United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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we if T, ' af Special Music. A quintet of marines add to the worship service which is conducted by Chaplain Henry E. Austin out of doors. values of life may stand out in clearer perspective. Some men, indifferent to other evangelical appeal, respond under circumstances when even the bravest are not ashamed to admit they are afraid. In any case men are likely to be more responsive to the min- istry of a man of God who is sharing their own ex- periences. Whatever may be the Hnal truth concern- ing ucombat conversion, there can be little doubt that the combat chaplain is in a position to influence many who would hardly otherwise come within reach of a religious ministry. Chaplain Austin was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious achievement in connection with opera- tions against the enemy while serving with a Marine infantry battalion in Korea from 19 March 1951 to 4 April 1951. The citation continues in part: Sewing as battalion chaplain, Lieutenant Austin con- sistently displayed outstanding courage and devotion to duty in ministering to the spiritual needs of the officers and men of the battalion. Frequently exposing himself without re- gard for his personal safety to intense enemy mortar, artil- lery, automatic weapons and small arms fire, he moved fear- lessly with forward elements of the battalion in order to better perform his duties. The two chaplains serving aboard the VALLEY FORGE received the Letter of Commendation for combat service in Korean waters for the period 25 June 1950 to 22 March 1951. Paul Knapp, the Roman Catholic chaplain, received a citation which states in part: By his determination to make divine services and instruc- tions available at all times of the day or night to the Catholic personnel, he rendered invaluable support to the high morale of that ship. The crew of his ship and its air group were inspired to accomplish greater achievements by his untiring devotion to the objectives of uplifting men's spirits and moraleg thus, he contributed immeasurably to the successful conclusion of the ship's mission. ..6Q,

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logical library. Sermons, he was told, must eventually result from the hammering of actual experience with men in combat upon the anvil of one's own spiritual life. The chaplain was supplied with a compact Communion kit, told what supplies would be avail- able to him in Korea, and advised not to burden him- self with too much equipment in any case. One chaplain had written back to Dreith: I packed my pack and set out on Saturday morning to hold services in the 2d Battalion the following day. For 8 days we climbed hills, each one a little steeper than its predecessor, I finally held my service one week later. I suggest that a chaplain take along as many hymnals as he can conveniently carry for 8 days up rugged mountains, in addition of course to a 60 pound pack. Chaplains Wounded Two chaplains--Eugene I. Van Antwerp and Charles S. Pigott-were wounded in action during the 4th Korean campaign. Van Antwerp received a flesh wound as the result of enemy mortar fire on 26 January. He was Hown back to the Division Hos- pital by helicopter where he received treatment. Chaplain Schwyhart, reporting to the Chaplains Di- vision in a letter dated 1 February 1951, stated: The doctors advised that he would be ready for a return to duty in about 10 days. Chaplain Van Antwerp strongly desires to return to his 7th Marines. Our chaplains become extremely devoted to their units. Chaplain Van Antwerp was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism while under fire in an engagement which began 20 January and included the period up to the time of his being wounded on the 26th. This occurred during the Division's antiguerrilla mission. His citation reads in part as follows: On one occasion, when a rifle company on patrol in the vicinity of Chiso-dong, Korea, encountered a numerically superior enemy force and was held up by intense small arms and automatic weapons fire, with complete disregard for his own personal safety he voluntarily moved forward of the front lines, over open terrain, in order to rescue a wounded Marine. Throughout the entire action, he worked tirelessly and fearlessly in assisting in the treatment of wounded Marines until he was seriously wounded by enemy fire and had to be evacuated. Chaplain Charles S. Pigott received a slight wound in the hand on 7 March. He was not incapacitated for duty. Chaplain Pigott later received a Letter of Commendation for excellent service in the line of his profession while serving as Chaplain with a Marine infantry battalion during operations against the enemy in Korea from 2 January to 10 May 1951.2 Chaplains Cited Three other chaplains were awarded citations dur- ing this campaign. Chaplain Henry E. Austin was honored with the Bronze Star and Chaplains Paul Knapp and Abner C. Cook with Letters of Commendation. Chaplain Austin served with the 2d Battalion, lst Marines at the front line in the central sector of Korea north of Wonju from 3 March to 4 April, when the Division was engaged in Operations Killer and Ripper. In his report to the Regimental Chaplain following this duty Chaplain Austin described in some detail the nature of his work. This account may be taken as typical of the activities of all Navy chaplains who lived up to the ideals and traditions of the Chaplain Corps while serving in Korea under combat condi- tions. Austin wrote: The chaplainls zone of action was the battalion aid station, and at times our battalion aid station was as close as 20 yards from the fighting, and occasionally under fire. Since joining this battalion, I can sincerely say that none of our wounded