United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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Attending a Korean children's Christmas party is one of the experiences that will linger long in my memory. After we had raised the money on Christmas Sunday I took it to the Korean pastor. Through an interpreter he conveyed his message of gratitude and requested that I attend the party on Christmas day. With me went one oilicer and three en- listed men and never in that big Sunday School room have we ever seen such a mass of young humanity packed like sardines together. The children sang the carols that we all knew and there were recitations as well, but when we came in there was a special greeting in song from the children to us, as they seemed to sense that we were their friends who would help them as much as we could. I found that these Christian friends of ours were ready to reciprocate in whatever manner they could. Because I felt that it would be a Fine idea to have organ music at the serv- ices, and there being an organist in our regiment, I conveyed that idea to a Korean resident and member of the Presbyte- rian church. He immediately made arrangements through a music teacher in the city to borrow an organ. Chaplain Howland also reported an interest in Bible study and discussion groups. In the rest camp at Masan New Testaments were greatly in demand,', he wrote. I would go from one tent to another and always I had no trouble getting rid of the Testaments I carried. Many a religious discussion went on in those tents and I was able to take part in the discussion. Nor were chaplains in the ships less busy. Chap- lain O. B. Salyer wrote that he organized Christmas caroling throughout the BADOENG STRAIT on Christmas Eve, with proper religious observance of the holy day. His usual routine, besides Sunday serv- ices, included daily morning prayers and Scripture reading in the shipis library, just after securing from morning quarters. Each Wednesday evening a study and discussion group met in the library. Chaplain John R. Thomas, a Reserve returned to active duty, was assigned to Destroyer Squadron Seven, operating off Korea. In his questionnaire re- ply Chaplain Thomas wrote: I served under at least 12 different destroyer captains and 4 division and squadron commanders. Attitudes of all except one destroyer commander made it possible for evening prayers underway on the ship's intercom system. The squadron commander enabled us to broadcast the Christmas Eve serv- ice to all the destroyers in the carrier screen off East Korea, Christmas, 1950. Concerning this same Christmas Chaplain Wylie R. Bryant, Presbyterian fCumb.j , one of the many chap- lains assigned to Military Sea Transport Service, North Pacific Subarea, wrote as follows: During the days we sat offshore at Inchon there were no passengers aboard, so we invited 80 soldiers aboard the ship on Christmas 1950. The crew and military department of the ship decided to forego their Christmas dinner that these Christmas Mass on Hospital Ship. Chaplain C. E. Karnasiewicz conducts Christmas mass and directs the choir aboard the REPOSE. 50-

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circled overhead. A long column of ships turned southward. Heading for home the pilot signaled the MOUNT MCKINLEY and they exchanged greetings. It was Christmas Eve. First Korean Chriitmas Writing to Chaplain Salisbury on 1 January 1951, Division Chaplain Schwyhart reported that most of the Chaplains at Masan had been able to obtain squad tents to be used as chapels. 'cOn Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, wrote Schwyhart, a total of 71 serv- ices were conducted by chaplains in the Division with a total of 13,077 attending. Chaplain William A. Rennie wrote of his Christmas Eve service as follows: At Masan, Korea, during the winter of 1950-51, the neigh- boring Presbytcrian church offered the use of its small sanc- tuary for the Protestant worship services of the Medical Bn. For the Christmas Eve service, one of the Catholic corpsmen volunteered to create a manger-scene tableau with about 10 of the children of the church. Everything went off fine, as by candlelight, with the Korean congregation as our guests, the choir sang Silent Night and the life-like tableau was posed in a corner of the church. Corpsmen and Marines placed their gifts at the foot of the cradled-babe. A very effective service of worship and dedication was the result. lneidentally, a few days later, the pastor of the church, in order to show the appreciation of his people for the gifts given to the church, presented me with about 180 pounds of roasted peanuts for the church men and sick patients. Chaplain B. C. Howland, in his reply to the ques- tionnaire, commented as follows on his memories of that first Christmas in Korea: I believe our regiment was one of the first to raise money for a Korean church, On Christmas Sunday in our rest camp area at Masan both Chaplain Parsons and myself made an appeal to the men to help out the Presbyterian church which was doing such a good work. The results were heart- ening to both of us chaplains. Christmas Mass, Masan. Catholic marines attend mass in the 50th Marine Regiment area on Christmas Day at Masan, ..49-

