and the related question whether the cease-fire should be put into operation immediately after agreement on that, or only after agreement had been reached on all other items of the agenda. The United Nations delegations insisted on the latter course lest a premature truce allow a Communist buildup while the talks continued. Finally on 27 November Q the date later designated as the end of the 6th Korean Campaignj agreement was reached on the establishment of the demilitarized zone: each side should withdraw 2 kilometers from the present point of contact if an armistice should be signed within 30 days, or from whatever lines should be held at the time an armistice should be agreed upon. The 27 November line started along the Sachon River on the west and ran north and east 1 through the Iron Triangle, thence to a point about as far north as the apex of the Triangle, from there the line dipped southward, though still above the Punch- bowl, and afterwards turned north and ran out to the sea at Kosong. The United Nations thus held posi- tions north of the Parallel everywhere except in the extreme west, where the truce line dipped slightly below it. On 30 November the delegates began discussion of the composition and functions of a Supervisory Commission and matters pertaining to military stance after an armistice should be reached: troop rotations, replacement of equipment, and rehabilitation of air- fields. With no agreement having been reached on these matters, on 11 December the negotiators began concurrent discussions of the prisoner of war issue. On the 18th POW lists were exchanged. UN pro- posals for Red Cross teams to investigate POW camps were spurned by the Communists. Talk ranged over such questions as whether the prisoners should be exchanged one for one' or all for all. It was agreed to screen the prisoners in order to separate bonafide civilians from combatants. The most serious stumbling-block concerned the disposition of prisoners who did not want to be repatriated. In April 1952 the UN Command began a screen- ing of the North Korean and Chinese prisoners it held to determine their wishes, of the approximately 121,000 in UN camps, approximately 38,000 indi- cated their desire not to return? On 28 April the UN delegation offered the Communists a package deal on the three main disputed issues: They would not be party to forcible repatriation g they would concede the buildup of damaged airfieldsg and they would accept Poland and Czechoslovakia as member: of a Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, but noi Russia, and asked the Communists to accept Sweder and Switzerland. Thus far had the talks come wher the period here under review came to an end. Change of Scene The 7th Korean Campaign drew to a close witl the end of April 1952. The battleground had be- come a narrow band across the peninsula, boundec by the main defensive lines of the UN forces on the south and of the Communist forces on the north Both opposing armies were capable of offensive opera- tions but remained for the most part in static defense 'Britannica Book of the Year, 1953, article, Korea: War. 132-

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CHAPTER 8 KOREAN DEFENSE-SUMMER-FALL 1952 1 May-30 November 1952 With the truce talks still continuing there were few major engagements during the summer and fall of 1952.1 The lines were relatively stable, the United Nations troops often facing the enemy across no more than 50 yards, though sometimes separated from them by as much as 10 miles. The importance of hills and mountains for observation purposes made the battles for peaks particularly tense, especially when such an elevation protruded forward of one's own sector into the enemy's lines. Then there ensued stubborn fight- ing and peaks would change hands several times in seesaw actions. In such engagements artillery and close air support were often of decisive importance. Wherever the opposing units remained dug-in and contact limited, there was less need for air support. Navy and Marine fighters then concentrated on sup- porting Air Force missions aimed at the destruction of railroads and highways, rolling stock and trucks, marshalling yards, and supply depots. The B-29's were systematically engaged in neutralizing Commu- nist airfields in the North. The enemy had at no time during the Korean War posed a serious threat at sea. United Nations naval forces were engaged largely in siege and interdiction operations. Wonsan, on the east coast, which had fallen to the enemy with the withdrawal of UN forces from north of the 38th Parallel in December 1950, was denied access to the sea by continuous siege. By the end of October 1952 4 battleships, 8 cruisers, 16 aircraft car'riers and approximately 80 destroyers had been at one time or other deployed in Korean waters? Of the carriers 13 were United States vessels, 2 British and 1 Australian. Perhaps the most spectacular event of early summer was the rioting of Communist prisoners-of-war on the island of Koje-do, off the southern coast? A hard Britannica Book of the Year, 19535 article, Korean War. 'Ibid. albid. 1 core of Communists had kept the compound there in turmoil for months, fomenting serious riots in Febru- ary and March. Finally, on 7 May, the prisoners succeeded in seizing control of the camp and held Brig. Gen. F. T. Dodd, UN commander, hostage un- til his deputy signed a statement which practically conceded charges of maladministration which the Communist negotiators at Panmunjom had been urg- ing against the United Nations Command. On 12 May Gen. Mark W. Clark succeeded General Ridg- way as commander-in-chief of United Nations forces in Korea and promptly repudiated the so-called con- fessions, making clear to the world that it had been secured by violence and repeating the proposal already frequently made at Panmunjom to open the POW camps of both sides to international inspection. May Day May first is of course a holy day for international Communism and UN forces were on the alert as the day approached. On 29 April Bishop Harry S. Ken- nedy, Episcopal bishop of Honolulu with responsibil- ity as that church's Military Ordinary for the Pacific and Far Eastern area, arrived at the Division Com- mand post at the invitation of Lt. Gen. Franklin A. Hart, FMF Pac Commanding General. Division Chaplain Slattery had written on 21 April to Chief of Chaplains S. W. Salisbury: Chaplain Boyer plans a Division Episcopal service at 1830 on 30 April and I have written a memorandum to the Chief of Staff' requesting that unit commanders be authorized to release the officers and men who may wish to attend the service. It will depend, of course, on the tactical situation and with 1 May looming up I am under the impression that the Commanding General will hesitate to issue such authorization. Although his arrival was unexpectedly a .day early, and both the Bishop and his military escort were ill from food poisoning fthey had first visited an Army -134-