FORTITUD INEBULLETIN OF THE MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PROGRAMHISTORICAL BULLETIN VOLUME XVII SUMMER 1987 NUMBER 1

ARTIST RECORDS MARINE PARTICIPATION IN NATO WINTER EXERCISES. . . POSSIBLE LESSONS FOR PERSIANGULF COMMANDERS IN KOREAN WAR'S 'BATFLE OF THE MINEs'. . . PARRIS ISLAND'S POPULAR MUSEUM GROWS

O'BANNoN's SILVER-MOUNTED SABER TOURS NATION. . . FLIGHT LINES: SIKORSKY VH- 34D SEAHORSE

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A: Approved for public release; distribution isunlimited.

PCN 10401220100

Marine Corps Historical CenterBuilding 58, Washington Naev Yard

Washington. D.C. 20374-0580

Telephone: (202) 433-3838, 433-3840. 433-384!

DIRECTOR8Gm Edwin I-I. Simmons, USMC (Ret)

HISTORICAL BRANCHCol James R. Williams, USMC

Deputy Director for Histor

Mr. Henry I Show, Jr.Assistant Deputy Director for History

Chief Historian

Hrstorses Section' Mr Jack Shulimson; LrCol Gary D Solis. USMC.Ma( G Ross Dunham. USMC, Ma1 Charles D Melson. IJSMC. MrCharles R Smith. Dr V. Keith Fleming, Jr

Reference Section, Mr. Danny ,J. Crawford, Mr Robert V Aqutlina.Mrs Ann A. Ferranse; Miss Lena M KaI(or, Mrs Regina Srrorher.

Oral History Section. Mr Benis M Frank. Mrs Meredith P. Hartley

Archii'es: Mrs. Joyce E. Bonnets

MUSEUMS BRANCHCsil F B Niharr, USMC (Ret)Deputy Director for Museums

Mr. Charles A WoodChief Curator

Artist-in.ResidenceCol Charles H Waterhouse. USMCR

Marine Baacks. Special Pro1ecu: Mr Richard A. Long Eehibits: MrCarl M. DeVete, Sr.: SSgr Michael V Gaisher, USMC, Mr. Benny LLenos, Sr Art' Mr. John T. Dyer, Jr Personal Papers' Mr. J. MichaelMiller Registrar Vacant

Museums Branch Activities. QuansicoLrCoI Rudy T. Schwanda, USMC

Officer- in. Charge

Assistant Officer in Charge for Branch Activities, Mr. KennethSmith-Christmas Assistant Officer in Charge for Museums Opera.tions. Capt Jerry W. Swepsson, USMC.

Ordnance: Vacant. Resissration' Mr. Joseph F. Payron. Aeronautics:Mrs.Jody Y Ullmann. Erhibits' Mr. RonaldJ. Perkins. Uniforms' Mrs.

Nancy F King. Security: SSgr Paul C McKenna. USMC

SUPPORT BRANCHMa) Arthur F Elzy, LJSMC

Head/Division Esevurive Officer

Administratiee: CWO2 J C Owens, USMC: Sgr Ronald E Henry,Jr., USMC Security: GySgr C. W. Viar, USMC. Library' Miss EvelynA Englander

Publications Production: Mt. Robert E. Srruder. Production: Mrs.Catherine A. Kerns. Graphics: Ms. William S. Hill. Typesetting' LCpIJ aoier Castro, USMC,

Editor, krtitudineMr Robert E Srruder

FORTITUD INEMotto of the United States Marine Corps in the 1812 era.

Historical Bulletin Volume XVII Summer 1987 No. 1

This quarterly bulletin of the Marine Corps historical program is published toeducate and train Marines in the uses of military and Marine Corps history.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Memorandum from the Director Mining at Wonsan —and in the Persian Gulf 3

Readers A/ways JVrite: A Friend of the U.S. Marine CorpsDies in the Republic of Kiribati 7

Acquisitions: Early Rolled-Collar Service Coat Presented to Museum 8

In Depot's U7ar Memorial Building: Parris Island Museum Hosts40,000 Visitors Each Year 9

Peacetime Odyssey of a Combat Artist 12

New Books: 200 Years of U.S. Naval History in a Single Volume 15

Reserve Units in Wisconsin and Oregon Attain 'Outstanding' Ratings 16

World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War Heroes Honored 17

Marine Artist Leahy Wins DOD Journalism Award 18

Historical Quiz: Marines in Sports 18

In Memoriam: Pacific Battle Veterans, Historian of the Period Succumb - - - . 19

Certificates of Appreciation Presented to 27for Assistance to Corps' Historical Program 20

Answers to Historical Quiz: Marines in Sports 20

Flight Lines: Sikorsky VH-34D Seahorse 21

Korean U'ar Chronology: January-July 1953 22

Three Cities to See O'Bannon's Silver-Mounted Sword 24

THE COVER

A crewman from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 (Beaufort, South Carolina)arrives at Vandel Air Station near Billund, Denmark, to participate in OperationsNorthern Wedding and Bold Guard 86, held last year in Scandinavia and WestGermany. The exercises were sketched for the historical record by Col Edward M.Condra III, USMC (Ret), whose itinerary included viewing an amphibious landingby the 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade on the beaches of Oksbol, Denmark, anda Kiel Canal crossing near Rendsburg in Germany. In a written account of the jour-ney beginning on page 12, Col Condra reports admiration for "the men and wom-en of NATO who really make the Treaty work, and help keep peace in a fragile world."

Fortitudine is produced in the Publications Production Section of the History and Museums Divi-sion, The text for Fortitudtne is set n 10-point and 8-point Garamond typeface. Headlines are in 18-pointor 24-point Garamond. The bulletin is printed on 70-pound, matte-coated paper by offset lithography.

2

HISTORYAND MUSEUMSDIVISION

Memorandum from the Director

Mining at Wonsan — and in the Persian GulfBGen Simmons

T he summer of 1987 saw a furtheraggravation in the Persian Gulf. Theattack against the guided missile frigateUSS Stark (FFG 31) on 17 May by an er-rant Iraqi Mirage Fl fighter aircraft was fol-lowed by a U.S. decision to provide escortservice for eligible shipping entering theGulf. To be eligible the shipping had tobe under the U.S. flag and, after somehesitation, Kuwait consented to having 11of its tankers operating under Liberianregister to be transferred to U.S."ownership."

Two of the reflagged, renamed tankers,the Bridgeton and Gas Prince, entered theStrait of Hormuz on 24 July and theBridgeton promptly bumped into a mine.American television viewers were thentreated to the sight of the slightly

damaged Bridgeton leading in column theescorting ships USS Kidd(DDG 993), Fox(CG 33), and Crommelin (FFG 37). Thesupposition was that the supertanker wasless vulnerable to mines than the thin-skinned guided missile ships.

M arine veterans of the III Amphibi-ous Corps watching these events ontelevision must have been reminded oftheir passage through the Yellow Sea enroute to China at World War II's end. TheYellow Sea, which is brownish-yellow withsilt and deserving of its name, had a goodnumber of mines floating about. I remem-ber well the Marines lining the rails of thetransport in which I was embarked, watch-ing the destroyer escorts as they dodgedabout firing at mines with their 20mm

guns and the cheers that would go upwhen a mine was hit and there would bean explosion and a big geyser of water.

I remember also the passage of the 1stMarine Division from Inchon to Wonsanin October 1950 and the ensuing "Battleof the Mines," as Navy historians chooseto call it.

The Wonsan landing was undertaken byJoint Task Force Seven, under VAdm Ar-thur D. Struble, with a total of about 250ships. Struble had been chief of staff ofthe U.S. naval task force at Normandy andhad commanded Amphibious Forces, Pa-cific, in 1945, and Mine Force, Pacific, in1946.

RAdm James H. Doyle, widely regard-ed as the Navy's most experienced am-phibious expert, commanded the Attack

To Capt Richard T Spofford USN, and his Mine Squadron Threefell the task of sweeping an approach to the beach on KalmaPando, in preparation for a 15 October 1950 assault. In the un-

expectedly difficult mission a number of US. and alliedminesweepers were lost, including the Republic ofKorea 's YMS516, below, destroyed by a magnetic mine on 19 October

Official U.S. Navy Photo

3

20 fathom lineS I

HO-DO PANDO I—.

Yonghung _____,J Swept 11 OctoberMan

6DUng-do• •.S______•—— •Su. •I• ___, • .—iYo-do •!' •I — / ( .—-- \ — I •I I —

-' Ta'doS0 II.'-). .>—- i'-.I. I ————i \ —-- 'S.KALMAq 'j.. ' 1

Hwar'gto-do OriginaI Sweeping PIan/

& lls,,Behei Umi-do• Swept 10 October

H.ipshio-rn

Force. Wonsan was meant to be an assaultlanding, but, even before the attack forcebegan steaming back and forth offshorein what was called "Operation Yo Yo,"waiting for the approaches to the beachto be cleared of mines, the city was takenfrom the land side on 11 October by SouthKorean forces.

W hen MajGen Oliver P. Smith's 1stMarine Division finally did landacross the beaches on 26 October it wasdone administratively. By then not onlywas the city safely in South Korean hands,but two squadrons of Corsairs from the 1stMarine Aircraft Wing were operating fromWonsan airfield. Even more embarrassing-ly to the ground Marines, the air Marineswere being entertained by a Bob Hopetroupe.

World War II had ended with some-thing like 550 minesweepers in the Pacif-ic. At Okinawa alone, a hundred of themhad been used to sweep the approachesto the Hagushi beaches.

Mine Force, Pacific, had lasted only un-til 1947 when budget cuts forced it out ofexistence. Lack of a coordinating type com-mand had a predictable effect on the scat-tered remnants of the mine force. The fewremaining minesweepers were divided be-tween Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Pacific, and

Service Force, Pacific. The familiar para-vanes that virtually all naval shipsstreamed during World War 11 disap-peared from the fleet. Degaussing, themethod by which a ship's vulnerability tomagnetic mines was reduced, was alsoalmost forgotten.

A t the outbreak of the war, VAdm C.Turner Joy, as Commander, NavalForces, Far East (ComNavFE), had only sixwooden-hulled (AMS) minesweepers andfour steel-hulled (AM) sweepers at his dis-posal, and three of the latter were laid upin reserve. All of these ships were groupedin Mine Squadron Three (MinRon 3). Be-cause of the lack of repair parts, only twoof MinRon 3's reserve AMs, the Pirate andIncredible, could be brought back intocommission by late August.

