FORTITUD INENEWSLETTER OF THE MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PROGRAMVOLUME XV FALL 1985

Th ROYAl NAVY'S ATrACK ON THE VIRGINIA LocALES o NoRFoix ANt) HAMPTON. PERSONAL PAPERSOF 1,000 MARiNEs OF ALL PERIODS IN MUSEUM COLLECTION. . GEN CHAPMAN'S iBY-THE-BO0K EVENINGPARADE. ON THE TRAIL OF THE 'LOST' O'BANNON PORTRAIT. FLIGHT LINEs: GM TBM-3 AVENGER

NUMBER 2

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

PCN 10401220100

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

Volume XV Fall 1985

This quarterly newsletter of the Marine Corps historical program is publishedfor the Corps and for friends of Marine Corps history in accordance with Depart.ment of the Navy Publications and Printing Regulations NAVEXOS P.35. In.dviduals and institutions desiring Fortitudine on a complimentary regular basisare invited to apply to: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S.Marine Corps (HDS-1), Washington, D.C. 20380.

The Secretary of the Navy has determined that this publication is necessary inthe transaction of business required by law of the Department of the Navy. Fundsfor printing of this publication have been approved by the Navy Publications andPrinting Policy Committee.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Marine Corps Historical CenterBuilding 58, Washington Navy Yard

Washington, D.C. 20374-0580Telephone: (202) 433-3838 433-3840, 433-3841

DIRECTORBGen Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret)

HISTORICAL BRANCHCal John 0. Miller, USMCDeputy Director for History

Mr. Henry 1. Shaw, Jr.Chief Historian

Hirtones Section: LrCol Wayne A. Babb, USMC; LtCol Cyril V.Moyher. USMCR; Maj Frank M. Batha, Jr.. USMC; Maj G. RossDunham, IJSMC; Mr.Jock Shulimson; Mr. Charles R. Smith; Dr. V.Keith Fleming, Jr.

Reference Section: Mr. DannyJ. Crawford; Mr. Robert V. Aquilina;Mrs. Ann A. Ferranre; Miss Lena M, Kaijor; Mrs. Regina Srrorhet.

Oral History Section: Mi. Benis M. Frank.

Arcbive.r: Mrs.Joyce E. Bonnert.

MUSEUMS BRANCHCol F. B. Nihart, USMC (Ret)Deputy Director for Museums

Mr. Charles A. WoodChief Curator

Arti.st.in-ResidenceCol Charles H. Waterhouse, USMCR

Marine Barracks, Special Projects: Mr. Richard A. Long. MaterialHistory: Mr. Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas. Exhibits: Mr. Carl M.DeVere, Sr.; Sgt RebeccaLynnJ. Mays, USMC; Mr. Benny L. Lenox,Sr. Art: Mr.John T. Dyer,Jr. Personal Papers: Mr.J. Michael Miller.Registrar: Mr. John H. McGarry III.

Museums Activities, QuanticoLtCol Rudy T. Schwanda, USMC

Officer-in-Charge

Administration: Capt David C. Uhley, USMC. Ordnance: Mr. An-thony W. Tommell. Restoration: Mr. Joseph B. Payton. Aviation:Vacant. Exhibits: Mr. Ronald J. Perkins. Uniforms: Mrs. Nancy F.King. Security: GySgr Ssarlin W. Andrews, USMC

SUPPORT BRANCHMaj Danny R. Smith, USMC

Head/Division Execurive Officer

Administration: CWO2J. C. Owens, USMC. Security: GySgt C. W.Viar, USMC. Library: Miss Evelyn A. Englander.

Publications Production: Me. Robert E. Strudee. Production: Mrs.Catherine A. Kerns. Graphics: Mr. William S. Hill. Typesetting:LCpl James E. Rodriguez, USMC.

Editor, FortitudineMe. Robert B. Struder

Director's Page: The Battles of Craney Island and Hampton 3

Acquisitions: Computer Record Stars in Museum Accessions Process 8

Center Cares for the Personal Papers of 2,000 Marines 9

Four at Center Recall 1945 Landing in North China 10

Call for Papers 12

Historical Quiz: Marines in [Vorld W'arII 12

Recent Books of Historical Interest 13

Staff Shows Flag for Program at Professional Groups 14

New Certificates of Unit Lineage and Honors 15

1985: Foundation, Barracks Honor Former Commandants 16

164: By.the-.Book 8th & I Evening Parade a Chapman Idea 17

In Memoriam: Belleau Wood, Peleliu Veteran Gen Silverthorn Dies 18

Readers Always W'rite: Berkeley Recollects Nicaragua 20

'Uncle Nevi/Is Portrait,' The O'Bannon Miniature: Settling Historyand Authenticity of a 'Lost' Likeness 21

Korea Veterans Stamp Adapts Marine Photo 28

New Museum Shop Catalog Available 28

Answers to Historical Quiz: Vor/d W/arll 28

Flight Lines: Genera/Motors TBM-3 Avenger 29

Korean War Chronology: July-September 1950 30

MCHF Aids Amphibious Warfare History Project 32

THE COVERMaj John T. Dyer,Jr., USMCR (Ret), is Curator of the Marine Corps Art Collec.

tion. A noted watercolorist in his own right, Maj Dyer is steward of the scores ofitems of contemporary art added to the Collection each year by members of theMarine Corps Combat Art Program, as well as the more than 5,000 works in allmedia which are part of the Corps' historic art holdings. Maj Dyer recently produc-ed a suite of ink sketches, including this rendition of Royal Marines aboard theirlanding barges, to illustrate the Director's report on the Battles of Craney Islandand Hampton, in this issue.

Fortitudine is produced in the Publications Production Section of the History and Museums Divi-sion. The text for Fortitudine is set in 10-point and 8.point Garamond typeface. Headlines are in18-point or 24.point Garamond. The newsletter is printed on 70-pound, matte-coated paper. Printingis by offset lithography.

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No. 2

HISTORYAND MUSEUMSDIVISION

Director's Page

The Battles of Craney Island and Hampton BGen Simmons

H ampton, Virginia, is celebratingits 375th anniversary, having a

somewhat tenuous claim to having beenfounded in 1610. I had the opportunityto participate in the celebration on 5June when I was the speaker at the an-nual banquet of the Historical and Ar-

chaeological Spciety of Fort Monroe. Thebanquet was held in the ballroom on thetop floor of the venerable red brick HotelChamberlain which is on Old PointComfort within the boundaries of FortMonroe itself. The ballroom offers a270-degree panoramic view of the

Hampton Roads area and has the generalambiance of the 1920s. There is alsosomething about the ballroom whichmade me think of the luxury liners of thepie-jet age. It was a stormy night, withrain, wind, and lighting coming up fromthe south.

My topic, not too imaginatively, was"Marines in the Hampton Roads Area,"and I covered the years from 1760, whenthe British began the construction ofGosport Navy Yard and brought alongwith them red-coated Marines, until1894, not quite to the eve of the Warwith Spain. I could have gone on, butthe storm was growing worse and my au-dience was shifting restlessly in theirseats and being primarily retired Armytypes and their spouses were probablynot all that enthralled anyway with mysinging the praises of Marines who hadserved within sight and earshot of wherewe had just had dinner.

In getting ready for my talk, what hadintrigued me most was the Battle ofCraney Island, about which I had alreadyknown a little, and the subsequent Bat-tle of Hampton, about which I hadknown nothing.

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Q n Friday, 18 June 1813, threeBritish frigates, attended by two

schooners and a captured Baltimore cut-ter, came into Hampton Roads andunder full sail and with a light windswept slowly and majestically past OldPoint Comfort, site of the present HotelChamberlain. One of the frigates, HMSJunon, 38, Capt Sanders, "stood up sohigh as to look into Elizabeth river." Thiswas a clear signal to the Americans thatan attack against Craney Island and Nor-

Hampton Roads area map locates Old Point Comfort, passed by the invading Britishfleet on the way to the two battle sites of Craney Island, near Norfolk, and Hampton.

folk, perhaps followed by a landing atHampton, was intended.

BGen Robert B. Taylor, with head-quarters at Fort Norfolk, was in com-mand of the American land forces in thedistrict. On paper he had 15,000 troops,but they were almost all militia, onlypartially mobilized and almost com-pletely untrained. Craney Island, then alow-lying kidney-shaped strip of land,half-a-mile long and 200 yards wide, wasthe cork in the mouth of the ElizabethRiver. Upstream beyond Norfolk was theGosport Navy Yard.

Lying at the Navy Yard, anchored andimmobile, was the 36-gun frigate Con-stellation. In addition to the Constella-tion, there was a flotilla of about 20 gun-boats under Navy Lt (courtesy title "Cap-tain") Joseph Tarbell. The larger gun-boats were sloop or schooner rigged andarmed with one or two long guns. Thesmaller gunboats, Jefferson's owndesign, had a single long 12- or long18-pounder and depended upon theiroars for propulsion. They could be usedonly in an almost absolute calm. In over-all Navy command was Commo JohnCassin.

Before midnight on Saturday, Tarbelltook 15 of his gunboats, divided in-

to two divisions, down river to engagethe most forward of the frigates. (As yetunidentified by the Americans, it wasthe Junon, 38, Capt Sanders.) At fouro'clock Sunday morning Tarbell's gun-boats opened on the becalmed Junon atthree-quarters mile range. For an hour ormore they banged away, then a breezecame up. The other two British frigatescame to help and Tarbell's gunboatsscurried to safety, past the protection ofCraney Island.

Tarbell was optimistic as to the harminflicted on the Junon. Later the captainof the captured Baltimore cutter, heldprisoner on the frigate, reported herdamage as four shots in the hull, riggingmuch cut up, one man killed, and two orthree wounded. Tarbell dismissed hisown losses as very trifling: "Mr. Allison,master's mate on board No. 139 was kill-ed early in the action by an 18 poundball which passed through him and lodg-ed in the mast." Tarbell also reported,"There are now in the Roads, 13 ships ofthe line, one brig and several tenders."

Sir John Borlase Warren, Admiral ofthe Blue, and Commander-in-Chief,

North Atlantic and West Indies Station,had in fact concentrated his entire fleetat the Capes of Virginia, possibly asmany as 8 ships of the line, 12 frigates,and a train of supply ships and tenders.In the accompanying transport weresome 3,000 troops under Quarter MasterGeneral Sir Sydney Beckwith. Thesetroops, organized into two brigades, in-cluded the 1st and 2d Royal Marine Bat-talions, each with its own company ofRoyal Marine Artillery; the 102d Regi-ment of Foot; a battalion euphemistical-ly called the "Canadian Chasseurs" or"Chasseurs Britanniques" but actuallymade up of Frenchmen taken prisoner inSpain; and a half-company of RoyalMarine Artillery especially trained in theuse of Congreve rockets.

D uring April and May, whileawaiting the arrival of these troops

from England, Adm Warren and hisenergetic second-in-command, RAdmSir George Cockburn (he who wouldlater burn Washington) had beenspreading fear and hate with their raidsin the upper Chesapeake. Tarbell's gun-boats had inflicted only a small sting onthe British but it was an embarrassmentto Warren who now hurried along withhis preparations.

On Monday morning, 21 June, itseemed to the Americans on CraneyIsland that the whole British fleet, some20 sail, had moved up opposite Hamp-ton. Signals were snapping from everyflag hoist and it was obvious that an at-tack was imminent.

LtCol Henry Beatty was in commandat Craney Island and by Monday eveninghe had a garrison of 446 militia infantry,91 state artillery, 50 riflemen from Win-chester (sons and grandsons of Morgan'sriflemen, one can presume) and a fewvolunteers. At this point, Capt Tarbellarrived with 150 sailors and Marines from

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the USS Constellation to man and pro-tect a battery of Navy 18-pounders at thenorthwest point of the island. A secondbattery of two 24-pounders and four6-pounders was manned by the Virginiastate artillerymen. Altogether Beattymustered 737 defenders.

The Marine detachment from theConstellation was under Lt Henry B.Breckinridge and numbered twosergeants (Henry H. Dentzel andWilliam McJoy), two corporals, a drum-mer, a fifer, and 32 privates.

Adm Warren put Cockburn in chargeof the landing. His attack against CraneyIsland was to come from two directions.On the river side, his boats were to land500 shipboard Royal Marines, 200seamen, half the 102d Foot, and one ofthe companies of the CanadianChasseurs. They were to storm theAmerican batteries on Craney Island.Meanwhile, the main attacking forceunder Gen Beckwith, with both RoyalMarine battalions, their attached artillerycompanies, and the rest of the 102d Footand Chasseur battalion were to land onthe mainland two miles away and thenwere to cross by a ford over the backchannel of the Elizabeth River to CraneyIsland.

A t four in the morning, Tuesday, 22June, the main body began landing

at Pig Point at the mouth of the Nanse-mond River against no opposition. Atdaybreak they could be seen from CraneyIsland three miles away, pulling forshore. Of more immediate concern tothe Americans were the 45 or 50 barges(by American count), escorted by twoschooners, coming in their direction.They could see the redcoats standingpacked in the barges and guessed theirnumbers at 1,500. At about 0800 thebarges were within range of Constella-tion's gunners.

In the lead was an admiral's barge, theCentipede, commanded by one CaptHanshett, said to be the illegitimate sonof George III. The barge was paintedbright green and you can get the reasonfor the name Centipede—the bank of 12oars on each side were the Centipede'slegs. The Americans also called it the"Grasshopper." The leading boatsgrounded on a mud bank about 150yards from shore and were literally sittingducks for case and grape shot comingfrom the two batteries. In their en-

The writer is indebted to thefollowing for substantial researchassistance in the preparation of thisarticle: Mr. Richard A. Long andMr. Charles R. Smith of the MarineCorps Historical Center; Mr.Richard P. Weinert of Fort Mon-roe; and LtCol Joseph Frankoski,USA (Ret) of the Hampton Mus-eum.—EHS

thusiasm, the Winchester rifles andperhaps some of the Marines waded outin the water to the foundering barges.Three barges were sunk, one of them theCentipede, to be salvaged later by theAmericans, and the British withdrew totheir ships. About 40 prisoners weretaken, including 18 willing Frenchmenwho said the bad fare of British prisonships had forced them into British ser-vice. The Americans thought the Britishmight have lost as many as 200 men. Theonly weapons the British had been ableto bring to bear were, the Congreverockets and a few of these had fallen onBeatty's camp. Beatty reported nocasualties.

Commo Cassin, in his report to theSecretary of the Navy written the nextday, said, "The officers of the Constella-tion fired their eighteen pounders morelike Riflemen than Artillerists. I neversaw such shooting and seriously believethey saved the Island."

Meanwhile, the main body had bog-ged down in the woods and marsh andcould not get across to Craney Island.(American accounts say they were turnedback/by gunfire; British accounts say thatno assault was attempted.) The Britishre-embarked this force, perhaps 2,000men, at sunset, except for a goodnumber of deserters, mostly French, whoran off into the woods.

