United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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I - fa- 1' . ,Q Saint Barbara's Chapel. Chaplain E. J. Nerthling, left, chaplain with the the llth Marine Regiment shows Chaplain S. B. Bennett, FMF Pacific chaplain the memorial plaque on the new chapel. Chaplain Bennett Pays a Call. Another Meeting. Chaplain Bennett talks with the chaplains in front of the Sth Chaplain C. E. Rains meets Chaplain Bennett in front of the Marines Memorial Chapel. CLeft to rightj Pictured here chapel of the 2d Battalion, 7th Marines. are P. A. Johnson 5 Chaplain S. B. Bennett, FMF Pacific chaplaing R. F. Jenkins, and F. A. Dowd. XX ,ta-emi 'fins-1 rem N-liiw 1 ff. ,,,, : ,it f , se f ..e.- . ' , 5 .vw Qigsw .- A . :'3!'Sff,f1 , 1 1'4 ' . 4 '- Q. . . - f-Jw 'Y ' ' .:,iZ, , ff:, i I ,.V.L if ai? ff? :.,,...,,., .' ' - : S ' , ', f-Q 'ei',. , A ,Q ' ., if HT, Ui IL- ,, Q11 .,x,1. L,,g -,e-.5 If ', , .' in- 145-'f . -, W' i' J 'U' A' i ' ' fy' Q MT gfj, t t M, . C ll ' qsy jfiifif' j V- ,F fr . he w, f'12-V, ' 6 P- . Z Q . ' 1 ,, x C If ff i' -' Qi ' 0 , La t f . H - - , . ' 'ii-iw: 4 , K 2 H' tv 'W ar 2455. 3 fe PQ.: .V 1 1 I Sim' 5 , . A Q - 1 ,,- X V D gr, Q: :HJ-'rig f Meg f'-. ' ..,, , ,,... it st X A i ?:'? . i . ev I in

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.Aux Dedication Day. Church Call is sounded announcing the dedicatory service for the chapel of the 2d Battalion, lst Marines. Chaplain Chambers led the men in the building of this place of worship. designed and built by men in the unit. This chapel was also built in the center of the llth Marine Com- mand Post. It was completed and dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1953. Chaplain S. B. Bennett, chaplain, FMF, Pac, writing later about the Chapels as he saw them on an inspection made in May, had this to say, I recently visited these chaplains serving with the Marines in Japan and Korea. The effective work they are doing is exemplified by the large church attendance in their beautiful chapels. The most conspicuous and the most central spot was selected for the location of these chapels. No other building in the area is photographed as often as they are. They stand as a constant reminder of God and His everlast- ing presence. There is an atmosphere of reverence and appreciation wherever they can be seen. The commanding officers and the men are proud of these monuments of joy - 203 and beauty because they made them possible by various means of forethought and labor. Of course they require constant vigilance for cleanliness and upkeep. The new men soon feel these Chapels belong to them. About this time Chaplain Murray I. Rothman was awarded the Letter of Commendation. Concerning this chaplain it is noted that . . . His personal warmth, initiative and keen understanding of the fighting men and their problems made his presence an important factor in maintaining the high morale of the division. As the only chaplain of his particular faith in the division, he made weekly visits to each front line regiment and battalion conducting religious service, personal con- sultations and spiritual ministration. Expressing complete disregard for his personal safety, he once visited the personnel on an outpost located far forward of the main line of re- sistance for religious consolation and ministration despite

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the fact that he was subjected to hostile mortar and small arms fire. His regular visits to the hospital ships were of great comfort to the wounded Marines of all faiths within the division. He was selected and served commendably as chaplain during the repatriation of prisoners of war. Chaplain Rothman was released from active duty on 27 November 1953. The new Jewish chaplain was Richard Saul Sternberger, who reported 17 November. Another chaplain receiving the same decoration was Chaplain Emmet O. Floyd in which it is stated that , . . During the last days of bitter fighting he frequently disregarded his personal safety by exposing himself to heavy concentrations of enemy artillery and mortar fire to aid the wounded and render spiritual comfort to the personnel of the regiment, regardless of faith. During the period of reorganization and development of the main battle positions following the cessation of hostilities, when the situation was tense and the troops performed hard physical labor under extremely adverse field conditions, he continued to circulate amongst the men delivering spiritual solace to those who requested it and by his personal example contributed mate- rially to the successful accomplishment of the regiment's assigned mission. Clergy Visitation.: Two distinguished visitors paid visits to the forces in Korea during the Christmas Season. One was Bishop William C. Martin, President of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and President of the Council of Bishops of the Meth- odist Church, who returned from his trip commend- ing the commands for their interest and concern in moral and spiritual matters. He praised the work of the chaplains and was especially impressed with the lst Marine Division. Bishop Martin said, Thousands of them came during that snowy, freezing Christmas week, to bow in prayer in the chapels they had built with their own hands. As we reached the front lines, where they look across the 2M-mile-wide No-Man's Land of the demilitarized zone to watch the enemy digging in, many hundreds of them came to services, their guns in their hands. Cardinal Francis Spellman, a perennial 4 visitor of the troops, reported that he had his largest congregation since making these trips.5 He stated that more than 6,000 men attended one of the services held for the lst Marine Division. It was also about this time that Rabbi Eichhorn conducted a series of retreats for Jewish chaplains in Japan and Korea. Chaplain Cameron P. Hoff tells about the first Christmas after the truce. He says, We heard the bells at Christmas. Over the frozen rice paddies they pealed their joyful song. Salvaged from some 4 This was his third Christmas tour of the Korean area. ' 5 His visit was from 22 December-4 January. Chaplain Giles Webster was his personal escort. ruined temple where once a pagan god was worshipped their melodic voices now praised the Living God. From the thatch-roofed native dwellings bright-eyed babies and wrinkled, old, papa-sansu watched in wonder as the grace- ful, lighted Christmas tree shed its colorful radiance upon the frozen parade ground. Where only a Christmas ago the sullen throb of bombers filled the air now the heavens were glad with the sound of carols. We heard the bells at Christmas as we gathered in our chapel on the hill. A hundred candles spoke softly to the night, and we remembered when lights were afraid to shine as we listened in the unrelieved darkness and sirens shrieked their warning. We know the meaning of a silent night. We have lived through other nights made hideous by the shriek of shrapnel, the deadly chatter of machine gun and rifle, the dull crash of enemy mortar and artillery. Now in a silent night all is calm, all is bright. We heard the bells at Christmas while we remembered those for whom the bells tolled not many months ago. They .-M1- Christmas Vistor. Bishop W. C. Martin looks through a B.C. Scope at an ob- servation point overlooking Panmunjom, on his visit during the Christmas holidays. Bishop Martin was the president of the National Council of Churches. -205-