United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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The reception by the people was unbelievable. They fell all over me when they learned I was a priest and begged me to come and celebrate Mass. Several hours afterwards I did-my first High Mass in the Navy. In that- time more than 500 villagers had assembled at the Abbey. Lt. George Balzer of San Diego and Brother Pincentius, O.S.B., a Korean, led a hastily assembled choir of more than 100 in the Gregorian music of the Mass. Nothing has ever sounded more beautiful to me. Practi- cally everybody there received Communion. Here the Marines were seeing at first-hand some evidences of the way the Communists were persecut- ing the Christians. They learned how the Commu- nists, when they retreated from the Wonsan area the first part of October, had spread straw through the beautiful Abbey church, poured on gasoline and set it afire. Many other examples came to the attention of the Americans of the repressive measures practiced by a Communist-dominated government against Christians throughout North Korea. Air Wing Chaplains When elements of the lst Marine Aircraft Wing arrived at Wonsan, Chaplain John P. Murphy soon discovered that out of a Catholic civilian population of about 3,000 in Wonsan, only 2,000 remained. Roman Catholic Christians had suffered a loss ofnone- third of their number under the Communist regime. The leaders had been methodically eliminated. Priests and seminarians had been killed or carried off to the North, never to be heard of again. Of the 50 Benedictine brothers and 80 nuns, only 10 brothers and 12 sisters remained. The monastery in Wonsan had been turned into a People,s Agricultural Col- lege? The cross had been sawed off the top of the church and the interior desecrated. Chaplain Murphy took on a double load. In addi- tion to his duties with the Marines, he tried to help the civilian Catholic population, now led by a candidate for the priesthood in deacon's orders. Beginning with a small room in a private home, he celebrated Mass for the poorly clad, hungry, but devout Koreans who Crowded in for his ministrations. The room over- flowed and the civilians crowded the dingy hallway and winding stairway. In addition to helping the local church, Chaplain Murphy set up the North Ko- rean Catholic Relief Society. The local military com- Food for the Needy. Liberated grain is being passed out to all returning destitute Citizens of Wonsan. Chaplain John P. Murphy Cat rightll arranged the distribution. He, in predawn services, resumed celebration of mass for the parish. -34-

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letters was the responsibility of Division Chaplain Schwyhart. That the ministry of chaplains, and par- ticularly their ministry of consolation and encourage- ment to bereaved families, was appreciated by the American people may be noted from the following ex- cerpt from a letter sent by Gen. Clifton B. Cates, Com- mandant of the Marine Corps, to Chaplain Ingvold- stad in October 1950. Your diligent self-application and devotion to your sacred duties has been forcefully brought to my attention by the many letters which I have received from the grateful parents of young men who have made the supreme sacrifice on the Korean battlefields. These parents, wives, these relatives have paid glowing tribute to you in correspondence which reflects nothing but gratitude for the knowledge that their sons or husbands died in the company of one close to God Almighty. A few changes in the complement of chaplains at- tached to the lst Division took place before 31 Octo- ber. Chaplain Glyn Jones was detached as Regimental Chaplain of the lst Marines, in compliance with Bu- reau of Naval Personnel orders, and Chaplain Wil- liam N. Lyons, already with the Division, was ordered as his relief. Chaplain Kline d'A. Engle joined the Division before it sailed from Inchon. Certain re- assignments of duty were made within the Division. With the detachment of Chaplains R. L. Bonner and W. G. Tennant as casualties, the number of chaplains attached to the Division was reduced to 26. Wonsan to the Reservoir From the last of August United States Naval ves- sels had cooperated with the ROK Capital Division as it advanced up the east coast from Pohang. On 1 October the ROK 3d Division had crossed the Parallel and began an advance of some 50 miles up the east coast. In the following months, the bombardment force would continue to furnish harassing and inter- diction fire against enemy positions along the eastern coast. Air operations were intensified when elements of the lst Marine Aircraft Wing began moving in to Wonsan on 14 October. The Division effected an administrative landing at Wonsan as part of X Corps, on 25-26 October, and at once fanned out in pursuit of North Korean forces? The landing was unopposed as the ROK I Corps had already captured the city by 10 October, without a fight. Delayed by the minesweeping operations, the Marines were chagrined to find that air maintenance crews had beaten them to Wonsan by 12 days. Even ZMontross and Canzona, op. cit., vol. III, chs. II-IV. more humiliating, on the evening of the 24-th Bob Hope had been featured in a USO show which was larded with 'Tracks' at the hapless Division going back and forth like a yo-yo outside Wonsan harbor! The lst Battalion, lst Marines was dispatched south by rail about 35 miles to thc supply center of Kojo, guarded by an ROK detachment. Here a two-night engagement took place as North Korean forces tried to control the main communication route through the valley. Chaplain Glyn Jones accompanied this unit, but when it became necessary for him to leave, to carry out orders returning him stateside, the area was completely surrounded by enemy forces so that he had to be fiown out by helicopter to Wonsan. General Almond now ordered his X Corps forward. The lst Marine Division was to branch off at Ham- hung and proceed north and west to the Chosin Reservoir. Certain ROK units were to follow the coastline northward, and the 7th Army Division, put ashore at Iwon, south of Wonsan, on 29 October was to move inland toward the Pujan Reservoir. As X Corps proceeded to its mission, 8th Army had begun a parallel movement northward in the west? Elements of I Corps, including British, ROK, and American troops, spearheaded by the lst Cavalry Division, crossed the Parallel and by 21 October had secured the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and its port, Chinnampo. With other ROK forces in the middle, it was MacArthur,s plan to link X Corps and 8th Army in a concerted drive to the Yalu River and the Manchurian border. The Marines proceeded to Hamhung, about 75 miles from Wonsan, by truck, and rail, meeting little opposition en route. Hamhung lies inland about 5 miles from Hungnam, its seaport. Prior to the de- parture to Hamhung, Chaplains Craven, Cornelius J. Grifiin, and Kester M. Hearn of the 7th Marines spent several nights in a burnt-out Benedictine Abbey in Tokwan, about 8 miles north of Wonsan. The three chaplains settled down in the Abbey's undamaged school building, and in the chapel each conducted religious services. Chaplain Griffin, a Roman Cath- olic, was greeted with joy by many of the natives who said that he was the first priest they had seen for over a year. Later Chaplain Grifhn, in an interview published in the Monitor for 5 January 1951, commented on the enthusiastic reception given to him by the Roman Catholic Koreans at Tokwan. He said: albid., pp. 34-37. See also Korea, 1950 CDepartment of the Armyj, pp. 150-153. For the Navy at Chinnampo, see Cagle and Manson, op. cit., ch. 5.

