United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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CHAPTER TWELVE CIVILIAN ASSISTANCE Civilian Axsistance 'EI have given it to . . . the sojourner, the father- less, and the widow according to all the command- ments which Thou hast commanded me. Deut. 26: 13. No history of naval chaplains in Korea would be complete if it were confined purely to chaplains' activi- ties in assigned military units. It is essential that one have at least a partial picture of the deeds which the chaplains accomplished in other areas. Nationals came out of the hills on numerous occasions to at- tend the divine services held by chaplains. Through the chaplains, examples at Inchon the Korean Marine and Navy chaplaincies were established. Korean service troops worked and died beside the Marines and were ministered unto by Navy chaplains. Through chaplains working among civilians, churches were rebuilt, sermons were preached and sacraments were administered even for those confined to leper colonies. Hospitals, schools, and clinics were aided and even at times established to care for the needy. The greatest accomplishment was found in the con- cern the chaplains, and the personnel of their units, had for the little hungry ragged beggar orphans who roamed the streets and Fieldsf' and what they did for them. In recounting this saga, due to lack of information, many groups and individuals will not be given their full credit but the true recognition of the deeds of men are best written in the hearts of those whom they aid. However, it is hoped that this account will at least, in part, pay tribute to one of the truly great achievements of Navy chaplains in Korea. Previously in this work certain individual projects have been noted, but it is felt that special attention should now be called to these projects collectively. The problems of Korea were felt all during the con- flict, but they did not end with its cessation. With the complete destruction of one-half million homes 535332 O-60f15 ' and an equal number damaged, the primary task was to assure the survival of a good percentage of the population. In fact 9 million people were homeless or refugees. Though 80 percent of the hospitals were demolished even more destructive was the loss of both parents on the part of 100,000 children. The chaplains' story of participation in the civilian projects began virtually when the first chaplain ar- rived and continued as long as a charitable man of the Armed Forces remained. It did not include just Korea but it extended throughout the Far East. Many ships, stations and units not only assisted in this program, but also continued to remember charities at home with additional donations to Red Cross, March of Dimes, Navy Relief, and in the case of the WIS- CONSIN participation in the Madison QWisconsinj Community Chest. A lengthy catalogue could be drawn up of all the benefactors and their recipients. And even that would only begin to tell the story. It has been estimated that in services and supplies al- most S365 million for relief had been given by the end of 1953, and there are still agencies today who continue the work. As most of the Christian population of Korea was Presbyterian much of the relief work was done among members of this denomination. Someone has ranked the religious groups according to numerical strength in the following order: Presbyterians, Roman Cath- olics, Methodists, Korean Holiness Knot to be confused with the Holiness groups in Americaj and the Sev- enth Day Adventists? One of the wonderful things 1 Muller gives estimates in his book: Presbyterians ........................... .... 6 50, 000 Methodists ....................... ......... 2 00, 000 Korean Holiness ............................. 50, 000 Others: Baptist, Church of Christ, Salvation Army, Episcopal, Seventh Day Adventists ....... '50, 000 ' O00 Roman Catholics ........................ 250, 'President of Korean National Christian Council gives a total of a million and a half Protestants. 211-

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or on the field of battle. Though the attendance going home is not quite as large, it is often more stable. When leaving the States for Korea the men are more serious in attitude than the men returning, though those coming home are more mature. Especially is this evident in the harbor at Inchon. Going down our gangway headed for a long period of duty in Korea the men are serious and quiet. But when the LSU,s pour out the homecoming troops on the floating dock there are wild shouts of joy and a great deal of joking and laughter. I took some pictures of the dock full of happy soldiers waiting to climb our gangway. Everyone yelled and waved and wanted to get into the act. They were filled with relief and joy at leaving Korea. Rest and Rehabilitation One of the problems that existed among troops should be mentioned. This had to do with R and R QRcst and Rehabilitationj . Chaplain James A. Whit- man, BaptCAj , ComNavFe Chaplain, writing in March states that the lst Division and the 1st MAW send men to Japan for R and R continually. Chaplain Whitman insisted on the necessity of the proper brief- ing of newly arrived chaplains because of this problem. This R and R situation is a most serious problem effecting American prestige in the whole Far East. I feel this brief- ing is very vital and most important to the moral welfare of the men the chaplain will serve in Korea. Part of the brief- ing process is to encourage the chaplain to go to Tokyo where he contacts chapel centers, religious leaders and tries to get a fair picture of what worth-while things servicemen can do in a city like Tokyo. CMost men gravitate to Tokyo no matter where their R and R transportation drops them off.l The Far East Command Chaplains' Committee, of which I am a member, is trying desperately to determine how to improve the R and R program and how to help servicemen better use their time spent in Japan, especially those who come for 8-day periods from Korea. Far East Chaplains of Army, Navy, and Air Force are all sure that much of the problem must be solved through the leadership and on the spot knowledgel' of chaplains serving units in Koreag and this character training must be done largely before the briefing given to men just before jumping to Japan for leave. End of Campaign The campaign was over. Many of the Reserve chaplains had already or were planning to return to civilian activities. As has been noted most of the men now with the divisions and the airgroups were new. An audit of the Korean coniiict reveals that out of . . . the nearly 950 chaplains who were on active duty during the time of the Korean hostilities-i.e., from June 1950 to the cease-fire agreement of July 1953-166 Navy chaplains had served with the Marines in Korea and ap- proximately 150 others served aboard U.S. ships in Korean waters, making a total of