A dm Warren's report to the Ad-miralty written two days later,

minimizes the whole affair:

I request you will inform theirlordships, that, from the informa-tion received of the enemy's fortify-ing Craney Island, and it beingnecessary to obtain possession of thatplace, to enable light ships andvessels to proceed up the narrowchannel towards Norfolk, totransport the troops over on thatside for them to attack the new fortand lines to the rear of which theConstellation frigate was anchored, Idirected the troops under Sir SydneyBeckwith to be landed upon thecontinent within the nearest point tothat place, and a reinforcement ofseamen and marines from the ships;but upon approaching the island,from the extreme shoalness of thewater on the sea side, and the dif-ficulty of getting across from the

land, as well as the island itself be-ing fortified with a number of gunsand men from the frigate andmilitia, and flanked by fifteen gun-boats, I considered, in consequenceof the representation of the officercommanding the troops, of the dif-ficulty of their passing over from theland, that the persevering in the at-tempt would cost more men thanthe number with us would permit,as the other forts must have beenstormed before the frigate and dock-yard could have been destroyed; Itherefore ordered the troops to bere-embarked.

I am happy to say, the loss in theabove affair, (returns of which areenclosed) has not been considerable,and only two boats sunk.

I have to regret, that Capt Han-shett, of His Majesty's ship Diadem,who volunteered his services, andled the division of boats with greatgallantry, was severely wounded by aball in the thigh.

The officers and men behavedwith much bravery and if it hadbeen possible to have got at theenemy, I am persuaded would havesoon gained the place.

Having failed to take Craney Island,Admirals Warren and Cockburn now

5

turned their attention to Hampton.They saw it as a small town situated on alow wooded flat and sitting astride themain road to Richmond. Blocking theHampton River approach to the townwas a battery of four or five guns. Severalregiments of Virginia militia were believ-ed to be encamped in and around thetown.

British intelligence, while not precise,was quite accurate. Hampton, as it wasthen, lay on the northwest bank of theHampton River. Immediately outsidethe town Maj Stapleton Crutchfield wasencamped at Little England Plantation(near the present-day Hampton YachtClub) with 436 militia, chiefly from the115th Virginia Regiment but some fromthe James City County Regiment. At thepoint of land formed by the entrance ofSunset Creek into the Hampton River hehad a battery of one 18-pounder, two12s, and four 6s under command of aCapt Pryor.

The British, organized as describedearlier into a Light Infantry Brigade anda Marine Brigade, landed before dawnon 25 June west of the town at IndianRiver near "Newport's Noose," while aflotilla of armed launches and rocketboats—which incidentally had the RoyalMarine Artillery rocket half-company onboard — demonstrated on the waterside.The Americans were mesmerized by the

The Centipede, with mountings for Congreve rockets, makes for Craney Islandamong "45 orSO" barges laden with up to 1,500 redcoats. Illustrations for this featurewere produced by Historical Center art curator Maj John T. Dyer, Jr., USMCR.

rocket fire and other pyrotechnics of theboai demonstration (actually only twohouses were set on fire) and discoveredtoo late that the main body of Britishhad landed behind them.

G en Beckwith's report to AdmWarren, written 28June, describes

the action very well and I think quite ac-curately so far as it goes:

I have the honour to report to youthat in compliance with your ordersto attack the enemy in town andcamp at Hampton, the troops undermy command were put into lightsailing vessels and boats, during thenight of 25th instant, and by the ex-cellent arrangements of rear-admiralCockburn, who was pleased in per-son to superintend the advanceunder lieutenant-colonel Napier,consisting of the 102d regiment, twocompanies of Canadian Chasseurs,three companies of marines from thesquadron, with two 6-pounders fromthe marine artillery, were landedhalf an hour before daylight thenext morning, about two miles tothe westward of the town, and theroyal marine battalions, underlieutenant-colonel Williams, werebrought ashore so expeditiously thatthe column was speedily enabled tomove forward.

With a view to turn the enemy'sposition, our march was directedtowards the great road, leading fromthe country into the rear of thetown. Whilst the troops moved offin this direction, rear-admiralCockburn, to engage the enemy's at-tention, ordered the armed launchesand rocket-boats to commence a fireupon their batteries; this succeededso completely, that the head of ouradvanced guard had cleared a wood,and were already on the enemy'sflank before our approach wasperceived. They then moved fromtheir camp to their position in rearof the town, and here they werevigorously attacked by lieutenant-colonel Napier, and the advance;unable to stand which, they con-tinued their march to the rear of thetown, when a detachment, underlieutenant-colonel Williams, con-ducted by captain Powell, assistant-quartermaster-general, pushed

through the town, and forced theirway across a bridge of planks intothe enemy's encampment, of which,and the batteries immediate posses-sion was gained. In the mean timesome artillerymen stormed and tookthe enemy's remaining field-pieces.

Enclosed I have the honour totransmit a return of ordnance taken.Lieutenant-colonel Williams willhave the honour of delivering to youa stand of colours of the 68th regi-ment, James city light infantry, andone of the first battalion 85th regi-ment. The exact numbers of theenemy it is difficult to ascertain.

From the woody country, and thestrength of their positions, ourtroops have sustained some loss; thatof the enemy was very con-siderable — every exertion was madeto collect the wounded Americans,who were attended to by a surgeonof their own, and by the Britishsurgeons, who performed amputa-tions on such as required it, and af-forded every assistance in theirpower. The dead bodies of such ascould be collected, were also careful-ly buried.

American accounts put a better faceon the American defense. On learningthat the British had landed, Crutchfield

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sent out a rifle company to investigate.He then followed with a larger force andin his own words:

We advanced in columns of pla-toons thro' a lane and an open corn-field which led from our encamp-ment to the enemy. We were firedupon by the enemy's musketry froma thick wood at the upper end of afield immediately bordering on theroad. Upon this discharge, orderswere given to wheel left into lineand march upon the enemy . . . theenemy opened upon us two 6 poundfield pieces loaded with grape andcanister shot, and his machines filledwith rockets of a smaller size. Uponthis sudden and unexpected attackwith ordnance, I deemed it necessaryto wheel again into column and gainif possible a passage through thegate.

A French lieutenant surrendered hissword to the first American "gentleman"he encountered. Capt Pryor, comman-ding the waterfront battery, kept up abrave fire until he learned the Britishwere behind him. Then he spiked hisguns and fell back to join Crutchfield'sretreating column. Crutchfield paused atHalf-Way House on the York Road to re-group and then continued his retreat to

The barges in the Craney Island attack grounded on a mud bank 150 yards fromshore, making passengers sitting ducks for grape shot. Some U. S. Marines waded outto the foundering barges, it was said later, to help the wounded prisoners ashore.

Yorktown. The Virginians took withthem the body of a British officer,mistakenly thought to be LtColWilliams. On 27 June the Britishwithdrew from Hampton and re-embarked and on the 29th MajCrutchfield re-occupied the town.

G en Beckwith failed to mention inhis initial report that after taking

Hampton, his landing force had sackedthe town. Many years later, LtColCharlesJ. Napier, the commander of theLight Brigade, wrote, "Beckwith oughtto have hanged several villains at littleHampton. Every horror was committedwith impunity—rape, murder, pillageand not a man punished."

But Napier, who would go on tobecome a lieutenant general and adistinguished military historian, ex-culpated the English troops: "Well!whatever horrible acts were done atHampton they were not done by theHundred and Second Regiment for theywere never let to quit their ranks."

As for the Royal Marines, he par-ticularly remembered the Royal MarineArtillery calling out to him:

Colonel, we are picked men, weblush for what we see; depend onus, not a man of the Marine Ar-

tillery will plunder. We are wellpaid by His Majesty and we will notdisgrace him, or ourselves, by turning robbers and murderers.

BGen Taylor on 29 June sent off acourier to Adm Warren with a letter pro-testing "the excesses, both to propertyand persons, committed by the landtroops, who took possession of Hamp-ton

Obviously, if it were not the Englishwho committed the atrocities, it musthave been the French. Either before orafter receiving Taylor's letter, Adm War-ren summoned the commanding officerof the Chasseurs, a captain namedSmith, and demanded an explanation oftheir outrageous conduct. Capt Smithinformed him that his men had declaredit their intention to give no quarter toAmericans "in consequence of their com-rades having been so cruelly shot atwhilst in the water, and unarmed, beforethe batteries at Craney Island."

That same day, 29 June, Adm Warrenreplied from his flagship HMS San Dom-ingo that he had referred the letter to SirSidney Beckwith and "he will have thehonor of writing to you upon the pointsto which it alludes."

And on that same busy day, Sir SidneyBeckwith wrote Taylor:

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the excesses of which youcomplain at Hampton were occasion-ed by a proceeding of so extraor-dinary a nature, that if I had notbeen an eye witness, I could nothave credited it. At the recent at-tempt on Craney Island, the troopsin a barge sunk by the fire of yourguns clung to the wreck of the boat.Several Americans, I assure you mostsolemnly, waded off from theisland, and in the presence of all,fired upon, and shot these poorfellows.

• How Beckwith could have seen thisfrom where he was with the main body isnot clear. Taylor wrote him on 1 July,

• saying that he had convened a board offield officers to enquire into Beckwith'sallegations. On 5 July Taylor transmittedthe proceedings of the board toBeckwith. The board gave as "their un-biased opinion, that the charge allegedagainst the troops is unsupported."Elsewhere it was explained that theAmericans had waded into the water tohelp the wounded prisoners ashorewhere they were given refreshment.

A s for the Hampton excesses, all theblame having been put on the

French renegades, Adm Warren orderedthe Canadian Chasseurs shipped back toBermuda and the unit broken up.However, some of the Americanwitnesses insisted that not all the rapistshad worn the green coats of the French;some had worn red coats and had spokenEnglish.

During the next week Warren pushedup the James with his smaller vesselsmeeting no further opposition. Early inJuly the fleet divided: the main divisionunder Warren went up the Potomac anda smaller division under Cockburn tookstation in Lynnhaven Bay, close to CapeHenry, so as to watch Craney Island andto keep the Constellation from slippingout to sea. After finishing his demonstra-tions in the Chesapeake, Warrenbrought his ships together at Lynnhavenon 2 September. A week later, withsickness in the fleet increasing, he set sailfor Halifax.

So ended the 1813 naval campaign.We Americans did even less well whenCockburn came back into theChesapeake in 1814, but that is anotherstory for another time.

British commanders landed a light infantiy brigade and a Marine brigade west ofHampton at Indian River, near Newport News. Taking their bearings, the main bodyof British managed to surprise American defenders by coming from behind them.

Acquisitions

Computer Record Stars in Museum Accessions Process

T he Museum Registrar's officeoften has a holiday air about it. It is

here that the many boxes and packagesof incoming donations are opened inmuch the same spirit as would be foundaround the tree on Christmas morning.Following the celebration of the receiptof each new treasure, the work begins.

The Museum branch receives approx-imately 2,500 new acquisitions to thecollection each year. The management ofthis property begins with accessioningand leads to an entry in the Marine CorpsMuseum Catalog and Inventory ControlSystem (MCMCICS).

An example of this process would befound in the handling of a recent dona-tion. A box of items was delivered to theMuseum by Mr. Hiram Quillin. He hadlearned that the Museum was interestedin obtaining material related to the 14thDefense Battalion. Following a recentreunion of the unit, he had gatheredmaterials and brought them in. Uponreceipt, they were carefully sorted out.

T he first step taken is to prepare theitem for marking, including pain-

ting numbers on a hidden surface onsolid objects, sewing tags on textiles, andwriting on papers with a number 2eraseable pencil. Care is taken to insurethat any means of marking is completelyreversible, so the tagging process doesnot have a negative effect on the object.

Once the tag is prepared, the item isassigned a unique number. This is theMCMCICS control number, and is

crucial to all remaining facets of the ac-cessioning and cataloging project. Afteraccounting for all items received, andassigning numbers, a formal letter ofacknowledgement is drafted to thedonor. With the letter is a Deed of Giftform. By requesting the donor to signand return one copy of the Deed of Gift

by John H. McGarryRegistrar

form, the legal transfer of the property iscompleted. The Deed of Gift form is alsothe donor's official receipt should hedecide to use the donation as a taxdeduction. All donations to the Museumare tax deductable.

Once these accessioning proceduresare completed, the objects are separatedand sent to the appropriate curator. Thephotographs and papers are sent to thePersonal Papers curator, the uniformsand ordnance sent to their respectivecuratorial departments. At this point thecataloging process begins. The curatorresearches as much information as possi-ble on each item, including the informa-tion provided by the donor. This infor-mation is placed on a MCMCICS work-sheet. Once completed, the worksheet isreturned to the Registrar. The objectitself is prepared for storage, or for ex-hibition, depending upon need. In somecases, as with the donation of Mr.Quillin, the items are shipped to one ofthe Marine Corps' Command Museums.The 14th Defense Battalion objects willbe shipped to the Parris Island Museum.Most items are placed in the study collec-tion for future research or exhibition.Every attempt is made to provide a stableenvironment for the objects so they maybe preserved for posterity.

U pon receipt of the MCMCICS work-sheet, the Registrar checks the work

for accuracy, and to insure compliancewith the formats prescribed for theMCMCICS system. After being verified,they are entered into the MCMCICS database. At this point the item is a perma-nent part of the MCMCICS master acces-sion file.

The worksheet that has been enteredcontains a variety of information concer-ning the object. The accession number, abrief description, donor information,

Registrar John H. McGarry practices"reversible" marking of materialsdonated to the Marine Corps Museum.

and associated information such as

period of use, geographical references,personalities associated with the objects,condition, and location are all part of theMCMCICS record. Thus, the computercan search for a number of differenttypes of material. A computerized listingof all items associated with MajGenSmedley D. Butler could be generated.There may be a need for a listing of allitems on Iwo Jima. Selective searchesmay be made, such as how many smallarms used on Guadalcanal held in thecollection can be assembled. In this man-ner, a curator or researcher may be in-formed in as little as twenty minutes howmany of an object are currently held.

From the time a donor's box is open-ed, each object within receives over twoand one-half hours of attention. Thisassures that each item receives the profes-sional care it deserves. It also assures thatthe collection of Marine Corps historicalproperty will continue to be a resourcefor future research and exhibits.

A "MCMCICS" search for items related to Marines serving in Nicaragua produced a listing for an aviator's map sketched on linen.

