United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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chaplains, partly due to overwork, and the long travel time to and from the theater of war. Because activities in the combat area had priority for personnel, other activities suffered correspond- ingly. Allowances in certain types of ships were given up altogether, the optimum in training activities was 75 percent of allowance. The rotation of chaplains in combat of course af- fected rotation throughout the Corps. Normal tours of continental shore duty were shortened by as much as 3 to 6 months, that at overseas bases correspond- ingly lengthened. On change-of-duty orders, 10 days leave was normally granted chaplains returning from sea-and-foreign-shore duty, 5 days for all leaving con- tinental shore duty. All chaplains were advised to take such leave as might be possible aboard a duty station. The Chief of Chaplains commended the way in which all hands were meeting the emergency and hoped that the policies then in operation would be sufficient to expand the Corps to meet the need with- out further undue strain upon the personnel already involved. New Divixion Chaplain Chaplain Schwyhart wrote to the Chief of Chap- lains on 16 February 1951 : On the eve of Chaplain Kelly's arrival and my detachment, I want to state that it has been a privilege to have served as Division Chaplain during this time. It has been no sine- cure, rather very strenuous but at the same time rewarding. The chaplains in the Division have performed their duties in a traditionally excellent manner and it has been a privilege for me to coordinate our mutual efforts. In the same letter he reported that Van Antwerp was about ready to return to duty, that Killeen had had to be evacuated, and that replacements were needed for Van Antwerp, William Hearn, Reilly, and Lyons, in that order. A copy was enclosed of the Standing Operating Pro- cedure for the Chaplains Section of a Marine Division which had been submitted through Force Chaplain Kenneth D. Perkins to Fleet Marine Force, Pacific with recommendation for adoption.8 For examples of a Standing Operating Procedure see app. C fFleet Marine Force, Pacificj and app. D flst Marine Divisionj. Award. Chaplain Robert M. Schwyhart receives Bronze Star Medal from Maj. Gen. O. P. Smith, commanding the lst Marine Division. -57-

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lain School, located at Newport, R.I. He was the first of the chaplains who had seen duty in Korea to be assigned to the school. Previously, in October 1950, Chaplain W. N. Lyons, already attached to the Division, had relieved Glyn Jones as Regimental Chaplain, lst Marines, when jones was ordered to the Personnel Distribution desk in the Chaplains Division. Chaplain Leslie L. O'Con- nor, reporting on 13 January, now relieved Craven as Regimental Chaplain, 7th Marines 5 Craven reported for duty in the Chaplains Division, in charge of the Ecclesiastical Relations desk. Chaplain Joseph C. Fitzgerald, who reported 14 January, followed Sporrer as Regimental Chaplain of the 11th Marines. Other chaplains reporting during this first major rotation were John M. Quirk Q7 januaryj , Solomon K. John- son QI4 januaryj, George C. Bingaman and Howard E. Waters Cboth on 17 Januaryj . Division Chaplain R. M. Schwyhart was having personnel problems. Chaplain Preston D. Parsons, after a jeep accident on 20 January, was evacuated to Japan. Within 9 days all three chaplains in the 11th Marines lSporrer, Howland, and Parsonsj had been changed. Chaplain Van Antwerp was hospitalized after being wounded on 26 january. On 5 February Chaplain Carlsen was evacuated to Yokosuka after a flareup of peptic ulcers. On 6 February Chaplain Killeen was fiown from the lst Marines area to Divi- sion Hospital for an emergency appendectomy. Re- porting all these moves, Schwyhart added: It does seem that we have chaplain difficulties: two in the hospital and another evacuated within a period of 12 days. I have been keeping in close communication with all other chaplains, by jeep, telephone, and radio, and am glad to report that all is well with them. On Monday, 5 February, I went by plane to Masan to check on some items at our Adminis- trative Rear Echelon and to see Chaplains Ham, Engle, and Bingaman, whom I hadn't seen for 3 weeks, since my move north. Chaplain Francis W. Kelly, who had served tours of duty with the lst and 2d Marine Divisions during World War II, receiving the Legion of Merit for heroism in combat, was ordered as the relief of Schwy- hart as the Division Chaplain. Chaplain Kelly had performed exceptional service with the Marines in the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Okinawa. His courage and closeness to the fighting men was depicted in the movie Guadalcanal Diary, with the well-known actor Preston Foster portraying Chaplain Kelly. In The Marines Take Tarawa, a Marine Corps docu- mentary movie, Chaplain Kelly himself plays one of the principal roles. Kelly had been released to inactive duty in july 1946 but returned to active duty 4 years later when the Korean hostilities began. Before going to Korea, he served with the 2d Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point, N.C. Because of his distinguished service with the Marines, he was sometimes known as the Fighting Padref, Kelly relieved Schwyhart on 20 February 1951. Other replacements were gradually made during the spring months of 1951 so that by june a complete turnover of chaplains attached to the lst Marine Divi- sion had been completed. After the front line became more stabilized, the tour of duty