United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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little out of place to have such a grandiose welcome by tele- vision, bands and speeches upon arrival in the States-these men who simply wanted to return to the peace and quiet of their homes. Chaplain Bakker tells of the return of General Dean, stating that he . . . was returned just like the rest of the officers and men. He rode in the same ambulance, went through the same line, and knelt in prayer in the same chapel for a prayer of thanks- giving. He wanted everyone to know that, I was not hunt- ing tanks with a bazooka when I was captured. It was during '4Big Switch that Chaplain Meachum was relieved by Chaplain Francis T. O'Leary as Division Chaplain of the lst Marine Division. As a result both participated in the pro- gram. Both were cited for their work. Concerning the work of Chaplain Meachum, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star, one reads, . . . Frequently making trips throughout the division area, ir most adverse conditions, he expressed complete disregard foi his personal welfare in order that all the Marines migh' receive the opportunity to attend services of their owr particular faith. During the repatriation of United Nation: personnel from enemy prison camps, he was constantly present to insure that the men who had undergone the hard- ships of prison life had every opportunity to receive, upor their return, the spiritual guidance they so eagerly sought Commander Meachum's highly competent leadership, organi- zational ability, and tireless efforts served as an inspiratior to all who observed him. Chaplain Meachum summarized the Big Switch Operation by saying that . . . of the 3,600 prisoners passing through to Freedom, at least 95 percent sought religious assurance and comfort as their first act, from the chapels they went on to thosq other comforts of the American way of life-ice cream an fresh milk. To the 3,600 freed prisoners the chaplains gav out 1,800 new testaments, 500 rosaries. Some of the Participating Chaplains in Big Switch. A photograph taken at the time of the relief of Chaplain Lonnie Meachum by Frank T. O'Leary as division chaplain Pictured are ffirst row, left to rightj W. H. Vinson, F. T. O'Learyg Major General Burger, Major General Pate' J Colonel Nelsong L. W. Meachum, E. V. Lyons. QSecond row, left to rightl P. J. Bakker, L. F. Riceg S. D. Chambers' E. F. Ernst, R. N. Stretch, J. B. Conlon, M. I. Rothman. J -200-

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physical examination. Here he has his dinner and receives any mail which awaits him. Later, returning to the ware- house, he is issued new clothing of his own branch of service and waits for further transportation to Inchon and the ships which will take him to the United States. His waiting is in a comfortable lounge maintained by the Red Cross, where light refreshments are served and the scenes and events of home are presented in posters, photographs, magazines, and newspapers. Chaplain Bakker also has this general note, On Wednesday, 5 August at 9 a.m. we started receiving our POWs. I was on hand to shake the hand of nearly all our UN personnel, and many of the South Koreans. The number of Marines returned was very few. The first one of our men that I welcomed there in the shadow of the Truce Pagoda was Pfc. Francis E. Kohus, Jr., from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was captured on Warsaw in 52. One of the lads returned was captured in March of this year on Vegas, where this outfit suffered many casualties. I had a service with his company last week, and will have another one there every Thursday. As you have read in the papers, the men were not too emotional-they looked as though they had all the stuffings beat out of them. By contrast-these Communists come by singing and shouting and waving their flags--there goes another truck load of them. Of course our men have been beaten down for a long time, without proper food- they told me that two of our chaplains starved to death- one of whom was repeatedly kicked in the stomach. The commies never had it so good with food, medicine, etc. On the 10th of this month I saw the men being loaded on an LST, awaiting transportation out to the GENERAL WALKER for passage home-they still looked somewhat gaunt, peaked, and washed out. The trip home with good food, etc., should do them a world of good. Chaplain Meachum concludes with this statement, When the gate swung wide on 5 August at Freedom Village, ambulances, 4 to 6 in a serial, came through 3 or 4- times a day with returning POW's to be processed, 341 Americans were received. Approximately 90 percent of these were Negroes. This week was a field day for me as a Baptist