D1E 00/23/UT ESCORT DATA LiSTING PAGE

• ACCE'.N0:70OO3SDESCIiIPT:MAPNIcARAGIJA;AvIAToRS5I<ETCHED ON LINENPIDDLYCAR: 0 MFGRYEAR: I) CNTYOR1G,tjSA IDNUMBEP.: COLLECTN:CARTOIJRAPHXC JUANTITT• METHODAOD VALU5L CDNOITN:13 ERACODE:UU PESOFtJSI: 0 PERDFUO2: 0 STATUS:F IL0CAI1ON,MCHC DATERECD: 2370 D0NORANE:3ON DOtIRFN:F P DONRLNOM:HENDER000DDNRttROZ USMC( RE1) DONR000 1: DONRDDD2 DONACJ TY : MOOREOT000• 000RSIAT:NJ DONOOZ1P :08057 AssocIATHt:NoERsot4 L I£EOGREFR:NIC; IJNITRCFR:PERSONAL: MCHCTOP I AVI MCHCTOP2: MCHCTOP3:• COMMENtS: LOANitANG LOANFNAM:LOANL000: LOANORGZr LOANAGRI, LOANADR2:LOANC11Y: LOANS1AF, LOANZiP DEACCESS: DEACDATE: REStRIC1:

• SECOLEC1: RESERVE:8

Center Cares for the Personal Papers of 2,000 Marines

Head Quarters of the Marine CorpsWashington, April 6th, 1848

To the Commissioned and noncom mis-sioned Officers of the Corps of Marines,and others interested

It is considered incumbent on the officers of the U.S. Marine Corps to have afaithful and impartial history writte; ofthe services of that portion of the corpswhich has been on active duty with theArmy and Navy during the existing warwith Mexico. Justice alone to the corps,particularly to that part of it engaged inthis arduous service, would require arecord of this nature. It is therefore re-quested that each member of it will con-tribute, without delay, such notes anddocuments as may in his opinion tend inthe least to its promotion, addressing thesame to Brigadier General Henderson,commandant of the corps; provided thatsuch notes or documents be not incom-patible with existing regulations uponthe subject of officers correspondingwhile on service with the Army or Navy.

By order of the Brevet BrigadierGeneral Commandant.

T he Personal Papers Collection ofthe Museums Branch, History and

Museums Division, derives in spirit fromBrevet Brigadier General ArchibaldHenderson's directive to officers andNCOs of the Corps over 125 years ago.Today, the collection is one of the finestrepositories of military manuscripts inthe world, consisting of over 2,000 in-dividual collections of Marines' personalpapers, from participants in the Revolu-tionary War to those who served inLebanon and Grenada. Such famousMarines as BGen Archibald Henderson,LtGen John A. Lejeune, BGen L. W. T.

by J. Michael MillerPersonal Papers Curator

Wailer, Gen Alexander A. Vandegrift,Gen Wallace M. Greene,Jr., and Marinebandmaster John Phillip Sousa havepapers in the collection.

The papers consist of all manners ofitems, from diaries, photographs, andletters to maps and annotated operationsorders. These bits of memorabilia offerhistorians a unique and fascinatingglimpse at the history of the MarineCorps, supplementing and enrichingwhat official histories and biographiesprovide.

The program was formalized in 1967when the Marine Corps Museum wasgiven the responsibility of acquiring andpreserving Marines' personal papers, butdonations were being accepted evenprior to 1940 by the Historical Section,Adjutant and Inspector's Department,Headquarters Marine Corps.

O ther institutions, such as theUniversity of Wyoming, East

Carolina University, and the Hoover In-stitution, collect Marines' papers, but theonly official respository of the MarineCorps is the Personal Papers Collectionof the Marine Corps Museum. Resear-chers from all over the globe use the col-lection as do numerous scholars fromacross the United States. Requests for in-formation are received with questionsabout their service, particularly in waryears.

The papers once received are organiz-ed and cataloged with finding aidsentered into word processors and thecomputer data base of the Museum. Thepapers are then placed in acid-freepapers and boxes and are stored undertemperature and humidity controls.

When a researcher gains permission touse the collection, he is provided with a

published catalog of 218 prominent col-lections to begin his research. A com-puter listing is then made of other collec-tions that are pertinent to his research.The automated finding aid systems ofthe Museum are among the bestanywhere for a manuscript collection.

Beginning in 1983, a recatalogingeffort was begun which would fur-

ther enhance the ability of researchers touse the collection. Now 1,786 collectionshave been reinventoried, and the processwill continue into 1986. New donationsarrive at the rate of approximately 250per year. By the year 1990, the totalnumber of collections is expected to ex-ceed 3,000.

Efforts are being made to furtherenhance the collection. A solicitationdrive to gather material from World WarI Marines has already greatly sup-plemented the holdings of the Museumand other efforts are being made to col-lect papers from Marines from Vietnam.These two groups represent two extremesamong donors to the collection. Thosemen from World War I are very few innumbers and it is a race against time tocollect their material. Vietnam Marineveterans, on the other hand, are muchmore numerous. Before it is too late,they are being made aware that theirpapers have value and should be held inthe Personal Papers Collection to preventtheir loss to Marine Corps history.

In many cases, former Marines have noidea that flight logs or personal lettershave historical significance, or that thecopy of a long forgotten report filed awayin an attic might provide a future authorthe clue he needs to write an il-

luminating history.

Staffers, from left, Cp/Jeffrey A. Green, USMC; Mrs. Theresa A. Whitaker; and Miss Brenda A. Felder, care for the often fragileitems in the Persona/Papers Collection. Mrs. Whitaker iexamining one of the 125 boxes of the Gen Wa//xe M. Greene, Jr., papers.

Four at Center Recall 1945 Landing in North Chinaby Henry I. Shaw, Jr.

Chief Historian

L argely overlooked in the largerevents of the 40th anniversary

observations of the end of World War IIis any recollection that 55,000 Marines ofthe III Marine Amphibious Corps, com-manded by MajGen Keller E. Rockey,began landing in North China on 30September 1945. Their announced mis-sion was to disarm and repatriate some630,000 fully-armed, never-defeatedJapanese troops. Their unannouncedmission was to get to North China beforethe Russians could come sweeping downfrom Manchuria and to hold it until theChinese Nationalists could redeploynorthward.

MajGen DeWitt Peck's 1st MarineDivision, having come up fromOkinawa, including a dicey passagethrough the mine-strewn Yellow Sea,landed at Taku and then moved up therail line to Tientsin. Four members ofthe Marine Corps Historical Center whoremember that landing are BGen Sim-mons, Col Nihart, Mr. Shaw, and Mr.Frank.

The Director, as a captain, had beensent to Okinawa by BGen Merritt A.("Red Mike") Edson, CommandingGeneral, Service Command, along withcombat photographer MTSgt LouisLouft, to set up a public relations pro-gram for service troops. He landed atTaku with the 7th Service Regiment, aforerunner of today's Force Service Sup-port Group. His most vivid memory of

the landing is of the well-equipped,well-uniformed Chinese soldiersguarding the Taku-Tientsin rail line.Wondering how the Chinese Na-tionalists had gotten north so quickly, hewas informed that they were notChiNats, but Japanese "puppet" troops.

Q ne of his tasks was to help get theNorth China Marine reestablished.

Old China hands remembered it as thenewspaper of the pre-war Marinedetachments in Peiping and Tientsin.Japanese newsprint found stored in atheater was traded to Chilhi Press fortypesetting and press time and the firstissue of the new weekly North ChinaMarine appeared appropriately on 10November 1945 with full coverage of thesurrender of various Japanese garrisonsthat had occurred during the previousmonth. Editor of the paper was 2dLtRonald D. Lyons, USMCR, and the pressrun was 11,000—one for every fiveMarines in III MAC. Ron Lyons joinedthe Leatherneck staff after his return tothe States and was its long-time editoruntil his death earlier this year. Hiswidow recently donated a full run of theNorth China Marine to the Center.

Col Nihart, then a major and ex-ecutive officer of the 1st Battalion, 1stMarines, landed in China on 30September and moved with his unit toTientsin, where the 1st Marines formedthe infantry portion of the garrison, oc-cupying for the most part the ex-British

Marines moving from Taku to Tientsin byrail were surprised to findJapanese 'bup-pet" troops acting as railway guards.

concession. Col Nihart stayed with thebattalion until March 1946, when he leftChina to participate in the Pacific Divi-sion rifle and pistol competitions as amember of the 1st Marine Division

Col Nihart recalls, "The initial trooplandings were on 30 September. The 1stMarines debarked from transports off-shore into LCTs and LCIs, crossed Takubar, entered the Hai Ho river, and dock-ed at Taku. There we boarded trains forTientsin's east station. The wily Chinesewere expecting the gullible "Mejians"[Americans], for between the landingcraft and the adjacent trains we were of-fered bottles of Johnny Walker RedLabel scotch—only they were fakes seem-ingly properly sealed and labeled butcontaining a noxious non-alcoholicliquid — the first, but not the last scam theMarines would encounter in China.

"My other first impression was our ar-rival in Tientsin and march from east sta-tion to the old British Barracks. Thewelcoming crowds were huge and en-thusiastic, so much so that our column ofthrees was reduced to single file in some

team.

MajGen DeW/itt Peck, Division CG, center, andMajGen Louis F. U7oods, lVing CG,rght, greet BGen Merritt A. Edson, Service Command CG, on his arrival at Tientsin.

blocks. Burdened as we were withtransport packs and a full load of am-munition we had no free hands to wardoff the Chinese well-wishers. There wereplenty of civilian trucks operating, smok-ing and sputtering from the charcoal gasgenerator in the cargo space that provid-ed the fuel. The charcoal generatorslasted about three days as the trucks werereconverted to gasoline. The assumptionof the infantry was that 7th Service Regi-ment operators were trading gas for who-knew-what."

Mr. Shaw and Mr. Frank, bothmembers of the 1st Marine Divi-

sion Headquarters Battalion and bothlong-time privates first class, were, as wasCol Nihart, fresh from Okinawa and itsharrowing 82-day campaign. Mr. Frankwas a member of the division band,which was quickly caught up in a round

of surrender ceremonies, parades, andconcerts, as the occupation troops in thecities of Tientsin and Peiping settled intoa not onerous routine.

"As an avid reader ofJohn Thomason'sbooks and stories before I entered theMarine Corps, and with some contactwith old China Marines after I came intothe Corps, I was looking forward to see-ing the China I had conjured in my im-agination, based on these influences,"Mr. Frank says. "When I got to China itwas as I had visualized—the faces, thesmells, the sights, the impressions—andfor this reason, the very apparent povertyof the 'coolie' class was not a shock. I

was, however, unprepared for the sightof dirty-faced, snotty-nosed, raggedyyoung kids going through our garbagepiles to find sustenance enough to keepthem alive — or for the beggars who linedour route from the Japanese schoolhouse

where we were billeted to the buildingbehind which held our messhall. Eventoday as I smell charcoal or wood burn-ing, or chestnuts roasting, I have a senseof deja-vu, and I'm back again in thetwilight of a cold winter's day in Tientsinin 1945."

Mr. Shaw, a telephone lineman in 1stSignal Company, was a switchboardoperator in Tientsin and later a teletyperepairman in the corps signal battalion inPeiping. He and Mr. Frank later had thesatisfying experience, as Marine Corpshistorians, of writing the history ofNorth China operations for the volume,Victory and Occupation, among theCorps' official accounts of World War II.

Last year, Maj Richard C. Kennard,USMCR (Ret), gave us his collection

of letters written home from Peleliu,Okinawa, and North China, many re-markably descriptive and interesting.Maj Kennard, who served as a forwardobserver on Peleliu and Okinawa and abattery executive officer in China, was amember of the 3d Battalion, 11thMarines.

Some of the original Kennard lettersare part of the Peleliu exhibit in "FromDawn to Setting Sun," installed thissummer in the Museum's Special Ex-hibits Gallery. All of the letters areavailable to interested readers in a bookjust published by Dorrance (Philadel-phia), entitled Combat Letters Home.Most of Maj Kennard's China experiencewas at Chinwangtao where his batterywas attached to the 7th Marines, whichguarded the rail lines from Chinwangtaoto Tientsin.

Another relevant contribution to thePersonal Papers Collection recently arriv-ed is Col Henry Aplington II's memoir ofhis experiences in China. He served as a1st Marine Division staff officer in Tient-

Flag-bedecked Chinese Nationalist headquarters in Peking as seen by Capt Simmons.

Taking poses for the camera in China were, from left, Cpl Benis M. Frank; PFC Henry I. Shaw, Jr.; and Capt Edwin H. Simmons.

sin and later as commander of the 2dBattalion, 7th Marines, on rail and coalmine guard duty. His observations onthe Marine way of life in these two dif-ferent environments make fascinatingreading. Col Aplington previously con-tributed a memoir of his experiences ascommander of the 1st Battalion, 3dMarines in the re-occupation of Guam.

T he Center also recently received avaluable contribution relating to the

other sector of Marine occupation duty inNorth China, Tsingtao in Shantung Pro-vince.

MajGen Lemuel C. Shepherd's 6thMarine Division had landed at Tsingtaoon 10 October. Mr. Daniel M. Thornton,Jr., of Norfolk, Virginia, an aide to GenShepherd in China, has donated a seriesof photographs of the surrender cere-monies at the Tsingtao racetrack on 25October 1945. Mr. Thornton read the"Acquisitions" feature (Fortitudine,Spring 1985) and was prompted to don-ate the pictures (and more) of Japaneseofficers surrendering the actual swordsthat are part of the Museum's collections.snapshots of pagodas and pa/aces and

Cpl Frank recorded the famous marble boat of the Dowager Empress of China at theSummer Palace near Peking. The Center's four China hands filledphoto albums with

the rich mix of nationalities in the capital.

Call for PapersThe 1986 annual meetings of

the American Military Instituteand the Air Force HistoricalAssociation will be held at theUniformed Services University ofthe Health Sciences, Bethesda,Maryland, 4-5 April 1986. Thetheme of the meeting will beMilitary, Naval and Aviationmedical history. Those interestedin presenting a thirty-minutepaper on these topics are asked tosend an abtract of approximately300 words to:

RobertJ. T.Joy, M.D.Section of Medical History

4301 Jones Bridge RoadUniformed Services University of

the Health SciencesBethesda, Maryland 208 14-4799

not later than 28 February 1986.Please include a single page cur-riculum vitae with mailing addressand telephone number. CMEcredit is available.

Historical Quiz: Marines in World War II1. What was the strength of the Marine Corps at the end of World War

II?

2. Name the top three Marine Corps aces in World War II.

3. Which Marine general in World War II became the first Marine tocommand a field army?

4. How many Medals of Honor were awarded to Marines for actions inWorld War II?

5. Which Marine aviation squadron was credited with shooting down themost enemy aircraft during World War II?

6. Name the three Marines who were awarded Medals of Honor duringWorld War II who went on to become Commandants of the Marine Corps.

7. What was the name of the operation which called for the V Am-phibious Corps to invade southern Kyushu on 1 November 1945— but wasnever executed due to the Japanese surrender?

8. Name the Marine divisions that occupied Japan after World War II.Name the divisions that occupied North China.

9. What program was established in 1942 at the recommendation of Mr.Philip Johnston which involved using an unwritten code language in voicetransmission to guarantee communications security in battle?

10. Name the first black Marine unit formed in World War II and the trainingcamp that was built to accommodate the new black recruits?

(Answers on page 28)

12

Recent Books of Historical InterestFrom the library of the Marine Corps

Historical Center, recently publishedbooks of professional interest to Marines.These books are available from localbookstores or libraries.

