United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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a QL International Chaplains, Conference. Chaplain Ward D. McCabe is host to visiting chaplains. Left to right Chaplain Roy H. McKenzie, Unit No. 16 Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery, lst Commonwealth Division, Chaplain McCabe, and Chaplain Roy Liddell, lst Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Battalion. and a reinforced platoon charged the hill, but after an hour and a half ordered to withdraw, so devastat- ing was the opposition. Air strikes were made on Siberia all afternoon and at first dark, as a ripple of rockets hit the hill, the Marines moved out once more. By midnight the battle had become, as Marine Corps Combat Corre- spondent T. Sgt. Jim Coleman put it, a hand-to- hand slugging matchf' Although driving the Chinese down the reverse slope the Marines were finally un- able to hold the hill and were ordered to withdraw. Throughout the Fight Chaplains McCabe and Calla- han stayed with their Marines, helping the wounded and acting as stretcher bearers when not attending to their religious duties. Both chaplains were subsequently given the Letter of Commendation award. That of Chaplain Ward 52.5332 O-604-11 - 147 D. McCabe covered the period 28 April-31 August 1952. During periods when the regiment was en- gaged in combat against the enemyf' the citation read in part, he worked long, tedious hours, with no con- cern for his personal safety, to aid and comfort the sick and wounded. His courage and initiative in helping to evacuate the wounded were an inspiration to all who observed him. Chaplain James T. Calla- han was cited for services from 22 March to 26 Sep- tember, the citation reading in part: During periods when the regiment was engaged in combat against the enemy, he devoted long, arduous hours, with complete disregard for his personal safety, providing aid and comfort to the sick and wounded .... His cheerfulness, sympathetic understanding of individual problems and his ever ready willingness to offer advice and comfort to all were outstanding.

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n positively necessary that he might attend to family matters, emergency leave was not 'normally granted in the case of the death of a parent. On this entire matter Slatery wrote on 17 October: Speaking of morale, we have a new directive from the Marine Corps Commandant, which is much more humane, on emergency leave requests, and a new Chief of Staff who is not quite so adamant as was the former Chief of Staff. The proper balance beween a man's own assessment of his personal needs and the command's judgment concerning his usefulness to the military service is not one always easily arrived at. At this point chaplains often are able to be of service both to 'the command and to its members g and sometimes, as this account shows, a chaplain was himself involved in the dilemma. Bunker Hill Reduced for the most part to trench warfare this summerls lighting was only occasionally punctuated by violent combat. Such were the furious episodes which occurred in August over two hill outposts, dubbed by the Marines Bunker Hillv and Siberia.,' Directly involved in both were units of the lst Ma- Prelude to Bunker Hill. Chaplain Oscar Weber holds communion services for marines before they join in the fight for Bunker Hill. rines. Writing soon afterwards, on 17 August, Slat- tery told the Chief: Two of your chaplains distinguished themselves by their devotion to duty .... Chaplains McCabe and Callahan stood by their men through the long nights. At one time McCabe was at an aid station which was surrounded .... Neither suffered any wounds, though both looked extremely weary when I went up to see them on Wednesday. And he went on: Chaplains Weber and Guillaume backed up their efforts by working at the front, although both their battalions had been in reserve. Tex Robertson followed his Tankers right into the thick of it too. At the medical companies an outstanding job was done by Chaplain Barlik, who shifted from the Operating Room to the Admission Ward, saw wounded off in the 'copters and at the same time managed to sandwich in his services with the Korean Marine Corps unit nearby. The Korean Marines, incidentally, expect the assignment of a Korean Catholic chaplain shortly, which will relieve us of the responsibility. Flying over the 3d Battalion, lst Marines, com- mand post during the Bunker Hill holocaust was a green brocade banner depicting the Archangel Mi- chael, his feet resting on the vanquished hammer and sickle of Communism. Lt. Col. G. T. Armitage, bat- talion commander, deciding that his men needed to be reminded of the dependence of their cause on God, secured permission from Headquarters, Marine Corps, to fly the banner. Designed by Capt. B. Ord, a company commander, it was embroidered by Korean children in the Star of the Sea Roman Catholic or- phanage at Inchon. On 25 July the Roman Catholic personnel of the battalion were dedicated to the protec- tion of St. Michael, and each company furnished a burgee of the