Other members of the United Nationshad 231 additional minesweepers in theFar East. Unfortunately, almost half ofthese belonged to the Soviet Union, thesupplier of the unfriendly mines. The na-tions owning the rest were not quick tovolunteer them for Korean service.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Fleet there werea dozen more sweepers, two of them atGuam and the rest divided up betweenPearl Harbor and the West Coast. In lateJuly two high-speed destroyer minesweep-

4

ers, Doyle (DMS 34) and Endicott (DMS35), reached the Far East from California.On 11 September three steel-hulled AMsstarted west from Pearl Harbor and on 16September, the wooden-hulled Magpie(AMS 25) and Merganser (AMS 26) sailedfrom Guam for Korea. Magpie promptlyhit a mine and sank, but Merganser suc-cessfully joined MinRon 3.

Other reinforcements came from arather ironic source: Allied mining ofJapanese home waters in World War II hadbeen so complete that not all mines hadyet been cleared. A Japanese minesweep-ing force of ex-U.S. sweepers was still hardat work. ComNavFE, through Gen Doug-las MacArthur in his capacity as SupremeCommander for Allied Powers, contract-ed for the services of 20 of these highly ex-perienced minesweepers (JMS). Alsoavailable was a handful of South Koreanminesweepers (ROK YMS).

B oth the Yellow Sea and the Sea ofJapan were favorable to defensivemine warfare. The offshore waters wereshallow and murky. Channels to harborswere often narrow and tortuous. Oceancurrents caused floating mines to hug bothcoasts. Although Adm Struble had goodreason to expect that the approaches toWonsan would be mined, he did not know

40' / 50' 18°The Clearance of Wonsan

10 October-2 November 1950/ I Moored mines Nautical Mi/es

/ Magneuc minesI —

5%

--I—-51

/•5S/

,I

100 fathom line 20'

10'

— •5S 5-—

Pyongvang

110 miles

19 010'

II

1280

how formidable that mining would proveto be.

ComNavFE's operation plan for Won-san noted a "strong possibility" that Won-san's approaches were mined but offeredno particulars. On 1 October he orderedsweeping to begin on 5 October.

Adm Struble, asJTF 7, at first thoughthe could sweep an approach from the100-fathom curve to the intended landingbeach on the sandy pit identified on thecharts as Kalma Pando, something like 30miles, in five days. On 2 October, he or-dered Mine Squadron Three, under CaptRichard T. Spofford, USN, then at Sase-bo, underway for Wonsan as soon as pos-sible. Capt Spofford, as commander ofMinRon3 — also designated as Task Group95.6, Minesweeping and ProtectiveGroup—was embarked in the destroyerCollett (DD 730).

D uring the previous week five shipshad been mine casualties. The 26thof September had been a particularly badday, with the destroyers Brush (DD 743)and Mansfield (DD 728) both badlydamaged. Then on 1 October Magpie onher way from Guam hit a mine, killing 21of her 33-man crew. The other two casual-ties were South Korean YMSminesweepers.

Capt Spofford and his six immediatelyavailable minesweepers arrived off Won-san at dawn on 10 October. A helicopterfrom the heavy cruiser Rochester (CA 124)had spotted what looked like a minefield

the day before. With a D-Day of 15 Oc-tober in mind and just five days to sweep,Spofford began a straight-in sweep fromthe 100-fathom curve.

There were two channels, one north andone south of the island of Yo Do, whichstood like a sentinel in the middle of thebay, some six miles out from the beach.It was Russian practice to use the north-ern channel, so Spofford decided to try thesouthern channel, leading off with the1,200-ton, steel-hulled Pledge (AM 277)followed by Incredible (AM 249), Osprey(AMS 28), and Mocking Bird (AMS 27).Chatterer (AMS 40) was to mark the sweptchannel with orange cone buoys and Par-tridge was to "ride shotgun" and take un-der fire any mines brought to the surfaceby the sweepers. To help out, Rochester'shelicopter hovered overhead, probably thefirst time a helicopter took part in aminesweeping operation.

By late afternoon a 12-mile-long chan-nel, from the 100-fathom curve to

the 30-fathom curve, 3,000 yards wide,had been swept. Twenty-two mines hadpopped to the surface and had been des-troyed. There had been no friendlycasualties.

The sense of satisfaction from the day'swork well done faded when Rochester'shelicopter reported first one, then two,and finally five lines of mines lying justahead of the 30-fathom curve.

Next day, 11 October, the sweepersswitched to the northern or Russian chan-

nel. By now three more sweepers, Pirate(AM 275), Redhead (AMS 34), and Kite(AMS 22), had arrived. The destroyertransport Diachenko (APD 123) was alsoon station with underwater demolitionsteam (UDT) personnel embarked. Thefrogmen were ordered to use their rubberboats in a search of the surface of the har-bor. About this time nine Japanese andthree South Korean minesweepers arrived.A PBM Mariner from Navy Patrol Squa-dron 47 (VP 47) was overhead. Sweepingwent well on the 11th and Spofford, fur-ther reinforced by the arrival of the bigdestroyer minesweepers Doyle and En-dicott, decided to make an all-out efforton the 12th.

T he day opened with an attempt ataerial countermining. Thirty-ninecarrier-based Vought F4U Corsairs andDouglas AD Skyraiders from Task Force 77dropped 1,000-pound bombs, fused to ex-plode at a depth of 20 feet, with no dis-cernible results except spectacular amountsof water thrown up into the air.

The sweepers then passed through thebombed area between the islands of Yo-doand Ung-do. Sweeping began at 1112 withthe steel-hulled Pirate in the lead, fol-lowed by her sisters Pledge and Incredi-ble. Redhead was to lay buoys astern ofPirate, and Kite was on shotgun dutyastern of Incredible. The destroyer typesDiachenko, Doyle, and Endicott were tocover the operation with gunfire support.The helicopter from the light cruiser lr-

F4Us of Marine Fzhter Squadron 312, the "Checkerboard"squa- the 1st Marine Division were delayed by the naval "Battle of thedron, arrrived at W/onsan airfield with the capture of the city Mines," Finally on shore on 26 October, ground Marines foundby Republic of Korea forces on 11 October, while elements of air Marines being entertained by a touring Bob Hope troupe.

5

cester (CL 144) was overhead, but couldnot talk to the sweepers except by radiorelay through Diachenko. No small boatswere put out in front of the sweepers.

Two mines cut by Pirates sweeping gearpopped to the surface, followed by fourmore. Dodging those floaters, Pledgepopped three additional mines. Incredi-ble cut four more. At 1200 Worcester'shelicopter reported three lines of minesdead ahead and Pirate c sound gear start-ed picking up contacts. At 1209 a mineexploded underneath Pirate. Within fourminutes she had capsized and gone down.A hitherto unsuspected shore battery onSin Do now took the lead sweepers underfire. Pledge used all her 3-inch gun am-munition attempting to suppress the ene-my fire, then made a left full rudder turnand struck a mine amidships on the star-board side.

T he PBM overhead turned itself intoa fighter-bomber, making strafingruns against the offending shore batteriesand spotting gunfire from Endicott. Atabout this time Incredible's engines wentdead.

Adm Struble received word of the sink-ing of the Pirate and Pledge on board thebattleship Missouri (BB 63). Thirteen menwere dead or missing and 79 more werewounded. Struble transferred to the des-troyer Rowan (DD 782) and headed forWonsan at best possible speed to take per-sonal charge, but as naval historian JamesField pungently put it, ". . . admirals can-not do the work of minesweepers."

D-Day had already been slipped from15 to 20 October. It was now known thatthere were magnetic mines mixed in thefield. Spofford, under Struble's direction,continued to sweep with his wooden-hulled bird-class sweepers and his frog-men. Within two days he had a channelto the beach at Kalma Pando markedsufficiently so that his remaining sweep-ers could work, it was thought, with rela-tive safety. But on 18 October he lost theJapanese sweeper JMS 14, and on 19 Oc-tober Mocking Bird, Chatterer, Redhead,and Kite stirred up some more mines closeto the beach. There were three explosions.One of them blew to bits the SouthKorean sweeper YMS 516.

Intelligence personnel ashore had bynow located some sorely needed mine in-telligence including some North Koreans

who had helped assemble and lay themines.

T he mining of Wonsan harbor had ap-parently begun about 1 August. Allof the mines were of Soviet origin. Mostseemed to have arrived by rail in July.North Korean prisoners reported thatabout 30 Soviet naval personnel had giveninstruction in assembling the mines atWonsan and supervised their laying. Ap-proximately 2,000 horn-type contactmines were assembled along with a goodnumber of magnetic, acoustic, and pres-sure types. Something like 3,000 mineswere laid from some 32 small boats. Theusual method was for a motorized junk orsampan, with 30 mines on board, to towtwo additional sampans, each with 10mines, and to simply dump the mines offthe stern at measured distances.

A landing could have been made on the

6

20th if the operational situation demand-ed it, but Adm Struble wisely decreed thatthere would be no landing, administrativeor otherwise, until the magnetic mineswere cleared. Six more days of sweepingwere needed, but by the night of 25 Oc-tober, Capt Spofford could report that hehad a clear channel.

'The main lesson of the Wonsan oper-ation," said Adm Joy, "is that no so-calledsubsidiary branch of the naval service, suchas mine warfare, should ever be neglectedor relegated to a minor role in the future.Wonsan also taught us that we can be de-nied freedom of movement to an enemyobjective through the intelligent use ofmines by an alert foe."

A full account of mines andminesweeping in the Korean War can beread in The Sea War in Korea by Cdr Mal-colm W. Cagle and Cdr Frank A. Manson(Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 1957), or'

Official U.S. Navy Photo

CH-53D Sea Stallion helicopter of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 tows a mag-netic pipe in a minesweeping operation in North Vietnamese coastal waters. KoreanWar-vintage minesweepers were also employed in the 1973 clearing ofHaiphong Harbor

perhaps even better, the Navy's officialHistory of United States Naval Opera-tions: Korea by James A. Field, Jr.(Washington, 1962).

In December 1962, the US. Naval In-stitute Proceedings published "The

Lessons of Mine Warfare" by Capt JamesJ. Hoblitzell, USNR, tracing the evolutionof the sea mine from its use by the Dutchduring the siege of Antwerp in 1585 downthrough Wonsan. He quotes then-CNOAdm Forrest Sherman as saying after Won-san, "We're plenty submarine-consciousand air-conscious. Now we're going to getmine-conscious— beginning last week."