Where it All Begins: A History of theUnited States Marine Corps RecruitDepot, Parris Island, South Carolina.Eugene Alvarez. Gayle Publishers. 143pp, 1984. A brief presentation of ParrisIsland's colorful past. It is illustratedwith black-and-white photographs. Onesection deals with recruit experiences,while the latter part of the book concernshistorical buildings and monuments ofthe depot. $4.95.

Vietnam Voices: Perspectives on the U("arYears 1941-1 982. John Clark Pratt, com-piler. Penguin Books. 706 pp., 1984.The compiler has put together a chrono-logical arrangement of all types ofdocumentation —news releases, fiction,poetry, official reports, personal diaries,interviews, and more of the Vietnamyears. All viewpoints, attitudes, and ex-periences are included with the intent ofhelping the reader to understand theVietnam War. (In preparing his book,Mr. Clark acknowledged the help hereceived from Center staff members,research collections, and publications.)$12.95.

Armour of the Vietnam W7ars. SimonDunstan. Osprey Publishing Ltd. 40 pp.1985. Describes French, Vietnamese andU.S. armor used in the Vietnamese wars.Includes sections on the U.S. MarineCorps and U.S. Army. Illustrated withblack-and-white photographs and colorplates. $5.50

The Years of MacArthur, Volume III:Triumph and Disaster, 1945-1964. D.Clayton James. Houghton Mifflin Co.848 pp., 1985. This final volume com-pletes James' biography of Gen DouglasMacArthur, covering the years from 1945to 1964 including his years as com-mander of the occupational forces inJapan and the years of the Korean War.As with the other two volumes, theauthor presents a well-researched,believable portrait of a complex, power-ful individual. $19.95.

The Marine from Manatee: A Traditionof Rifle Marksmanship. John Harllee.National Rifle Association of America.330 pp, 1984. This book is the story ofMarine Gen William C. Harilee, by hisson, Adm John Harilee. It chroniclesGen Harilee's colorful and eventful life,from his South Carolina upbringing,through his years at West Point, and hismilitary service in the Philippines,China, Cuba, Mexico, and Santo Dom-ingo. It is the story of how throughouthis military career the general dedicatedhimself to keeping the troops adequatelytrained in the use of firearms and it is thestory of how he became known in theMarine Corps as the "Father of RiflePractice." $16.95

Harrier. (Jane's Aircraft SpectacularSeries). Bill Sweetman. Jane'sPublishing, Inc. 52 pp., 1984. Phantom(Jane's Aircraft Spectacular Series). BillSweetman. Jane's Publishing, Inc. 52

pp., 1984. Each volume in this seriesprovides an overview of the aircraft withits respective capabilities and histories.Includes black-and-white, and colorphotographs, drawings, and fold-out il-lustrations. Each volume, $10.95

Inside the Commandos; a PictorialHistory from World W"ar Two to the Pre-sent. James D. Ladd. Naval InstitutePress. 160 pp., 1984. A pictorial historyshowing the development of Commandoroles and tactics over the past 40 years.The first Commandos were recruited in1940, with their World War II actions in-cluding Dieppe, St. Nazaire, Salerno,and Waichern. After the Second WorldWar all Commandos were drawn fromthe Royal Marines. Their subsequentpost-war activities included service inKorea, Suez, Malaya, Borneo, Aden,and the Falkiands, while today they arecommitted to the defense of NATO'snorthern flank. Illustrated with over 400photographs. Includes glossary. $17.95

Through Peking's Sewer Gate: Relief ofthe Boxer Siege, 1900-1901. George W.Carrington, ed. Vantage Press. 101 pp.,1985. A short but 'revealing diary writtenduring the relief of Peking and sub-sequent occupation duty by a Britishstaff officer, Lt Richard A. Steel. The

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editing is by Col George W. Carrington,USMC (Ret), a Marine Corps HistoricalFoundation member and himself therecipient of a Ph.D. in Chinese militaryhistory from Oxford University. An ex-cellent introduction by Carringtonenables the reader to place Steel's dailyentries into the historical and social con-text of the period. Although primarilyan account of British activities, there arefrequent observations and incidents ofthe international force, including theAmerican contingent. $11.95.

American Naval History: an IllustratedChronology: the U.S. Navy and MarineCorps, 1775 to Present. Jack Sweetman.Naval Institute Press. 331 pp., 1984.This chronology presents a concise sum-mary of significant events in the historyof the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps fromthe Revolution to the present. Entries areon topics such as battles, explorations,capture of warships, and appointmentsto office. The book has four separate in-dexes by calendar, naval vessel, otherships, and a general index by people,battle, treaty, etc. Illustrated with draw-ings, maps, and black-and-whitephotographs. $29.95

The Spirited Years: a History of theAntebellum Naval Academy. CharlesTodorich. Naval Institute Press. 215 pp,1984. The antebellum years of the U.S.Naval Academy, the years from its foun-ding in 1845 until 1861, when it movedto Newport, Rhode Island, for the dura-tion of the Civil War, were spirited onesas described in this history. It is both thestory of the Academy's early struggle toestablish itself and is, at the same time,an account of life at the Academy andthe attempts of early superintendents totrain midshipmen known for theirdisregard for regulations. $19.95

The Korean War, History and Tactics.David Rees, consultant editor. CrescentBooks. 128 pp., 1984. Editor David Reesand his contributors have provided astudy of the Korean War, describing theorigins, events and personalities of thewar. Included are descriptions of thelandings at Inchon and of the Marines atChosin Reservoir. BGen Simmons pro-vided the chapter "China Steps In."$8.95.

Staff Shows Flag for Program at Professional Groups

M embers of the History andMuseums Division routinely

"show the flag" of the Marine CorpsHistorical Program as they undertake avariety of related outside activities inpursuit of professional career enhance-ment. On a not-to-interfere-with-mission basis, these activities have cometo be recognized as a useful expansion ofthe program, a kind of organizational"outreach."

Prime examples are offered bymembers who provide leadership formilitary historical professional societies.Division Director BGen Edwin H. Sim-mons, USMC (Ret), recently completed aterm as president of the AmericanMilitary Institute (AM!), a society foracademic and service military historians.Historian V. Keith Fleming, Jr., current-ly serves as AM! secretary.

Chief Historian Henry I. "Bud" Shaw,Jr., is president of the Company ofMilitary Historians (CMH), the materialhistory professional and avocationalsociety. Oral historian Benis M. Frank forseven years chaired the local MilitaryClassics Seminar, a monthly-meetingmilitary history literary society. Mostmembers of the Historical Branch par-ticipate. More recently, Mr. Frank waselected to the Board of AMI.

In the museum field the MuseumsBranch perceived a professional need

and filled it by forming the Committeeon Military Museums in America (COM-MA), currently chaired by the DeputyDirector for Museums. Chief CuratorCharles A. "Tim" Wood serves as

secretary. Among other activities, COM-MA, which is affiliated with theAmerican Association of Museums(AAM), presents panel discussions onmilitary museum practices at the annualAAM meeting. Col Nihart and RegistrarJohn H. McGarry III chaired panels atthe recent AAM meeting in Detroit. Mr.Wood is active in museum securityassociations of both AAM and the Inter-national Council on Museums (ICOM),while Col Nihart serves on the executivecommittee of the International Associa-tion of Museums of Arms and Military

by Col Brooke NihartDeputy Director for Museums

History (IAMAM), also an ICOM af-filiate. In 1981 Col Nihart chaired theorganizing committee for IAMAM'sninth triennial meeting, held inWashington and New York.

Senior Vietnam Historian JackShulimson is active in the Society forHistory in the Federal Government andchaired its Archives Committee. Mr.Shulimson, Mr. Frank, and PersonalPapers Curator J. Michael Miller con-ducted a panel on aspects of MarineCorps history at the 7th Naval HistorySymposium at Annapolis in September.

Service to the profession goes beyondorganization work, attending meetings,and putting on programs. The MuseumsBranch, since it installed its Sperry-Univac BC/7 minicomputer in 1979, hasbeen a leader in the use of the minicom-puter in keeping museum records. Ken-neth L. Smith-Christmas, when he wasregistrar, and current Registrar McGarry,have conducted numerous tutorials andconsultations for other museums on theuse of a computer in museums. NowCurator of Material History, Mr. Smith-Christmas frequently is called upon bythe U.S. Army museum system to par-ticipate as an outside expert oninspec-tion teams.

R egistrar McGarry serves as programdirector for "History of the

American Soldier," an educationalpageant devoted to informing the publicof the roles of our military forces for thepast 300 years. Formerly with the Na-tional Park Service, Mr. McGarry still iscalled upon as a consultant for historicrestoration and interpretive programs.He is chairman of the South MountainChapter of the Company of MilitaryHistorians and is an assistant editor ofthe Company's scholarly journal,Military Collector and Historian.

John T. Dyer, Jr., our art curator andhimself a painter and extensive con-tributor to the combat art collection,participates in the annual Donor's Showof the Art League of Northern Virginia.Mr. Dyer facilitates liaison with theSociety of Illustrators and has access to anumber of independent artists throughmembership in the Air Force Art Pro-

14

gram. This last activity he has founduseful in recruiting artists for our ownprogram.

T he Historical Center has sponsoredan active program of student intern-

ship which has enabled college studentsin the fields of history, museology, ar-chival science, and computers to gainpractical experience in their fields. Theyhave answered reference queries, resear-ched and written monographs, catalogedpersonal papers collections, catalogedand preserved artifacts at our Quanticostorage site, and entered collections intoour computer-based system, MCMCICS(Marine Corps Museum Catalog and In-ventory Control System). The MarineCorps Historical Foundation assists theintern program by providing thestudents small stipends, in effect carfareand lunch money. The return of usefulproducts to the Historical Program andthe satisfaction of assisting eager and in-terested young people is more than am-ple reward for the modest effort expend-ed to assist them.

In addition to other museums beingassisted in adopting computer catalogingand in certification inspections, prospec-tive new museums have benefitted fromassistance rendered. The Deputy Direc-tor for Museums serves on the Board ofDirectors of the National Rifle Associa-tion's new National Firearms Museumsand on the Advisory Board of theAssociation of Former Intelligence Of-ficers' prospective National Historical In-telligerce Museum. In both cases heserves as the museum technical advisor tothese new ventures.

Perhaps the biggest outreach projectof all is the writing and publishing of abook. Deputy Director for History ColJohn G. Miller, on off-duty time duringthis and a previous tour of duty, wrote ofthe USS Houston saga. The light cruiserwas torpedoed off Leyte, nearly aban-doned twice in a sinking condition, butsaved through heroic efforts, towed toUlithi for emergency repairs, and return-ed to the States. Col Miller's book waspublished in May by the U.S. Naval In-stitute Press as The Battle to Save theHouston: October 1944-March 1945.

New Certificates of Unit Lineage and Honors

9TH MARINE AMPHIBIOUSBRIGADE: 1962-1969: Activated 16

August 1962 at Camp Hauge, Okinawa,as the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigadefor exercises on Okinawa's Eastern Coast;deactivated 21 October 1962; reactivated5 August 1964 at Camp Hauge,Okinawa, in support of contingencyplans in Southeast Asia; deployed duringAugust-October 1964 aboard am-phibious shipping in the South ChinaSea; redeployed during March 1965 toDa Nang, Republic of Vietnam; deac-tivated 6 May 1965; reactivated 1 March1966 at Camp Courtney, Okinawa, asthe 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade,Fleet Marine Force; during the periodMarch 1966-November 1969 providedSpecial Landing Force Task Groups fornumerous combat operations in theRepublic of Vietnam; deactivated 7

November 1969. 1972-1985: Reactivated9 April 1972 on Okinawa for contingen-cy operations in the South China Sea;deactivated 9 February 1973; reactivated26 March 1975 for participation inSoutheast Asia evacuations; deactivated11 May 1975 and 9th Marine Am-phibious Brigade staff nucleus activated;activated for numerous operations andexercises in South Korea, Australia,Okinawa, and the Philippines during thelate 1970s and into the 1980s.

(HONORS: Presidential Unit CitationStreamer with one Bronze Star; Vietnam1967, 1968; Navy Unit CommendationStreamer with three Bronze Stars; Viet-nam 1968, 1968, 1972; Southeast AsiaEvacuations, 1975; Meritorious UnitCommendation Streamer; SoutheastAsia Evacuations, 1975; NationalDefense Service Streamer; Armed ForcesExpeditionary Streamer; Vietnam ServiceStreamer with two Silver and two BronzeStars; Vietnam Cross of Gallantry withPalm Streamer; and Philippine Presiden-tial Unit Citation Streamer.)

MARINE ATTACK SQUADRON 214:1942-1945: Activated 1 July 1942 atEwa, Territory of Hawaii, as MarineFighting Squadron 214, Marine AircraftGroup 21, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing,Fleet Marine Force; reassigned during

August 1942 to the 4th Marine BaseDefense Aircraft Wing, Fleet MarineForce; deployed during February 1943 toEspiritu Santo, New Hebrides, andassigned to the 1st Marine AircraftWing, Fleet Marine Force; participatedin the following World War II cam-paigns, Southern Solomons, Vanikoro,New Georgia, Bismarck Archipelago,Bougainville, and Okinawa; relocatedduring January 1944 to Santa Barbara,California, and assigned to Marine BaseDefense Aircraft Group 42, Marine FleetAir, West Coast; deployed duringFebruary-March 1945 on board the USSFrank/in to the western Pacific; par-ticipated in attacks on Japan andOkinawa during March 1945; relocatedduring April 1945 to El Centro, Califor-nia, after enemy bombing of the USSFrank/in; relocated during October 1945to El Toro, California, and assigned toMarine Carrier Aircraft Group 15,

Marine Air Support Group 46, MarineFleet Air, West Coast. 1946-1955:Reassigned during March 1946 to Air-craft, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific;reassigned during December 1949 toMarine Aircraft Group 12, 1st MarineAircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force;deployed during July 1950 to Kobe,Japan, and assigned to Marine AircraftGroup 33, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing,Fleet Marine Force; participated in theKorean War, August 1950-November1951, operating from Pusan Perimeter,Inchon-Seoul, Chosin Reservoir, andEast Central Front; relocated duringNovember-December 1951 to El Toro,California, and assigned to Marine Air-craft Group 15, Air Fleet Marine Force,Pacific; reassigned during November1952 to Marine Aircraft Group 13, AirFleet Marine Force, Pacific; reassignedduring May 1953 to Marine AircraftGroup 15, Air Fleet Marine Force,Pacific; deployed during April 1954 toKaneohe Bay, Territory of Hawaii, andassigned to Marine Aircraft Group 13,Air Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.1956-1964: Redesignated 31 December

1956 as Marine All Weather FighterSquadron 214, Marine Aircraft Group13, Air Fleet Marine Force, Pacific;deployed during April-September 1957

15

on board the USS Hancock to thewestern Pacific; redesignated 9July 1957as Marine Attack Squadron 214, MarineAircraft Group 13, Air Fleet MarineForce, Pacific; deployed during October1958 to Atsugi, Japan; relocated duringMarch 1959 to Kaneohe Bay, Territory ofHawaii; reassigned during April 1959 tothe 1st Marine Brigade, Fleet MarineForce. 1965-1969: Deployed duringMarch-April 1965 to Cubi Point, Philip-pines; reassigned during May 1965 toMarine Aircraft Group 12, 1st MarineAircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force;deployed during June 1965 to Chu Lai,Republic of Vietnam; participated in thewar in Vietnam, June 1965-February1966 and April 1966-March 1967,operating from Chu Lai; redeployed toIwakuni, Japan, and assigned to MarineAircraft Group 13, 1st Marine AircraftWing, Fleet Marine Force duringFebruary 1966-April 1966; relocatedduring March 1967 to El Toro, Califor-nia, and assigned to Marine AircraftGroup 33, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing,Fleet Marine Force. 1970-1985: Reassign-ed during December 1970 to Marine Air-craft Group 13, 3d Marine AircraftWing, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific; par-ticipated in the system of unit deploy-ment between Marine Aircraft Group12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and MarineAircraft Group 13, 3d Marine AircraftWing during the late 1970s and into the1980s. (HONORS: Presidential UnitCitation Streamer with one Silver Star;World War II, Guadalcanal, NorthernSolomons, Bismarcks - 1943-1944; Korea1950, 1950, 1950-1951, 1951; Vietnam,

1965-1967; Navy Unit Commendation

Streamer with two Bronze Stars; Viet-nam 1965, 1965-1966; 1981-1982; ArmyDistinguished Unit Citation Streamer;Korea 1950; American CampaignStreamer; Asiatic-Pacific CampaignStreamer with one Silver and one BronzeStar; World War II Victory Streamer;National Defense Service Streamer withone Bronze Star; Korean ServiceStreamer with one Silver Star; VietnamService Streamer with three Bronze Stars;Korean Presidential Unit CitationStreamer; and Vietnam Cross of Gallan-try with Palm Streamer.)

