United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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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

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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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Mural Dedication. Maj. Gen. Edwin A. Pollock, Commanding General, lst Marine Division, and Private Sedney S. Levy, the artist, stand by a mural dedicated in the Division Chapel on the 1 177th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Marine 1 Corps. The mural depicts the work of the chaplains among marines. ,. lif if. keports received from other sources, reveal that the chaplains are giving an outstanding performance of duty in their min- istry with the personnel they serve. 1 And in one of his letters to Chaplain Salisbury, Slattery wrote: In reviewing some of my letters, I noted that I have not made mention of Chaplains Muller and Strumski. Both are working in rear area billets which are both demanding. They are two unsung heroes, in the sense that their work is not of the headline variety. Both chaplains were not only working faithfully with their own Marine charges, but were busy in helping the civilian populace, in leper colonies, orphanages, schools, and local churches. Chaplain Muller was attached to the first shore party, located in an area known as Ascom City. There he had the use of a handsome chapel built in 1945 by American troops on occupation duty in Korea fol- lowing World War II. An all Korean choir trained by M. Sgt. P. C. Payne and Pfc. Fred Bussa underthe chaplain's guidance sang at numerous service func- ltions and broadcast weekly in the Seoul-Inchon area from the Segaly Methodist Church in Bupyong. Muller wrote of preaching in a former Buddhist temple which, with its attendant buildings, had been previously turned into an orphanage caring for 350 children, its main shrine now a place of Christian wor- ship. Wrote the chaplain: We have preached the unsearchable riches of Christ in mess halls, a maintenance shop, movie theaters, the open air, in classrooms, and in our lovely chapel, and in Korean schools, orphanages, and churches. We average seventeen services a week. Included among his converts to Christi' were Amer- ican servicemen, ROK soldiers and wounded veterans, and personnel from the Korean Service Corps--the civilian laborers attached to military units g and the chaplain added, probably remembering by contrast most civilian parishes at home, The majority of them are men! The Chaplain Section had an appropriate gift for the 177th Marine Corps Birthday celebrated, as it is annually, on 10 November. Two large murals for the Division CP chapel, painted by Pfc. Sid Levy, were dedicated in a service led by the Headquarters Bat- talion chaplains, with Maj. Gen. Edward A. Pollock, new Division commander, giving the address. The general commended the artist for having caught the religious spirit of the lighting Marines who dedicate themselves daily to a cause of justice and honor. He continued: As we observe Marines worshiping in the field, we forcibly realize that in their hearts there is a fervent, undying faith which blood and death and the clamor of battle cannot sup- press .... The hundreds of thousands who have attended various services since the Brigade first came to the shores of Korea will be as lasting a contribution to the redemption of this country as the blood shed and the lives given. A handsome bulletin carried photographic repro- ductions of the murals under the legend f'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. Each mural was composed of montage arrangements of small scenes of chaplains engaging in their combat ministry, dominated in the upper section by helmeted faces, in one mural two representing the Army and the Air Force, in the other, two representing the Navy and the Marine Corps. Included in the responsive read- ing were two intensely compelling verses: Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell to- gether in unityi' and Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it, except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. From January to November inclusively the chap- lains conducted 3,662 Sunday services with 193,787 attending and 5,513 daily services with 101,180 at- tending. Special services CBible classes, etc.l totaled 3,852, with 100,630 in attendance. They had held 151 -