banner. Capt. H. J. O'Conner, a com- pany commander, commented: 4'Regardless of their creed, our men felt the banner to be a very personal in- centive. Flown for the first time at Bunker Hill, the flags accompanied the battalion in subsequent ac- tions and were still flying when the guns at last grew still across Korea. When the original had become bat- tleworn beyond repair, it was duplicated by wives of Korean Marines and the tattered relic sent to Marine Corps Headquarters. Siberia Siberian was a hillcrest in the Panmunjom corri- dor where a terrible, indecisive 24-hour battle took place. During the darkness a United Nations outpost manned by ten Marines was overrun by a reinforced company of Chinese 5 two were killed and seven of the remaining eight wounded. An undersized platoon attempting a counterattack was quickly beaten back. With morning close air support was brought into play -146-

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Mass on the Western Front. Chaplain James T. Callahan holds mass for the lst Marines immediately behind the frontlines. Combat Footnotes A realistic picture of what actually went on in Korea must sometimes be obtaineu from what appear as merely footnotes to history. Incident upon inci- dent would be needed to fill in with meaningful detail what often appears in an historical account as only a bare outline. Many such were reported, often full of courage, sometimes of pathos and not seldom of humor also. Chaplain Slattery once wrote: One lad stopped me and asked if I would hear his con- fession, as his company was moving out. I squatted on the hillside and suddenly had a line of forty or more waiting to be shriven. With all due respect to the seriousness of the sacrament and the occasion, I couldn't help chuckling when one lad knelt down and said, Father, I haven't been to church in a long time, may I have another chance?,' He added: They are fine lads. I suggested to each one that a clean conscience is like a clean weapon, in- valuable in battle. On one occasion Charlie Company, lst Battalion, 7th Marines was moving up. S. Sgt. E. A. Seneri, heavy machine gun section leader yelled to his men, No matter what happens up here, I don't want any man leaving any weapon or part behind. When we move out, leave nothingll' That night a fierce battle took place 5 next morning, the action over, the sergeant took inventory and found a machine gun barrel and accessory parts missing. Shouted the sergeant, No man leaves here until those parts are producedln That afternoon Seneri sheepishly accepted the parts from Chaplain Prickett. Pfc. L. E. House, Jr., had been wounded and on being evacuated had refused to leave behind his spare machine gun parts. About to be sent to a hospital ship, he was still clutching them when the chaplain came along and promised to see that they were returned to the careful sergeant. Concerning Chaplain Samuel Sobel the Division Chaplain once wrote, He sparkles as does the Star of David we have on the chapel heref, fThe Division chapel was embellished with a glistening white cross and six-pointed white star on its front wall.l Sam suggested that he would take a picture of the crowd leaving a Sunday Mass as proof of fine attendance at the Synagogue I agreed to line up some likely candidates and have two fine young Marine oflicers-O'Hara and OlBrien-who could pass for Cantors to Hank the good Rabbi. During a bit of fierce lighting in October the Rev- erend Wynn Rhys of the British Commonwealth Divi- sion came over to offer Slattery the loan of some of his chaplains if the Marines became short-handed. As they stood talking the two chaplains witnessed an awesome scene. One of our Marine pilots was caught by antiaircraft fire. He was too low to bail out and fought to bring his crippled plane back over our lines. But he could not land safely and went in with a crash, the plane a blazing inferno. Wynn and I prayed from the distance for his soul .... Religious Ministry More important in their own eyes than all their other work was the chaplains' religious ministry, which under the circumstances presented its familiar aspects not only to the chaplains but to their military 'cparishionersw as well. Rarely, even in the most stable units, with chapel facilities somewhat approximating those back home, did Divine Service fail to seem dif- ferent from worshiping in the familiar, hallowed sur- roundings of oneis own church or synagogue. Know- ing that, the chaplains helped to bridge the diHerence. They tried to make real to their congregations, large and small, in open-air or log-buttressed bunker or Quonset chapel, the Presence of God. As they knew or sometimes rediscovered, and as their Marines often learned for the first time, a man is never nearer home than when he prays. Statistics give at least a skeleton outline of the chap- lains' ministry. The May figures below were taken from a report made by the Division Chaplain to the conference of chaplains held in June, where they were listed individually after each chaplain's name. Slat- tery thought this would Nhelp keep the boys on their toes. The September figures have been taken from -148-