United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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duties of men rarely in the limelight except when rare encounters with Chinese aircraft or surface vessels momentarily emphasized their continuing contribu- tion. Under overall control of Fleet Air Japan, the PatRons, both land and seaplanes, were grouped in two headquarters. Fleet Air Wing Six at Itwakuni, Japan, with three to five squadrons plus seaplane tenders, was responsible for operations in the vicinity of Japan and Korea, from Siberia south to Okinawa. Fleet Air Wing one, consisting of one land-based squadron fat Naha, Okinawaj and one Seaplane squadron aboard a tender, exercised surveillance of the international sea lanes south through the East China Sea and the Straits of Formosa to the Philippines. Its tender anchored off the Pescadores Islands except when typhoons forced them to sea. Based in the Pescadores were some 40,000 Chinese Nationalist troops. No Americans had been seen there since World War II. There were nothing but squalid villages ashore and consequently no liberty for naval personnel. Chaplain William W. Parkinson served in the seaplane tender PINE ISLAND, first at Iwa- kuni and after June 1951 off the Pescadores. In an interview with the author Parkinson recalled the situa- tion. Swimming was prohibited, though occasionally the men were allowed ashore long enough to play baseball. It was naturally difficult to maintain espril. The men were bored, their work was monotonous, and like many others they wondered why they were there at all. As the only Navy chaplain in the F ormosan area, Parkinson ministered to the ship's company and the fiyers who were running daily patrol missions, try- ing to meet some of their needs with daily religious services and by regular, sustained contact with all personnel.- Parkinson was followed in the PINE ISLAND by Robert L. McCachran in May 1952. The SALIS- BURY SOUND had as its first chaplain Daniel M. Jordan, after October 1950, and then Richard P. Chase, after August 1952. MSTS At the outbreak of Korean hostilities George W. Thompson was Stafi' Chaplain, Deputy Commander, Military Sea Transport Service, Pacific, in San Fran- cisco. In assigning Thompson to this new billet Chief of Chaplains S. W. Salisbury had written on 30 Sep- tember 1949: We will keep you informed of developments but you can know that it will be your responsibility to insure perfect in- tegration of Navy chaplains into this new type work as we take over from the Army between 1 October 1949 and 1 April 1950. The Military Sea Transport Service had been or- ganized in 1949 as part of the unification program, to handle all ocean transportation of both personnel and materiel for all the Armed Forces. The responsi- bilities of the Chaplain Corps in this development were set forth by Chaplain Salisbury in a Memoran- dum of 3 October 1949 to all Fleet, Force, and Dis- trict Chaplains, from which the following extracts are taken. In accordance with this policy, present plans call for a chaplain to be attached to the Staff of Deputy Commander, MSTS, Atlantic Area fNew York Cityj, Deputy Com- mander, MSTS, Pacific Area fSan Francisco, Calif.D, and Deputy Commander, MSTS, North Pacific Area tSeattle, Wash.l. Chaplains being nominated for these billets are: Chaplain George W. Thompson for San Francisco, Chaplain Daniel S. Rankin for New York, and Chaplain Seth E. An- derson for Seattle. It is planned to cover the Gulf Area fNew Orleansj by giving additional duty to the District Chaplain, 8th Naval District. A chaplain from the Chap- lains Division, BuPers, will have additional duty on the Staff of Headquarters, MSTS, in the Navy Department. All other chaplains assigned to the MSTS will serve aboard the vessels of this service. At least one-tenth of our Corps will be in this given field at all times. The whole rotation schedule may have to be revamped with a return to the old days when there was more Sea Duty than Shore Duty. All chaplains assigned to MSTS will have the responsibility of not only doing their immediate job, but also of setting a pattern that will con-l tinue the high standard of service for which the Navy isl noted and in which our Corps takes pride. The transfer of ships and embarkation facilities from Army to MSTS took place during the following months with less difficulty than might have been the case, and fortunately so, for midsummer 1950 brought skyrocketing dlemands upon sea transport. Of Chap- lain Seth E. Anderson, Staff Chaplain, MSTS, North Pacific, the Army Port of Embarkation chaplain had written to the Chief : This transfer . . . could prove to be a difficult project should understanding and cooperation be lacking by any par- ties concerned. Chaplain Anderson's fairness, sincerity, and enthusiastic willingness to cooperate makes a difficult prob- lem easier to solve. If all Navy chaplains assigned to MSTS measure up to the high standard which Chaplain Anderson has already es- tablished lherej, there will be no occasion for the least con- cern on your part about the success of chaplains who are un- dertaking this new project under your supervision. Chaplain Anderson was relieved by Chaplain Edgar C. Andrews, who reported 14 September 1950. Chaplain Thompson served in San Francisco from October 1949 to October 1952. By 1 March 1950, M681