about 316. This was 35 percent of the total Corps. Chaplain Samuel B. Bennett answers the question that many people in the United States were asking, 'iWhat are the chaplains doing now that hostilities have ceased?', It is not a difiicult question to answer, because it is what they always do in peace time. Chaplain Bennett's reply was They are ministering to the needs of the men. These needs are not peculiar to Korea and japan. Perhaps there is more sensitivity toward God and our homes because they are so far away. I know there is a constant hunger for companionship and fellowship. This gives the chaplain an opportunity to be close and offer guidance and give assurance that God cares and that each person counts. Korea must still be occupied. The needs of the civilian population were crying to be met. The prob- lems of all occupation troops were now to descend upon the chaplains. In most cases a great deal of the attention of the men was directed toward helping others and in the process their own problems faded into insignihance, something of the magnitude of these projects is now to be considered. -210-

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was the fine spirit of cooperation among the diverse groups of Christianity. Where the need was, attempts were made to meet it by everyone irrespective of religious afhliation. Pictures and articles show Protestant Chaplains helping Roman Catholic i-nsti4 tutions and vice versa. When human beings needed clothing, food, and shelter or else they would die, chaplains did not pass by on the other side. America can well be proud of the Good Samaritans of all rates and ranks in the Armed Forces of Korea. Pusan At the beginning one should start with Pusan. It was about the closest to Japan and it was here in the early days of the conflict that many of the refugees gathered. As has been noted seminaries moved here from Seoul. Even today refugee problems remain in this city. Chaplain Henry F. Maxwell, of the USS THOMAS JEFFERSON, states that in 1950 he had only brief contacts with the Korean Christians at Pu- san, but already he was encouraging the sending of money and clothing to the destitute. Chaplain Edgar A. Day tells of the evacuation of Chinnampo and transporting the refugees to Pusan in December 1951. He says, We had been at Yokosuka, Japan, only a few days when we received urgent orders to proceed to Chinnampo to evacuate refugees and ROK soldiers. We arrived there December 4. We worked all night taking those poor people aboard, men, women, and children. The saddest thing was bringing the ROK soldiers aboard. Over 600 were wounded, 500 being stretcher cases. Their wounds had been unat- tended for 10 days. They were hungry, cold and in great pain. Yet, few of them moaned or complained of their pain. They are rugged people with seemingly a stoical approach to pain and disaster. Of course, I was at a disadvantage not speaking their language. Our ship wasn't prepared to care for so many people, especially so many wounded. We had our ship's doctor, two South Korean doctors, one South Korean nurse and woman chemist. We never did get to change all the dressings or do the necessary surgery that many needed. They were aboard 2 days. I spent my time carrying water and emptying urinals, etc. Yet there were rewards. Very few spoke English. Most who did were Christians. One young man who spoke fair English asked me one day, Why are you so kind to poor Korean soldiers? I told him I was a Christian and a minister. He then told me that he was a Christian also. The Korean doctor and nurse who were with me at that time said they were also Christians. They didn't understand English but seemed to know what the word Christianl' meant. Out of the 600 men I had several expressions of appreciation, if not in words, in the expression of their faces. I mention the above because I got disgusted several times at the lack of concern for each other among the soldiers. Few indeed, would carry water and care for the physical needs without direct orders and careful supervision. We would get some able-bodied soldiers to work carrying refuse up and out of the compartment. Then they would disappear. We then had to round up more men and watch them most of the time to see that they, too, didn't take off. we had five men who were YMCA men from Chin- nampo. ,They had their English-Korean Dictionary and phrase books. Hung Seek Ann was the son of a Methodist pastor in Chinnampo. His father was murdered by the Com- munists as they fled northward. As the Communists were now threatening the city all Christian leaders were forced to flee to save their lives. Kee Taik Bak was a pastor of the Duk Lunk Ree Church. He also was studying at a seminary in the city. I couldn't quite understand all the details of his life. He said he had a large family of little ones andq property in Chinnampo. Therefore, he couldn't take theml with him. Since he was a pastor he would be immediatelyl shot. I suppose he feels that his family would be reasonably safe' since it was the leaders who would be in danger. He came to my room and wanted to sing. He hummed the hymn, My Country 'Tis of Thee. So we two sang the entire song through. He sang in English most of the time, occasionally lapsing into his native tongue on a word or two. Then we sang all the Christmas hymns we could locate. I tell you it was a lovely duet. Then we had prayer. He prayed fervently. Seldom have I heard a more sincere prayer. I reached over and placed my hand on his knees to show I understood. Hot tears washed my hand literally in a stream. Later on he and three buddies came back and we duplicated the service. They loved My Country 'Tis of Thee.', After seeing the country I would say it appplied to Korea as much as to America. It was a great experience. We left the refugees at Pusan. Chaplain Charles E. Webb tells of another group of refugees from the other side of the peninsula. They were brought back by Chaplain John Murphy from the North Korean city of Hungnam and were classihed into two groups, one consisting of a Cath- olic priest and six nuns in charge of a large number of small Korean orphans and a small contingent of aged people, the other was a group of sick adults between the ages of 20 and 50. In order to make these groups at least partially self sustaining a laundry was set up in their dwellings and the Marines of MAG 12 gave of their dirty linen to be washed by this grate- ful group. The second group was supplied with items needed to make clothing. Many of these items, in- cluding a sewing machine, were secured by the chap- lains from Japan. Chaplain Wendell C. Wheeler on MSTS duty re- ports bringing clothing, powdered milk, and vitamins to Inchon and Pusan which had been donated by a west coast group. Chaplain Barnes notes refugees from Seoul in Pusan and the fact that assistance was ren- dered to Chosen Theological Seminary? As has been 2 See pp.99,101, 112. -212-