Two years later, in August 1964, theProceedings published another thought-provoking article —"Offensive Mining as aSoviet Strategy," by Cdr C. W. Saar, USN.Looking again at Wonsan, he wrote, "TheCommunists needed no extensive navy toconduct a mining campaign in Korea.With Soviet-produced mines, a few junks,

wooden barges, and sampans, they wereable to accomplish their mission." As towhat might happen in the future, he fo-cused on six chokepoints, highly vulnera-ble to mining, where the world's traderoutes come together: the Suez and Pana-ma Canals, the Straits of Gibraltar andMalacca, the Skagerrak, and theDardanelles.

Then in March 1974 the Proceedingspublished "Operation End Sweep" byRAdm Brian McCauley in which the ad-miral described the clearing of Haiphongharbor in 1973. It was largely done by fourKorean War vintage minesweepers —Engage (MSO 433), Force (MSO 445), For-tify (MSO 446), and Impervious (MSO449)—and Navy Helicopter Mine Coun-termeasure Squadron 12 (HM-12), withsubstantial help from Marine squadronsHMM-156 and HMH-463, all three squa-drons using Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallionstowing sweep gear.

"Mining the Strait of Hormuz" by LtCoI

Thomas M. Johnson, USA, and LtCdr Ray-mond T. Barrett, USN, appeared in theDecember 1981 Proceedings, a prescientarticle offering almost a recipe on how todo it.

T hose wishing to read further aboutmine warfare might also profitablyperuse "Their Mine Warfare Capability"by LtCdr Ted S. Wile, USN, and "Mean-dering Mines" by LtCdr Thomas Q.Donaldson, USN, both in the September1984 Proceedings; "Mines of August: anInternational Whodunit" (Who did minethe Red Sea and the Gulf of Suez in thesummer of 1984?) by Dr. Scott Truver inthe May 1985 Proceedings; and in the Oc-tober 1985 issue "Mine Warfare: A Pillarof Maritime Strategy" by no-less-thanAdm Wesley McDonald, USN, thenSupreme Allied Commander, Atlantic,and Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Com-mand and U.S. Atlantic Fleet. L111775L111

Readers Always JVrite

A Friend of the U.S. Marine Corps Dies in the Republic of Kiribati

RISKED LIFE FOR MARINES

EDITOR'S NOTE: In the Fall 1983 issueof Fortitudine ("Director's Page: TarawaPostscrzt't') BGen Simmons described cor-respondence received from Toanimatang"Tony" Teraoi of the Republic of Kiribati(formerly the Gilbert Islands), in which herelated assistance he had given as an11-year-old boy to Marines in the Novem-ber 1943 fierce attack on Biariki in theTarawa atoll. The commanding officer ofthe 2dBattalion, 6th Marines, then-LtColRaymond L. Murray, was seeking anEnglish-speaking islander who could pro-vide information on Japanese dispositions,and the young Teraoi volunteered(although he thought, "If the Americanslooses the Tarawa War I would be the onlypoor boy to have my head cut off or shotby the Japanese'). The correspondence ledto the reuniting by mail of Mr Teraoi andnow retired MajGen Murray, who wrote,"Tony's figures as to the number andlo-cation ofJapanese . . . (were) almost onthe nose." The correspondence continuedwith Gen Murray's daughter, Mrs. SherrySmelter also writing to Mr Teraoi. In May,

Gen Murray reports, his daughter receiveda letter from Mr. Teraoi's son, quoted inpart below.

I had a bad news for you, and I appreci-ate if you could tell your father and yourfamily that my father, Toanimatang Ter-aoi, has died last month, on the 21st ofMarch. He died of diabetes illness. Beforehe died, he told me to reply all the lettersthat he received during his illness. I'm notso good in English, but I try to for myfather's sake . . . . Give my regard to yourhusband, your children, and all your fa-mily and may our mighty God bless us all.

Rurete T. TeraoiBairiki, Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati

Central Pacific

U'7HYTE'S PACIFIC BRIEFINGS

Fortitudine will receive at least 100 let-ters complimenting Herb Merillat on hisexcellent article "Guadalcanal Intelli-gence" i11 the Winter 1986-87 issue, andcalling his attention to the fact that "Hol-ly" Whyte served in the 3d Battalion, 1stMarines (under "Wild Bill" McKelvey) and

7

not in the 2d Battalion. I know! Hollybriefed me on many an occasion beforestarting on patrol.

William H. SagerArlington, Virginia

LONG-EARNED RECOGNITION

EDITOR'S NOTE: Careful reader BGenRobert M. Gaynor NGUS (Ret), andformer adjutant of the Legion of Valor,called Deputy Director Col Brooke Nihartthe other day to point out a somewhatmisleading choice of words in his piece(Fortitudine Winter 1986-87, p. 20) on the1920 Howard Chandler Christy MarineCorps aviation recruiting poster Contem-porary photos show the poster attached toDH-4 aircraft from Quantico which flew4,482 miles from Santo Domingo andreturn. Col Nihart stated that the four Ma-rine aviators involved were belatedlyawarded Distinguished Flying Crosses fortheir feat six and one-halfyears later Therecognition was belated; the DFCs werenot, as they were not available for issueuntil first struck in 1927, six and one-halfyears after the flight. LI]1775L1]

Acquisitions

Early Rolled-Collar Service Coat Presented to Museum

T he Marine Corps Museum has ac-quired a rare, P1920 (M) enlistedrolled-collar service coat, donated by Mr.John F. Weller III and Mrs. Christine Cas-sidy, children of former Marine Pvt JohnE Weller II. He served in the Marine Corpsduring World War II, and was woundedin action on Guadalcanal in 1943 (his em-broidered hospital pajamas were also in-cluded in the donation). Pvt Weller's useof the coat until the close of the wardemonstrates the exceptional longevity ofthe modified open-collar coat, which sawservice from 1926 to 1945.

The coat is similar to today's serviceblouse, which is also designed in an open-collar pattern. The earlier coat's primarydistinguishing feature is its undesirableminor color discrepancy between the low-er and upper part of the lapel. The P1920(M) was made of forest green wool anddiffers from the current coat in liner con-struction, material, and stitching vari-ations.

Long before being adopted by the Ma-rine Corps, the open collar-style coat sawuse by officers of the British Army. Just

by Cpl Francis V StorerMarine Corps Air-Ground Museum, Quantico

prior to the outbreak of World War I, theBritish officer's khaki wool, five-buttonedjacket was altered to an open-neck pattern.Throughout the war, the new British styleproved to be both functional and fashion-able, and was greatly admired by the Al-lies, including the American Expedition-ary Forces. American soldiers and Marineswere then equipped with the uncomfort-able, standing, "choker" collar, which isstill in service on the modern MarineCorps' dress blue uniform.

T he first conversion of United States'forces to the open-collar coat beganin early 1926. The Army began issuing asingle- breasted service coat with a rollingtype, notch-lapelled collar to both officersand enlisted men. No attempt was madeto alter existing stocks of standing-collarservice coats. It was felt that the remodeledcoats would prove unsatisfactory and, inany case, the Army had funds to purchasenew uniforms. The Army QuartermasterCorps reasoned that there was insufficientcloth in the old coat to provide for modifi-cation to the open-collar pattern, and that

matching the color of the fabric would bea serious problem. It was estimated thatthe procurement of the new coats wouldrequire at least two years. That timetablewas nearly met when, by the end of 1929,the conversion had been completed.

April 1926 saw the incorporation of therolled-collar-lapel coat into the MarineCorps, too, at least on paper. In CircularLetters 16 and 17, the Major General Com-mandant, John A. Lejeune, required allofficers and enlisted men to have posses-sion of the new coat by 1 July 1927. Un-fortunately, Gen Lejeune's order was fol-lowed by a series of circulars keeping thestanding collar in service, and a confusingorder allowing the lapelled coat to be wornby Marines during working parties. Theend result of this series of conflicting di-rectives was that the standing collar coatwas being worn simultaneously with thelapelled type.

Officers and senior enlisted men wereforewarned that the new regulations allow-

(Continued on page 17)

At left is a World War I choker-collared winter service green coatwith the collar converted to a rolled lapel. Note that the topbutton and the bottom of the lapel are even with the top of

the pocket Jiap. At right is a World War II coat designed to havea rolled lapel. The button and bottom of the lapel are even withthe bottom of the pocket flap, a much more pleasing solution.

8

In Depot's iVar Memorial Building

Parris Island Museum Hosts 40,000 Visitors Each Year

T he Parris Island Museum is ap-propriately housed in the WarMemorial Building on board the MarineCorps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SouthCarolina. Dedicated on Armistice Day in1951, the War Memorial Building wasdesigned as a recreation center for enlist-ed personnel, and was intended from thefirst to "stand as a magnificent monumentto Marines of the past as well as a sourceof inspiration and opportunity for Marinesof the future."

The building was divided into twoparts, a gymnasium, a dressing room, andbowling alleys at the rear, and a billiardand table-tennis room, Special Servicesoffices, telephone booths, the DepotLibrary, and a snack bar at the front. Thecenterpiece of the building was its marble-walled and marble terrazzo-floored rotun-da which contained large, built-in glasscases where historic weapons and uniformswere displayed. Placed on the exterior werecast-stone plaques naming famous MarineCorps engagements.

For the next 23 years, the War Memori-al Building continued to contain somehistorical exhibits. In 1972, then-MajGenRobert H. Barrow, Parris Island's corn-

by Dr Stephen R. WiseDirector Parris Island Museum

manding general, contacted the MarineCorps History and Museums Division withthe idea of establishing a museum in thebuilding. By the end of the year a generaloutline for exhibit themes was set.

The museum project was given over to

the public affairs officer and was startedby Maj Will A. Merrill, who was followedby Maj Keller EJohnson. MajJohnson be-gan the first work in the War MemorialBuilding and it fell to Maj Edward M.Condra III to complete the task. With thetechnical assistance of GySgt PetetDawson. and backing from the main-tenance department, a museum was estab-lished on the first deck and in one roomon the scond deck. The focal point wasthe rotunda and the display cases thatwere upgraded with new artifacts andphoto-murals.

Work was completed in 1974, and on8 January 1975, the Parris Island Museumwas dedicated as the Marine Corps' firstCommand Museum by the Commandant,Gen Robert E. Cushman, Jr. The muse-um's major themes centered on recruittraining and local military history. Themuseum was viewed as a way to help thefamilies of Marine recruits to understandthe Parris Island experience, and, by ex-plaining the region's military heritage, tiethe Depot closer to the surrounding corn-munitv.

The museum c Contemporaiy Room offers a glimpse of the present-day Marine recruit'sexperience of the Pams Island Depot, by using photographic displays, narrative boards,equipment exhibits, audiotapes. and even a life-size recreation of a squad-bay area.

