United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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Greater Love Hath No Man The march south from Hagaru-ri to Koto-ri began on 6 December, only 2 days after the final elements of the Yudam-ni forces arrived at Hagaru. At 2230 of that day Chaplain Cornelius GriFHn was seriously wounded when the ambulance in which he was riding came under severe machine gun Hre. While en route to Koto-ri, Chaplain Griffin was giving the last rites of his church to a dying young Marine. With the chap- lain was his assistant, Sgt. Matthew Caruso. On a narrow mountainous road leading into Koto-ri, the convoy ran into a roadblock. Although the ambu- lance was clearly marked with the Red Cross, such a symbol of mercy was not respected by the Communists. A machine gun bullet tore through the chaplain's lower jaw, causing a deep wound. Another bullet hit him in the right shoulder. Sergeant Caruso Hung himself over his chaplain just in time to catch another bullet which took his life. In an interview published in the Monitor of 5 January 1951, Griffin said: My clerk was killed as he lay alongside me. He was a 20- year-old grenadier and rifleman assigned to cover me, one of the finest kids I ever knew, Sgt. Matthew Caruso of Rocky Hill, Conn. He never left me, saved me I don't know how many times and even covered me with his body. He died 20 minutes after I had given him Communion. Chaplain Griffin was knocked unconscious by the terrific blow on the jaw. Word was quickly passed to Chaplain Craven, who was then about a mile away, that Chaplain Griflin had been wounded. When Grifiin regained consciousness, he was aware that some one was bending over him trying to get him to say the Act of Contrition: HO my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee . . . and I detest all my sins . . .H As the wounded chaplain began to repeat the words of the Roman Catholic prayer, he realized that the one bending over him was none other than his friend, John Craven, a Baptist. The story of this incident was recorded in the spring of 1951 and widely broadcast during Brotherhood Week to illus- trate the meaning of brotherhood. Several months later at a ceremony at Pearl Harbor when Chaplain Griflin was awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry while in action against the enemy on 3 November, Gen. Lemuel C. Shepherd said to Grifiin as he pinned on the medal: They don't give a damn whom they shoot, do they, Chaplain? Chaplain Griffin was evacuated from Koto-ri to Japan by air on 8 December. His wound in the jaw required many operations and much plastic surgery during about a year and a half spent in Navy hos- pitals. Chaplain Grifiin was the most seriously wounded of all Navy chaplain casualties of Korea. A chapel at Camp Pendleton has been named in honor of Sergeant Caruso. Among those who rendered notable service in the withdrawal from Hagaru-ri to Koto-ri were Chaplains Robert L. Patton and William D. Lyons. Both re- ceived the Letter of Commendation award for their tireless devotion to the men of their units, frequently exposing themselves to enemy fire in their efforts tc minister to the wounded. In the midst of such constant danger, where death might come fiying with the speed of a bullet and where no one knew what a few minutes might bring forth, many Leathernecks found strength and consolation in religion. Navy chaplains were there to lead them in the worship of Almighty God. Chaplain B. C. How- land in his questionnaire commented on an experience which took place at Koto-ri. The most impressive service of Holy Communion in my experience as a minister occurred at Koto-ri on the way down from the Reservoir. Chaplain Preston D. Parsons, assigned to the 2d Battalion, and I conducted the service with the snow lightly falling on the heads of the men knelt in prayer. Over 100 gathered there not knowing whether we would ever get back to Hamhung but thankful that sc far the Division had been able to make it down the roads. The faces of those men, as I placed the wafer on their tongues, showed that they were putting their trust in the Master of all men as they united in professing their loyalty to Him. ...to theSea South of Koto-ri, the withdrawing column of Ma- rines ran into a new difficulty when they discovered that the enemy had destroyed a 29-foot section of at bridge on the road leading down from the 4,000-foot summit. The road at that point was on a shelf of si cliff which could not be bypassed. On 7 December a successful air-drop of the necessary 2,500 pound Treadway bridge section was made, the necessary re- pairs were completed on 9 December within 3 hours after the materials were made available at the site, and the march continued. By the morning of 10 December the advance units of the 7th Marines were moving out of Chinhung-ni and on the afternoon of that day they finally reached Hamhung, where hot food and warm shelters were awaiting them. The last elements of the Divisior reached Hamhung at 1300 the next day and the long ordeal which began at Yudam-ni on 30 November was over. The Marines succeeded in bringing back to the protecting lines around Hamhung all theii wounded, many of their dead, much of their equip- -42-

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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

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'ii I i ' , K 71 r,,, 32' J . ' ii K k' ?'W'1fG W Marines fight their way through h f L t -A Q 1 ' til? i t ,V I v i g 4 P! F if H, ,, ps, if if R 34' 1' Q 1, M A, it i,-is V gi, 434131, To the Sea. ordes of Chinese communists in subzero weather down the mountains, Mountain gale hinder their progress. -43-