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:oastal Hanks of the enemy frontline, directed by for- Nard reconnaissance upon enemy troop, armament, nd supply concentrations. And Hnally, along the nemy's exposed coastline, bombardment was main- :ained unremittingly against all major military targets, nflicting both physical and psychological damage. Seaborne Padres Illustrative of the difhculties under which chaplains arried on their ministry during this period are sev- ral paragraphs from the questionnaire reply of Chap- ain Oscar Harris, who was attached to Destroyer quadron 16 from August 1950 to September 1951. e wrote, in part, as follows: On a destroyer in the combat area Divine Services were iot conducted according to schedule. A time might be set, out chances were the schedule would be interrupted. In nany instances the chaplain would have to wait until after :he evening meal .... Attendance was good considering the difficult routine the nen had to endure. Their rest periods were interrupted by :onstant general quarters and watch-standing. Every op- oortunity they had to sack in' they took full advantage of. In one instance the chaplain was conducting a service when general quarters sounded. The sonarmen thought a submarine was lurking in nearby waters. After a 2-hour :hase and discharging several depth charges, it was discov- :red that a few whales had been playing havoc on the sonar gear. Result: no Divine Service. Duty of a different sort is illustrated by the following xcerpts from a letter to Chaplain Salisbury on 15 ebruary 1951, in which Chaplain Edward E. Helmich told of his work in the amphibious flagship MOUNT MCKINLEY. We have just completed a very successful campaign for the March of Dimes and the Ship's Company and Staff re- sponded with a total of 31,422 collected and sent via chan- nels to the national foundation. The average came to 31.74- per person. Attendance at Divine Service has showed a marked in- rease, and what pleases me especially is the large percentage bf officers attending .... There has also been a definite upswing in attendance at the Sacrament of Holy Communion. .Then too, a Sunday Bible Class, recently organized with an verage attendance of 27 thus far, indicates a definite interest End appreciation for such a class, Several weeks ago I was able to secure the Korean Navy nformation and Education Music Groupfa 45-piece sym- hony orchestra and 60-voice choral group-for a series of concerts. All of us were more than pleased with the enditions. The Bridge of Toko-ri Diverted from their attack upon Yalu River bridges, arrier planes of Task Force 77 were employed from he end of January 1951 in attempting to disrupt the railway network in eastern Korea over which rein- forcements and supplies were moving to the front.13 Three main lines running south from Manchuria pro- vided plenty of targets: 956 bridges and 231 tunnels, an average of 1 bridge every 1.2 miles of track, 1 tunnel every 5. On 2 March a PRINCETON pilot spotted the nearly perfect target: a six-span bridge 600 feet long and sixty feet above the floor of what the flyers came to call Carlson's Canyonf' a tunnel at each end, an-d paralleled by a partially completed second bridge. It was this which became James Michenerls Bridge of Toko-ri. Exactly a month was spent bombing it, again and again the Reds desperately repaired it, until finally they took the only alternative and built a by- pass through the canyon on low ground. Involved in this struggle to strangle were the carriers VALLEY FORGE, PRINCETON, and PHILIPPINE SEA. On 27 March Old Faithfulf, the VALLEY FORGE, was relieved by the BOXER, aboard which was the first carrier air group composed of organized Naval Air Reserve Squadrons to see duty in Korea. The LEYTE had left the Korean theater on 19 January. Concerning her skipper Chaplain C. A. Frame later recalled: The captain of our ship was Cand isj a fine man. If he had a problem troubling him, he would call the chaplain in and ask for spiritual guidance. We usually ended by having prayer together. I felt that those talks and prayers helped in some way to clarify his mind and make it easier for him to carry on his difficult mission. Needless to say, it always made the chaplain fecl very humble and inadequate. PatRons The necessary but largely routine activities of sup- port groups tend to get lost in the backwash of the ushootin' war. Everyone recalls the poignantly hu- morous efforts of Mister Roberts to get a transfer from his rusty supply ship to the firing lines of World War II. In the Korean War, as always, various units devoted themselves to the faithful performance of duties almost guaranteed never to make a stateside headline. Among such were the Navy patrol squadrons CPat- Ronsl whose vigilance added greatly to the effec- tiveness of 7th Fleet operations in the Far East.14 Surveillance of merchant shipping, antisubmarine patrol, weather reconnaissance, aerial mine spotting and destruction, occasional Haredrops for Marine night-fighting planes and naval gunfire target spot- ting, and even logistical transport-such were the U Ibid., pp. 229-236. 1' Ibid., ch. 10 and app. V. 535332 0--6016 - 67 -