The Recruit Depot's museum is housed in the impressive War Memorial Building. dedi-catedin 1951. Initially, exhibits were confined to the marble-walled rotunda and tworooms. Today the entire front portion of the structure is devoted to historical displays.

9

Rendering of drummer boy of the British42d Regiment of Foot was prepared forIocal-histoiy hall by GySgt Wendell If/ass.

D uring the next seven years, themuseum went through a number ofalterations. One of the Marine Corps' Bi-centennial Traveling Vans was decommis-sioned at Parris Island and a number ofits displays were reconstructed in themuseum. Photographs were constantlyreplaced and exhibits upgraded. However,as the Public Affairs Office also was as-signed the duties of running the basenewspaper and operating its Visitor'sCenter, the resources available to themuseum were in proportion. The muse-um also suffered from a constant turnoverof military curators, who rarely remainedat the museum long enough to see thecompletion of their projects. To correctthis, it was decided to hire a professional-ly trained civilian curator, who could un-dertake the revitalization and expansionof the museum over a long term. To thisend, in 1982, the Depot's then-Commanding General, MajGenJamesJ.McMonagle, had the position of museumcurator created. It was filled in the springof 1983, and new plans were laid for themuseum's continued development.

Museum renovation was required inthree broad categories. Even though theWar Memorial Building had been a mag-nificent structure in 1951, by 1983 it wasbecoming outmoded, and a large amountof corrective work, from the installation ofclimate controls to the provision of meansof accessibility for the handicapped, wasrequired. The building not only had tomeet the needs of all its visitors, but also

had to provide protection for its irreplace-able artifacts. At the same time, the cur-rent exhibits had to be upgraded andinventory control established over the col-lection.

While work and funding requests weresubmitted into the budget cycle, themuseum staff, consisting of the curatorand two rotating guards, began to acces-sion the artifacts, organize photographs,and revise displays. By 1985 the museumhad completed its inventory and with theassignment of GySgt Wendell Wass to themuseum staff, new exhibits were started.Additional help came from the Com-manding General, MajGen Stephen G.Olmstead, who arranged for the removalof two offices from the War MemorialBuilding, allowing the museum to takeover the entire front portion of the struc-ture. Into these areas went the museumoffices, workshops, library, theater, storageareas, and additional exhibit halls.

T hrough continued support from thebase, the museum maintains a for-ward movement, constantly striving toprovide an atmosphere which is entertain-ing and educational to Depot personneland visitors. Today, a museum tour be-gins just inside the front door, where thebuilt-in wall cases hold recent donationsto the museum and information on com-ing attractions. Passing the guard desk, avisitor enters the rotunda. In the centeris a miniature replica of the Iwo JimaMemorial. Around the rotunda, on bothdecks, are eight more wall cases contain-ing uniforms, weapons, and accoutermentsfrom various periods of Parris Island his-tory. Beginning in 1861, which was whenthe first Marines arrived in the area, thecases and the accompanying narrativeboards lead one from the Civil War to the1980s, telling how Parris Island and recruittraining has changed over the years.

Off to the right, on the first deck, is theContemporary Room. The exhibit hail,which was updated in the spring of 1987with the volunteer help of the Depot'sphotographers and graphic illustrators, al-lows a visitor to follow the experience ofmale and female recruit training from a"Boot's" arrival through graduation. Ad-ding to the photographic displays are anumber of narrative boards, exhibits onequipment, audiotapes and a life-sizereproduction of a squad-bay scene.

On the other side of the rotunda is a

10

long hallway, which leads the visitor to aweapons room containing various smallarms used by the Marine Corps. Theyrange from the Revolutionary War ShortLand Pattern Musket to the M-14 rifle. Ad-ding to the exhibit are original pen-and-ink uniform sketches produced by GySgtDonald Moore, which portray period Ma-rines with the displayed weapons. Next tothe weapons room is the beginning of alocal history exhibit hail. Currently it con-tains information on Santa Elena, theSpanish village which was located on Par-ris Island from 1566-1587. This is the startof a future presentation on the militaryhistory of the Port Royal/Beaufort area. Us-ing Santa Elena as the starting point, vi-sitors will then pass through an areachronicling activities in the region fromthe Spanish and French settlers to thepresent-day Marine Corps Air Station atBeaufort. Featured in the display will bedioramas and uniform paintings createdby GySgr Wass.

M oving to the second deck, visitorswill find an exhibition on archaeol-ogy at Pains Island. Here are shown anumber of the 16th Century artifacts reco-

Figure, also by GySgt If/ass, representsSouth Carolina Rangers, 18th Centuryprovincial troops of the Beaufort area.

vered from digs carried out on the SantaElena site. Since 1979, the Institute of Ar-chaeology and Anthropology at theUniversity of South Carolina has been car-rying out excavations and research on San-ta Elena. Under the direction of ProfessorStan South, the secrets of Santa Elena arebeing uncovered and recorded, with anumber of the artifacts being exhibited bythe Parris Island Museum.

Also on the second deck is a small hallfor visiting exhibits and a large expositionarea that is being renovated to display ar-tifacts of 20th century Marine Corps His-tory, the time period in which most ParrisIsland graduates participated. Currentlyonly a portion of the wing is open.However, arrangements are being made tolocate the "From Dawn to Setting Sun:The U.S. Marine Corps in World War II"exhibit from the Marine Corps Museumin Washington in the area, along with dis-plays covering the years 1915-1938 and195 5-1987.

The area now houses a show on theKorean War, which details the MarineCorps experience from the PusanPerimeter through the Armistice. The cen-terpiece of the room is the Chosin Reser-voir Mosaic, an intricate, four-by-eight-footmosaic constructed by Mrs. Gilda Six inhonor of the Marines who participated incampaign. Through use of an audio sys-tem donated by the Chosin Few Associa-tion, visitors are told the story of themarch of the 1st Marine Division fromYudnam-ni to Hill 1081, in December

Prepared by GySgt Wass, this painting al-ludes to the Marines' 'frozen" ChosinReservoir Campaign of the Korean War.

1950. Flanking the mosaic are larger-than-life paintings designed and produced byGySgt Wass. Along with additional nar-rative boards and artifacts, these tell thestory of the Marines in the Korean War.As the wing is developed the Korean WarDisplay will be relocated into its own area,allowing a visitor to follow the MarineCorps experience from 1909 to 1987 andbeyond.

A cross from the Korean War displayis the museum's administrative area.Located here is the museum theater, whichwas outfitted by the World War II Drill In-structor's Association. Using both videocassettes and slides, presentations are givento museum visitors on the history of theMarine Corps and Pains Island. Next tothe theater is a small research library whichis used by base personnel and civilianresearchers doing studies on the history ofPort Royal, Parris Island, and the Marine

Corps. Also in the area are the museum'spreservation laboratory, accessioning area,and exhibits workshop.

Other areas not seen by the visitor arethe storage rooms which contain themuseum's growing study collection. Alsohidden from view is the museum work-shop, where basic carpentry work is carriedout. Part of the equipment, which allowsthe museum to carry out rudimentary dis-play construction, was obtained throughthe generosity of the 5th Officers Candi-date School and 8th Reserve Officer Can-didates Reunion Group and the 3d MarineDivision Association. These unseen sec-tions allow the museum to care for its col-lections and prepare the exhibits for themore than 40,000 visitors who come to seeit each year.

When first opened in 1975, the ParrisIsland Museum was declared to be the firststep in establishing a coherent MarineCorps-wide command museum program.Today the museum continues its marchtoward certification.

Through its exhibits and collections, themuseum continues to meet the originalobjectives of the War Memorial Buildingby serving not only as a place of remem-brance but also a source of inspiration andtraining for the future. LIJ1775LIIJ

Uniforms and weapons of the World War I era are displayed in one of the eight wallcases of the rotunda which present artifacts of Depot history from the Civil War tothe present. A miniature replica of the Iwo Jima Memorial is at the rotunda's center.

The Parris Island Museum is openfrom 0730 to 1630 on weekdays andfrom 0900 to 1630 on weekends andholidays. The Museum is closed onThanksgiving Day, Christmas Day,and New Year's Day.

11

PEACETIME ODYSSEY OF A COMBAT ARTISTby Co/EdwardM. Condrail, USMC (Ret)

A fter a leg-cramping flight of some22 hours I arrived exhausted andunannounced in the heart of Lego Land.

My original flight plan out of Norfolk,Virginia, had indicated I would be de-planing in Karup, Denmark, where Iplanned to be wined and dined by sever-al long-time friends. Now, however, Ifound my military charter terminating itsmission in a small town unknown to mecalled Billund. As the civilian crew quicklysecured its aircraft, I stood alone on thedeserted tarmac in the cold gray eveningtwilight wondering why I was there andwhat to do next.

What to do next was surprisingly easyfor with the last rays of dusk came two lo-cal Danish Air Force officers to inquire ofmy status and render assistance. CaptainsD. R. Jacabsen and J. A. Jenson provedunbelievably resourceful and I was soonquartered, well-fed, and locally oriented.After freshening up I joined my newfriends for a few cordials at their smallmilitary club which I was told had beena former Nazi commandant's headquart-ers during World War II, a strange struc-ture full of historical mystery and intrigue.

W hy I was in Billund (home of Lego,the world-famous children's plas-tic building blocks) was a bureaucraticsnafu, but I certainly knew why I was inDenmark, and that's the genesis of thisshort narrative.

I am a military artist and my assignmentwas to pictorially record United States Ma-rines training with allied forces from theUnited Kingdom, the Federal Republic ofGermany, Denmark, and the Nether-lands. These forces had been broughttogether as part of the Supreme Head-quarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE)"Autumn Forge 86" series of exercises. Myprimary focus was directed towards thelate-September exercise, "Bold Guard 86"(BG 86), which was conducted in theSchleswig-Holstein and Jutlarid areas ofGermany and Denmark. My graphicdocumentation of Marine Air GroundTask Force (MAGTF) participation in amajor NATO exercise was to be preparedunder the auspices of the Marine CorpsHistorical Foundation. However, all ar-

rangements for transportation, living ac-commodations, and working itinerarywere left to me and provided the latitudeto proceed in my visual quest as best I sawfit.

W ith the help of Captains Jacabsenand Jenson my first full day inDenmark began with a formal visit to thecommander of Danish Vandel Air Station,which is located near Billund. I was to findthat once the proper authorities wereaware of my objective and attendant plansI was normally given maximum supportto develop my project as a pictorial histor-ical record.

