United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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lthemj to the Masan Seminary which was forced to leave Seoul. There were about 90 students and 10 teachers and they were attempting to carry on their classes in various homes and churches. In order to realize any shelter from these eight tents, we placed four tents over four in such man- ner that the bullet holes would not be in the same places. Under these the seminary was able to carry on its work for another month until it was moved to a former Japanese Temple. He also tells of the remodeling of the churches men- tioned above but states that the Methodist Church had been destroyed by fire. We gave an offering to either one of the churches, the orphanage, the sem- inary, a kindergarten, or the Korean hospital. He states that his unit, the 1st Amph. Traction Battalion raised 31,396 for these causes. In Chaplain Austinis monthly report of 30 July 1951 of the Chapel Fund it was indicated that the of- ferings were given to the Reverend Kim Chang Ho, president of the local pastorls organization, for dis- tribution among refugees, school children, and orphans. Chaplain Rice adds color to ones view of Korean life by telling of the . . . festival of the eighth moon and the town of Masan- like other towns in Korea-would celebrate the harvest with 3 days of festivity. To us Americans it seemed strange to see this type of Thanksgiving Day. The fields of grain were ready for cut- ting. The stems of high grass weighted with grains of rice waved gently in the paddies. Sorghum stood, with bent tas- sle, like the blossoming corn at home. Children stood guard over every terrace-acting as live scare crows. Here was a harvest yet to be taken. Masan has something to be grateful for. The path of war has not shattered the mud walls of its homes. The guerillas are not active in this area. The military salvage points give the refugees a great deal of work. The people seem ever to be on the go-either to market or home again-but they realize little for all their work. Problems face this harbor town. Sewage and garbage disposal seem to be nonexistent-or perhaps it is that the open sewers were adequate when the town was smaller. . . . To make the festival of the eighth moon a better day-to show that we Marines noticed their sorry plight-a group of Marines decided to do something. We could brighten the day for the most abandoned at least on this festival. Clothing had been sent from the States and By this time we knew fairly well the need of the people. The directors of the homes of old ladies, for orphans, for the refugees, know that the chaplain will listen to their re- quests. By this time we had a list of all the asylums in town. So one fine day off we went. Captain Davis, six Marines and the chaplain headed for the neediest homes.', Under the bridge there lived some 38 women, as many men again, and children. In all about S0 people lived under that bridge. The roof was good, if a little damp: it was a concrete bridge. The floors of the shacks underneath were more scanty: they were drafty, and would let in the flow of water when the stream would rise. The Marines went to each woman and presented her with a bundle of clothing--trying meanwhile to avoid a stampede. Then we went off to the refugee centers. They live in tents. By now the tentage has faded under the sun and has been beaten by the weather. No longer does it keep out the rain. In an area 20 by 20 there will be 8 families housed. We brought the truck in close to a building allowing room for a single lane of persons. When the women came through that lane they could not stampede the Marines. By the time we had given out the bundles a few had caught on to the idea that they could crawl under the truck and beat the line. Next we went down to the beggars' center. Before we reached this place we sent our interpreter ahead to speak to the boss and tell him what would happen. One Marine spotted a dirty old beggar, crouched against a fence. He brought her a bundle. She took it with joy and sorted its contents. Right before our eyes she changed into the clothing. She was very modest about the whole thing. A person in the latest beach tent could not have changed clothing better. One Marine said: I'll never forget that sight till my dying dayf' At the old ladies' home the poor old folks came out to meet us. These little people greet you like grandma on Mother's Day. They will work these pieces of clothing over. At the end this clothing will meet the Korean size and style. We did not hesitate to leave old overcoats and those old kimonos, night gowns and house dresses here. They will all be used. The old ladies once asked for a sewing machine. Now I see why. . Up to the orphan asylums we drove. The collectionsi donated at the Catholic and Protestant services on Sundays had helped these places. In one place the Sunday collection was enough to put in a radiant heating system Cfor S50 the Koreans can install such a system: they merely have a small stove at a very low angle on one end of the house. As the Hue rises, it proceeds diagonally upward under the floor, so that the flue rises at the other end of the house. Meanwhile the heat of the Hue will heat stones under the floor and provide the heat.j As a result of our visits to these orphan homes the children knew us. They put on a little show for us. We left them sweaters and whatever little bit of childrenls clothing we had. The festival was a happier day-for the orphans, house girls, people living under the bridges, beggar centers, refugee In all, some 750 bundles were given out-clothing for an estimated 2,000 people. And the Marines were happy in this task. When asked why his eyes were so red one Marine said: 'Tm allergic to the dust we pick up in the warehouse when we opened those bags: but I love this job.', Most likely these poor people we helped were amongst the people who could not afford to buy a ticket for the arena. That afternoon we saw a thousand people or more peeping over the fence watching the ox fight, a mild Korean custom. centers- and many more. Another city in this area was Chinhae. It was here that the PIEDMONT left gifts of money and clothing according to Chaplain Harold F. Symons. 216-