has left the front without being seen by a chaplain. Through- out this portion of time, the 2d Bn had 102 men wounded in action, three of whom died as a result of wounds. In addi- tion live men were killed in action. In four out of the eight deaths, I was able to hold a closing prayer before the men died Ctwo Catholic and two Protestant prayersj. On 11 March, the 2d Bn kicked off on a forward push which was to take the men in various rifle companies on a ridge-hopping maneuver of anywhere from 50 to 65 miles up and down the steepest and most rugged terrain I have ever walked, much less carried a full pack. At night we were all so tired that we were just able to dig our 'ifoxholesn before hitting the rack. Suffice it is to say, the terrain was terrific l On the afternoon and evening of 15 March, the battalion was under heavy fire. Chaplain Austin assisted the doctors and corpsmen in the evacuation and care of the wounded. On that night, he re- ported, it was impossible to evacuate two men . . . who were seriously wounded in the leg and groin by mortar fire. In both cases I helped Dr. Dow admin- ister serum albumen, in -addition to trying to give spiritual comfort to men who were obviously dyingf, He also helped in the evacuation of 47 wounded men that day by helicopters, 'gwhich acted as 'Angels of Mercy' . Carrying his violin with him to provide music, Austin managed during a month of most adverse conditions to hold 20 services, with an attendance of 1,71O, and 290 receiving communion. In addition the chaplain reported 33 decisions for Christ and 14 baptisms. Men travel many avenues to God, in the extremi- ties of human experience some draw near to Him through fear. In the face of imminent death, the

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Baptism. A Marine is baptized by Chaplain Solomon K. Johnson dur- ing a lull in the Korean fighting, Abner R. Cook, senior chaplain aboard the VAL- LEY FORGE and a Protestant, was likewise com- mended for meritorious service. His citation reads in part: Devoting himself with energy and tenacity to all phases of the mental health and welfare of the officers and men during the period of prolonged combat operations, he per- formed immeasurable service in maintaining high morale. His broad knowledge of spiritual needs in times of stress contributed greatly to the success of the operation. Chaplains at Work Not all chaplains serving with the Marines in Korea were in the combat zone nor were those at- tached to combat units on the front line all the time. As far as the exigencies of the situation allowed, com- bat battalions were rotated from the front lines to re- serve. The ordinary duties of a Navy chaplain con- tinued meanwhile. Divine Services were conducted, the sacraments administered, the sick and wounded visited, and countless numbers of consultations held. The difficulties attendant upon fighting a war became part of the normal routine. The unusual became the usual. Some of the chaplains reporting as re- placements arrived without having had field training, but for the most part quickly adapted themselves to the difficult conditions. The questionnaire sent out by the Chaplains Di- vision in the spring of 1954 asked for an account of experiences which would illustrate unusual activities or initiative on the part of chaplains. In reply to this, Chaplain James S. Ferris, who is entitled to wear three battle stars for service in Korea, wrote: What- ever initiative I have shown or taken is typical of all chaplains. Chaplain Leslie L. O'Connor com- mented: I cannot claim any unusual activity or initiative out of the ordinary. I was there as a chaplain, pastor, friend, and comrade-without-arms during the guerrilla fighting between Andong and Pohang-Dong and during the first phase of K'Operation Killer. He told of visiting isolated companies of Marines in the guerrilla country with the armed chow truck carrying hot food and noted how appreciative the men were to see a chaplain. Their smiles and con- versation, wrote O'Connor, was like the winsome gratefulness of a tired puppyf, Chaplains belonging to denominations practicing baptism by immersion often made use of clear running streams for that purpose. On one occasion Chaplain Austin baptized six Marines in the Pukhan River, while a congregation of native Koreans and military personnel gathered on the makeshift bridge over the swiftly flowing river. An interesting and potentially dangerous episode in the UN advance concems this same river. Rising in the mountains of North Korea the Pukhan flows into the Hwachon Reservoir and thence southeastward to its confluence with the Han River near Seoul. On 9 April the enemy opened several sluice gates of the Hwachon dam, thus destroying bridges on the lower river and providing a serious obstacle to the UN ad- vance as the waters of the lower Pukhan rose swiftly? A task force dispatched to wrest control of the dam failed, but the opening of the sluices actually affected UN operations less than had been feared and the mission was abandoned. Chaplain George C. Bingaman described an unfor- gettable Communion service which he conducted as follows: The service near Yangu in a rice paddy located near one of our Marine artillery battalions was interrupted by sniper fire directed at the chaplain preaching the communion scr- mon. It was the only time in my ministry where the con- gregation told the chaplain what the next act of the service was to be. I hit the deck like every other worshipping Marine, especially after they shouted to me to do so. The coincidence was most unusual. I had been develop- ing the point in my sermon on faith that this attitude was an everyday feeling of confidence in God. At this point came the sniper interlude. This served excellently to illus- 9 Miller et al., op. cit., pp. 25f. ..51..