United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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Chaplain Maxwell described in his questionnaire reply something of the duty of the THOMAS JEF- FERSON during these early months of the war. Dur- ing July and August they transported troops from the United States to the Far East, including Marines of the lst Division from San Diego to Japan. In Sep- tember they participated in the Inchon invasion, and brought out casualties on their return to Japan. In early November they helped put the 7th Infantry Di- vision ashore at Iwon, as part of the X Corps drive to the Manchurian border. In December the ship returned to San Francisco. Writing of his work, Max- well said: As ship's chaplain and librarian, as the JEFFERSON transported wounded back to Yokosuka, japan, I made the rounds with library books and with religious brochures, see- ing each patient two or three times daily to trade books, and visit or counsel as occasion demanded. The shipls welfare fund served as a source of money for purchase of comfort items, which the chaplain and his assistants distributed daily to the wounded. The chaplain contributed a Thought for the Day in the ship's daily newspaper, which was mimeographcd and dis- tributed by his office staff. I endeavored to make the brief column timely and worthwhile: spiritual encouragement to men who knew that shortly some of their number would be dead and men also who had come through the worst and lived. Ships of Mercy The first hospital ship to arrive in Korean waters, the CONSOLATION, docked on 12 August 1950, while the lst Marine Provisional Brigade was assisting 8th Army efforts to stem the Red advance at the Pusan Perimeter. Since July l949 Chaplain Charles F. Holland CLutheranj had been serving aboard. He would be joined in November 1950 by Chaplain Vic- tor W. Lustig CRoman Catholicj. On 16 Sep- tember, the second day of the Inchon landing, CON- Worship on Hospital Ship. Chaplain Leroy C. Austin conducts Sunday services on board the CONSOLATION in Pusan. , ,Ex I it F , r' '--- if ,..t. H , 1 I I .Silvia 'ii vs iiii ' Q iiii

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? w 5 A Burial at Sea. Chaplain L. C. M. Vosseler conducts burial at sea for Lt. Cjg.j David H. Swenson, of TOLEDO, OIT Korea. LYMAN K. SWENSON, named for the deceasedls uncle, lies in the background. a Roman Catholic, served in the MANCHESTER from September 1950 to August 1952. The carrier BOXER had two chaplains assigned. Joseph P. Cusack, Roman Catholic, had been aboard since July and remained until October 1951. George A. Hoglan, Presbyterian, another of the many Re- serves who voluntarily returned to active duty, re- ported in September 1950, finishing his tour in October 1952. It will be noticed that the average shipboard tour was about 2 years. One ofthe busiest ships in the area was the MOUNT MCKINLEY, an AGC, or amphibious force Flagship, headquarters of Rear Adm. James H. Doyle's Amphibious Group One, Pacific Fleet. Early in 1950 General MacArthur had asked for Navy and Marine units to train occupation forces in Japan in amphibious techniques. They had hardly arrived and begun work when the outbreak of hostilities turned these amphibious specialists from training to operational activities. On July PhibGru One put the 1st Cavalry Division ashore at Pohang-dong. For Inchon, naturally, Admiral Doyle's amphibious force was a mainstay, most of the planning was done Hzbfd., pp. iff., isff. on board the MCKINLEY, and when it was time to mount the operation MacArthur chose to proceed from Sasebo to Inchon in that ship. ' The chaplain at the time was Edward E. Helmich, a Moravian, who was assigned additional duty as Doyle's Staff Chaplain. The largest number of troop and attack transports were not assigned chaplains, owing to the shortage. As always the Marine Division Chaplain tried to place his chaplains in those transports which had none of their own or otherwise arrange for the widest distribution of chaplain personnel en route to the invasion. At least the following transports at Inchon carried one chaplain each. BAYFIELD CAPAJ .,........ Edgar A. Day. . BAP CAD GEN.j. C. BRECKENRIDGE Leonard B. EVAN SL CAPJ. Dohrmann REF GEN. H. W. BUTNER CAPJ. . Edward R. RC Martineau HENRICO CAPAJ .......... Carroll M. PRESBY Mershon CUB PRESIDENT JACKSON Harry A. BAP CAD QAPD. Porter THOMAS JEFFERSON Henry F. Max- CONG CAPAJ. well 10 Ibid., p. 84. L24-

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SOLATION arrived in Inchon harbor and began receiving casualties aboard. On the same day a second of these 'cships of mercy, the REPOSE, reported for duty in Korea. These great white ships, a gleaming Red Cross painted on their sides, furnished with the best equipment and staffed by doctors, nurses, and hospital corpsmcn, maintained constant vigilance to provide the best possible surgical and medical care for the United Nations personnel. Chaplains in the REPOSE were Henry P. White fMethodistj and Charles F. Karnasiewicz CRoman Catholicj. Mighty Mon The MISSOURI was the only battleship in opera- tion at the outbreak of the Korean War. Its chap- lains were Emil F. Redman fProtestantj and Eugene I. Van Antwerp fRoman Catholicj. Both men were relieved before the ship was transferred from Norfolk to the Far East, Van Antwerp being ordered to the 1st Marine Division, and when she arrived in Korean waters, on 14 September, her chaplains were William H. Hoffman fRoman Catholicj and Charles L. Arnold fSouthern Baptistj. On the deck of the MISSOURI, as everyone knows, the formal surrender of Japan took place on 2 Sep- tember 1945. It was after the Japanese representa- tives had signed the surrender documents that General MacArthur had concluded, S'Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always. In a time when popular senti- ment was inclined to the view that uit doesn't matter what you believe as long as you live right, Mac- Arthur had affirmed on this same occasion his opinion that the problem of war and peace is basically theologicalf' 11 Chaplain Hoffman continued the custom of daily prayers over the ship's speaker which was reported in volume II of this Chaplain Corps History. just at dusk the bo'sun's pipe would sound, followed by the announcement, f'Stand by for evening prayers. H From a clipping from the Los Angeles Roman Catholic newspaper The Tidingsg clipping undated, but contents indicates a date in 1951. Worship on MISSOURI. Worship is conducted under the 16-inch guns of the MISSOURI by Chaplain Arnold. 1 'Wg '- y ss.-f ' . ..,. - 1 , fc -wr.. if