1985

Foundation, Barracks Honor Former Commandantsby LtCol Cyril V. MoyherSecretary, Marine CorpsHistorical Foundation

T he Commandant of theCorps and the Marine

Historical Foundation co-hosted a recep-tion and parade on the evening of Fri-day, 9 August, in observance of the 40thanniversary of V-J Day and to honorformer Commandants of the MarineCorps.

Invitations were sent to all members ofthe Foundation. Additionally, all active-duty Marine general officers in the

Washington-Quantico area and formerMarines who are members of Congresswere invited as guests.

Reservations began pouring in im-mediately from all over the country. Acaller from the Houston area stated that"the cost ($7.50) is right," when askedwhy she would travel so far for an even-ing out. The wife of a member from ElToro, California, said that she and herhusband had been looking for years foran excuse to come to Washington, and

this was going to be it—they stayed for aweek.

The unexpected response from themembership prompted an expansion ofthe original plan to host a reception of250 in the Museum's Special ExhibitsGallery and to seat that same number atthe parade. With the assistance of theCommandant's Office and the coopera-tion of the Commanding Officer of

(Continued on page 25)

MarineCorps

Taking the review at the 9 August Parade honoring former Com-mandants at Marine Barracks, 8th & I, were, from left, GenLeonard F. Chapman, Jr.; the Commandant, Gen PaulX. Kel-

ley; Gen Louis H. W/ilson; Gen Wallace M. Greene, Jr.; Ma-rine Corps Historical Foundation President LtGen Donn J.Robertson, and Barracks Commander Col Donald]. Myers.

16

1964

By-the-Book 8th & I Evening Parade a Chapman Idea

T he reception and parade held on9 August in observance of the 40th

anniversary of V-J Day and to hocorformer Commandants of the MarineCorps at the Marine Corps Museum andMarine Barracks, 8th &I, closely recalls asimilar event staged at the Barracks near-ly 20 years ago, in 1964.

Then, the 23d Commandant of theMarine Corps, Gen Wallace M. Greene,Jr., stood in the reviewing area withGens Thomas Holcomb, Alexander A.Vandegrift, Clifton B. Cates, Lemuel C.Shepherd, Jr., and David M. Shoup,

by LtCol U?yne A. BabbHistorical JVriter

Commandants during tumultuous yearsin the Corps' history.

In the distinguished visitors seats nearCenter Walk at the 1964 parade was GenGreene's chief of staff, LtGen Leonard F.Chapman, Jr. Only a few years before,Gen Chapman had been selected as theBarracks commander by the 21st Com-mandant, Gen Randolph McCall Pate.Now there was an empty space flankedby Gens Shepherd and Shoup; Gen Patehad died in 1961, a year and a half afterretiring. Saddened by Gen Pate'sabsence Gen Chapman also felt pride in

the evening's ceremony, for it was underhis tutelage, during 1956 through 1958,that the ceremonies conducted at theBarracks became what they were at boththe 1964 and this summer's parades.

In 1956, Gen Chapman, then a col-onel having returned from command

of the Marine Barracks at Yokosuka,Japan, and destined to become the 24thCommandant, assumed command of theBarracks. Gen Pate told Col Chapman,"To take command and continue to carry

(Continued on page 26)

From left, 23d Commandant Gen IVallace M. Greene, Jr.,reviewed the 9 July 1964 parade with former Commandants

Generals Holcomb, Vandegrift, Cater, Shepherd, and Shoup.Gen Pate, who succeeded Gen Shepherd, died in 1961.

17

In Memoriam

Belleau Wood, Peleliu Veteran Gen Silverthorn Dies

L tGen Mervin Hancock Silverthorn,USMC (Ret), died on 14 August at

the age of 88 at Bethesda Naval Hospitalafter a long illness. Known as "Silver" tohis close Marine friends and contem-poraries, Gen Silverthorn was one ofthose young patriotic Americans who leftcollege before graduation to enlist im-mediately following U.S. entry intoWorld War I.

Gen Silverthorn was born in Min-neapolis and was attending the Universi-ty of Minnesota when the war broke out.He joined the Marine Corps on 27 April,and after recruit training at Parris Island,he joined the 5th Regiment of Marines atQuantico before it sailed to France inAugust 1917. He went into the battle ofBelleau Wood a sergeant and came out anewly commissioned second lieutenant.

Lt Silverthorn went on to fight atSoissons, St. Mihiel, and Mont Blanc,and in the Meuse-Argonne. His decora-tions for heroism and gallantry in WorldWar I included the Navy Cross, theDistinguished Service Cross, the SilverStar Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters, thePurple Heart, and the Croix de Guerrewith Silver Star.

D uring the interwar period, GenSilverthorn served at various

Marine Corps posts and stations in theStates and abroad, and was a seagoingMarine also. He served several tours atQuantico where he was a student and in-structor in the Marine Corps Schools.

At the outbreak of World War II GenSilverthorn was serving in the War PlansSection in the Office of the Chief ofNaval Operations. He also was the am-phibious warfare representative on thesmall joint staff of the embryonic JointChiefs of Staff, and as such, was involvedin much of the planning for U.S. opera-tions early in the war.

He went to war in the Pacific inJanuary 1944 when he reported in aschief of staff to MajGen Roy S. Geiger'sMarine III Amphibious Corps onGuadalcanal, and participated in theplanning for and conduct of the landingson Guam, Peleliu, and Okinawa. When

by Benis M. FrankHead, Oral History Section

LtGen Geiger took command of FMFPacat Pearl Harbor, Gen Silverthorn follow-ed him to become chief of staff at thatheadquarters.

Following his service in the Pacific,Gen Silverthorn took command of

the Troop Training Unit, Atlantic Fleet,and in September 1947, returned toWashington and to the office of CNO,where he was the Marine liaison officer.According to Gen Silverthorn, this wasone of the most frustrating tours he everhad, for this was the Washington follow-ing the unification battles. Gen Silver-thorn was assigned as a member of thenaval delegation to an interservice com-mittee which was trying to draw up adocument which later became known asthe "Key West Papers." The papers spell-ed out the roles and missions of the arm-ed forces after passage of the NationalDefense Act of 1947, and much interser-vice bitterness and rivalry still remained.When the service representatives andtheir chiefs finally agreed upon thespelled-out service functions, they weretaken to President Truman's summerWhite House at Key West, Florida, forhis approval.

Recalling those days, when the MarineCorps and its representatives were prettymuch left out of the final Key West

LtGen Mervin H. Silverthorn

18

discussions, Gen Silverthorn said, "Dutyas a member of that committee was themost frustrating, the most exasperating,the most difficult duty I ever performedin my entire professional career. It wasmuch more difficult than fighting as aplatoon leader in Belleau Wood."

Shortly before the outbreak of theKorean War, Gen Silverthorn was ap-pointed Director of Reserve at Head-quarters Marine Corps, and was largelyresponsible for the successful mobiliza-tion of the Marine Corps Reserve. Hethen was appointed Assistant Comman-dant of the Marine Corps and Chief ofStaff.

In 1952, Gen Silverthorn requested anassignment as commander of the Par-

ris Island Recruit Depot. This was aperiod of rapid Marine Corps expansionand in which the rough treatment metedout to boots at P1 was undergoing in-creasingly critical public and Congres-sional scrutiny. During his command ofParris Island, he attempted to reverse thesituation. He retired from Parris Islandon 30 June 1954.

From 1956 to 1957, he was AssistantDirector of Defense Mobilization in theExecutive Office of the White House.But after that he devoted full time to thethird great love of his life — after his wifeand family and the Marine Corps—theNational Prayer Breakfast movement andthe International Christian Leaders., ofwhich he was a member from 1959 to1976 and president for 10 years.

In commenting on his Marine Corpscareer, Gen Silverthorn said, ". . . I was

always happy to be a Marine officer. I

would rather have been a Marine officerthan anything else in the whole world atall times. And on top of that. . . I wouldrather be doing what I was doing at thetime than anything else, even though itwas commanding a platoon in BelleauWood or chief of staff of an amphibiouscorps at Peleliu . . . . I don't have anygeneral thoughts except one of still ex-treme loyalty to the Marine Corps, ex-treme pride. I still can generate sometears on Marine Corps birthdays and

when I start singing the 'Marine CorpsHymn.'"

Gen Silverthorn was buried at Arl-ington Cemetery with full militaryhonors on 19 August, with the Com-mandant, Gen Paul X. Kelley, leading alarge congregation of mourners.

Then-BGen William LV. Davies

MAJGEN WILLiAM W. DAVIES, USMC(RET), died at the age of 85 in San Diegoon 1 June. He was born in Washington,D.C. in April 1900, enlisted in theMarine Corps in 1918, and was commis-sioned four years later. He served in theDominican Republic with the 2dBrigade, in China with the 4th Marines,and in Nicaragua with the NicaraguanNational Guard before World War II.He was the first officer in charge of thenewly formed Amphibian Tractor Train-ing Detachment in Dunedin, Florida,and was closely involved with thedevelopment of the amtrac for employ-ment in World War II. He served as theFMFPac amtrac officer in the Pacific andat the time of his retirement in July1955, he was CG, Troop Training Unit,Pacific at Coronado. Private funeral ser-vices were held for Gen Davies in SanDiego on 5 June.

BGEN WALTER S. "TABASCO MAC"MCILHENNY, USMCR (RET), died at theage of 75 on 22June in New Iberia, Loui-siana, after a long illness. He was bornand educated in Washington, D.C., andattended the University of Virginia. He

enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in1935 and was commissioned the follow-ing year.

During his summer assignments to ac-tive duty, he was a member of MarineCorps teams competing at the NationalRifle Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio. LtMcllhenny was an instructor andshooting member of the Marine CorpsReserve Rifle Teams, and was a memberof the 1937 Marine Corps team whichwon the Hilton Trophy and the AEFRoumanian Trophy; coach of the 1938team which won the Roumanian andCritchfield Trophies; a shooting memberof the team winning the RattlesnakeTrophy, and winner of the Bronze Medalin the National Individual Rifle Matchwhich entitled him to wear theDistinguished Marksman Badge.

At the outbreak of World War II, hewas called to active duty, attended BasicSchool in Philadelphia, and was im-mediately assigned to the 5th Marines atNew River, North Carolina. For his ac-tions as executive officer and later com-manding officer of Company B, 1st Bat-talion, 5th Marines in the Guadalcanaloperation, he was awarded both theNavy Cross and the Silver Star Medal.

The citation for his Navy Cross reads:"For extraordinary heroism and courageas Executive Officer of Company B, 1st

Then-Col Walter S. Mcllhenny

19

Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Divi-sion, during the frontal assault upon astrongly fortified enemy Japanese posi-tion along the coast of Guadalcanal,Solomon Islands, August 27, 1942. Afterorganizing a volunteer party to advanceand evacuate the wounded from thehazardous position well forward of thecompany, First Lieutenant Mcllhenny,armed only with a rifle, and while underheavy enemy mortar and machine gunfire, covered the advance and withdrawalof the rescue party, gallantly drawingenemy fire and silencing a Japanesemachine gun nest. Although ill at thetime and suffering shock from concus-sion of an enemy mortar shell, he return-ed to a vantage point close to enemylines and, in the face of fierce sniper fire,acted as an observer, relaying accurate in-formation necessary for fire control untilordered by his superior officer to leavehis post. His great personal valor, aboveand beyond the call of duty, not onlymade possible the rescue of nine wound-ed men but also contributed to the suc-cess of Marine mortar fire." He alsoreceived two Purple Hearts for woundssuffered in this campaign.

He participated in the CapeGloucester operation as battalion plansand training officer, and was 5th Marinesplans and training officer for the Peleliulanding.

Upon his release from active dutyfollowing the end of the war, GenMcllhenny remained active in the reserveprogram, and retired from the MarineCorps Reserve in November 1959, whenhe was advanced to brigadier general byreason of having been specially com-mended for heroism in combat. Despitehis retirement, he remained involvedwith and interested in Marine Corps af-fairs, and closely associated with and along-time member of the board of direc-tors of the Marine Memorial Academy inHarlingen, Texas.

Gen Mcllhenny was president of theTabasco Sauce Company, a family con-cern, and during the Vietnam War, sentcountless numbers of bottles of the pro-duct to the Marines fighting in Vietnam.He also had prepared for them twocookbooks, which provided recipes foruse of Tabasco Sauce with C-rations andwith the newer MREs (meals ready for

eating). He even had designed acamouflaged Tabasco Sauce bottleholder which fastened to the issue car-tridge belt.

Gen Mcllhenny was buried with sim-ple military honors in The Grove, AveryIsland, Louisiana on 24 June.

C0L THOMAS G. ROE, USMC (RET),who was director of Marine Corps Historyat the time of his retirement in 1962,died at his home in Norfolk, Virginia atthe age of 71 on 2 August. Col Roe was anative of Montana, and graduated fromthe University of Montana in 1936, when

he was commissioned. For most of hisMarine Corps career, he was an ar-

tilleryman, and took part in the pre-World War II installation of seacoast andantiaircraft artillery on Johnston andPalmyra Islands. He later commandedthe 10th AAA Battalion on Eniwetok,and commanded the 3d Battalion, 11thMarines in the battle for Okinawa andlater during the occupation of NorthChina. Col Roe was a graduate of theArmy War College and a member of theMarine Corps Historical Foundation.Private services were held for him in Nor-folk on 5 August. Then-Lt Thomas G. Roe

Readers Always Write: Berkeley Recollects Nicaragua

SOMEONE 'SA W" SANDINO

I have just been given a copy of aMarine Corps Historical Reference Pam-phlet . . . . The copy is a 1968 reprint[The United States Marines inNicaragua. Bernard C. Nalty. 1961 rev.ed., reprint 1968]. I . . . find two errorsin discussing the Skirmish at Bromadros,27-28 February 1928.

