United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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Interview. Chaplain Craven counsels with a marine at the aid station during the 7th Marines campaign in the reservoir area. Brief Pause. Exhausted marines take advantage of a lull in the continual fighting from Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri to catch a moment's rest. an 4-2' N-aj' ...L The Bitter Withdrawal The withdrawal of the Marines from Yudam-ni to Hamhung, which was reached on 11 December, proved to be a most bitter experience? Writing to Chaplain Salisbury on 1 December 1950, Chaplain Schwyhart referred to the precarious situation in which the Ma- rines were then placed. We have many wounded, he wrote, and the road-blocking leading up to Hagaru-ri has made evacuation of the wounded nigh impossible. He closed his letter with the expression of a hope that the situation would improve. The very opposite was the case. Even as he wrote, the Marines formerly at Yudam-ni were lighting their way south- ward over the 4,700-foot Toktong Pass where a Ma- rine company had been completely surrounded by the enemy for 5 days before being rescued. Writing to Salisbury on 15 December, Schwyhart called the withdrawal of the Marines to Hamhung 'ithe toughest and worst experienceu in the whole his- tory of the Marine Corps. He continued: It is not possible to adequately describe or relate the events of the past 17 days: ambushed convoys leaving many men Montross and Canzona, op. cit., vol. III, chs. XII-XV. For details of Navy and Marine air coverage of the redeploy- ment, see Cagle and Manson, op. vit., ch. V, pp. 1695. Korea, 1950 CDepartment of the Armyj sketches in the withdrawal of 8th Army from the northwestg pp. 2295. ngg-

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events of the preceding Thanksgiving Day: Chaplain Ingvoldstad, Regimental Chaplain, 5th Marines, joined in a service with the local Presbyterian pastor at Hagaru-ri who gave thanks for the liberation of his Korean people from the hands of the Communists who had so long prevented their worship. Unfor- tunately for the Korean Christians, the later with- drawal of the forces of the United Nations left them at the mercy of the Communists who were ruthless in wreaking vengeance. This accounted in part for the waves of refugees who surged southward by every possible means to get to safety behind the anti-Com- munist lines. Thanksgiving Day, 1950, was celebrated by the Ma- rines of the lst Division with special attention being given to the religious significance of the day. Chap- lain Schwyhart sent out a memorandum to all chap- lains of the Division suggesting that each hold as many services as possible. This was done. Chaplain How- ard H. Groover, lst Service Battalion, held two out-of- door services that day, Chaplain Patrick A. Killeen, lst Signal Battalion, conducted two Catholic Masses, both largely attended, and by arrangements with the mess officer, each chaplain said a blessing at the chow- linef' On 25 November the Marines continued their north- ward march toward the Yalu River by taking the road which led from Hagaru-ri in a northwesterly direction over the 4,700-foot Toktong Pass to Yudam-ni 14 miles away. Here was another twisting, narrow road that had to be traversed. Some 15,000 Marines were now at the Reservoir ready to join a part of the Army which was advancing north by a more westerly route. But the union of the Marines with the Army never occurred. Crisis at Yudam-ni Yudam-ni marked the most northern advance of the Marines in Koreaf On the night of 27-28 November bugle-blowing, screaming Communists began to attack at Yudam-ni and it was soon apparent that they were present in overwhelming numbers. Shortly after- wards enemy forces, deployed along the thin supply line which connected the advance body of Marines with its base at Hamhung, began to cut the motor sup- ply route in several places. The temperature was dip- ping to subzero readings during the nights. Little wonder that many were nearing the edge of nervous exhaustion: not far enough gone in battle fatigue to 'Ibid., chs. VIII-XI. For a brief sketch of activities of other UN forces during this critical period, see Korea, 1950 fDepartment of the Armyj , ch. V, pp. 227-229. warrant hospitalization, but giving clear signs of bone- weariness: wan face, trembling hands. Shook, they would say of such a one, Hhe is shook. Dietary de- ficiencies were beginning to appear because of the lack of hot food, and many of the Marines were suffering from diarrhea. Weapons often froze to such a degree they were rendered unserviceable. Chaplain Craven later described some of the diffi- culties faced regarding the care of the wounded: Taking care of the wounded during this period also pre- sented problems to stagger the imagination. During the First 2 days of heavy fighting at Yudam-ni, we suffered sc many casualties that we ran out of tents in which to place them. I had a working party gather hay from the scattered stacks and spread it out on the courtyard of a native house We placed the wounded foot to foot on the straw and covered them with a large tarpaulin .... This arrangement helped to conserve on our tentage and also facilitated our ministry to the wounded. During these days, under ever-increasing pressure from the enemy, the doctors and the chaplains had little or no time for sleep? Chaplain Craven, for in- stance, who was working with the regimental surgeon stated that he went without sleep for 3 days. Once he was sent to an empty tent to rest and had hardly stretched out when another consignment of woundec arrived who were put in the same tent. Of course there was no opportunity then for sleep when the wounded needed help so desperately. On 30 November the order was given to the Marinee at Yudam-ni to withdraw. By that time there were 600 wounded men, many of whom were ambulance cases. Transportation was a problem. The more serious cases were given priority in all available am bulances and trucks. The need for fighting men wa so urgent that the walking wounded were given guns just before leaving Yudam-ni, Chaplain Craver conducted a brief funeral service for about 80 Marine who had lost their lives in the fighting at that place In his reply to the questionnaire Craven commented f'The problems involved in attempting to bury bodie during the Chosin Reservoir campaign when thi frozen ground was covered with ice and snow anc the temperature about 20 below zero are beyonc words to describe. The following seven chaplains were with th' Marines at Yudam-ni: 5th Marines-O. Ingvoldstad B. L. Hickey, and L. R. Phillips, 7th Marines-J. Craven and C. J. Griffin, and llth Marines-O. Sporrer and B. C. Howland. sMarine Corps Gazette QDecember 1952j. See Lynl Montross, They Make Men Whole Again: The Medica Battalion and Chaplains in Korea. 1 -3g- l