for chaplains serving with Marines in Korea would be extended to 10 months and finally to a year. Following the Korean Armistice, the duty was lengthened from 12 to 15 months. Corps Expansion The expansion of the Nation's Armed Forces neces- sitated by the continuing war naturally made great demands on the Chaplain Corps. It was Chief of Chaplains S. W. Salisbury's policy to meet the need for more personnel through a voluntary and selective recall of chaplains in the Inactive Reserve. Chaplains desiring to offer their services submitted a request for active duty orders to the Chief of Naval Personnel. A selection board consisting of both of- ficers of the line and members of the Chaplains Di- vision reviewed their jackets, taking into consideration each applicant's record, as well as age, rank, and denomination. A chaplain was then either ordered to active duty or else placed in category II, the latter making him available in the event of total mobiliza- tion. As always the needs of the service determined selec- tion. In the nature of the case, the chaplains in the Reserve tended to fall into the higher grades, whereas the need was for younger men in the rank of lieutenant and lieutenant f junior gradel. Denominational dis- tribution also naturally entered into the picture. Each applicant was advised that the necessary ecclesiastical endorsement was the individual's responsibility, and it proveclnecessary to warn applicants not to give up their 'civilian positions or otherwise make plans for entering upon active duty until officially notified by the Bureau of having been accepted. The Navy Chaplains Bulletin lspring-summer, 1951j carried a summary of the chaplain personnel distribution picture. As of 15 April the Corps had 743 allowances and 608 chaplains on active duty. Al- though 8 percent was allowed for contingent unavail- ability Cchaplains in transit, on sick list, etc.l, the ac- tual figure was proving nearer 12 percent, because of casualties in combat, a high rate of sickness among -56-

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On ll March the new Division Chaplain, F. W. Kelly, reported to the Chaplains Division the recent arrival of Chaplains Joseph D. McDonald, Henry E. Austin, and Henry H. Hayes. Chaplain O'Connor, Regimental Chaplain, 7th Marines had been evacu- ated because of illness. Kelly continued: At present our lst and 7th regiments are moving forward, with the 5th ready in reserve. lThis was during Operation Ripper.J Our CP fcommand postl moves right along be- hind. Since we are in possible artillery range, we must wear helmets at all times, and black out at nights. The rest of the Division is strung back as far as Masan. I feel that it is better for me to be in this forward CP where I can be in Headquarters Bn .... . . . F. W. Kelly .... , . . Garson Goodman .... H. H. Hayes ..... contact with the regiments, rather than in the rear where I would be out of contact except by dispatch. Later in March Kelly reported that Chaplain Joseph P. Trddd had reported on the 15th. Having advised some of the chaplains about due for rotation that dispatches had been received on their reliefs, he reported that one looked at him like a fairy god- father who waved a magic wand. The rotation plan, he added, was having a Hue effect on the mo- rale of the chaplains. Kelly submitted the following roster on 31 March 1951. Motor Transport Bn ..... . . . Ordnance Bn ......... Engineer Bn ..... Shore Party Bn ....... Tank Bn ..............,.. . . . Amphibious Tractor Bn .... . . . Service Bn ............ lst Marines. . J. P. Trodd .,... Garson Goodman K. M. Hearn. .. K. d'A Engle. . . W. M. Hearn. . . G. C. Bingaman. A. Juntunen. . J. D. McDonald. C. S. Pigott ....... H. E. Austin ..... 5th Marines .... . . . L. R. Phillips. . . . J. M. Quirk .... S. K. Johnson ..... 7th Marines. . . . . . . E. I. Van Antwerp ...., R. L. Patton ........ llth Marines.. , .. . C. Fitzgerald... . H. H. Groover. .. H. E. Waters. . Medical Bn .......... . . . G. Reilly. . . . W. A. Rennie. . Combat Service Group .... . . . W. N. Lyons. . . J. S. Ferris ........ . . . . CDR RC . . LTJG JEWISH . . LTJG DISC . . LT RC . . CTAD from Headquarters Bnl . . LT METH . . LTJG PE . . LTJG BAP CAD . . LTJG I-:VAN at REF . . LT LUTH . . LCDR RC . LTJG BAP qsp . . LT BAP CAD . . LT CONC . . LT RC .. LT PRESBY KUSAD . . LT 'I METH . , LT RC . . LTJG METH . . LCDR RC . . LTJG DISC , LTJG BAP qsp . . LT RC . LT METH , LCDR BAP QAD Chaplain Field Training Chaplain James S. Ferris, reporting on 30 March, had informed Kelly that all chaplains ordered to the lst Division were now being routed via Marine Bar- racks, Camp Pendleton, Calif., for indoctrination and training. Camp Chaplain J. Floyd Dreith later re- ported on this program. 'Last stop before Korea, is the phrase applied to Pendleton not only by the thousands of men sent out regularly as replacements for the lst Marine Division but also by the chaplains going out to bring spiritual enlightenment, comfort and courage to those menf, Marine Corps organization, procedure, and nomen- clature, official and slang, were studied so that the chaplain might know his way around. Refresher courses in first aid and conferences with medical officers suggested ways that chaplains could be of the greatest possible service in working with casualties. And not least, there was rigorous physical training, 'Llest the hills of Korea prove too much for an in- adequate flesh no matter how willing the spirit.', Most important, the chaplain was trained in ways to render the most effective spiritual ministry. He was reminded that he would have a minimum theo- -5g,.