United States Navy Chaplain Corps - Yearbook

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Captain J. Floyd Dreith, Assistant for Planning, Pers Jlb Lieutenant Commander John H. Craven, Head of Ecclesiastical Relations Branch, Pers J11 1 Commander Paul W. J. Dickman, Head of Personnel Branch, Pers Jl2 Lieutenant James K. Snelbaker, Head of Distribution Section, Pers Jl21 Commander John T. McLaughlin, Head of Reserve Section, Pers Jl22 Commander Robert W. Coe, Head of Procurement Section, Pers JlZ3 Lieutenant Commander Joseph J. Tubbs, Head of Logistics Branch, Pers J13 Commander Charles J. Covert, Head of Training Branch, Pers J14 Admiral Thornton C. Miller, ChC, served as Chaplain Corps Inspector from September 1949 to January 1953. Chaplain Ernest L. Ackiss was called back to active duty from retirement in July 1951 to work on some special projects within the Division. The first of these was the preparation of the chaplain's program to be fol- lowed when and if universal military training became a law. He assisted Chaplain Harp in revising the Chap1ain's Manual, which was re- published in 1952, and also worked on the Char- acter Guidance Program. In December 1952 Chaplain Ackiss was appointed by the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Chairman of a committee to study the problem of sexual perversion in the Navy. He retired from active duty a second time at the end of February 1953. GROWTH OF THE CHAPLAIN CORPS During World War Il, the Chaplain Corps had a quota of one chaplain for every 1,250 person- nel, This quota was changed by the Officer Per- Sonnel Act of 1947 to one chaplain for every 800 personnel. On 31 December 1941, 205 Reg- ular and Reserve chaplains were on duty which was only 44W of the authorized quota. When hostilities ended in August 1945 the Corps had 2,787 chap- lains on duty, of whom 96,41ZJ were Reserves. This number represented 8671: of the quota, the highest point reached during the War. On 1 January 1947 the Corps had 486 chap- lains on duty of whom 192 were Reserves. The total number slowly but continuously declined until June 1950 when 432 were on duty. This was the lowest number on duty since June 1942. The expansion of the personnel of the Navy follow- ing the outbreak of the Korean hostilities demanded a corresponding expansion of the personnel of the Chaplain Corps, The following table shows the number of chaplains on duty on the dates As of 1 January 1953 two Negro chaplains were indicated: USN USNR TOTAL 1 July 1950 348 88 436 1 January 1951 249 210 559 1 July 1951 368 276 644 1 January 1952 387 320 707 1'July 1952 387 412 799 1 January 1953 397 495 892 The above statistics show that during the two and a half-year period, the number of Regular Navy Chaplains increased by 49, whereas the number of Reserves on duty showed a net gain of 407, almost a five-fold increase. Chaplain procurement as of 1 January 1953 was in excel- lent condition. The chaplains on duty then filled all authorized billets for the first time in the history of the Corps. The total number of chap- lains on active duty in the Navy is determined by Congressional appropriations. The actual assignment of billets is determined by allowances established in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. The success of the Chaplains Divi- sion in having enough chaplains on duty to fill all authorized billets by 1 January 1953 is due in large part to the willingness of several hun- dred Reserve Chaplains to return to active duty. The upper age limit of 35 for Regular Navy appointments was not changed during this period under review. The age limit for Reserve ap- pointments was 33 for Lieutenant Cjunior grade! and 39 for Lieutenant. Beginning on 1 January 1933 the Navy discontinued the policy of com- missioning chaplains as Lieutenants in the Re- serve. The upper age limit of 32 for Reserve appointments as a Lieutenant ljunior grade, will remain fixed except for veterans where it is adjustable up to 36 on a month by month basis of previous service. Thus a Reserve applicant who was a veteran of two years had a two-year extension on the limit of 32 for non-veterans. Although six chaplains were commissioned in the Reserve during 1946, they were not then called to active duty, Several of these were called to duty in 1948. Chaplains commissioned in 1947 were at once called to active duty. The following chart shows the number of new acces- sions to active duty within the Corps for the years indicated: 1946 - 5 1950 - 13 1947 - 9 1951 - 93 1948 - 25 1952 - 117 Total- 273 1949 - 11 on active duty, Thomas D. Parham, Jr., aveteran of World War I1, and Edward J. Odom, Jr. Chaplain Francis Lee Albert, who expects to be retired in June 1953, will be the last of the 42 chaplains who served either as an Army or a Navy chaplain in World War 1, to be separated from active duty. By 1 January 1953 only 38 of the 94 chaplains on duty 1 January 1940 were still on active duty. In other words, only 4.2'7o of the Corps on 1 January 1953 had more than 13 years active duty with the Navy chaplaincy. Of the 192 chaplains on duty at the time of Pearl Harbor, only 87, or about 1074: were still on duty 1 January 1953. Such statistics emphasize the comparative youth of the present Corps.

