United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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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

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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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The two chaplains took turns in leading the short devotion. It would be foolish, naturally, to suppose that all the ship's personnel, or even the majority of them, were actively religious, but it should not be underestimated that on this ship as on many others prayer had become an expected part of the daily routine. Victory in the Grasp In early October, Task Force 77 departed the Yellow Sea for Sasebo. The Marines were at Inchon, outloading. Eighth Army now had effective control of the western parts of South Korea, and the ROK I Corps was poised at the eastern end of the 38th Parallel, the enemy in rout all along the front. Victory seemed within the grasp. The success of the September operation, one of the most unusual and hazardous ever undertaken, must be attributed to the coordinated efforts of ground, air, and sea forces.12 After the humiliating setback of the First weeks of the Korean War, it was with both pride and immeasurable relief that after Inchon- Seoul the United Nations Command could assure the world: A successful frontal attack and envelopment has com- pletely changed the tide of battle in South Korea. The backbone of the North Korean army has been broken and their scattered forces are being liquidated or driven north with material losses in equipment and men capturedfx The Communist challenge to the free world had been countered. It was now clear that only the interven- tion of Communist China or Soviet Russia could save the North Korean People's Republic from complete defeat. 12 For estimates of the Inchon-Seoul operation see Montross and Canzona, op. cit., vol. II, pp. 292-2985 Cagle and Manson, op. cit., pp. 101-106. 13 Montross and Canzona, op. cit., vol. II, p. 298. -27-