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when the Navy assumed full command responsibility 'or MSTS, he had completed the indoctrination of tll the chaplains assigned duty in ships of MSTS, Pa- :ific, written a syllabus for their guidance in program Jlanning, and taken responsibility for supplying audio- wisual equipment and religious supplies to .all ships of he command. Later he took on the further job of Jrocuring and shipping, in the custody of MSTS hips' chaplains, religious supplies for the use of chap- ains in the war theater. Chaplains assigned MSTS duty were attached to he headquarters command and under the direction rf the supervisory chaplains rotated among the various .hips to meet the greatest need. While aboard, chap- ains were temporarily attached to the Military De- Jartment of the vessel. 'tinerating The plan may be illustrated by reference to the luestionnaire replies of several of the chaplains. John N . Myrose, for instance, wrote: II wasl attached to Military Sea Transportation Service, Qorth Pacific Sub Area, Seattle, Wash., for duty afloat Lboard USNS transports operating between Seattle and the Tar East. This duty was from 25 August 1950 to 25 August .952. Because of a shortage of chaplains there was a rota- ion from one ship to another. I was aboard the following hips at various times in both Japanese and Korean waters: QISNS JAMES O'HARA, USNS GEN. LEROY ELTINGE, JSNS PVT. SADAO S. MUNEMORI, USNS MARINE ?HOENIX, and USNS GEN. R. L. HOWZE. 3Ie reported a high percentage of attendance at Di- fine Services, daily and Sunday, on both east and west :rossings. Over 8,600 men attended services dur- ng one round trip during which a total of 12,000 were Lboard, 3,000 at a time. Chaplain Cecil V. Marley had served in two differ- :nt transports under MSTS, North Pacific, before the Korean War began. From August 1950 to November .951 he was in the SITKOH BAY, an aircraft car- 'ier operating under MSTS to ferry planes from the United States to the theater of war. C SITKOH BAY vas employed, for instance, in moving two squadrons nf Marine fighters when the lst Marine Aircraft Wing fvas deployed to Japan in late August 1950.1 Chaplain Paul R. Elliott reported the following tour if duty: LTSNS GEN. M. C. MEIGS- December 1950-january 1951 QJSNS PVT. SADAO S. January 1951-May 1951 MUNEMORI. QJSNS GEN. S. B. BUCK- May 1951-July 1951 NER. Chaplain Prescott B. Wintersteen served in the MARINE PHOENIX from August 1950 to March 1951, and in the GEN. HUGH GAFFEY from March to November 1951. Chaplain Franklin C. Black reported duty in the C. C. BALLOU during August and September 1950, and then in the FRED C. AINSWORTH from October 1950 to March 1951. Servicer N Chaplain Ernest L. Carter, whose exact itinerary was not furnished, wrote concerning his work: Aboard ship we had daily noon hour devotional services for all faiths, using recorded hymns and prayers from the prayer books of the different faiths. Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Christian Scientists, Seventh Day Adventists, Latter Day Saints, and Greek Orthodox personnel attended these services. Carter also edited the ship's paper, supervised the li- brary, and had responsibility for recreation and enter- tainment on various ships. Following the Hungnam evacuation he wrote: With the last ones from the bridge on our ship, and travel- ing in blackout, after the noise of battlefrre from shore and ships for 11 days and nights, at the Christmas Eve service we sang Silent Night in three languages: Americans in Eng- lish, Puerto Ricans in Spanish, and Koreans in Korean, sing- ing both separately and together. This was a very impressive occasion for everyone and they were glad to be alive. Chaplain Beryl L. Burr reported over 75 percent of the men aboard in attendance at Divine Service after the departure from Hungnam. Services were held hourly from 0800 through 1300. Over 400 attended daily services at both Protestant and Catholic services aboard MSTS ships going to Korea, reported Chaplain Edwin W. Andrews, who served with MSTS, North Pacific, from August 1951 to August 1953. And Chaplain Allen L. Irwin wrote: 'fDaily services on transport with men en route to bat- tle areas during Korean conHict were especially well attended and their response was excellent. About 50 such services were held, with a total attendance of over 8,000.9 Chaplain Charles W. Adams held services every day on transports carrying troops to Korea. As many as 11 services a Sunday were held on the way to Pusan, he wrote. Chaplains worked night and day on the many personnel problems that came to the office. He distributed thousands of New Testaments and some 2,500 copies of the whole Bible, very few of which were left aboard when troops debarked. Chaplain William R. Petre wrote in his question- naire reply: A group of men requested the establishment of a weekly meeting of prayer, worship, and spiritual refreshment in addi- tion to the regularly scheduled services. This was done, and