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HISTORY OF THE CHAPLAIN CORPS I949 - I952 THE CHAPLAINS DIVISION A number of important developments took place within the Chaplain Corps during the years 1949 to 1952 inclusive which deserve a brief mention in this volume. Chaplain Stanton W. Salisbury was ordered to the Chaplains Division in March 1949 to serve as Assistant Director. On September of that year he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and appointed Chief of Chaplains. He be- came the eighth to serve as such. He succeeded Chaplain William N. Thomas who had served as Chief from 1 July 1945. Chaplain Salisbury re- tired on l February 1953 and was succeeded by Chaplain Edward B. Harp, Jr., whose rank as rear admiral also dated from 1 February. Thus the four year period under review in this chapter coincides with the length of service of Chaplain Salisbury as Chief of Chaplains. Shortly after Chaplain Salisbury took over the responsibilities of his office, the Chaplains Divi- sion was reorganized to bring its Branches into line with comparable desks in the other Divisions and Sections of the Bureau of Naval Personnel. The reorganization, approved lNovember 1949, provided for five Branches under the Assistant Director of the Division. These five, together with the chaplains in charge of each, were: Ecclesiastical Relations Chaplain Elmer E. Bosserman Distribution Chaplain Harris W. Howe Materiel and Special Projects Chaplain Edward J, Hemphill Naval Reserve Chaplain Walter A. Mahler Training' Chaplain Thomas J. Mullins Chaplains Bosserman, Hemphill, and Mullins came into the Division after 1 September 1949. Bosserman and Mullins were assigned to newly established desks. Hemphill succeeded Chaplain Monroe Drew, who had been assigned to the desk handling Materiel and Special Projects in March 1946 and was the first to pioneer for the Chaplains Division in the field of audio-visual education. Drew was released from active duty in October 1949. Chaplain John T. McLaughlin relieved Chaplain Mahler on 20 September 1950. Chaplain Glyn Jones, a veteran of!Korea, reported to the Chaplains Division on 5 December 1950 as the relief of Chaplain Harris W. Howe. Chaplain Joseph P. Mannion succeeded Chaplain Daniel F. Meehan as Assistant Director on2 February 1951. The outbreak of hostilities in Korea in the sum- mer of 1950 necessitated the expansion of the Corps with the consequent increase of administra- tive responsibilities on the part of the Chaplains Division. A desk for Procurement was added in January 1951 and Chaplain Bosserman was moved from Ecclesiastical Relations to take over the new position. Chaplain John H. Craven, another vet- eran of Korea, reported in February of that year as a relief for Bosserman in Ecclesiastical Relations. The Chaplains Division was reorganized in June 1951. By l July 1951 the following four Branches with their sub-divisions were func- tioning under the Assistant Director, Chaplain Joseph P. Mannion. The chaplains in charge of each Branch and Section with their respective Bureau of Naval Personnel identification num- bers were as follows: J- ll Ecclesiastical Relations Branch Chaplain John H. Craven J- 12 Personnel Branch Chaplain Glyn Jones J- 121 Distribution Section Chaplain Glyn Jones J- 122 Reserve Section Chaplain John T. McLaughlin J- 123 Procurement Section Chaplain Elmer E. Bosserman J-13 Logistics Branch Chaplain Edward J. Hemphill J-131 Materiel and Equipment Section Chaplain Edward J. Hemphill J- 14 Training Branch Chaplain Thomas J. Mullins Chaplain Edward B. Harp, Jr., was ordered to the Division in August 1951 as Assistant for Planning. Chaplain Paul W. J, Dickrnan reported for duty in the Division as Head of the Personnel Branch in December 1951, relieving Chaplain Glyn Jones. Several changes in the chaplain personnel of the Division took place in 1952. Chaplain James K. Snelbaker reported in March to assist with the Detail Section. Chaplain Robert W. Coe, Jr., re- lieved Chaplain Bosserman in June 1952. Chap- lain Joseph J. Tubbs reported for duty in the Division in November 1951 and on the following February became the head of the Logistics Branch as the successor to Chaplain Hemphill. Chaplain Charles J. Covert relieved Chaplain Mullins as head of the Training Branch in July 1952. Chap- lain J. Floyd Dreith, who reported for duty in the Division in September 1952, relieved Chaplain Harp as Assistant for Planning in February 1953. Thus on 1 February 1953 the following ten chaplains were on duty in the Chaplains Division lwith their corresponding Bureau of Naval Per- sonnel designationsl: Rear Admiral Edward B. Harp, Jr., Chief of Chaplains, Pers J Commander J. P. Mannion, Assistant Director, Pers Jla

