United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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Ewha University. Dr. Helen Kim, president of Ewha University expresses her appreciation for the aid given by U.N. troops in Korea at services at the lst MAW. S Ofg QF ll ff it Dedication of the 11th Marine Memorial School for Girls. Bishop Choi delivers a brief message during the dedication of the school at Masan to which the 11th Marine Regiment contributed S12,000. noted the seminary had only two squad tents and nondescript shacks constructed of surveyed material given by the military. It was here that they lived and studied. OH'erings were taken at the services of the 1st MAW and given to the president of the seminary. As the only institution licensed by the government to grant a B.D. degree, they continued under these adJ- verse conditions to turn out ministers for work in their country. Another institution that had moved to the Pusan area from Seoul was Ewha University, one of the old- est institutions of higher learning for women in Asia. It, too, was aided by the Marines. Later the New York Times in an editorial of 18 June 1956 called attention to the 70th anniversary of the university and stated that it had an enrollment of 5,000 students. It further stated that gifts from the United States made possible the dedication of a new building and facilities this weekn at Seoul. Clothing was given to orphanages and Light- housen-the Korean organization for work with the blind. The existence of the Korean Blind School in Pusan has previously been noted. The USS BATAAN delivered 4 tons of clothing to a transport for transshipment to Korea. Chaplain John J. Coffey was among those who accompanied the ship- ,ment to Pusan. It was thought that this ship was the first to collect and deliver a large load of clothing to Korea. Distribution was made to the Maryknoll Sis- ters Clinic, the Sae Dul Children's Home and the Cen- tral Presbyterian Church. The REPOSE gave 82,000 to Pusan Orphanage the winter of 1952. Chaplain Fenstermacher tells of the situation in Pusan during his stay there, There was no combat in the Pusan area during the period I was there. It was a rear area, and since it is a large city it became one of the main havens for refugees and was filled to overflowing with people. The overflow built themselves makeshift shacks of any kind of scrap materials they could gather-wood, tin, discarded beer cans---in any open spaces they could find in alleyways, along the edges of fields or the banks of the river, and on the hillsides. Then came the prob- lem of making a living for the family in a city already over- staffed with employable people. The orphans took refuge in the many orphanages which had been set up in and around the city. These were filled, but they always seemed to be able to make room for more. Some orphaned children roamed the streets and slept wherever they could find room, such as at the railroad depot or under the piers along the waterfront. On inquiry I found that many of these did this by choice, they had been admitted to orphanages, but would not submit to the discipline and attendance at school demanded by the orphanages, or else felt they could get more food by begging or by some other means of their own. So they left the orphanages. Anything we could do would be only a drop in the bucket among so many poverty-stricken people. But as a battalion we tried. We had our personnel write home to ask for used clothing to be distributed to help keep these Koreans warm during the winter. The response was very good. Packages of clothing began to arrive within several weeks, and con- tinued to arrive from then on. As much as possible I had the men themselves deliver the clothing for distribution to the needy. Since all the firing batteries were located near some village, some of the clothing went to these villages to be given to the needy in the villages, the deputation of Ma- rines often consulting with the head men of the villages to determine the needy. Other clothing went to the Baptist, -213-

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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-

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Methodist, Presbyterian, Seventh Day Adventist, and Roman Catholic Missions. They had constant calls for clothing, never seemed to have enough to go around, and they either knew the people asking for clothing or else often investigated the family before giving fan important point, since Koreans have been known to feign extreme poverty, accept clothing, and then sell it at the marketj. Other clothing we took directly to orphanages and to the Old Folks, Home at Tongnae, near Pusan. . . . H and S Battery held a Christmas Party to which 60 orphans from the Cross Orphanage were invited. In addition to clothing, canned and packaged foods, candy, and toys were given to the orphans. At the same time, all the firing batteries held parties to which they invited the chil- dren of the villages located near them and gave them similar gifts. The children of the Cross Orphanage were trained to put on a show consisting of tumbling, singing, and skits. They staged their show at each of our batteries at least twice, always receiving an offering in Korean money for the support of the orphanage besides other gifts. Not all of the relief items necessarily arrived at their destination. Chaplain Philip P. Shannon, Roman Catholic, states that several cases of powdered milk, . . , destined for an orphanage in Pusan and transported from the States aboard the GENERAL STURGIS, were seized by Japanese sentries in Yokohama as possible black market merchandise. The reporting chaplain was simply'l attempting to leave the milk with the port chaplain, Yoko- hama, for the first available 'shipment to Pusan. Since the GENERAL STURGIS was departing immediately for Inchon, a frantic call was made to the port chaplain's office. However, time did not allow the black marketing chaplainu to see the outcome of the incident nor has he ever found out what became of the skimlac. Chaplain Preston C. Oliver, Presbyterian CUSD, in the USS VULCAN met a young Korean who was attending the seminary in Pusan who became his interpreter. Later the chaplain arranged for the man to attend seminary in the United States. There were a number of recipients of relief goods. These included the Christian Social Service Center CMethodistj, the Chief of Chaplains of the ROK Navy for further distribution and others. The CON- SOLATION aided the Maryknoll Clinic. One of the relief projects was 4'Operation Goodwill which was put on by the MT. MCKINLEY. Her Chap- lain, Thomas M. Gibson, reports that Clothing was collected on the west coast and delivered to the Hope Hospital in Pusan, a hospital sponsored by the Re- formed Church of Holland, Mich. Chaplain Ken- neth W. Carlson tells of ships making contributions to Pusan after her disastrous fire. M asan About 30 miles to the west of Pusan there was another city which was assisted by our forces. It was the city of Masan. Chaplain William A. Rennie tells of the winter of 1950-51. The Medical Bat- talion was invited by the neighboring Presbyterian Church to use their sanctuary for worship. For the Christmas Eve service, one of the Catholic corps- men volunteered to create a manger-scene tableaux with about 10 of the children of the church. Everything went off fine, as by candlelight, with the Korean congrega- BATAAN Delivers Clothing. Crates of clothing are brought on Navy trucks to the Mary- knoll Sisters Clinic at Pusan. Lt. Joseph Holtzer Qleftj , Chaplain John J. Coffey fcen- terj, and Cmdr. Ralph W. Arendt of the BATAAN pose with children at the Sae Dul Children's Home in Pusan. They helped deliver over 7,500 pounds of clothing brought by the ship from San Diego to the Far East. 214- l nr