United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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the semimonthly reports submitted by the Division Chaplain to the Division G-1. September May 7952 7952 Sunday services conducted .... 309 351 Attendance ............. 15, 532 18, 505 Daily services conducted. . . 493 607 Attendance ......... 9, 022 9, 758 Special Services, etc.1 ........ 358 540 Attendance ............., 9, 736 14, 466 Visits to hospitals, aid stations .... 403 501 Patients visited .......... 3, 057 3, 528 Letters written .,....... 840 807 Counseling interviews .... 8, 401 5, 794 Visits to Brig .................. Not listed 9 Prisoners interviewed ....... ........... 5 9 1 Including Bible classes, rosary devotions, character guidance lectures, and other special or supplementary services. The chaplains of course had no control over weather, strategic moves, tactical situations, or other iniiuenc- ing factors, but the fact that, as they held more serv- ices, the men generally attended them in larger mun- bers would seem to bear out Slattery's expressed hope, in May that, while they were already doing a good job, the chaplains could step up production some- what. During June Chaplain Willets conducted 29 Sun- day services and 57 daily services, for a total of 86, topping the list. The Roman Catholic chaplains had each conducted 15 Sunday masses C3 on each of 5 Sundaysj and a Mass daily, plus usually some other service, such as a rosary devotion or catechetical in- struction. During October the following chaplains each con- ducted over 50 services, as indicated: Sunday Daily Total A. D. Prickett ..... 18 62 80 C. H. Elliott .... 16 38 54 R. H. Willets ................. 24 27 51 Five others had conducted 40 or more services each during the month, including Sunday and daily: W. Rowland, 45, H. Muller, 44, O. Weber, 43, and A. F. Mendonsa and E. A. Slattery, 40 each. The chaplains too were often in need of spiritual refreshment. A retreat for as Slattery wrote, since Marines never retreat, a Recollectionj for the Ro- man Catholics was held in August at the Columban Fathers' House in Seoul, the chaplains going in two shifts so as to keep the Division covered for emer- gencies. The Protestants also planned a retreat at Seoul. The weekly Roman Catholic newspaper Our Sun- day Visitor carried in its 5 October 1952 issue a digni- Anointing With Oil. Chaplain August F. Mendonsa anoints a candidate for baptism with oil. fied spread on the work of Navy chaplains in Korea, featuring A. F. f Gus j Mendonsa in a generous number of field photographs engaged in typical chap- lain activities: hearing confessions and celebrating Mass, typing letters fto parents or wives of wounded Marines, to bereaved relatives of those killed in action or to anyone else to whom it was a service to a Marine to have a letter written, , visiting in hospitals and en- gaging in counseling in all sorts of situations, even distributing cakes and cookies sent over by a women's church group in the United States. The text read: Like anyone else in the United Nations Military Forces he finds that there are no set hours of work. On the battle- field, especially, the call to duty is frequent and the hours long and arduous. At all times of the day and night, the wounded and the dying cry out for the chaplain. And the men of all faiths who serve God by ministering to His peo- ple are always there to heed the cry. So, too, in the rear echelons and the base camps, the chaplains are ready to serve the men. While their first duty is to care for the men's spiritual welfare, there are many timeswhen they take a hand in material things. The serviceman's family, his pay worries, his entertain- ment and general welfare, all these are often the province of the chaplain. He must be the priest, the Confessor, the counsellor, and the brother of those he serves. Reminiscent of the Old Testament story of Moses and the Exodus was the Ark that went to war in Korea. When Chaplain Sobel was slated for the Di- vision, he had the Ark constructed in Honolulu and brought it out with him. An upright chest of Philip- -149-

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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-

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pine mahogany, its opened doors revealed superim- posed upon them hand-carved candelabra, gilded to symbolize the Golden Candlestick of the Jerusalem Temple and fitted with flame-shaped bulbs. Veiling the parchment scroll of the Torah there hung a hand- some curtain embroidered with a crown and a Star of David. The two Tables of the Law affixed at the top were surmounted in turn by a burning light symboliz- ing the Eternal Light which is the Word of the Lord. Used in Jewish services in various chapels, the Ark was so compact that the chaplain was able to carry it in its specially made canvas case to front line units as well. As summer turned into fall Sobel made plans for observing the High Holy Days, beginning with Rosh Hashanah QNew Yearj and ending with Yom Kippur fDay of Atonementj. An accompanying photograph shows the chaplain with the shofar Cram's hornj raised to his lips, sounding the age-old call that brings Israel to the sanctuary of her God. Services were held not only in the Division chapel, but also in smaller units. CWrote Slattery, Sobel went on Fri- day to conduct services at the Shore Party Battalion, where Chaplain Muller had gathered about 30 Jew- ish personnel. j On occasion, as conditions allowed the Jewish chaplain would Hy to the lst Marine Air- craft Wing to hold services there. This history cannot and indeed need not detail the activities of each individual chaplain 3 from the ma- terial available accounts have been selected which were either unusual or else typical enough to illustrate the work of all the chaplains. We should like to echo a word included in FMF Pac Chaplain M. H. Twitch- ell's quarterly report of 2 May 1952. 3 The pointing out of certain outstanding work on the part of particular chaplains named in this report is not intended to reHect in any way on the quality of performance by the other chaplains. The . . . monthly statistical reports, and Jewish Services. Chaplain Samuel Sobel conducts Jewish services for lst Division Marines. -150- h