chaplain, because most of these men were Baptists. They greeted me, one after another, with a big smile, Chaplain, I've been waiting many months to talk to you! Whereupon they would pour out their hearts in relating their religious experiences during the long months of their imprisonment. They were permitted to gather in large num- bers for religious services on special occasions, such as Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. Many of them related that they had gathered in small groups regularly to worship. The first man with whom I talked, by the name of Dobbins, told me from his stretcher that he conducted services until he became ill and was sent to the hospital. The chaplains of the lst Marine Division were designated to minister at Freedom Village under the Detachment Com- mand of Colonel Metz, USMC. The 25 chaplains of the division will participate in the entire processing with groups of 8 working l week at a time. At the end of this first week, every chaplain who participated, including Protestants, Catholics, and a Jewish chaplain, had a rich experience in his religious ministry . . . For all these returned, we chap- lains thanked God that these have been able to endure the awful hardships of the Chinese Communist's imprisonment. . . . One said that he was a Christian before being cap- tured, but that while he was in prison God laid His hand on him, calling him to become a minister of the Gospel, and so he will go to school in Atlanta, Ga., to prepare himself. It is in order here to quote Chaplain John W. Berger, Methodist, who was in the GEN. N. M. WALKER, While aboard the GEN. N. M. WALKER CT-APl25J the first group of returning prisoners in Operation Big Switch were brought aboard at Inchon. Chaplains at Freedom Village had evidently done an excellent job of ministering to the immediate needs of these men. It fell to us fMaj. Henry Durand, USA, Roman Catholic, and myself, Protestantj to accompany these men back to the States. The constant interrogation to which these men were sub- mitted left little time for planned religious activity. Consequently, while we had two services daily fone eachj, most of our time with these men was spent regularly at irregular hours. We spent this time in their berthing com- partments talking both with individuals and groups as the occasion presented itself. However, I did not once leave a compartment without one man asking, Chaplain, could I talk with you a few minutes? -and often it was two or three asking. All the 300 plus men certainly knew there were chaplains aboard during those 2 weeks enroute home. But some in particular sought us out. My memory still vividly recalls the confidences brought to me by men who now had a new fear--of their own companions. There were at least a half dozen with whom I counseled that had yielded to the pressure of prison life and availed too much of enemy propaganda. But it was not ours, as chaplains, to investigate. For such matters we urged re-counsel with the CIC team aboard. As such, we, as chaplains, acted in the true and accepted capacity of letting the confessor think out loud and begin that period of catharsis which would in some measure bring him back into harmony with his prior environment. In addition, there' were all the rest who reflected their months in prison with that noticeable reticence to converse with anyone. And I think this is where we did our best work-by simply being among them hours at a time, working quietly, slowly, in Christian love and fellowship. CMy own particular interest in the returning prisoners lay in the fact that somewhere among them was a young man who had been a part of my young peoplels group, and because of a broken home, also a part of my own home. I looked anxiously for him, but he was not among this first group.j Besides the above mentioned progressives,', I had partic- ular fellowship with one Negro sergeant. He had led many of the religious services while in prison camps and had a particular ministry through music. He provided three quar- tets while aboard ship, indicating that that was one of their means while in camp to revive their spiritual needs. The two of us worked together in the compartments. While much will be written about these men, more will be left unsaid. God only knows how so many men survived the ordeals reflected in their thoughts and bodies. 