O'Day's patrol was not going fromYali to Esteli. The patrol had been sentfrom Condega to Esteli to pick up themules we would need for operations ofthe 57th Company, 2d Battalion, 11thMarines. We had just arrived in thecountry. The supply people in Esteli tookadvantage of this mule transport and us-ed O'Day's patrol to resupply two out-posts at San Raphael (del Norte) andYali. Yali was the last stop and from thatpoint on the mule train was empty. Theenemy's G-2 thought it was still loadedand they wanted the supplies. As the daydrew to a close the patrol was spread outover a great distance fore and aft. Thenatives had been plying the Marines withfruit and everyone was most inattentiveto say the least. O'Day and the hospitalcorpsman, PHM3 McKeon, had goneahead to scout Darali Ranch as a stop-ping place for the night. The bandits hithard and everyone scattered, the mulesstampeded, one with a machine gun.The gunnery sergeant with the patrol wasin the rear and rumor had it that he"went to the rear for orders," the rear be-ing Yali. Sgt Isham took charge andorganized a fire base and built up the

opposition. Of course someone "saw"Sandino, a lean figure on a white horse.The corpsman made it back at once anddid his job with the wounded. Thepatrol leader did not make it back untilthe shooting was just about over. Boththe corpsman and the patrol leader wererecommended for the Navy Cross. I

typed the citations (I was company clerkat that time) and one was very blood-curdling.

Years ago I told Bob Hem! [ColRobert D. Heinl,Jr.] of the error he hadin Soldiers of the Sea regarding this bat-tle.

The other error . . . [is elsewhere,where it is] said that MacNulty was mov-ing towards Yali while O'Day was beingattacked. Not so. We were in garrison inCondega when we first learned of thecontact. I think a plane made a drop of amessage. We started at once with a verystrong patrol—they raked up any oneavailable in camp at Condega, that ishow I got in the patrol. When we reach-ed Darali O'Day's people were all thereand they were burying the dead andcleaning up.

Have just been looking at some snap-shots I took later in 1928 of the site ofthe battle, the stone wall where the ban-dits had hidden their ambush. I find apicture of three graves . . . . Two morewere DOW and I thought we buriedthem there, too, but I can't find a pic-ture of those two graves.

I learned one lesson from all of this. Ihad done the entire payroll for the 57thCompany on the 27th, a company of 250

20

plus. By the 29th five were dead and Ihad to type the monster all over again.

LtGen James P. Berkeley, USMC (Ret)Norfolk, Virginia

KOREA AS MARINES KNEW/IT

Now that the World War II

Chronology is finished, I wish to com-mend those who worked on it. It hasbeen an excellent series. Hopefully it willbe continued for Korea and Vietnam.

Keep up the good work.

Charles KumpasClarks Summit, Pennsylvania

EDITOR'S NOTE: A Korean W7ar

chronology prepared by the ReferenceSection begins in this issue.

REMEMBERING JOE BA UER

The article concerning LtCol Harold W."Joe" Bauer, USMC, in the summer 1985issue of Fortitudine was of great interestto me as I am sure it would be to all whoknew him.

Joe Bauer was not only a great pilotbut an inspirational leader and friend toall the younger pilots who first came outof Ewa Marine Corps Station on Oahu,Hawaii, to join in the aerial defense ofGuadalcanal during the early days ofthat campaign when the outcome wasstill in doubt.

BGen RiversJ. Morrell, USMC (Ret)South Laguna, California

'Uncle Nevills Portrait,' The 0 'Bannon Miniature

Settling History and Authenticity of a 'Lost' Likeness

by Richard A. LongSpecial Projects Curator

Q ur "Careful Readers" will recallthat in September 1984 Mrs.

Stuart Gay Berryman, of Lexington,Kentucky, donated to the Marine CorpsMuseum a watercolor on ivory miniatureportrait of Marine 2dLt Presley NevilleO'Bannon. (See Fortitudine, Winter1984-1985.)

Her husband was a fifth-generationdescendant of John O'Bannon, elderbrother of Presley, a surveyor, distiller,farmer, and one-time sheriff of Wood-ford County, Kentucky, who died inVersailles, Kentucky, in 1813.

Searching for this miniature, discover-ing it, and the chase to acquire it wereexciting and very satisfying. One mightexpect the curator to rest on his laurelsand exhibit the portrait forever on themuseum panel devoted to O'Bannon'sexploits. But, it was also his responsibili-ty to establish its history, and if possible,to authenticate it and to identify its ar-tist. Its provenance has subsequentlybeen based on the most conclusiveevidence.

Search for O'Bannon memorabilia isnot a recent fad but has been an in-

terest of collectors and historians sinceearly in this century. Numerous articles,have been published devoted to hismilitary career. Reports have been madeof not only his everyday personal belong-ings, but also of his proverbial andsometimes fictitious acquisitions abroad,and the supposed expensive giftspresented to him as the "Hero of Derna"by an adoring public on his return to theUnited States.

One naval curator carried on a lengthybut unsuccessful correspondence in the1940s with officials of the Daughters ofthe American Revolution and the Ken-

tucky Historical Society in a search forthe jeweled sword hypotheticallypresented to O'Bannon by Hamet, thedeposed bashaw of Tripoli. Even thiswriter has investigated it. (See "O'Ban-non's Sword?", Fortitudine, Summer1984.)

What of O'Bannon's miniature por-trait? A black-and-white photographiclikeness of it has been in the MarineCorps' photographic collections sinceabout 1922. Unfortunately, in many ofthe prints of it reproduced in the last 60years, details of his facial characteristicsand of his clothing have been practicallyobliterated, evidence that prints havebeen copied repeatedly to acquire newnegatives. From whom, then, was theoriginal reproduction of the likeness ob-

Gold-framed, watercolor-on-ivoryminiature portrait of Marine 2dLt PresleyNeville 0 'Bannon, "Hero of Derna," isattributed to artist Philip Parisen of NewYork City, in the period 1801-1802.

21

tamed? The most likely answer seems tobe as follows.

In 1919, Miss Rebecca Gordon Averill,Registrar of the Susannah Hart Shelby

Chapter, Daughters of the AmericanRevolution, Frankfort, Kentucky, bor-rowed the original miniature of PresleyN. O'Bannon, dressed in a military-styled coat, from either Mrs. MariaJackson Cotton Gay, or her daughter,Miss Georgie Cotton Gay, both of Ver-sailles. Mrs. Gay was a great grand-daughter of John O'Bannon.

Miss Averill had it photographicallycopied and small one-to-one printsmade. How many is not known. Its glassnegative today is a numbered accessionin the collections of the KentuckyHistorical Society, and the letterbook ofthe Gretter, and later, the J. ForrestCusik Studios in Frankfort in which MissAverill's order is recorded, is also there.

At least three of these mattephotographs were hand-colored in oilpaints, nearly all identical to the originalminiature. Sadly, their artist is

unknown.

One of these colored likenesses is inFrankfort's Kentucky Military HistoryMuseum. Another is in the possession ofa descendant of Sarah Neville O'BannonPepper, Presley and John O'Bannon'ssister. A third was presented by MissAverill to the U.S. Naval AcademyMuseum in Annapolis, where it is still onexhibit.

This likeness was probably firstpublished as the cover of a brochure bythe Daughters to commemorate thereinterment of O'Bannon's remains inKentucky's State Cemetery on Flag Day,14 June 1920. A copy of the brochure isin the collections of the Marine CorpsMuseum.

Likeness of elder brother John wasthought from 1941 to be Lt O'Bannon,and not properly identijIed before 1984.

She may also have presented a copy tothe Marine Corps, but if so, its lone

historian, Maj Edwin N. McClellan,USMC, neither reported or recorded it.More likely, Maj McClellan acquired acopy negative or a black-and-white printof it from the Naval Academy Museum.He published it as a frontispiece in theMarine Corps Gazette, September 1922,but with no hint of its origin.

In 1941 the Marine Corps Museum atQuantico was given O'Bannon's State ofVirginia presentation sword, minus itsdecayed scabbard. With it came an"ivory type," a second watercolor onivory miniature portrait, in profile,ostensibly a likeness of Presley N. O'Ban-non in civilian dress. Their donor wasMrs. Margaret Moseley Culver, of KansasCity, Missouri.

Mrs. Culver was also a descendant ofJohn O'Bannon. Her mother wasMargaret Frazer Cotton Moseley, a sisterof Maria Jackson Cotton Gay, of Ver-sailles.

Was this actually a portrait of PresleyN. O'Bannon? It portrays a much olderman, thick of cheeks and jowls, a nosedistinctively different than in the otherportrait, and a robust upper body. Wenow know that it had to have beenpainted before 1813, at a time whenPresley was still a relatively young man.

T here is no evidence that past MarineCorps historians questioned the

identity of either portrait or investigated

the matter further. Both were captionedas being Presley N. O'Bannon. Thewriter, first becoming acquainted withthe prints in 1958, assumed that Presleyhad sat for a portrait later in life, despitethe physical differences.

It was not until March 1984 that thewriter found in Zanesville, Ohio, an arti-cle that identified the latter likeness asthat ofJohn O'Bannon. In 1905, NelsonW. Evans, a Portsmouth, Ohio, lawyer,published a treatise in the Ohio Ar-chaeological and Historical SocietyQuarterly on John O'Bannon's early landsurveys in southern Ohio. He illustratedthe article with two likenesses of JohnO'Bannon, one of them reversed inprint. Both are identical to the onedonated by Mrs. Culver, and to that inthe Marine Corps collection thought atone time to be the older profile ofPresley N. O'Bannon.

Further proof of the identity of thissitter has been found in family lettersloaned to the Marine Corps Museum byMrs. Berryman. Mr. Evans had cor-responded with Maria Jackson CottonGay early in the 1900s, acquiring fromher personal information and vitalstatistics of John O'Bannon, andpresumably the photographs of his por-trait as well.

In February 1984, while researchingthe O'Bannon family in Kentucky,

the writer visited Capt David J. Breen,USMC Officer Selection Officer, inLouisville. To Capt Breen goes the creditfor putting the Marine Corps Museumon the right track. He informed me thatthe grandmother of one of his recentselectees, Nicholas Berryman, of Lex-ington, had a portrait of Presley N.O'Bannon. Unable to retrace my stepsthere, and wary that the portrait wasperhaps only another of the coloredlikenesses, Mrs. Stuart Gay Berrymanwas not contacted until April.

She quickly dispelled any doubt thather portrait was a reproduction, describ-ing it as a watercolor painting, on ivory,in an antique oval glassed gold case.Reluctant at first, she and her sons even-tually agreed to donate the miniature tothe Marine Corps.

Diligent search has been made of theauthenticity of this portrait. Presley N.O'Bannon died intestate on 12

September 1850. His wife, Matilda, diedof cholera in the Insane Asylum at Lex-

22

A portion of a business card was found inuse as a divider between the ivoty andthe gold case of the O'Bannon portrait.

ington on 11 June 1849, and both oftheir children preceded them in death. Itappears that any personal belongings hehad may have been distributed amonghis brother John's family, sister SarahNeville O'Bannon Pepper, and possiblyniece Amanda Pepper O'Bannon, inwhose home he died. Indeed, thedescendants of these individuals havebeen the most knowledgeable of his lifeand career, subsequently discovered inprint and in legal documents.

Before accepting the portrait fromMrs. Berryman, a search was made

of the archives of Woodford County, inVersailles, Kentucky. Censuses, vitalstatistics, deeds, tax records, wills, andadministrations of the O'Bannon andallied families were consulted. Recordsrelative to the succession of land,distillery and farm equipment,household goods, and farm animals werecomplete and plentiful, but seldom didwills and estate papers reveal the keep-sakes and personal belongings of thesefamilies.

Exceptions were found in the rare willsof the women family members.Elizabeth O'Bannon Cotton, John'sdaughter, died about April 1869.Following the payment of her debts andfuneral expenses, she willed the balanceof her estate to her granddaughters,Margaret Frazer Cotton, Maria JacksonCotton, and Georgie Cotton.

Of these, Georgie may have died

Miniature's donor believes this portraitshe owns to be 0 'Bannon in middle age.

young; little is known of her. Margaret,who married William G. Moseley andmoved to Kansas City, died about Oc-tober 1918. She apparently had privatelyinherited the State of Virginia Sword andthe John O'Bannon miniature portrait,which were left to her daughter,Margaret Moseley Culver.

Maria Jackson Cotton Gay, whose willwritten in pencil was dated 23 November1923, addressed her daughters, RuthGay Berryman and Georgie C. GayMcFerran, that "your Aunt Georgiesthings were left to Georgie by mymother, they include Uncle Nevills por-trait The McFerrans died childless,and O'Bannon's miniature portraitbecame the property of Stuart Gay Ber-ryman after 4 December 1934.

T his portrait was not listed in theregister or catalog of the Smithso-

nian Institution's National PortraitGallery. The search for its history, thetime and place of sitting, and the identi-ty of its artist presented a bleak picture.

We therefore sought the assistance ofothers who have expertise in thismedium, the curators of the NationalPortrait Gallery, the National Museumof American Art, and the NationalMuseum of American History.

Miss Robin Bolton-Smith, an associatecurator in the Museum of American Art,who specializes in miniatures and whohas a book on them in preparation,assisted the writer in 1977 to establishthe provenance of a portrait by Charles

Willson Peale of Maj Samuel Nicholas,senior Marine officer of the AmericanRevolution. She was the first from whomassistance was sought.

Miss Bolton-Smith examined theminiatures of both the O'Bannons anddetermined that they were not by thesame artist. She suggested that MissEllen Miles, of the Portrait Gallery, beconsulted on the portrait of John O'Ban-non. Unfortunately, no provenance of ithas yet been ascertained.

Miss Bolton-Smith simplified her taskby having Miss Katherine Eirk, the Na-tional Museum's conservator ofminiatures, open the O'Bannonminiature's case, extract the ivory, andclean its surfaces. This was a fortunatedecision.

T he reverse of the ivory was separatedfrom the inside of the gold case by a

piece of cardstock, cut roughly to theconformity of each. It appears to havebeen cut from the lefthand side of abusiness card.

On one surface, a spooled designbordered the top, bottom, and lefr sides.Informative doors were opened by thefollowing message printed on it:

LIKEN...PAINTED in M...

BYP. PAR.

No. 252 WillNEW-...

From this, Miss Bolton-Smith deducedthat the artist's name may have beenPhilip Parisen, and she provided a copyof a short biography of him from TheNew- York Historical Society's Dictionaryof Artists in America, 1564-1860.

