United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

Page 58 text:

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-

Page 57 text:

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-

Page 59 text:

ittle fear. After dark the Communists moved in iloser, some setting up machine guns within 30 yards of the entrapped men. When a Marine was wounded, Zhaplain Keaney moved to his side to give assistance. Seeing a jeep nearby, several decided to take a desper- 1te chance to get the wounded man to safety. Chap- ain Keaney helped to get the wounded maninto the ieep. His account continues: We had just got him in when I felt a sting in the lower Jart of my left leg. I jumped into the back of the jeep and mother blast hit me in the leg. The jeep started to move. However, the heavy machine gun fire forced the driver to eave the road and the jeep careened into a ditch of near 'rozen water. It was the cold water on my wounds that Jrobably saved my life. The arrival of a tank and some trucks rescued the group. Keaney was taken to Hagaru-ri, and evacu- :ted by air to Japan on 4 December. Chaplain Pat- 'ick A. Killeen was sent by helicopter to Hagaru-ri as :he relief of Chaplain Keaney. Dsalms at Hagaru Another chaplain who had a narrow escape on this name road which connected Hagam-ri with Koto-ri vas William M. Hearn. Chaplain Schwyhart, in his etter of 15 December, wrote: The hand of God is very real. One chaplain, W. M. ?Iearn, tried to return to one of his battalion trucks after an tmbush. Within about 20 feet of the truck he noted that t was being looted by Chinese troops so he fell down in a now bank alongside the road and stayed there for 2 hours. elis convoy continued on and his people felt that the chaplain vas missing but he showed up the next day. While ministering to the men at Hagaru, Hearn 'ound that the dramatic events through which the Vlarines were passing provided a new background for ippreciating the Psalms. Writing to Chaplain Salis- Jury, after the evacuation from Hungnam, Hearn zxplainedz During our days at Hagaru, we found much consolation md food for thought in many parts of the Bible. This was :specially true of many passages from the Psalms. Enclosed ierewith is an article based on the experience of Marines natched with passages from the Psalms. The following are some extracts from the article which Chaplain Hearn entitled Psalms at Hagaruf' The sun breaks through the early moming clouds. It xaints the snowy hills of Hagaru with a delicate shade of :ink against blue skies. Another day, another place, this vould be beautiful, but today there is no time for thoughts mf beauty. There are 50,000 and more reasons why one can- iot dwell on beauty this morning. Hidden some place in :hese hills are the 50,000 and more reasons, each armed with 'iHe, mortar or machine gun. And look yet again at the hills, at the snow, at the sun. Before the mountains were formed in the fiery fury of a. young earth, before the snows, yes, before the sun cast forth its first light and flame, God was. Lord, thou has been our dwelling place in all genera- tions. Before the mountains were formed, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art Godf, The 23d Psalm took on new meaning. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not wantf' Continuing with He leadeth me beside the still waters, Chaplain Hearn made a reference to the frozen ice of Chosin, 'fstill waters over which some of the Marines crossed to safety. Darkness falls and fear creeps out to cover the valley. What of the night? O Lord, my God what of the night? The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?'l Fear stalks above and pauses in each foxhole and leaves with each a part of itself, unwelcome visitor, intangible, but more real than gun or mountain. Time creeps by despite my assurances unto my soul. Fear creeps in and sits beside my prayers. The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? As we wait in the darkness for the morning, we watch the shadows and listen to the stillness. They move by night, silently, so silently. Oh for the sun of the morning, the planes Hying over in their dawn strike, light to send the quiet menace back beyond the hills. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say more than they that watch for the morning. In the early hours of morning they charge with bugles. Fury mounts upon fury. Hell opens its very jaws. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord, Lord, hear my voice. The waves of hell subside and grow still with the morning. The lines have held. Yes, we have found the deliverance for which we waited through the dark and fearful night. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. When the Marines were safely behind the defense perimeter at Hamhung, Chaplain Hearn opened his Bible again to the Psalter and read Psalm 124. The fearful ordeal through which he had just passed gave new meaning to old and familiar words: Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers, the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Chaplain Hearn was later awarded a Letter of Commendation with Combat V for excellent service in the line of his profession while serving with a Ma- rine ordnance battalion prior to and during operations in Korea from 15 August to 15 December 1950. -41.11