12

This visit was followed by informal callswith the commanding officers of MarineWing Support Squadron 471 and MarineFighter Attack Squadron 115, both ofwhich were tenants at Vandel for BG 86.The Marine Reserve Wing Support Squa-dron 471, was responsible for buildingand operating a 800-man base camp atVandel while VMFA-115 (Beaufort, SouthCarolina) was in the process of flying itsF/A-18 Hornets for the first time in aNATO exercise. During my time with thissupercharged squadron it wis providingclose air support for "Northern Wedding86" (NW 86), which was the maritime andamphibious exercise preceding BG 86.

The artist first visited the Danish Vande/Air Station, host to two Marine air squadrons.

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The next several days were spent sketch-ing local operations involving Marines andRoyal Danish Air Force personnel. Then,after a series of good-bye rounds, I travelednorth to the air station at Karup. Thissprawling, pine-covered complex is head-quarters for Allied Forces Baltic Ap-proaches and for the exercises was homefor the II Marine Amphibious Force (MAF)and 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade(MAB) staffs. Once again I made my ap-propriate office calls, found suitable quart-ers, obtained necessary clearances, andwent about my artist's business. While atKarup I hitched a ride to the beaches atOksbol and the civilian port of Esbjerg inorder to cover amphibious operations byMarines of the 4th MAB. These evolutionswere the last major events of NW 86.

From Karup I drove south with ColCharlie Pyle, the Corps' MAGTF doctrineeditor and writer. We entered the Repub-lic of Germany near Flensburg andproceeded on to Schleswig. This old Vik-ing stronghold was the site for the BG 86Observers' Bureau and I spent a most in-formative time there receiving tacticalbriefs on the exercise scenario. Our nextstop was Rendsburg and Headquarters,Land Forces, Schleswig-Holstein and Jut-land (ComLandJut). This command wasvery helpful in supplying additional back-ground notes on BG 86 and various sched-uled training objectives. Rendsburg

Q ne of the major events during theexercise was a pre-dawn crossing ofthis vital and strategic waterway by the 4thMAB. The canal, a monumental man-made deep-draft channel running 65miles from the city of Kiel to the port ofBrunsbutte!, was built by Kaiser WilhelmII. Today it is one of the most active sea-ways in the world and is the direct link be-tween the Baltic and North Seas. In fact,most of the traffic is comprised of shipsand barges operating out of Eastern Blocnations.

Restricted by time and adverse weatherI had only a day to cover the first MPSoffload/backload in a NATO environmentwhich was performed at the civilian portof Brunsbuttel by elements of the 6thMAB. Using military and commercial fa-cilities the 6th MAB was able to systemat-ically move and track equipment andmaterial while successfully positioningthese assets ashore in full logistical sup-port of contingency operations. This eventfully demonstrated the potential of MPSin support of the MAGTF role in NATO.

Taking leave of rain-soaked Brunsbut-

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-Col Condra sketched for Fortitudine a map outlining his travels from Norfolk to Nor-way, Denmark, and Germany, to record Marines in "Autumn Forge 86" operations.

is located on the famous Kiel Canal andwas to be my base of operations fordocumenting BG 86.

The 4th Marine Amphibious Brzgade landed on the Danish beaches of Oksbol, andlater made a pre-dawn Kiel Canal crossing in the "deep forests of northern Germany."

/: 14

13

tel I finally located the Allied Press Infor-mation Center (APIC) in the village ofKrupp, checked in and met Captain KlausReinicke of the Federal German Navy. Asthe officer in charge of the APIC, CaptainReinicke knew everybody and controlledeverything when it concerned the press orVIPs during BG 86. Captain Reinicke tooka strong interest in my project andthrough his influence made available tome not only a sedan with driver, but alsoan officer-interpreter to assist me fulltimethroughout BG 86. I should add here thatmy execution of a series of cartoon draw-ings for various APIC staff members cer-tainly didn't hurt my cause for assistanceand spread much goodwill.

With increased mobility, I was able toreconnoiter the vast exercise operationalarea to locate sites that I hoped would pro-vide the best picture opportunities.

W ith PFC Stephen Schoev of theFederal German Army behind thewheel, and LieutenantJurgen Luske, FGA,accompanied by his ever present mapboard, my unique little Marine Corps artteam set out to cover the war. For the nextweek we traversed the countryside ofSchleswig-Holstein trying to "capture" BG86. We observed the first-time employ-ment of Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers fly-ing exercise missions out of the German

Air Force base at Husum; were up at 0200to be in position for the 4th MAB pre-dawn river-crossing of the Kid Canal atSchestedt; viewed by personal invitation

14

special operations of German Regional En-gineers; spent a full day covering 539 As-sault Squadron Royal Marines and theDanish jutland Division Field Hospital

Co/ Condra a/so sketched many members of Bo/d Guard's Danish and German forces.

NATO cooperation in the exercise ic emphasized by drawing of Danish crew refue/ing VMFA-115 aircraft at Vande/ Air Station.

(Exercise "Bandage Barter") at Eckern-forde; devoted lots of field time trying tokeep up with maneuvering units of Ameri-can, Dutch, and British Marines; shiveredthrough a bone-chilling daylong rainwhile trudging after German infantry andarmor; saw USMC AAVs in the murkyshadows of 200-year-old barns and whatappeared to be 100-year-old ladies givingfresh-baked sweet bread to 18-year-oldcombat-loaded Marine grunts; drank hottea in the early morning mist with Royal

Marines Commandos; and enjoyed a late-night stein of beer with German pilots attheir base in Jagel.

Like a twirling kaleidoscope these vig-nettes flashed quickly by and soon cameto an end at a deserted warehouse nearHamburg's international airport. Alongwith a sizable contingent of weary Ma-rines, we all spent our last long night inGermany on a cold concrete deck withoutfood or water. Just another one of thosebureaucratic snafus to be endured as we

lanquishingly waited for our militarycharter to arrive the following morning.

Once airborne everyone soon forgot hislatest ordeal and fell quickly to sleep. Mythoughts, however, were on the next majorNATO exercise. I wondered about the con-cept of a representative artist from eachparticipating nation forming a team torecord the activities of the men and wom-en of NATO who really make the Treatywork, and help keep peace in a fragileworld. L111775L11

F rom the library of the Marine CorpsHistorical Center, recently publishedbooks of professional interest to Marines.These books are available from local book-stores or libraries.

The United States Navy. 200 Years.Captain Edward L. Beach, USN (Ret).Henry Holt and Company. 564 pp., 1986.This is a well-written, one-volume historyof the U.S. Navy. Along with its narrativeaccount of wars and battles, the book alsotraces the impact of new technologies onshipbuilding, weaponry, and naval tacticsthroughout the Navy's 200 years, whetherthis new technology is steam power ornuclear power, American hard woods orAmerican steel. $24.95

Bitter Victory. Robert Shaplen. Harper& Row. 305 pp., 1986. Shaplen has report-ed on events in Asia for more than 40years, first for Newsweek, more recently forThe New Yorker. Returning to Vietnamand Cambodia in 1985, he has written anaccount of his impressions and interpre-tations of life in post-war Indo-China. Hisknowledge of the region and its people hasadded to the depth of his coverage andreporting. $16.95

Howlin' Mad vs. the Army; Conflict inCommand Saijt'an, 1944. Harry A. Gailey.Presidio Press. 276 pp., 1986. A study ofthe conflict between Marine Corps LtGenHolland M. Smith and Army MajGenRalph Smith and the assault on Saipan inJune 1944. Along with analyzing the per-sonalities and the battle, the author alsodetails the part played by the media in thecontroversy. $17.95

by Evelyn A. EnglanderHistorical Center Librarian

Guadalcanal, Starvation Island EricHammel. Crown Publishers, Inc. 478 pp.,1987. This is the first in a series of booksby Hammel that will focus on the Guadal-canal campaign, exploring the elementsthat made it a turning point in the warin the Pacific. Along with using officialrecords and previously published works,Hammel interviewed more than 100 par-ticipants from both sides to describe thiscampaign which lasted six months, in-volved nearly one million men, and in-cluded land, sea, and air battles. $24.95

Marine Sniper; 93 Confirmed Kills.Charles Henderson. Stein and Day. 274pp., 1986. The story of Marine Sgt CarlosHathcock, who served twice in Vietnamwith a total of 93 confirmed kills. BeforeVietnam, Hathcock was the U.S. LongRange Rifle Champion in 1965. AfterVietnam, he was one of the founders ofthe Marine Corps Sniper School. Annu-ally now the Carlos Hathcock Award ispresented to the Marine who has con-tributed the most to marksmanship.Charles W. Henderson is himself a MarineCorps officer who served with the 24thMAU in Lebanon. $18.95

Vietnam, the Naval Story. Frank Uhlig,Jr., editor. Naval Institute Press. 515 pp.,1986. The 15 essays that form the core ofthis book were originally published in theNaval Institute's annual Naval Review be-tween 1967 and 1972. Included is BGenEdwin H. Simmons' essay on "MarineCorps Operations in Vietnam, 1965-1966."Uhlig, publisher of the Naval IVar CollegeReview and head of the Advanced

15

Research Program at the War College, pro-vides the introduction and five addition-al essays that precede each section of thebook covering the Navy, Marines, CoastGuard, and Merchant Marine. $28.95.

The United States Navy and the Viet-namese Conflict, Volume II: From MilitaryAssistance to Combat, 1 959-1965. EdwardJ. Marolda and Oscar P. Fitzgerald. NavalHistorical Center, Dept. of the Navy. 591pp., 1986. The second volume of the Na-vy's official history of the Vietnam Warcovers the years from 1959 to 1965 whenthe Navy's efforts to train the South Viet-namese Navy began to be accompanied byunilateral operations in Southeast Asia byU.S. naval forces. This volume also coversthe Navy actions in Laos as well as detail-ing the war in North and South Vietnam.Also covered by this volume is the Gulfof Tonkin incident of 4 August 1964.$22.00

Latest titles in the Osprey Men-at-Armsseries include No. 184, Polish Armies1569-1696 by Richard Brzezinski; No. 185,The Russian Army of the Napoleonic U'ars(1): Infantry 1798-1814 by PhilipHaythornthwaite; No. 186, The Apachesby Jason Hook; No. 187, British Battle In-signia (2) 1939-45 by Mike Chappell. Eachvolume $7.50.