Parisen, his father, Otto, and his twosons, J. and William D., were all artistsin New York City. Philip painted active-ly there from 1791 to 1815, with a part ofthe year 1795 spent in Charleston, SouthCarolina. He was a painter of miniatures,silhouettist, hairworker, goldsmith, andsilversmith.

Miss Bolton-Smith said of the techni-que used in the painting:

The portrait of Presley NevilleO'Bannon seemed even more[than that of John O'Bannon] tohave the hallmarks of the work ofa European continentally-trained

23

artist, working in America;primitive and slightly awkward inconception, very linear in treat-ment, with a more opaque use ofthe paint than the English-trainedartists working in America at thetime.

She weighed the evidence of theartist's business card in the case, "a com-mon practice of miniaturists in lieu of asignature," together with the correspon-ding biography "to assume the attribu-tion of this miniature to be PhilipParisen

This established, attention was turnedto the attire of Lt O'Bannon. It was theopinion of Col F. B. Nihart, USMC,(Ret), Deputy Director for Museums,and Mr. Kenneth Smith-Christmas andMr. John H. McGarry III, of the staff,that O'Bannon's coat was distinctivelymilitary, even though its appearance didnot strictly conform to a short descriptionof the uniform of a Marine officer by theSecretary of the Navy in 1798. Mr.McGarry was certain that it was not thatof an Army officer, O'Bannon havingbeen in that service from 1807 to 1809.

W ith these basics in hand, fur-ther scrutiny of the miniature was

entrusted to Mr. Donald E. Kloster, aveteran of 25 years' evaluation of theSmithsonian's Division of Armed Forcesuniform collections. He in turn soughtthe valued opinions of a colleague, Dr.

The back of the painting above. It is un-known if either man is really O'Bannon,

here only under the waistcoatswith the ruffles separated .

Actor John Payne served as mode/for afanciful portrait of 0 'Bannon by LtColJohnJ. Capolino, USMCR, in the 1 95 Os,

Harold Langley, and Ms. Shelley Foote,of the Division of Costume.

Mr. Kioster identified the coat's redcollar as the standing/falling type, a stylecommonly used in the country's servicesfrom the 17805 through the first fewyears of the 1800s.

He also noted that the lapels wereopened only two buttons at the top andhad no lace trim extending out from thebuttonholes on the opposite side, a

decorative characteristic of Army coats ofthe era. Its gilt buttons and red collar ona navy blue coat indicated a military,rather than civilian, coat.

Ms. Foote compared the garmentsbeneath the coat with those of civilians:

This minature shows twowaistcoats, the first or outer is thewhite which is clearly seen andthe second is of red which can benoted only by the narrow redstrip next to the shirt on bothsides — a style evidenced byfashion plates and portraits of theperiod. It should be noted thatcivilian styles were used bymilitary for shirts and waistcoats.It shows an attempt to achieve amanly chest, which was done bypadding in the coat.

The very high cloth stock ismore typically military eventhough civilians did use a similarform. The shirt, which wouldhave several rows of ruffles stitch-ed to the upper front, is seen

T he writer observed that O'Bannonwears what appears to be a

medallion or stickpin on his stock. Sparseinstructions for the dress of a Marine of-ficer mention no insignia. No ac-

coutrements would have appeared here.Was it a Masonic emblem? Authoritiesof the order say that they were not thenin vogue.

Advertising for Parisen's calling statedthat he also made ornaments of hair. Ms.Foote, not knowing of this secondary oc-cupation, remarked to Mr. Kloster thatshe had seen hair ornaments exhibited inother portraits. It may not be in-conceivable that with the looseness ofearly 1800s uniform regulations, O'Ban-non dared to flaunt the consequencesand wore a hair ornament for his por-trait.

Philip Parisen was an established NewYorker, and two other portraits areknown to have been done there. Whatwere the circumstances that may havebrought him and Lieutenant O'Bannontogether as artist and customer?

Following his commissioning inJanuary 1801, O'Bannon served at Head-quarters of the Corps in Washington to 4June. He is known to have been at NewYork's Barracks in August, and becameMarine officer of the U.S. frigate Adamsoutfitting there for the Mediterranean inJanuary 1802. In the next four months,he completed three Masonic Orders, andbecame a member of the Grand Lodge.

Philip Parisen was not a member ofthe Masonic Order, so brotherhood didnot bring them together. O'Bannon pro-bably read the newspapers, in whichParisen had advertised "Strikinglikenesses . . . to set in rings, lockets, &c.price from Two to Eight Dollarsand his prices had not changed since1791.

H e may also have walked intoParisen's studio off the street.

Parisen was well known in LowerManhattan. From 1798 to at least 1803,his home and studio were at 252 WilliamStreet, only a few blocks from the NavyYard.

O'Bannon may even have been hand-ed one of Parisen's business cards by ahired urchin on the street, which read inits entirety:

O'Bannon as seen by Col Donald L.Dickson, USMCR, in the 1960s, drawson the figure in the ivory miniature.

LIKENESSESPAINTED in MINIATURE

BYP. PARISEN

No. 252 William-streetNEW-YORK

How much did he pay for it? As a se-cond lieutenant of Marines, he earned$25 and two rations per month. He wasunmarried. His out-of-pocket expensesare not known, but twenty cents werededucted each month for the relief ofsick and wounded seamen, and he mayhave voluntarily contributed to the Com-mandant's fund for music in the MarineCorps.

He owned a fiddle, for which he mayhave purchased replacement stringsbefore going to sea. His family is

thought to have been prosperous, so it'snot likely he sent support home.

H e may have paid the full eightdollars quoted by Parisen for which

he received the miniature, its old goldcase covered with glass and a sturdy ringat the top with which to hang it.

What prompted Lt O'Bannon to havehis portrait painted? Knowing that hewas soon to sail for foreign seas anddoubtful of what the future held, hemay have followed the practice of manyanother seafaring man and soldier andsat for his portrait. Not likely to have car-ried it with him to sea, he probably sentit to his mother, Ann Neville O'Bannon,at the family farm on Pignut Ridge, Fau-quier County, Virginia.

24

Fortitudine PunchFortitudine was the motto of the MarineCorps during the early 19th century.Translated from the Latin, it means withstrength, fortitude, or even guts. Ap-propriate name indeed for a Marine Corpspunch.

Continental Marines often had to be con-tent with "grog," which is simply rumdiluted with water. But whenever possiblethey preferred their rum mixed with sugarand fruit as rum punch. Maj SamuelNicholas, whom we hold to be our firstCommandant, as a young buck inPhiladelphia, was a member of the sports-man's club called the Schuykill FishingCompany. As such he was certainly familiarwith Philadelphia Fish House Punch. As wemake it, Fortitudine Punch is a modern ver-sion of Fish House Punch.

Our version of the punch simplifies theold, but with modern conveniences. For ex-ample, instead of steeping the juice of twodozen lemons with a pound of sugar wesimply use two twelve-ounce cans of frozenlemonade. Rather than ruin good cham-pagne we dilute the mixture with club sodaand ginger ale. The recipe:

one-half gallon of a darkish rumone pint of peach brandytwo twelve-ounce cans of frozen

lemonade concentratetwo quart bottles of club sodatwo quart bottles of ginger alefloat slices of one orange, one lemon,

and two limessufficient ice to cool down the resultant

fires

Caution: Fortitudine Punch, as its well-known ancestor, can be insidious. It tastesgood and goes down smoothly, but judge-ment and caution are advised.

And why is punch called punch? It comesfrom the Sanskrit word panch meaning five(remember Sukarno's panch shila, fiveprinciples of coexistence) for the five ingre-dients—a strong, a weak, a sweet, a sour,and a flavor.

Event Honors Former Chiefs(Continued from page 16)

Marine Barracks, 8th & I, space was pro-vided for an additional 200 guests.

T o accommodate the additionalvisitors for the reception, the entire

Historical Center was opened and a buf-fet of hors d'oeuvres, Fortitudine punch,wine, and soft drinks was served.

The Foundation President, LtGenDonn J. Robertson, met one of the firstcouples to arrive, Gen and Mrs. Paul X.Kelley, at the door. Together theygreeted Generals Wallace M. Greene,Jr.; Leonard F. Chapman, Jr.; and LouisH. Wilson, and their wives. Also attend-ing the festivities were Gen and Mrs.John K. Davis, Gen and Mrs. SamuelJaskilka, Gen Robert E. Hogaboom, andMrs. Robert E. Cushman, Jr. Roundingout this group of distinguished guestswas the White House Chief of Staff,LtCol Donald T. Regan, USMCR (Ret),and his wife.

Members and their friends met in afestive atmosphere as they reunited withcomrades-in-arms and shared memoriesof those with whom they had served.

The participants moved by bus and onfoot to the parade ground, where theywere prepared to witness the very bestparade ever presented.

The Marine Band entertained thecrowd prior to the parade with a numberof selections which included John PhilipSousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever." Theperformance of the 8th & I Marines inthe parade was met with shouts and ap-plause throughout the evening.

Generals Greene, Chapman, andWilson, and LtGen Robertson, joinedGen Kelley to review the parade. Thememorable and historic evening was cap-ped with the playing of "The Marines'Hymn" and "Taps."

Message from the

20th Commandant

General Lemuel C. Shepherd,Jr., USMC (Ret), the senior formerCommandant, did not participatein the ceremonies on 9 August, butsent a message to those in atten-dance:

General Kelley, formerCommandants of the MarineCorps, ladies and gentlemen:

I deeply regret that due tofailing health, I am unable tojoin with the other formerCommandants of the UnitedStates Marine Corps in thisceremony observing the for-tieth anniversary of WorldWar II V-J Day, whichbrought to a victorious con-clusion the amphibious ad-vance of the Marines acrossthe Pacific.

It was seven years later thatI was appointed Comman-dant of the Marine Corps,the greatest honor that cancome to a Marine. Those ofyou here today who wereprivileged to become theCommandant of our il-

lustrious Corps can takejustifiable pride in yourachievement.

May those who follow inour footsteps continue tocherish the traditions andhold high the ideals of loyalservice to our country, theUnited States of America.

White House Chief of Staff LtCol Donald I Regan, USMCR (Ret), left, talks with Generals Kelley and Wilson at the MarineCorps Museum reception. Later, Generals Greene, Chapman, Wilson, and Kelley pose together at the Commandant's House.

25

forward the standards established earlier,refining them where needed." Andrefine them he did.

Col Chapman relieved the late BGenRobert H. Williams. While respectingthe parade sequence with British in-fluences developed by the 20th Com-mandant, Gen Shepherd, and furtherrefined by then-Col Williams, Col Chap-man decided in favor of the landing par-ty manual, by-the-book drill andceremony of the Fleet Marine Force. Heinstituted the changes incorporated intothe evening parades witnessed by over75,000 spectators this summer.

Col Chapman might have been ex-pected to prefer traditional Marine Corpsmarching and drilling standards. Whileat Marine Barracks, Yokosuka, he"wanted to have my Marines and theirNavy counterparts reflect a continuingpride in Corps and country by attesting

to that fact on the parade deck." ColChapman's unusual, back-to-back bar-racks tours, in Yokosuka andWashington, are best explained by hisown recollection: a few months beforeGen Shepherd turned over command ofthe Corps to Gen Pate, Gen Shepherdspent a few days at the Yokosuka Bar-racks. During the visit the troops, GenChapman says, "put on the best paradeand show they could muster for theCommandant." Later on, word filteredback to Yokosuka that Gen Shepherdhad told his staff in Washington that "hehad seen the finest parade of his careerduring his visit to the Far East," andmeaning Col Chapman's parade. GenPate was a member of Gen Shepherd'sstaff.

A s the new 8th and I commander,Col Chapman allowed the well-

rehearsed afternoon parade sequence to

continue during the remainder of the1956 season. However, during the coldwinter months of 1956 and 1957, he setabout reconsidering and redesigning thecontent and setting of the parade. Hisinnovative idea of multiple lighting ef-fects was supported fully by Gen Pate. Inthe fall of 1956, the Commandant ac-cepted an invitation for Barracks Marinesto participate in the internationallyrenowned searchlight tatoo to be held inBermuda by units of the British RoyalMarines. As Gen Chapman would laterrecollect, "the Commandant was mostenthusiastic and encouraging about myideas for a 1957 parade season heldunder the lights during hours ofdarkness."

Influencing and directing the Barracksstaff in planning the new parade, ColChapman insisted that it adhere strictlyto regulations. It would be according tothe book with, he said, "no tricks,frivolous theatrics, and the frequentlyseen Queen Anne salutes."

8th and I, the colonel believed, shouldset the standard for marching units andtroop formations throughout the Corps.With the approval of Gen Pate, theparade was to be totally military in themost minute detail. "These guidelines Iissued were the very reason for theparade . . . . It was to be by the bookas we nurtured the process from plan-ning to execution," Gen Chapman laterrecalled.

Mrs. Emily Walton Ford Chapmanreflected recently on her husband's ac-tivities in 1956-57. "I remember theseemingly endless rehearsals, the longevenings under the lights. . . knowing ofmy husband's dedication to perfection

and the enthusiastic way he was sup-ported by the Commandant and bymembers of his command . . . . He was adetermined man who knew that he wasright in his task and he was dedicated tosuccess."

D uring the years of Gen Shepherd'scommandancy, the afternoon

parade was held at an hour inconvenientfor the public at large, Col Chapmanbelieved. He wanted a more convenienttime which would also take advantage ofdramatic lighting and focus on the Bar-racks' special ceremonial proficiency.

"By the end of the first evening paradeseason, we knew we had made the rightdecision in changing the time . . . . Cer-

Parade Under Lights 24th Commandant's Idea(Continued from page 17)

Then-Col Leonard F. Chapman, Jr., sat for his portrait on 24 August 1956, the newcommander of Marine Barracks, 8th & I, and about to refine the Sunset Parade intothe "under the lights" Evening Parade drill sequence still presented today.

26

the numbers of people who would at-tend the evening parade . . . We hadalmost 4,000 people at the first eveningparade . . . . LtGen Karl S. Day, a retiredMarine aviator and sort of an innovatorin aviation for the Corps was our firstreviewing official . . . . I remember thedate as July 5 of 1957 . . . .We had agreat evening . . . good for Corps andcountry . . . and it basically has been thatway ever since . . . for almost thirtyyears."

During the two years that Col Chap-man commanded the Barracks, changesin the parade were carried out gradually.Long months, weeks, days, and hours ofrehearsal perfected routines and reflectedthe dedication of the parade-groundMarines.

In 1958 Col Chapman was selected forpromotion to brigadier general and leftthe Barracks for duty at Camp Lejeune.

Marines from one of the ceremonial companies of the 8th &I Barracks are caught by the spotlights of an August 1971 Even-ing Parade, in the nighttime spectacle which succeeded the af

T en years after relinquishing com-mand of the Barracks, Gen Chap-

man was appointed the Commandant ofthe Marine Corps. The changes he in-itiated had remained the standard forBarracks ceremonial functions, except forcontinued refinement in parade profi-ciency and an occasional sequence

ternoon Sunset Parades of the years prior to 1957. Gen Chapmanwanted participants in the parades, continued over the past 30years, to "reflect a regulation Marine . . . a model Marine."