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men might enjoy a day of rest and entertainment. Christ- mas services were conducted, and afterward a movie was given for them. Bryant was serving at the time in the USNS MARINE ADDER. Such were chartered ships operated by the civilian merchant marine, with a military depart- ment to supervise and look after the needs of military personnel f and in peacetime, dependentsj being transported therein. The season which for Christians commemorates God's gift of Himself in Jesus Christ seemed naturally to suggest, even to men caught in the toils of war, the wish to do something for others. A choir of crewmen from the ELDORADO, an amphibious command ship, went aboard the HAVEN to sing Christmas carols in the wards. ELDORADO, as flagship of Commander Amphibious Group Three, had partici- pated in both the Inchon and Wonsan landings, her chaplain at the time was Richard Holmes, Roman Catholic. Chaplain Zoller wrote, concerning Christmas Day in the Yokosuka hospital, as follows: After an afternoon of celebrations and parties throughout the hospital, I took my accordion and went to the ward for paraplegics and multiple amputees. After playing casually for a while, the men began requesting and singing Christmas carols, then folksongs, campfire favorites, spirituals, and hymns. Just after taps I stood beside the bed of a young man not yet 20 years of age. I wondered how he kept the smile on his face. Both feet had been amputated, and all the fingers on each hand. He was in constant pain .... Chaplain,l, he said, could you play 'The Old Rugged Cross'?', Then followed a request for Rock of Agesf' When I finished playing, he was asleep, with the trace of a smile still on his face. As I left the ward, nearly everyone was sleeping. At the office the nurse motioned me inside. Chaplain, she said, those quiet hymns did more to re- lax these men than any medicine. Thank you. In Keeping With the Highest The withdrawal from the Chinese trap could not have been effected without close air support furnished by Navy and Marine pilots. During the first stage of the redeployment, on 4 December, when LEYTE planes were supporting the Marines at Hagaru-ri, there occurred an awe-inspiring act of heroismfg Ensign Jesse L. Brown, the Navy's first Negro pilot, was forced to make an emergency landing 5 miles be- hind enemy lines. Circling pilots could see that Brown was alive but apparently unable to extricate himself from the planeis slowly burning wreckage. 18 Ibid., pp. 176f. With darkness approaching and in near-zero weather, Lt. C Thomas J. Hudner successfully landed his plane nearby. Finding it impossible to extricate the injured pilot, he radioed for cutting instruments and a helicopter, and then using snow extinguished the flames. The rescue 'copter arrived quickly, but Brown died before he could be freed from the wreck- age. For his act of selfless devotion Navy pilot Hud- ner was subsequently presented our nationis highest military decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Among the chaplains commended during this time, three were serving on carriers. Both the Protestant and Roman Catholic chaplains, C. A. Frame and C. A. Szczesny, in the LEYTE were awarded the Letter of Commendation with Combat V for meritorious service during air operations against the enemy from 8 October 1950 to 19 January 1951. For his service from 5 August 1950 to 9 January 1951 in the BA- DOENG STRAIT Chaplain O. B. Salyer was also honored with the Letter of Commendation award. Chaplain George W. Cummins, of Marine Aircraft Group 12, located first at Wonsan and then at Yong- po, was cited for the period 12 October-22 December 1950. At Wonsan, volunteering his services as a member of an atrocity investigation team, Cummins had spent many hours in guerrilla-infested area help- ing ascertain facts concerning this dreadful aspect of man's inhumanity to man. Cummins' citation men- tions, in addition, his work during the redeployment to Hungnam. During this period of daily air evacuation of casualties from the Koto-ri airstrip, he maintained a constant vigil at the unloading point, giving unstintedly of his time and atten- tion to the wounded. He was awarded the Bronze Star. During the first 6 months of military operations in Korea, 21 Navy chaplains had won 28 awards, in- cluding 5 Purple Hearts. Fifteen of the twenty-eight chaplains attached to the lst Marine Division were recipients of an award-a remarkably high percent- age. The record is even more impressive when we remember that some of the other chaplains received awards in later actions. In addition to those serving with the 1st Division, three chaplains attached to car- riers fFrame, Szczesny, and Salyerj and three chap- lains with the lst Marine Aircraft Wing fMarkley, Murphy, and Cumminsj were also thus honored. An analysis of the awards granted shows that 5 chaplains received the Purple Heart 5 2, the Legion of Merit, 3, the Silver Star fincluding 1 from the 535332 0-G0--5 - 51 H