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1 It was the men who had good religious and home training rho stood their ordeal best, the chaplain said. General Mark Clark states, We have solid evi- ience after all the returns were in from Big Switch hat the Communists still held 3,404 men prisoners, ncluding 944 Americans. In September Chaplain O'Leary issued the follow- ng roster of Chaplains of the Division: Church Name Rank Assignment afhliation VLEARY, F. T. ..... CDR Div chap .... RC LTJG Hq Bn ...... RC IOORE, J. T ...,... LOTHMAN, M. I .... LTJG Hq Bn ...... JEWISH DWARDS, T. V .... LT Sh Pty Bn. . . RC IAMMERL, P. C .... LTJG E Med .... RC 'IEPER, P. F. W .... LTJG Sh Pty Bn. .. LUTH JCE, L. F ........., LCDR ist CSG ..... RC CHNICK, H. L ..... LTJG lst Svc Bn. .. BAP qsp CHROFRLUKE, LTJG 1stArrn EVANSL H. P. Amph REF MITH, R. w .... . LTJG 7th MT Bn.. BAP qsp 'ACKI-LTT, J. H ..... LTJG 1st Eng Bn.. METH 'INSON, w. H ,..... LTJG lst ora Bn.. BAP tsp lST MARINES 1oFF, c. P ......... LCDR ist Bn ....... LUTH :HAMBERs, s. D.. . . LT 2d Bn .... . PRESBY VRENGARTNER, LT 3dBn .... . RC R. E. 5TH MARINES .YoNs, E. v ..... . LCDR 1st Bn ....... PRESBY LAKKER, P. J .... . LT 2d Bn ....... BAP QAJ :RNsT, E. F... . LTJG 3d Bn ..... .. RC 7TH MARINES IORDBY, W. H ..... LT 1st Bn ....... LUTH 'LOYD, E. o ..... . LTJG 2d Bn ....... BAP qsp LARRY, A. J. .. . LTJG 3d Bn ..... .. RC 11TH MARINES TTRETCH, R. N ..... LCDR Hq Buy ..... PE LASSETT, W. T ..... LTJG ......... . BAP QSD :oNLoN, J. G ...... LTJG 4th Bn ...... RC JOWD, F. A ..... . LT ......... . RC lANE, A .... . LTJG ....... . RC 4wards Two chaplains were given Letters of Commendation. I'-haplain E. Vaughn Lyons as regimental chaplain . . displayed outstanding ability and professional skill. Fhroughout the period, he diligently provided moral and piritual guidance and comfort to the men of the unit. During periods when the regiment was engaged in combat, le devoted extremely long hours and disregarded his per- onal fatigue in order to aid and comfort the wounded vfarines. On numerous occasions, he rendered invaluable tssistance in evacuating the casualties. His outstanding Lttention to duty, initiative and resourcefulness served as tn inspiration to all who observefdl him. Similarly, it is said of Chaplain Richard G. Hutcheson, Jr., that he . . . displayed outstanding ability and professional skill. When the battalion was deployed in support of the main line of resistance, he labored unceasingly in ministering to the moral and spiritual needs of all Marines in his care. He made himself constantly available and sought opportunities to counsel and aid those in need. Despite heavy artillery and mortar fire, he could always be found in an endangered area rendering medical and spiritual aid. His outstanding example of integrity and physical and moral courage served as an inspiration to men of all faiths and contributed materially to the high morale of the battalion. Lieutenant Hutcheson's indomitable spirit and conduct throughout were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. With the cessation of fighting on the front there was an accompanying increase in attendance at Divine Worship in the Division. Chapel G? Worship A great deal of interest was paid to the construc- tion of houses of worship by the various units. Win- ter would arrive all too soon and buildings would not only provide shelter but would also enhance the spirit of reverence at the services. One such project was that of the 2d Battalion lst Marines. Chaplain Chambers states that, The last engagement of the war before the ceasefire had been very intense, fraught with heavy casualties on Boulder Cityll and East Berlin. Consequently, when we moved off of the MLR on the appointed day after the truce, the men were anxious to have their own chapel of more permanent construction than merely a tent or a cleared spot on the side of a hillg and they wanted a memorial chapel to the memory of those who were left behind. What they turned out was a prize of ingenuity. The MLR had to be vacated within 72 hours, as I recall, and a demilitarized zone established. That meant that what- ever was to be salvaged from the line bunkers had to be brought south quickly. The men of the battalion worked around the clock to dismantle and save the tremendous amount of wood, metal, and other construction items stowed up forward. Captain Paul Reigert, our S-4 officer, provided one truck for the chapel and into it went a load of the huge timbers used in the bunker construction. The beams were 12 x 12 x 16 feet long. They were taken right out of the front line fortifications. Our problem, however, now was to get these into usable timber for a chapel. Three cartons of cigarettes did the trick. An old Korean with a sawmill worked feverishly to cut these monsters into 2 x 4's and 4 x 4's. We selected the highest hill of our new encampment for the chapel site. A dozer cleared a level plain and the con- struction began. The beams cut by the Korean provided the framework and skeleton of the chapel. It was 24 feet wide and 70 feet long with a 10-foot chancel area. Around the frame we stretched chicken wire 3 feet high on both sides -201-