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THE NAVAL RESERVE PROGRAM Over 2,800 clergymen entered the Chaplain Corps as Reserves during World War II. By the end of 1946 over 2,300 of these Reserves had returned to civilian lifeg 224 had transferred to the Regular Navy, and 220 were on extended active duty. Unless a chaplain, who was sep- arated from active duty, actually requested com- plete severance from the naval service, he was kept in an inactive status. Only 180 Reserve chaplains resigned their commissions before the outbreak of the Korean hostilities in June 1950. Little was done in a systematic way by the Chaplains Division to keep in touch with the Reserve chaplains on inactive duty before 1948. The first effort to encourage the organization of volunteer units of Reserve Chaplains for train- ing duty was explained in Multiple Address Letter No. 13, dated 3 March 1948. The purpose of the Naval Reserve program for the Chaplain Corps was To provide a pool of Reserve officers who are ordained clergymen qualified to represent their respective denominations in the Naval Reserve and available for mobilization in the event of an emergency or a major war effort. The organized units of Reserve Chaplains were to have not less than 10, nor more than 100. When funds were available, some Chaplains received two weeks' training duty with pay upon their own application. In some instances Chap- lains served on training duty without pay. Public Law 810, which became effective 29 June 1948, provided a great incentive for all Re- servists to maintain an active relationship with the Navy by providing retired pay for those who qualified. Volunteer components of Reserve Chaplains were organized in most of the Districts in 1949 through the sponsorship of the various Some of these components District Chaplains. dissolved after the Summer of 1951 because those Chaplains who were the most interested in keeping alive their Reserve training were the ones who voluntarily or involuntarily returned to active duty. By July 1951 a total of 426 Reserve Chaplains were enrolled in these components. In October 1949, Chaplain Thomas J. Mullins was ordered to the Division to inaugurate aChap- lains Training Program. Under his direction a number of training seminars were held for Re- serve Chaplains beginning with one conducted in San Francisco from 17-28 April 1950 with twenty in attendance. Two other seminars were held in Norfolk, Virginia, 15-26 May with 50 present. This program has continued through the years following. In most cases those attending had duty orders with pay although some attended on a vol- untary basis. Two of the seminars held in 1952 gave special attention to the training of senior Reserves for supervisory duties in case of gen- eral mobilization. Among the correspondence courses offered by the Navy to Reserves were the following of spe- cial interest to chaplains: The Navy Chaplain using two texts, The Navy Chaplain and The Chap- la.in's Manual, 24 credits, and History of the Chaplain Corps, using Volumes I and II of 1 History of the Chaplain Corps, United States Navy as texts with 12 credits allowed for each volume. Thecourse on The Navy Chaplain was started in May 1950. By the end of January 1953 some 373 had completed the course. At the same time 222 had completed Volume Iof the History of the Chaplain Corps and 90 had also gone through the second volume. These two courses were started in June 1950 and May 1951 respectively. The outbreak of hostilities in Korea provided the emergency in our national defense for which the whole Reserve training program of the Navy had been designed as a partial answer. The Chaplains Division, acting upon its traditional policy of calling only volunteers to duty, was not willing to recall any to service without their consent. The only exception, if indeed it might be called an exception, were the Navy Chaplains attached to the organized Marine Corps units. District Chaplains were directed to contact all Reserve Chaplains in their respective areas to present the immediate need for more chap- lains under the grade of Commander and below the age of 50. The Reserve Chaplains were given one of three choices, as outlined below in a typical letter mailed by Chaplain Joshua Goldberg, District Chaplain, Third Naval District, under date of 17 August 1950: ' l. To make yourself available for immedi- ate duty, if you are within the age and grade limits. 2. To notify us that you are available at this time, but wish to continue in the Reserve and are ready for call to duty in case of mobilization. 3. To submit your resignation to the Secretary of the Navy, via the Commandant Third Naval District, if you are not available for duty at any time, due to personal obli- gations and commitments. Each District Chaplain was requested to make a concrete report to the Chief of Chaplains on the status of each Reserve Chaplain within his District by 15 September 1950. Answers were received from 2,198 Reserve Chaplains whose addresses were known to the District Chaplains. By 1 July 1951 the Navy had recalled to active duty 160 Reserve Chaplains who volunteered and who came within the age and grade limits. The breakdown of this number by rank, District, and denomination is as follows: BY RANK BY DENQMINAIIQN LTJG 1 30 BaptistQA1 5 LT : 79 BaptistKS1 7 LCDR : 51 Catholic 63 T' Cong. Christian 5 Total 160 Disc. of Christ 4 Episcopal 6