George C. Marshall, Statesman,1945 -1 959. Forrest C. Pogue. Viking Press.603 pp., 1957. Statesman, 1945-1 95 9 is thefourth and final volume in this authorizedbiography of George C. Marshall. Begin-ing with the closing events of World War

(Continued on page 16)

New Books

200 Years of U.S. Naval History in a Single Volume

(Continued from page 15)II and Marshall's involvement in the deci-sion to use the atomic bomb, the bookgoes on to describe the challenges Marshallassumed in the postwar years. It deals firstwith his 1946 mission to China, then his1947-1948 role as Secretary of State, whenhe responds to the plight of a war-devastated Europe with the Marshall Plan,his work as head of the American RedCross, and his role as Secretary of Defenseduring the Korean War. $29.95

Music at the White House. Elise K.Kirk. University of Illinois Press. 457 pp.,1986. Elise Kirk has described the diverseceremonial traditions and musical perfor-mances at the White House along with thecultural interests of the presidents and firstladies from George Washington throughRonald Reagan. She has included, ofcourse, the many contributions of "ThePresident's Own," the U.S. Marine Band.This comprehensive volume includesblack-and-white photographs, a biblio-graphic essay, and a detailed index. $19.95

One Bugle, No Drums; the Marines atChosin Reservoir William B. Hopkins. Al-gonquin Books. 274 pp., 1986. The authorwas a Marine Corps Reserve captain calledto active service in 1950. He commandedHeadquarters Company of the 1st Battal-ion of Chesty Puller's 1st Regiment. Hisunit was one of those encircled at Chosinwhen the Chinese entered the war. Theauthor describes the action as the Marinesfought their way south in sub-zero

weather. Hopkins also details the burdensborn by the foe, short of supplies them-selves, ill prepared for the 20-below-zeroweather. The book includes a previouslyunpublished report on the action byS. L. A. Marshall. $15.95

US. Tank Destroyers of World War Two.S. J. Zaloga. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.64 pp., 1986. Traces the rise and declineof tank destroyers in all theaters of the Se-cond World War. Describes their mobili-ty and accuracy as well as theirvulnerability to small arms fire andgrenades. Illustrated with black-and-whitephotos. $5.95.

A Guide to the Sources of United StatesMilitary History, Supplement II. RobinHigham and DonaldJ. Mrozek. ArchonBooks. 332 pp., 1986. Following the for-mat of the basic reference and its first sup-plement, the latest book concentrates onU.S. air, military, and naval history appear-ing between 1978 and 1983. Includes achapter on U.S. Marines. $34.00.

Battery Press, P.O. Box 3107, UptownStation, Nashville, Tennessee 37219, isreprinting Volume III, The Chosin Reser-voir Campaign.

Volumes I - III have also been reprint-ed by University Microfilms, 300 NorthZeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan48106-1346; and Volumes I - IV, by Scho-larly Press, Inc., P.O. Box 160, St. ClairShores, Michigan 48080.

Battery Press has also reprinted The US.Marines on Iwo Jima by Ray Henri, et a!.,and Uncommon Valor, Marine Divisionsin Action, by George McMillan, et al.

In addition to the titles recently an-nounced, Battery Press has reprinted theWorld War II divisional histories: FollowMe! The Story of the Second Marine Di-vision in World War II; The Spearhead,The World War II History of the 5th Ma-rine Division; and the History of the SixthMarine Division. For price and availabili-ty, please contact the publisher, BatteryPress, Inc., P0. Box 3107, Uptown Station,Nashville, Tennessee 37219.

The U.S. Military Academy Library re-cently received a large collection of booksand manuscripts relating to Bataan andCorregidor in World War II. The collec-tion is housed in the West Point Room ofthe Academy Library. In addition to theCorps of Cadets, the collection is open toresearchers and interested individualsupon request. A list of titles contained inthe collection may be obtained from theSpecial Collections Division of the USMALibrary, West Point, New York 10996. Itadds that additions which would strength-en the collection are most welcome.

Bantam books is publishing a new ser-ies, Illustrated History of the War in Viet-nam. The titles, to date, include Marinesby BGen Edwin H. Simmons; CarrierOperations by Edward J. Marolda; SkySoldiers by F. Clifton Berry, Jr.; and Ar-mor by James R. Arnold. $6.95 eachvolume. U1775E

Reserve Units in Wisconsin and Oregon Attain 'Outstanding' Ratingsby Joyce E. Bonnett

Head Archives Section

The following Marine Corps units havemet the high standards set to attain anoutstanding rating by the Inspector Gen-eral on the units' historical programs. Forthe period April 1986-April 1987, the fol-lowing units have been judged "outstand-ing" based on planning, execution, andoverall achievement:

Marine Wing EquipmentSquadron 47

Marine Wing Support Group 47

4th Marine Aircraft WingGreen Bay, Wisconsin

Detachment F, 4th Force ServiceSupport Group

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Inspector-Instructor StaffSalem, Oregon

Of the 187 units inspected during theperiod, 101 were rated "excellent." Inspec-

16

tors frequently note that only a smallamount of extra effort by these unitswould have resulted in moving many moreinto the outstanding category.

The discrepancy most frequently foundby inspectors was lack of attention to theCommand Historical Summary File. MCOP5750.1, Manual for the Marine CorpsHistorical Program, outlines specific direc-tion and guidance in establishingthorough and comprehensive CommandHistorical Summary Files. EJ1775L11

Story of Marine Band's White House Ties New on Shelf

World War II, Korea, and Vietnam War Heroes Honoredby Robert V Aquilina

Assistant Head Reference Section

Sgt Darrell S. Cole, USMCR

T hree Marines who were posthumousrecipients of the Medal of Honorfrom World War II, Korea, and Vietnamwere recently honored by commemorativenamings at Marine Corps commands. Thefollowing naming requests were approvedby the Commandant of the Marine Corps:

From the Commanding General, Ma-rine Corps Development and EducationCommand Quantico: To name Building3090, the new home of the Quantico Ma-rine Band, in honor of Sgt Darrell S. Cole,USMCR. A native of Flat River, Missouri,Cole distinguished himself during theWorld War II Guadalcanal and Saipancampaigns, where he acquired a reputa-tion as the "Fighting Field Music." He later

PFC Robert C. Burke, USMC

participated in the 19 February 1945 D-Day assault on Iwo Jima as a member ofCompany B, 1st Battalion, 23d Marines,4th Marine Division, when he singlehand-edly attacked and neutralized two enemypositions, before falling mortallywounded.

From the Commanding General, Ma-rine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton: Toname Building 33615 in honor of PFC Eu-gene A. Obregon, USMC. A native of LosAngeles, California, PFC Obregon wasserving with Company G, 3d Battalion,5th Marines, when he was killed in actionon 26 September 1950 at Seoul, Korea.PFC Obregon placed his own body as ashield in front of a wounded Marine while

PFC Eugene A. Obregon, USMC

firing accurately and effectively into anenemy force until he himself was fatallywounded by machine gun fire.

From the Commanding General, Ma-rine Corps Recruit Depot/Western Recruit-ing Region, San Diego: To name the newrecruit training facility at the Depot inhonor of PFC Robert C. Burke. A nativeof Monticello, Illinois, PFC Burke was serv-ing with Company I, 3d Battalion, 27thMarines, 1st Marine Division, when he waskilled in action on 17 May 1968 insouthern Quang Nam Province, Republicof Vietnam. PFC Burke launched a seriesof one-man assaults against fortified ene-my emplacements, in order to cover theevacuation of Marine casualties. LI11 7751111

Acquisitions

Rolled-Collar Coat Given(Continued from page 8)

ing the use of both the old- and new-stylecoats would result in a nonuniform ap-pearance of the Marines under their com-mand. Many Marines were disgruntledover these new regulations, which seemedto jeopardize the traditionally sharp im-age presented by the Corps. This problem,coupled with the time lag encounteredwhen the standing-collar coats were sentto the Philadelphia Supply Depots for al-teration, delayed the incorporation of themodified coat until 1929, by which timeMarines both overseas and in the UnitedStates were finally wearing the new coat.

T his lag in the Marine Corps' procure-ment of rolled-lapel coats was theroot of many problems, especially in areaswhere soldiers and Marines workedtogether closely. An article by Col BrookeNihart, entitled "15th Infantry Meets Bu-tier's 3d Brigade, Tientsin 1927" (Fortitu-dine, Fall 1986) best describes some ofthese difficulties.

BGen Smedley D. Butler, then com-manding the 3d Marine Brigade in Chi-na, discovered that his men had beenmistaking Army enlisted men in rolled-lapelled coats for officers and rendering sa-lutes to them. He soon took action by or-dering his Marines to convert their high-collared blouses to the new rolled-lapelstyle. A soldier who served in the 15th In-fantry describes the somewhat comic ef-

17

fect of this modification:

The result was rather unhappy,because the high collars on the tun-ics didn't provide enough cloth fora decent roll collar, and what a tailordid achieve was always skimpy and,in many instances, downright sillylooking.

The P1920 (M) was originally designedfor wear on the parade ground as well asin the field. It saw service in this capacityuntil 1941 when its role as a field servicegarment came to a close with the adop-tion of the familiar herringbone twill cot-ton utilities and field jackets. From 1941to 1945, it served the same function as itscounterpart, the winter service blouse,does today. 11117751111

Marine Artist Leahy Wins DOD Journalism AwardCombat artist, historical foundation

member, and retired Reserve LtCol A.Michael Leahy has been recognized for hisart depicting the Grenada intervention.Operation Urgent Fury, as well as other artcommissioned by Navy Internal Affairs.The kudo is the 1986 Department ofDefense Thomas Jefferson Award for ex-cellence in military journalism in thecategory of published graphic art.

Leahy is supervisory congressional affairsspecialist in Naval Air Systems Command'sPublic Affairs Office and was deployed toGrenada by Navy Internal Affairs shortlyafter the operation to interview par-ticipants, view the terrain, and reconstructincidents of all the services in that jointoperation. The result, a ten-piece water-color series plus a drawing, were producedfor the Navy and were borrowed for theMarine Corps Museum exhibition, "EveryClime and P!ace—1974-1984". The pic-tures appeared in All Hands magazine forApril 1984 and now hang in the NavyCombat Art Gallery in the WashingtonNavy Yard. Other pieces of Leahy's recentaviation art, including the HendersonField scene shown here, have appeared inNa va/Aviation News for May 1986, the is-sue dedicated to the 75th anniversary ofnaval aviation.

LtCol Leahy served as a mortarman, air-craft mechanic, and naval aviator during13 years on active duty and 17 with the ac-

tive Reserve. He flew helicopters for the ex-ecutive flight detachment of HMX-1during the Eisenhower and Kennedy ad-ministrations and with MAGs 16, 26, and36.