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killed, wounded, missing or POW, entrapped troops fighting their way back from Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri, thence to Koto-ri, against overwhelming numbers of enemy troops and the elements, with temperatures going as low as 15 below zero, men with frozen feet and legs, heroism and deeds of valor which oflicers and men had little thought that they would be called upon to perform, the life-saving performance of the air-delivery platoon which dropped tons of supplies, including food and medical supplies, and which evacuated the wounded by air from Hagaru-ri and Koto-ri. In a Division Memorandum dated 19 December, Gen. Oliver P. Smith declared: This withdrawal, which was concluded when the last elements of the Division closed the Hamhung area on December 11, will become an epic in the annals of the Marine Corps. And he added: Seldom, if ever, have Marines been forced to battle against comparable odds? The tem- perature dropped as low as 200 below zero and the narrow, winding road became even more hazardous covered as it was with snow and ice. First Stage The withdrawal from Yudam-ni to Hagaru-ri was completed on 4 December at a cost of 2,260 casualties of whom 358 were killed, 153 were missing, and 1,749 were wounded. In addition, another 1,072 had be- come nonbattle casualties, largely owing to frostbite. In his description of those heart-rending days, Chap- lain Craven wrote: When we left Yudam-ni we had about 600 wounded in trucks and strapped to jeeps and when we arrived at Hagaru- ri, 14 miles away, about 3 days later we had over 1,000 wounded. Chaplain Orlando Ingvoldstad, regimental chap- lain of the 5th Marines, and I worked closely together in ministering to these wounded. During periods when the convoy was held up by heavy fighting, we filled the large native cooking vats which were a part of the kitchen stoves with water and heated the C-ration cans to feed the patients on stretchers. While this heating of food was going on we permitted ambulatory patients to come into the rooms of the native huts to warm on the radiantly heated floors. After 20 minutes these men would be turned out and an- other group admitted who had been standing outside in the cold. Occasionally the chaplain had to get a little rough with some of the men who wanted more than their share of the heat. The most heart-breaking experience came when trucks or weapons-carriers turned over on icy roads in the middle of the night, and the already wounded men would be killed or receive further injuries. Trying to pick up these wounded men and find places for them on other vehicles previously loaded with casualties, while the bluish-green Communist machine-gun bullets were flying around, was a nightmare I shall never forget. At Hagaru-ri I worked all one night with two British Navy hospital corpsmen attached to the British Royal Marines. The three of us had four tents and two native houses filled with stretcher cases to care for as best we could. We were isolated from the large Field Hospital, and nc doctor could be spared to stay with us. The next morning I secured a large utensil filled with hot cakes and a gallor of jam. We spread jam on the cakes, rolled them up anc passed them out to our patients. I donft suppose anyont ever appreciated homemade jelly rolls as much as they did At Hagaru most of the men of the 5th and 7tl' Marines enjoyed hot food again for the first time ir 8 days. Writing to Chaplain Salisbury on 5 December Schwyhart stated: I have checked on the chaplain: of the 5th and 7th Regiments and am glad to report that they are well. They are dreadfully tired, having been without sleep for 2 and 3 days and nightsf' Among the chaplains with Division troops a Hagaru-ri was Chaplain W. M. Hearn. In his reply to the questionnaire, Hearn wrote: Those chaplains who were in the Hagaru area during the trap tried to cover the hospital units. I had a small Communion set and gave Communion to as many as possible as they were brought into the field hospital at Hagaru Divine services involving large groups were dangerous, so f went from tent to tent for brief prayers during these times or in foxholes or wherever men were together. My mos memorable prayer was given on the running board of a mov! ing truck as I prayed with the men driving, at their request Bowed heads and closed eyes were, of course, impossiblef at least for the driver. Chaplain B. C. Howland in his reply to the ques- tionnaire likewise referred to his ministry to the mer who escaped from the Communist trap at Yudam-ni He wrote: At Hagaru-ri, where I was stationed when they came down from the Reservoir there wa: a united expression of desire to receive Communion., Chaplain joseph G. Power reported holding a Corn- munion Service with the men standing in 2 feet oi more of snow. The first chaplain to be wounded in the Chosir Reservoir campaign was Chaplain Kevin Keanej who received three machine gun wounds in the lef' thigh and ankle on 29 November. At the time Chap- lain Keaney was going from Koto-ri to Hagam-ri tt join the 3d Battalion, lst Marines. The convoy ir which he was riding was attacked just above Koto-ri Chaplain Keaneyls description of what happened wa: published in the Newport Navalog of 8 June 1951 from which the following has been taken: The Communists opened up at us with machine guns. 1 jumped behind a tree and made myself as thin as possible The bullets chipped off hunks of bark all around me. Wher the firing quieted we could see the enemy moving about or the snow-covered hillsides in the distance. V The men sought refuge in the ditch by the side o the road. There was but one machine gun in thc group, in addition to side arms, so the enemy hac -40-