United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

Page 162 text:

On 11 june Chaplain Willets received a slight wound on the chin. He was about to conduct a service at Company level when a round came in. After his wound was dressed he returned to conduct the service. 5 JULY 1952. The chaplains' reports for the month of June indicate how completely devoted most of them are to their religious duties. A total of 1,298 Divine Services were held during June: 392 Sunday, 495 daily, and 411 special services. The chaplains here celebrated July Fourth by having a softball game. Due to our advanced yearsi' we only played five innings but found that sufficient to discover a few unused muscles .... After the game we all went for a swim in the Imjin River. The Southern Baptists were intent on duck- ing the rest of us, on the grounds that our baptisms needed some amplification. The Rabbi must have suspected that we would all try to baptize him as he stayed on the river bank to heckle us. 15 JULY 1952. Our Catholic chaplains have sent over 31,300 to the Chaplain's Aid Association. General Selden gave his ap- proval to the collection, which was requested by Bishop Griffiths of the Military Ordinariate Office. On 29 July Slattery wrote further about the situ- ation in the lst Combat Service Group. In order to pin down the picture . . . I asked for TAD for 5 days and went by train from Seoul to Pusan. There I conferred with the Second Logistical Command which handles our supplies .... By convoy I went to Masan. Convoy is required due to guerilla activities. The situation there is now well in hand. You may refer to my letter of 5 May for Chaplain Stamper's estimate of the situation there. A reformation has been accomplished, however, by a very alert CO. The chaplain flew from Masan to Pohang for a conference with the Air Wing chaplains, finding it a treat to sleep between sheets for a change. From there he flew to Taegu, to visit at 8th Army Head- quarters. We are not accountable to 8th Army, but since we take care of some Army units and they in turn service some of our Marines, I thought it advantageous to visit them .... Eighth Army is very pleased with Marine chaplains' co- operation and our high standards of personnel and pro- duction? These letters often contained pleasant comment as well as businesslike assessment of the work of his chap- lains and the needs of the Division. For instance, earlier in the summer: The weather is fine, dry, and warm. The nights cool off to the point where a sleeping bag is a most welcome refuge. As we wake in the morning we are greeted by the sound of coo-coos in the valleys. At first we thought we were hearing ourselves crack up! Washington should import a few to go along with the atmosphere. His return to the Division CP after the journey just described was reported in a letter containing the following: The weather has turned precipitously, if I may play on words. Roads have become greasy, dangerous ways, topped by a. few inches of what resembles melted chocolate ice cream. lHe then reported accidents to Chaplains Jones and Mendonsa.j Both are with outfits on the line, but we have plugged the gaps by having a couple of the Padres triple in brass. They have already been doubling in brass. On 1-2 August the Division was visited by Dr. Stewart Robinson, Chairman of the General Commis- sion on Chaplains. After protests from Slattery his visit had been extended from the few hours which I Corps, in charge of arrangements, had first allotted. Accompanied by Chaplain Morse of 8th Army and his own son, a lieutenant in Combat Service Group, the visitor was given the plush treatment by General Selden, who ordered 'copters to hop Dr. Robinson about. Included in the itin- erary were two visits to General Harrison at Base Camp and a tour to a front line company in Chaplain McCabe's sector. The details of the visit here were handled most ef- ficiently and courteously by Chaplain Prickett. fMaj. Gen. William K. Harrison, an Army officer with a long record of interest in the work of chap- lains, had succeeded Adm. C. Turner Joy on 22 May as senior delegate of the United Nations Command at the Panmunjom truce talks.l Chaplains' Chaplain Among the standard items of social small talk to which chaplains are routinely subjected is the tired old question, Say, 'padref who do you take your troubles to? No chaplain will, of course, give the answer that rises first to his mind, for such occasions are hardly appropriate for a serious rejoinder. The answer ought to be obvious to anyone who knows what a chaplain is, like all sincerely religious men, he takes his troubles to the Lord. Still, human mediation is as frequently helpful to the servant of God as it is to his lay brethren. The ideal supervisory chaplain is one who can be at the same time Hrm enough not to overlook the needs of the service and sympathetic enough to be of aid and comfort to his colleagues. He should be, in the traditional sense of the term, the bishop of his brethren. Three chaplains in the Division were called upon to face difficult personal situations during the summer of 1952. Early in May Chaplain B. N. Wolfe was informed that his father was in the terminal stages of a grave illness. He requested information via the Red Cross and asked for emergency leave. Slattery wrote to Chaplain Salisbury: -144-

Page 161 text:

Marine Padres, Inc. The corporation is composed of the following chaplains fleft to rightj Albert D. Prickett, Samuel Sobel, and Edward A. Slattery. only field in which they outdo us is in their mobility, due to the jeep situation. But at least one office had its own vehicle. Over the jolting roads of Korea there used to roll a battered jeep carrying across its windshield base in bold letters MARINE PADRES, INC. On one side of this leg- end was a cross, on the other a Star of David. Used in turn by the three chaplains at Division Headquar- ters, the jeep was 'ckept in operation with repairs from at least a half dozen units, as it kept breaking down on the road. That jeep was more than simply a means of trans- portation, it became a symbol of interfaith coopera- tion and of the concern of American Marines for the work of God. Concerning it Slattery wrote: Marine Padres, Inc., declares regular dividends, spiritual in nature, but more real than gilt-edged bonds. Out of the treasury of the Bible and of religious tradition is drawn a currency which the Communists across the hills cannot counterfeit. Marines facing the fire of the enemy hear the sound of the shofar, the melody of a field organ, the tinkle of a Sanctus bell, and each in his own faith finds strength. Reserve Chaplains With the outbreak of the Korean War the Chap- lains Division, traditionally opposed to using any but volunteers, was not at first willing to recall any chap- lains to active duty without their consent. fAs has been earlier noted, chaplains in pay billets with Or- ganized Marine Reserve units had been mobilized with their respective units.j When the procurement of USN chaplains and the voluntary return of USNR chaplains proved insufficient to meet the needs of the service, the Chief of Chaplains reluctantly decided on a program of involuntary recall. The first thus recalled to duty were given a refresher course in the reactivated chaplains school in October 1951. A chaplain involuntarily recalled who had had a yearls active duty between December 194-1 and September 1945 was obligated to serve 17 months. Involuntary recallees without such prior active duty had to serve 24 months, as did chaplains who had volunteered to return to duty and those who had been mobilized with Marine Reserve units. Now for the first time some chaplains serving in Korea were beginning to anticipate the end of their obligated service. On 26 May Chaplain Slattery wrote the Chief: If I am not mistaken, three of the chaplains here are due for release from active duty in January 1953. I mention it at this time to assist your detail desk in their long range plans. To this Salisbury replied: I want to assure you that we will release Reserve chap- lains when they come due. There is no intention of holding anyone beyond his obligated term of service. Of course you realize that the world situation could change this policy, but short of all-out mobilization no change is anticipated. Since chaplains arriving on or after 1 February 1952 were expected to serve a 10-month tour in Korea, the question arose of how this would apply to Reserve chaplains whose obligated service would expire before their 10 months were up. Slattery wanted to know whether they would be returned stateside in time to be released at the termination of their required duty or whether they would be expected to remain in Korea at least until suitable reliefs should arrive. He felt that both he and the chaplains concerned should have a firm commitment from the Chaplains Division. Chaplain Mannion replied on 22 July: We will not hold chaplains beyond the period of their obligated service or the date that they request inactive duty, whichever is later. Chaplains in Korea scheduled to be re- leased from active duty will be returned to the United States in time to be released on schedule. Chaplains in Action Excerpts from Chaplain Slattery's frequent letters to Chaplain Salisbury reveal a man devoted to his work and keenly appreciative of the work of his colleagues. 16 JUNE 1952. This past week we have had the pleasure of a visit from IFMF Pacj Chaplain IM. H.j Twitchell who has seen all the chaplains of the lst Marine Division ....

Page 163 text:

Commission Visitor. Dr. Steward Robinson Ccenter, first rowj, Chairman of the General Commission of Chaplains meets with the Protestant chaplains of the lst Marine Division in Korea. Standing Cleft to rightjc Chaplains Oscar Weber, First Medical Bat- talion, Robert H. Willets, lst Battalion, 7th Marine, Ernest A. Wolfram, Jr., lst Engineer Battalion, Alexander W. Boyer, lst Motor Transport Battalion, Alla W. Robertson, lst Tank Battalion, Thomas A. Newman, Jr., lst Service Battalion, and Carl W. Herrick, 2d Battalion. Sitting Cleft to rightj Ward D. McCabe, 2d Battalion, lst Marines, F. E. Morse, deputy Army chaplain QEUSAKM Dr. Robinsong A. D. Prickett, assistant chaplain of the division and John H. Muller, lst Shore Party Battalion. 0 Leave requests are extremely tight here. In the event that he is granted leave our G-1 intends to request his detachment. We have orders for his detachment in July, his reporting date here was 20 December 1951. Will you be kind enough to alert the proper desk for such a con- tingency and perhaps send out a replacement for him quicker than anticipated? We will be able with a little juggling to cover the Protestant services he has been handling. Wolfe's leave was denied, but upon further assurance from Slattery that the situation in the Division could be adequately covered, Salisbury ordered him de- tached on 23 June. Wolfe left, as Slattery wrote, deeply grateful for your consideration in sending or- ders for detachment earlier than Julyf, On 5 August he wrote: Perhaps you have heard that Chaplain Callahan's mother died on 26 July. In accordance with policies then in effect the chaplain was denied emergency leave. On Saturday, 2 August, the Catholic chaplains went to Callahan's battalion where we sang a Solemn Requiem Mass assisted by Pat Adams and Gus Mendonsa. The rest of us sang the Mass and were a little bit pleased with our memory of the music, as many of us have not been at a Solemn Requiem in some time and had neither notes nor organist to accompany. The results were neither lugubrious nor ludicrous and I am sure Chaplain Callahan's spirits were lifted consider- ably. Due to Dr. Robinson's tour our fellow chaplains were not able to attend. One consoling note was the turnout of enlisted men of the battalion. Protestant lads stood the outposts for the Catholic lads who came to kneel in the rain and mud, garbed in full battle dress of helmet and armored vest. A month later Slattery was writing to the Chap- lains Division, Chaplain Weber's father died on 10 September. He received the telegram notifying him of the death but no further details have arrived as yet.', Unless the servicemanls presence was adjudged