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Wonsan Pastor. 'he Reverend Han June Myung of Jesus Church, Wonsan, after preaching to Marine airmen, received the offering contributed to his work from Chaplain George W. Cum- mins. The Korean minister survived the masacre of 300 civilians in a cave where they were machinegunned by re- treating Communists. November 1950. iand had taken over a large amount of barley and eans when the city was captured. Some of these ipplies were turned over to the Relief Society for dis- 'ibution to the hungry people, regardless of religious Hiliation. The situation in the 1st MAW had been extremely uid during the Hrst months of the war. Besides its eadquarters base at Itami, Japan, operational fields tKimpo and now Wonsan had to be covered. Chap- lin George W. Cummins QSouthern Baptistj was at- iched to Marine Air Group 12, which gradually was stablished at Wonsan. At Kimpo, in the vicinity of eoul, Chaplain H. Markley was still with Marine ir Group 33. Since Roman Catholic services were vailable at Itami, Murphy divided his time between ie two operational groups. Protestant services were inducted by Markley or Cummins whenever they ere able to get over to Japan. Cummins earned for himself the reputation of being regular Humphrey Bogart of a chaplain. Accom- inying official photographers to an ROK command Jst, where they sought information about the scene of reported massacre of hundreds of political prisoners 535332 O+60+4 '- by the retreating Communists, the chaplain attempted to explain their purpose. When words proved un- successful, Cummins resorted to pantomime, holding his arms as if handling a machine gun, he emitted a vocal imitation of rapid fire. It seemed to work, the ROK captain's eyes lighted up in understanding, and he turned into the command post-to emerge bearing a captured burp gun, which he thrust upon the astonished chaplain. Doubtless proud of himself, he stood smiling after the departing jeep, in which Cum- mins sat holding gingerly his unexpected and un- wanted weapon. Chaplain Charles E. Webb fRoman Catholicl ar- rived on 15 November, but before he could report to Marine Aircraft Group 33, his assigned duty station, the Chinese offensive had forced a withdrawal of United Nations forces, and Webb operated in Japan until January when he joined Marine Aircraft Group 12, now relocated at Pusan. Chinese Intervention The 7th Marines, the most recently formed regi- ment of the lst Division, with the largest percentage of Reserves, spearheaded the thrust northward from Hamhung toward Chinhung-ni, about 35 miles dis- tant. On the night of 2-3 November this advance force engaged a full Chinese Communist division in the gorge country in the Sudong area a few miles south of Chinhung-ni? Thus the 7th Marines had the dis- tinction of being the first American unit to be engaged with a Chinese Communist force in large-scale combat. A furious 5-day battle followed, during which the enemy's casualties were estimated to have run as high as 9,000 with over 660 killed. The Marine casualties included 46 dead and 264 wounded. During the battle, two battalions of the 7th Marines were attacked from the front and on both flanks for about 24 hours. With these two battalions were Chaplains Grifhn and Kester M. Hearn. Here Chaplain Griffin so distinguished himself that he was recommended for and later received the Silver Star. A part of his citation reads as follows: During the late morning of 3 November, the same units of the 7th Marines were subjected to heavy small arms fire. Chaplain Griflin left the comparative security of the battalion sick bay where he was rendering aid to the wounded and moved back to the front lines. Here he repeatedly exposed himself without regard for his personal safety to render what aid he could to the wounded men in the attack. Chaplain Griffin served as a veritable pillar of strength for the men of the organization and served as an unforgettable inspiration to all who observed him. 4 Montross and Canzona, op. cit., vol. III, chs. V, VI. See also Cagle and Manson, op. cit., ch. 6, pp. 165-169. 35-