During a period of civilian life, Leahyattended the Philadelphia College of Artwhere he received a bachelor of fine arts(graphics) degree in 1964. In the Vietnam

War he was recalled to active duty asdeputy head of the Marine Corps Com-bat Art Program and was in Vietnam fortwo tours as an artist. More than 214 piecesof his art are in the Marine Corps Muse-um's art collection. His art has appearedon the covers and insides of the MarineCorps Gazette, Leatherneck, and Fortitu-dine as well as other magazines. Li1 775LII

Marines scramble "U'ildcat "fighters on the "Cactus "fighter striO at Henderson Fieldon Guadalcanal in October 1942 in one of the works by LtCol A. Michael Leahy,USMCR. cited by the Thomas Jefferson Award for excellence in military journalism.

Historical Quiz

Identify the following Marines in sports:

Marines in Sportsby Midn 2/C Christopher P Thomas

1. Name the Marine first lieutenant who won a gold medalfor the 10,000-meter run in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

2. This boxer, who won the world boxing championship on23 September 1926, claimed to have begun his boxing careerat the Marine Corps training camp at Parris Island.3. This Marine won the Olympic decathlon in 1948 in Lon-

don, and again in 1952 in Helsinki.4. Nicknamed the "Boston Clipper," this Marine was induct-

ed into pro baseball's Hall of Fame in 1966.5. Name the Marine who beat the current Secretary of the

Navy, Marine Capt James H. Webb, Jr., in the 1967 NavalAcademy middleweight boxing championship.

6. Which USMC captain broke Naval Academy game, sea-son, and career rushing football records during his four yearsat Annapolis?

7. This former Marine who served in Korea, later becamequarterback for the Washington Redskins.8. In 1983, this former Marine corporal bought pro base-

ball's Detroit Tigers for $50 million.9. Who was the first Marine to win the Marine Corps

Marathon?

10. This former Marine was two-time winner of the U.S. andBritish Opens and the PGA championship, as well as pro golfsleading money winner in 1970.

(Answers on page 20)

18

In Memoriam

Pacific Battle Veterans, Historian of the Period Succumbby Benis M. Frank

Head, Oral History Section

BGEN HAROLD R. LEE, USMC (RET), adistinguished Marine aviator, died inColumbus, Ohio, on 19 May at the age of83. He was born in New England, Ohio,in 1903 and enlisted in the Marine Corpsin 1925. Commissioned in 1928, threeyears later he received his wings as a navalaviator and began a succession of tours as-signed to air units. During the Okinawaoperation, he served as III AmphibiousCorps air officer. Gen Lee retired in June1954, promoted to brigadier general forhaving been decorated in combat. He wasburied in Delaware, Ohio, on 22 May.

BGEN PAUL E. WALLACE, USMC (RET),died on 13 july in Slidell, Louisiana, at theage of 78. An Iowan by birth, he enlistedin the Marine Corps in 1928, and was ap-pointed to the Naval Academy a year later.Following his graduation in 1933, he wascommissioned a Marine second lieutenant.He was assigned normal tours of sea dutyand at posts and stations before World WarII, and commanded the Marine detach-ment on board the Pensacola during com-bat against the Japanese off Bougainvilleand New Guinea. Gen Wallace command-ed the 3d Battalion, 8th Marines in theOkinawa operation. He retired in 1959and was advanced to the rank of brigadiergeneral on the retired list for having been

ThenColHaroldR. Lee in 1954

decorated in combat. He was buried withfull military honors in Arlington Nation-al Cemetery on 30 July.

COL CLIFF ATKINSON, JR., USMC (RET),

died of sepsis at the Bethesda NavalHospital on 21 June after having under-gone surgery. A graduate of the Universi-ty of Alabama, he was commissioned in1936, and served with the 2d Marine Di-vision in the Pacific, participating in thelandings on Guadalcanal, New Georgia,Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian. His postwarassignments included duty in the UnitedStates,Japan, and Italy, and he was Assis-tant Director of Personnel at HQMC whenhe retired in 1967. He was an early mem-ber of the Marine Corps Historical Foun-dation and an active volunteer in theMuseum Shop. Following his retirementfrom the Marine Corps, Col Atkinson be-came public affairs director of the Ameri-can Waterworks Association, from whichhe retired in 1981 as deputy executivedirector. Col Atkinson was buried inArlington National Cemetery with fullmilitary honors on 24 June 1987.

CWO-4 WILLIAM B. SPILMAN, USMCR(RET), died at the age of 59 on 21 May inCharlottesville, Virginia, while undergo-ing surgery. An enlisted Marine in World

Then.Col Paul F. Wallace in 1959

19

War II, he served with the 4th Marine Di-vision in the Iwo Jima landings. He re-mained in the Marine Corps Reservefollowing the war and was recalled to ac-tive duty for Korea, when he was promot-ed to warrant officer. CWO Spilman wasone of the original members of MTU(Hist) DC-7, and was largely instrumen-tal in sorting, identifying, and cataloginga large collection of historic photographsin the Marine Corps Historical Center. Healso was a charter member of the MarineCorps Historical Foundation. In civilianlife he was an owner and publisher of anewspaper in Waynesboro, Virginia, andafter leaving that endeavor, he became ataxpayer service representative for the In-ternal Revenue Service. Mr. Spilman wasburied in Waynesboro on 25 May with agraveside service.

GEORGE MCMILLAN, a World War II Ma-rine Corps combat correspondent andauthor of The Old Breed, a history of the1st Marine Division in World War II andreputedly the best unit history of its kind,died at the age of 74 on 1 September athis home in St. Helen Island, South Caro-lina. He had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,commonly known as "Lou Gehrig'sDisease." Mr. McMillan was one of theprofessional newspapermen who was

Col Cliff Atkinson, Jr.. in 1951

recruited out of the nation's newsrooms byBGen Robert L. Denig, Director of Pub-lic Information, to undergo boot trainingand then to be assigned to cover MarineCorps activities in combat. After his Par-ris Island training, McMillan was immedi-ately ordered overseas to join the 1stMarine Division for the Cape Gloucesteroperation. He covered the Peleliu andOkinawa operations and was discharged in1945 as a technical sergeant, although hewas later commissioned in the MarineCorps Reserve. He covered the civil rightsmovement as a free-lance reporter andcontributed to The JVashington Post, TheNew York Times, The Saturday EveningPost, Look, and other publications. He also

wrote a widely acclaimed biography ofJames Earl Ray, the man who was convict-ed of the assassination of the Rev. MartinLuther King, Jr.

MRS. NORMAL BYRD WATSON, one of the

first women to enlist in the Marine Corpsin World War I, died at the age of 90 on8 August at the Veterans Administrationhospital in Coatsville, Pennsylvania. Fol-lowing her enlistment, Mrs. Watson wasassigned as a secretary to a recruitingofficer in Philadelphia. After her MarineCorps service, she worked in retailing foralmost 40 years. A Marine Corps honorguard attended her burial in Drexel Hill,Pennsylvania, on 13 August. LIi1775LI1

Answers to Historical Quiz

Marines in Sports(Questions on page 18)

R ecent awards of Certificates ofAppreciation issued on behalf of theCommandant of the Marine Corps to per-sons who have made significant contribu-tions to the Marine Corps HistoricalProgram are follows:

For donation of his personal time assist-ing in preparation of the History of Ma-rine Fighter Attack Squadron 323:

Maj Frank M. Batha, USMC (Ret)

For collecting the memoirs andmemorabilia of the "Banana Fleet"Marines:

MSgt Bernard A. Daehler, USMC (Ret)

For his support of the Museums Branchwith loans, donations, and referrals:

Maj Richard 1. Spooner, USMC (Ret)

For donations to the Oral Historyprogram:

LtGen Charles G. CooperCWO2 Robert T Donald, USA (Ret)MGySgt P. D. Fields, USMCMr. Clem D. Russell

For ten years of service as Museum ShopVolunteer:

Margaret GreenwoodMary Helen NihartMarge Fallon

For five years of service as Museum ShopVolunteers:

Mrs. Nancy BiegerMary KingMrs. Betty TownsendJane Wiedhahn

For over 50 hours as Museum ShopVolunteers:

Mrs. Cathy BensonMr. David BierRosemary CoyneMrs. Wynne CummingsMrs. Mickey FranklinNorwood GrinaldsMr. Bill MarichBGen D. E. P. Miller, USMC (Ret)Dixie MillerNancy SheridanMrs. Millie Went

For 42 hours as a Museum Shop Volunteer:

Mrs. Rosemary Pipta

For 34 hours as a Museum ShopVolunteer:

Capt Barbara Cross

20

775 LII

1. lstLt William "Billy" Millsfinished in a record-breaking timeof 28:24.4.2. JamesJ. "Gene" Tunney defeat-

ed Jack Dempsey in their famous10-round bout before the largestpaying crowd to date.

3. Bob Mathias was also a star full-back at Stanford, and the Washing-ton Redskins' 13th-round draftchoice in 1953.4. Capt Theodore "Ted" Williams,

USMCR, hit 521 homeruns and hada lifetime batting average of .344.

5. Now-LtCol Oliver North defeat-ed James Webb in a hard-won de-cision.

6. Capt Eddie Meyers, USMC,Class of 1982, is currently preparingto launch a pro-football career in1987 after the end of his five-yearcommitment.

7. Eddie LeBaron was also starquarterback at the College of the Pa-cific before Korea.8. Tom Monaghan also owns and

founded the Domino Pizza chain.9. In the 8th Annual Marine

Corps Marathon (1983), Sgt FarleySimon of Camp Smith, Hawaii, wonwith a time of 2:17:46.10. Lee Trevino entered the MarineCorps in 1958 from the State ofTexas.

George McMillan in World War II

Certificates of Appreciation Presented to 27For Assistance to Corps' Historical Program

Fliht Lines

Sikorsky VH34-D Seahorsebyjody Y UI/mann

Aviation Curator

I n 1952 a Navy requirement for an anti-submarine helicopter to replace theHRS led to the procurement of the Sikor-sky built H-34, labeled the HSS-1. Over500 helicopters were procured and modi-fied for Marine Corps use by removing theanti-submarine warfare equipment,strengthening cabin floors, and installingcargo tie down rings. With these changesthe helicopter was redesignated theHUS-1. Though originally procured as autility helicopter, its was initially used fortransport in the absence of a heavy lift hel-

icopter. Powered by the Wright R-1820-84radial engine, the HUS-1 possessed morethan three time the power of its HRS pre-decessor and had superior range and pay-load capabilities. Establishing itself as theMarine Corps first major utility helicopter,it served throughout its career in a multi-tude of roles such as transport, casualtyevacuation, reconnaissance, pathfinder,command and control, testbed, and Pres-idential service. As such, it became theworkhorse of the Marine Corps.