From left in the front row of spectators at the 8th & I parade ground, then-Col DavidM. Twomey discusses the 8 July 1971 Evening Parade with the 24th Commandant,Gen Chapman, as the 23d Commandant, Gen Greene, talks with Mrs. Chapman.

tainly in Gen Pate's eyes we were right Corps with him regularly to the garden• • . . He loved it and he began bringing parties and to the parade," according toimportant people and friends of the Gen Chapman. "We did not anticipate

27

change. "Gen Shoup removed thebuglers from the ramparts. Gen Greeneput them back," Gen Chapman said.

The parade this summer honoringformer Commandants has remainedbasically the same for nearly thirty years.According to Col Donald J. Myers, thecurrent commanding officer of the Bar-racks, "I served here in the early 1970s asthe operations officer. My return as com-manding officer was to a post basicallythe same as it was 15 years ago. I see theimprovement in the barracks as a reflec-tion of the improved quality of Marinesover the years. What Gen Chapman didduring his tenure has changed little. It istime-proven."

Gen Chapman recently stated, "I havea belief that Marines should be regula-tion and of all places, Marine Barracks,8th and I, should reflect a regulationMarine . . . doing things exactly as writ-ten down in the book. . . a model for allMarines . . . for visitors to be able to seewhat a regulation Marine should looklike, act like." He said he wished". . . torid the post of all items of uniform andstandards of drill that are non-regulation."

Gen Chapman, who in retirementresides in the Washington, D.C. area,continues to be a frequent visitor to Bar-racks ceremonial functions, along withthe continuing appearance of Presidents,cabinet members, senators, represen-tatives, court justices, and otherdistinguished military officers, who areattracted to one of the Nation's greatpatriotic spectacles.

The Korean War Veterans stampissued by the U.S. Postal Service on 26July reproduces a pencil sketch by artist vice.

Robert Anderson, based on a photo-graph in the Marine Corps Art Collec-tion.

The photograph was taken in 1950 byDavid Douglas Duncan as Marinestrudged through a mountain pass on themarch seaward from the Chosin Reser-voir, after the intervention by ChineseCommunist forces on 27 November.

Art Curator Maj John T. Dyer, Jr.,USMCR (Ret), assisted Postal Serviceresearchers early this year in reviewingthe Center's collection of 101 KoreanWar studies by the famous photo-grapher. With the photographer's con-

sent, the Center provided a number ofglossy reproductions to the Postal Ser-

"The stamp came as a surprise to me,"Maj Dyer said, "I anticipated an engrav-ing direct from the photo like the IwoJima and other commemorative WorldWar 11 stamps."

The U.S. Bureau of Engraving andPrinting produced the stamp in greenand red by intaglio process. All letteringis in red with "Veterans Korea" printedin a single line centered at the top and"USA 22" at the lower right corner."That's 19 cents more expensive than thestamp used when the action took place ,"Maj Dyer observed.

Korea Veterans Stamp Adapts Marine Photo

New Museum Shop

Catalog Available

The Marine Corps HistoricalFoundation's Museum Shop at theMarine Corps Museum has a newcatalog available in time for holi-day shopping. Requests for thecatalog with $1.00, refundablewith the first order, may be ad-dressed to the Marine CorpsMuseum Shop, Building 58,Washington Navy Yard,Washington, D.C. 20374-0580.

Answers to Historical Quiz: W7o rid Var II(Continued from page 12)

1. 485,000.2. Gregory Boyington (28), Joseph J. Foss (26), and Robert M. Hanson

(25).3. MajGen Roy Geiger became Commanding General, Tenth Army on

Okinawa upon the death of LtGen Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr., USA, June1945.

4. 81.5. VMF-121, 208 enemy aircraft; VMF-221 was second with 185 aircraft.6. Col David M. Shoup (Tarawa), MajGen Alexander A. Vandegrift

(Guadalcanal), and Capt Louis H. iVilson, Jr., (Guam).7. Operation Olympic.8. 2d and 5th Marine Divisions in Japan; 1st and 6th in North China.9. The Navajo Code Talkers Program.

10. The 51st Composite Defense Battalion, Montford Point, North Carolina.

28

FLIGHT LINES

Genera/Motors TBM-3 Avenger

T he Avenger originated at theGrumman Aircraft factory in 1940

in response to a Navy requirement for animproved torpedo-bomber. Althoughthe company had produced a number ofsuccessful carrier-based fighters, it wasGrumman's first attempt to build thattype of aircraft. The result of the effortwas a mid-wing, single-engine mono-

plane, with a weapons bay large enoughfor a torpedo or 2,000-pound bomb, anda dorsal turret at the rear end of a longcockpit "glasshouse." In addition to a.50-caliber machine gun in the turret,there was a forward-firing .50-calibermachine gun in the engine cowling, anda .30-caliber machine gun in theaircraft's rear ventral tunnel.

Grumman's first production of theAvenger appeared in January 1942, andin March, General Motors Corporationwas designated to establish a secondsource of Avengers at its Eastern AircraftDivision. Basic Avenger designationswere TBF for aircraft built by Grummanand TBM for aircraft built by Eastern.The most important models of theAvenger series were the TBF- 1 andTBM-1, the original configuration; theTBF-1C and TBM-1C, in which two.50-caliber wing-mounted guns replacedthe cowl-mounted gun; and the TBM-3,which was equipped with the upratedWright R-2600-20 engine.

Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 131(VMSB-131), later redesignated MarineTorpedo-Bomber Squadron 131(VMTB-131) to reflect its new torpedo-bomber mission, was the first Marineunit equipped with the Avenger. Arriv-ing at Henderson Field in time to takepart in the November 1942 naval Battleof Guadalcanal, VMSB-131 made itscombat debut when four squadron TBFsparticipated in a torpedo attack on theJapanese battleship Hiei. This action,however, was the exception, as MarineTBFs and TBMs were primarily operatedagainst land targets or used on anti-.submarine patrols during the remainderof the war.

Major actions for land-based MarineAvenger squadrons included providing asignificant amount of the airpower usedto keep constant pressure on Japanesebases at New Georgia, Kolombangara,Bougainville, the Shortlands, and NewBritain, as well as providing support forground and naval forces at Guam, Ti-nian, Peleliu, and Okinawa. Additional-

ly' in 1945 carrier-based MarineAvengers flew missions against Pagan,Rota, Borneo, and Okinawa.

The Marine Corps Air-GroundMuseum's Avenger, a TBM-3 (bu. no.85890), was obtained from the GeorgiaForestry Service in 1971, and it was

restored by the Marine Corps AviationAssociation's Alfred A. CunninghamSquadron, located at Cherry Point,North Carolina. —FMB

Marines primarily operated the Avenger in the close air support role, but also used itto lay sea mines, attack surface vessels with torpedos, and depth-bomb submarines.

Technical Data

As depicted in bomber configuration with one 1,000-pound load in the TBM-3 airplanecharacteristics and performance chart issued 1 January 1944.

Manufacturer: General Motors Corporation, Eastern Aircraft Division, Tren-ton, New Jersey.

Type: Carrier-based torpedo-bomber.

Accommodation: Pilot and crew of two.

Power Plant: One 1,800-h.p. Wright R-2600-20.

Dimensions: Span, 54 ft., 2 in.; Length, 40 ft., 111/2 in.; Height 16 ft., 9in.

Weights: Empty, 10,843 lbs.; Gross, 15,715 lbs.

Performance: Max. speed, 263 m.p.h. at 14,800 ft.; Service ceiling, 23,900ft.; Range, 1,200 st. mi.; Climb at sea level, 1,160 ft. per mm.

Armaments: Three .50-caliber machine guns; one .30-caliber machine gun;2,000 lbs. bombs (max. internal); one MK 13-2 torpedo; four325 lb. depth bombs.

29

Korean War ChronologyJuly-September 1950

Shortly before dawn on 25 June 1950, seven infantrydivisions and an armored division of the North Korean

People's Army swept across the 38th Parallel into South Koreawith two infantry divisions in reserve. Two days later U.S. airand naval forces were ordered into action as the United Nationsinvoked military sanctions against North Korea. General of theArmy Douglas MacArthur established the General Head-quarters, Advanced Command Group at Suwon under thecommand of BGen John H. Church, USA, to reorganize thedemoralized Republic of Korea forces.

On 30 June, President Harry S. Truman authorized GenMacArthur to send certain supporting U.S. ground force unitsto Korea. An American naval blockade of the entire Koreancoast was ordered, and Japan-based Air Force planes wereauthorized to bomb specific military targets north of the 38thParallel. Gen MacArthur requested the immediate dispatch toKorea of a Marine Corps regimental combat team with its ownair support. Subsequent to his request, the joint Chiefs of Staffdecided on 3 July to send Marines with their air units to Korea.The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, under the command ofBGen Edward A. Craig, and comprising about 7,000 Marines,prepared to ship out by sea from Camp Pendleton, California.Marine air units to be part of the brigade, under the commandof BGen Thomas J. Cushman, prepared to depart froni ElToro, California, where they were drawn from elements of the1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW).

The 1st Brigade sailed from San Diego on 12 July for Pusan,and the advance echelon of the 1st MAW contingent departedfor Tokyo by aircraft on 16 July. Generals Craig and Cushmanmet with Gen MacArthur on 19 July, and were apprised of hisintention to land Marine forces at Inchon in September. Whilethis strategy session was taking place, President Truman calledthe Organized Marine Corps Reserve to active duty.

By mid-July, the North Korean Army occupied nearly halfof South Korea, and launched a major drive spearheaded

by Russian-built tanks against American positions near Taejon.The severity of the situation was emphasized by a Comman-dant of the Marine Corps directive on 25July that the entire 1stMarine Division be brought to full war strength, and prepareto embark between 10 and 15 August for duty in Korea.Marine aviation elements in the Far East were to be increasedsimultaneously from a single group to a wing.

The first elements of the 1st Brigade came ashore at Pusanon 2 August. The following day, the first Marine aviation mis-sion against the North Koreans was flown from the USS Sicilyby eight Corsairs of VMF-2 14 in a raid against installations atChinju and Saon-ni. This initial raid was followed three dayslater by a strike of Corsairs from VMF-323 on the BadoengStrait against North Korean positions west of Chinju. The 1st

30

Men of the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade, above, boardedrailway cars after landing at Pusan, Korea, on 2 August 1950.South Korean President Syngman Rhee, below, paid a visit toBGen Edward A. Craig, the Brigade's Commanding General,at the front on 27 August, attended the presentation of PurpleHeart medals, and receiveda briefing on the combat situation.

Brigade, in the meanwhile, moved by truck and rail fromPusan to Changwon where it took up defensive positionsastride the Changwon-Mason road.

From 7-10 August, Army and Marine units staged their firststrong counterattack of the war just east of Chinju, when theydrove the North Koreans back over 13 miles in bitter combat.On 12 August, Gen MacArthur, commander of all U.N. forcesin Korea, announced that the combined Marine and Armyèounterattack had obtained its objective with the storming ofenemy hill positions near Chinju. The combined Army andMarine force, known as "Task Force Kean," succeeded in turn-ing back the North Korean threat to Pusan. The victorious, andfatigued, American forces enjoyed but a brief respite, however.On 13 August, a North Korean division succeeded in crossingthe Naktong River near Obong-ni, thus threatening theAmerican positions. Closing the resulting "Naktong Bulge" re-quired the concerted effort of Gen Craig's brigade. The 5thMarines, commanded by LtCol Raymond L. Murray, madeseveral assaults on North Korean positions before it succeededin scaling the 1,000-foot "No-Name Ridge" on 17 August. Anattempted North Korean counterattack failed to dislodge theMarines, and the defeated enemy units retreated back acrossthe Naktong River.

In early September, North Korean ground forces began anew drive across the Naktong, assaulting 2d U.S. Infantry

Division units. Once more, the 5th Marines counterattacked inforce, and by 5 September had pushed back the enemy withheavy losses. At midnight on the same date, the 1st ProvisionalMarine Brigade was disengaged from active combat with NorthKorean forces, and went into reserve to prepare for the upcom-ing amphibious landing at Inchon.

Artillery of the 1st Marine Division prepares the way for a 5thMarines advance on 3 September 1950, in response to a second

31

PFC A. R. Jordan of Staten Island, New York, received a Pur-ple Heart medal from BGen Craig during ceremonies attendedby South Korean President Rhee, following the 1st Marine Pro-visional Brigade's strenuous closing of the "Naktong Bulge."

drive of North Korean ground forces across the Naktong River.The 1st Brigade was soon to go into reserve to assist at Inchon.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVYHEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20380

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

32

BULK RATE

POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

USMC

PERMIT NO. G-63

MCHF Aids Amphibious Warfare History Project

T he Marine Corps Historical Foundationhas approved a fellowship grant for Mr. David

MacGregor, of the University of Rochester. His dissertationprospectus outlines an ambitious project that will primari-ly focus on the inter-war (WWI-WWII) developments inamphibious warfare.

Using a comparative approach, Mr. MacGregor will ex-amine and discuss the doctrinal thinking that caused asignificant change in the "war at sea" environment.

Mr. MacGregor's efforts to date are believed to be a freshtreatment of the subject.

A s. of 1 August, the Foundation has 997 members.Those who have joined since the listing in the sum-

mer issue of Fortitudine include:

MajGen C. Dean Sangalis, USMCRMr. C. Landon FallinMaj DonnaJ. Neary, USMCR2dLt Michael C. Kirby, USMCCol Russell J. Braden, USMCR (Ret)GySgt RobertJ. Roche, USMC (Ret)LtCol Helen G. O'Neill, USMCR (Ret)LtCol Donald W. Carlson, USMCRLtCol Susan R. Malone, USMCRMr. Vaden L. CobbLtCol William 0. Karcher, USMCR (Ret)Mr. Percy R. Pyne, IIILtCol R. G. Kissling, USMC (Ret)CWO4 Charles A. Holmes, USMC (Ret)Mr. C. S. HartleyMr. Frank S. Craig, Jr.Mr. Frederick P. ColeMSgt Jill A. Rupinski, USMCRMr. A. Z. FreemanMr. Pete HaasMr. Richard HarwoodCWO3 Richard P. Douglas, USMCRMrs. Landon K. Thorne, Jr.Col Stanley D. Low

MajGen Louis J. Conti, USMCR (Ret)LtCol Richard J. Alger, USMC (Ret)Col Herbert F. Chabysek, Jr., USMCR (Ret)ColJoe B. Griffith, Jr., USMC (Ret)CWO-3 Joseph C. Dawidziak, USMCRMaj Thomas E. Chuck, USMCRMr. John W. GardnerMr. Thomas W. CrowderMaj James J. Davies, USMCRMaj Charles W. Camperman, USMC (Ret)Mr. John HancockMrs. Beverly J. Rose

Inquiries about the Foundation's activities may be sentto the office at the Historical Center or calls can be made to(202) 433-3914.