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,Q wi JSMC Marines Discuss School. The future of the llth Marine Regiment Memorial School in Korea is discussed by, left to right, Lt. Col. R. D. Heinl, Jr., executive officerg Chaplain Leo F. Rice, M. Sgt. 1. D. Sharpe, M. Sgt. R. M. Tarltong and Col. James E. Mills, com- manding officer of the regiment. tion as our guests, the choir sang Silent Nighti' and the lifelike tableaux was posed in a corner of the church. Corpsmen and Marines placed their gifts at the foot of the cradled-babe. A very effective service of worship and dedication was the result. Incidentally, a few days later, the pastor of the church, in order to show the appreciation of his people for the gifts given to the church, presented me with about 180 pounds of roasted peanuts for the church men and sick patients. Chaplain Bingamanix affirms that the offering taken from January to May 1951 resulted in the eventual establishment of a Catholic parochial school. The Protestant offerings were distributed to the seven na- tive congregations. It was through these offerings that the Methodist and the Presbyterian congregations were enabled to renovate the interior of their sanc- tuaries. The parochial school referred to above was built by the 11th Marines and was called the 11th Marine Memorial School for Girls, for St. Joseph Catholic Schoolj Hin memory of our Regiment's dead and disabled. Chaplain Kulinski credits the build- ying of the school to the desire of the Marines to make amends for the devastating artillery damage suffered by the city. It is interesting to note that some of the funds contributed to this school came from the contri- 3 See p. 62f. bution of refunds on 'fcokew bottles. Chaplain Rice writes, The education problem is great. The children love to learn. There is a big beautiful school built by the 11th Marines in town: It is a middle school, for girls, and trains 500 girls between 12 and 17. There are several other middle schools and many grammar schools. But some of the classrooms are made of salvage tenting. One principal had a plan for a good school. The people were willing to help-but a hill occupied the spot. The Marines sent out bulldozers and leveled the place that would have taken several months by Korean methods. In another note Chaplain Rice states that the girls of the school put on a parade to show their apprecia- tion of the 512,000 contributed by the 11th . . Marinesf' This chaplain also tells of . . . a village of some 7,000 people right behind the stay- back-line. The interpreter helped us when we distributed candy and clothing. When I asked him if the people had any religion, he said: g'We are all Episcopaliansf' Monsignor Carroll at Pusan was able to send me a hundred bags of clothing from the NCWC. Chaplain Waters tells of aiding a seminary in Masan, In May 1951, I fsurveyedl eight shotup tents and gave 215-

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Visitors on the PIEDMONT. Chaplain James F. Heffernan is host to a group from the Sacred Heart Kindergarten, Chinhae, Korea. The children put on a show in Korean dress for the ship's company. Inchon Chaplain Rennie writes that A few days after going ashore at Inchon with the lst Marine Division, through one of the Korean workers, I made COntaCt with a local Methodist Church on the outskirts of town. The church had sustained some bomb damage. The pastor of the church would not accept help but rather offered a choir for the Sunday services at the Division hospitalf Chaplain Wylie R. Bryant tells a story of refugees in this area while he was serving aboard a MSTS vessel. He writes, On a bitter, cold night of early January 1951, the watch oflicer of the USNS MARINE ADDER, anchored in Inchon il-Iarbor, Korea, heard cries for help coming from the sea. The searchlights revealed a 20-foot wooden boat filled with Korean refugees sinking some 100 yards off starboard of the ship. Life boats were immediately launched and the refu- 'Cp.p. 21. gees were brought aboard the ADDER. There were 27 people, 18 of whom were small children. These Koreans had left their home in Seoul to escape the Communist in- vasion, and with the last money they had they had purchased this decrepit boat in an attempt to escape by sea to a refuge in South Korea. Only a few miles from shore the boat began to sink. When we brought them aboard they were sick, hungry, and very frightened. Medical care and food was immedi- ately given to them. The crew and military personnel of the ship gave items of their own personal gear to supplement their clothing. They were bedded down in one of the com- partments for the night, and were transferred on the next morning to a Destroyer of the South Korean Navy which took them to a safe refuge. Somewhat later a MSTS Chaplain, William Trower, Roman Catholic, learned of the Tabitha Home for Widows and Orphans, which included women who had lost their husbands as a result of the warg some had been soldiers but others had been purged by the Communists. They needed a sewing 217-