In September 1957 a new task was initi-

ated for the "Seahorse" when Maj Virgil D.Olson of HMX-1 lifted President Eisen-hower from his vacation home at Newport,Rhode Island, to Quonset Point Naval AirStation. Two months later, the Comman-dant directed HMX-1 to establish a per-manent executive flight section with spe-cially prepared helicopters. The helicop-ter chosen was the HUS-1 (later known asVH-34D), a version of the HUS-1 whichwas the first to incorporate automaticstabilizing equipment. These helicopterswere painted in a distinct paint schemewith dark glossy green on the bottom andwhite on the top, thus giving them thenickname of "White Tops." Outfitted withflotation gear, extra soundproofing and anexecutive interior the "White Tops" trans-ported presidents around the U.S.A., Eu-rope, Asia, and South America.

One of the most dramatic events thatthe HUS-1Z participated in was the 1959Goodwill Tour of the President, nick-named "Operation Monsoon:' This trip,which covered three continents and ninecountries, the "Seahorses" of HMX-1provided transportation for leadingfigures, including President Eisenhower.At one point in this operation, the "Sea-horse" added to its already impressive listof firsts by being the first U.S. helicopterto fly through the Khyber Pass.

This helicopter's drawback was its de-pendence on a single engine, which threa-tened the lives of its passengers shouldthere be a malfunction. For this reason,the HUS-1Z was phased out in favor of thetwin-engine HSS-2 (VH-3) in the 1960s.

The Marine Corps Air-Ground Museumowns two restored HUS-lZs (VH-34Ds).Bu. No. 147161, on display at the gate tothe Marine Corps Air Facility at Quantico,was assigned to HMX-1 as a Presidentialback-up helicopter and saw service atQuantico, Norfolk, and MCAS New Riverfrom May 1959 to March 1972. The otherVH-34D, Bu. No. 147191, served in thePresidential aircraft section during theEisenhower administration. It was flownfrom Norfolk and now rests at the frontgate of MCAS New River. Eli 775Ll

The VH-34D (Bu. No. 147161) on display outside the Marine Corps Air Facility, Quan-tico, Virginia, sports the famous "white top" of the Presidential Squadron, HMX-1.

Technical Data

Manufacturer: Sikorsky Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation, Strat-ford, Connecticut.

Type: Utility Helicopter.Accommodation: Pilot, copilot, crew chief; 12-18 passengers or 8 litters, or equiva-lent weight in cargo.

Power Plant: One 1,525 hp Wright R-1820-84.

Dimensions: Length, 46 ft., 9 in.; Height, 15 ft., 11 in.; Rotor diameter, 56 ft.

Weights: Empty, 7,900 lbs.; gross, 14,000 lbs.

Performance: Max speed, 123 mph.; Cruising speed, 98 mph.; Service ceiling,9,500 ft.; Range, 182 miles; Climb, 9,500 ft/mm.

Armaments: None.

21

T he 1st Marine Division's third winter in Korea was markedby a slackening off by both United Nations and Communistforces of large-scale offensives along the main line of resistance.As 28,000 battle-hardened veterans of the division stood by theirguns, activity flared up on the diplomatic front. The new ad-ministration in Washington, headed by the World War II hero,Dwight D. Eisenhower, was determined to bring the unpopularwar to a conclusion. Officials of his Republican administrationlet it be known in diplomatic circles that if an armistice was notsoon agreed to, the United States might find it necessary to useatomic weapons against Communist China. The 5 March 1953death of PremierJoseph Stalin of the Soviet Union brought anelement of uncertainty to the Communist world, and may haveprompted the Chinese-North Korean camps to resume the ar-mistice negotiations at Panmunjom. The glimmering hope ofpeace was a two-edged sword, however, as Communist forcessought last-minute tactical victories in western Korea to improvetheir bargaining position at the diplomatic table. Accordingly,the level of activity in the 1st Marine Division sector of the MLRpicked up noticeably during February 1953. Both Marine andChinese Communist forces engaged in several raids, as the warof position increased in intensity.

On 26 March, Red Chinese units struck in force against Out-posts Carson, Reno, and Vegas, key positions in the 1st MarineDivision's sector which commanded the historic invasion routesto Seoul. Heavy artillery shelling, accompanied by mortar andsmall arms fire, raged unabated for five days as both sides vied

Men of Battery B, 1st Battalion, 11th Marines, provide support-ing fire for a 22 March 1953 night attack on an enemy outpost.Maneuvering for position marked Marines' third winter in Korea.

United Nations element, the 3dBattalion of the Turkish Brigade,amves at 3d Battalion, 7th Marines' command post at Pznbu-dong on 5 May 1953, to replace the Marines in corps reserve.

for possession of the important Vegas outpost. Chinese forcesoutnumbered Marines by 20 to 1 in contests for key outpostsbefore reinforcements arrived. Marine air support struck enemypositions on the 27th and 28th, assisting the 5th and 7th Ma-fines in driving the Chinese from control of Vegas. On 28 MarchMAG-12 established a new record for combat sorties in conduct-ing 129 assaults against Chinese positions. By 31 March, Marineunits were in firm control of the Vegas summit. The Chineseattempt to capture Vegas failed, but the cost to the 1st Marine

A 12 July 1953 return to Camp Casey is made difficult for Com-pany B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, by a flood-swollen stream.Although armistice was expected fighting went on at the front.

Korean War Chronology

January-July 1953by Robert V Aquilina

Assistant Head, Reference Section

22

Chinese and North Korean delegations leave the first session ofthe Panmunjom talks on prisoner-of-war exchanges in April 1953.

Division had been high. Over 1,000 Marine casualties testifiedto the tenacity of the fighting, with Communist losses conser-vatively estimated twice as high. As always, the bravery of in-dividual Marines stood out amidst the din of battle. Sgt DanielP. Matthews, a squad leader of Company F, 2d Battalion, 7thMarines, was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for single-handedly assaulting an enemy position to divert fire from aninjured Marine. He succeeded in silencing a Chinese machinegun emplacement before he was mortally wounded.

I n early April, the peace talks resumed, with the Communistsfinally bowing to the United Nations' demand that there beno compulsory repatriation of prisoners of war. Operation "Lit-tle Switch," an exchange of sick and wounded prisoners-of-war,took place from 20-26 April, and resulted in the return to Com-munist control of over 6,000 North Koreans and Chinese, while700 United Nations troops, of whom 149 were Americans, werereleased. Since the resumption of the truce talks, it had becomeapparent that the aging South Korean President, Syngman Rhee,would prove as obstinate as the Communists in truce negotia-tions. Dissatisfied that the likely outcome of the talks would notresult in his dream of a politically unified Korea, Rhee threa-tened to remove Republic of Korea forces from United Nationscontrol.

In early May the 1st Marine Division moved to the rear of theMLR while its frontline positions were taken over by the U.S.Army's 25th Infantry Division and the Turkish Brigade. The 1stMarine Division underwent an eight-week reserve period (from10 May-5 July) during which a rigorous training regimen wasmaintained. On 15 June, a change-of-command ceremony tookplace as MajGen Randolph McC. Pate assumed command of the1st Marine Division from MajGen Edwin A. Pollock. The newcommanding general of the division, who had most recentlyserved as the commander of the 2d Marine Division at CampLejeune, North Carolina, saw service during World War II atGuadalcanal, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.

The 1st Marine Division returned to the front in early Julyin time to meet concentrated enemy assaults on United Nationslines. During 7-8July, attacks on Outposts Berlin and East Ber-lin developed into desperate hand-to-hand struggles. Once more

Medal of Honor: SSgt Ambrosio Guillen; Sgt Daniel P Matthews

Marine air delivered effective fire on Red Chinese positions.Although both complexes were overrun, I Corps decreed thatno attempt should be made to restore the original line, as anarmistice agreement was expected shortly.

Q n 24July, the relative lull was abruptly shaken by enemymortar fire impacting upon Marine positions. The last con-certed Communist attempt to seize tactical advantages beforethe signing of the armistice began in full force. The hardest hitMarine position was Outpost Boulder City in the "Berlin" com-plex. During the fierce fighting, SSgt Ambrosio Guillen, fromCompany F, 2d Battalion, 7th Marines, deliberately exposed him-self to the heavy enemy barrage and attacks to direct his menin defending their positions, and personally supervised the treat-ment and evacuation of the wounded. Although mortally wound-ed during a Chinese assault, he continued to direct his men untiltheir position was secured and the enemy force repulsed. SSgtGuillen succumbed to his wounds shortly thereafter, and wasposthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

On 27July at Panmunjom, representatives of the United Na-tions Command and the Communist forces signed an armisticeagreement ending the Korean War. The agreement called forthe armistice to take effect at 2200 that evening, which termi-nated three years, one month, and two days of a bitter war. Ma-tines in the frontline trenches cautiously manned their positionsas white star cluster shells appeared at the appointed hour tosignify the advent of the armistice.

From August 1950 to July 1953 the Marine Corps sufferedmore than 30,000 casualties in defense of the Republic of Korea.These figures include 4,506 Marines who made the highestsacrifice. E1775L11

On 13 April 1953, members of the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1stMarine Division, raise the Freedom Village" sign for sick andwounded POU'/s returned to UN. forces by the Communists.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVYHEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON, DC. 20380

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Three Cities to See O'Bannon's Silver-Mounted Sword

P resentation silver, particularly thatcreated in the opulent 18th centu-ry, is an art form all of its own. The Ma-rine Corps Museum possesses a fineexample of this genre in a piece whichis of inestimable historical significanceto the Corps as well. It is the silver-mounted heavy saber presented by Vir-ginia to her "gallant son," Lt Presley N.O'Bannon of the U.S. Marines, in recog-nition of his successful "assault and con-quest" of Derna, Tripoli, in 1804.

In preparing for its major exhibition,"Marks of Achievement: Four Centuriesof American Presentation Silver," theMuseum of Fine Arts of Houston, Texas,recognized the artistry and importanceof the O'Bannon sword and requestedits loan. We were happy to comply as the

by Col Brooie Nihart, USMC (Ret)Deputy Director for Museums

exhibition will show not only inHouston, but also in New York at theMetropolitan Museum of Art and at theMinneapolis Institute of Arts, givingthousands more than will ever view thesword at the Marin