FORTITUD INEBULLETIN OF THE MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PROGRAMHISTORICAL BULLETIN VOLUME XIX FALL 1989 NUMBER 2

ARTISTJOHN DEGRASSE'S LEGACY TO THE CORPS. . . ThE PERSEVERING PERFORMANCE OF LTGEN 'H0WLIN'MAD' SMITH. . . MUSEUM MANAGERS VIEW EFFORTS OF EUROPEAN COUNTERPARTS... CORPS' SHORT-LIVEDREISING GUN.. . A CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR IN VIETNAM.. . PRESERVING MEMORIES OF THE 'GREAT WAR'

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

PCN 10401220100

Marine Corps Historical CenterBuilding 58. 'Xalshingron Navy Yard

Washington. D.C 2034-0580Telepiosrte: (2(12) 4)1-3818. 433-3840. 433-3841

DIREC1ORBGeo Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret)

Secretary to the D,rects,r Vacant. Secretary to the Deputy Direc.

toTs/Chief Hsstonan Ms. Jeanerte R Pelton.

HISTORICAL BRANCH

(;ssl Daniel Ni Smith, USMCDeputy Dirs'cts,r for History

Me Henri I Shave, Jr.

Assisrartt Deputy Director for HistoryChief Historian

His/ones Section: Ms. Jack Shulimson: Maj George R. Dunham,USMC, Maj Charles D Nielson. USMC: Mr. Charles R. Smirk. Refer'ence See/so,,. Mr. Danny) Crawfssrd; Mr Robert V. Aquilina; Mrs.Ann A Ferronre: Miss l.ena Ni. Kalyst. bits Regina Strorher; Mrs. Sheha

Gramblin Oral Hio/osy .Secsson Sir Benis M. Frank; Mrs. MeredithP. Hartley ,lrchsi'ei Mrs. ,Josce F Bonnerr; Ms Joyce C. Conyers; SgrKevin L Parker. USMC

MUSEUMS BRANCH

Col F B Nihars, USMC )Rer)Deputy Di revr(ir for Niuseums

Mr Charles A. WoodChef Curator

,irst.it.in.Rei,denceCol Charles H Waterhouse. USMCR

Marine Barracki, Special Projects Nir. Richard A. Loug. Evhsbio: Ms.

Nancy P. Chrixtin, Mr Benns L Lenon. Sr; SSgr Loroy M. Dyas, USMC.Art. Mr Johrs 5 Diet, Jr Pi'soonal Pa/sees: Mr.) Michanl Miller. Reges.tear bliss jenisifer U Goodi,sg .'id,mniitraiiee Clerk Vacant.

M useuisss Braise h Activities, QuanricoLiCol William A Beebe II, USMC

.'\ssisrani Deputy Ditecror for MuseumsOftls er-in-Charge

Assistant OjJics'r.sn Charge fs,r Branch Ac/sri/jet: Mr Kennerh LSmith-Christmas. Educatsisn Ofiicee Capt Cardell N Parker. USMC.

Ordnance Nir slits C Grit) ths. GsSgrJohrr A. MeCumbr, USMC,SSgr Disnald C Niarrrsts. USMC Pci/sea/ocx Mr Joseph E Payron:Mr Srotsley Ni Sokolooski. Sgs (air/es L Arnold. USMC; Sgr Raymond

F Kirses', USMC, Sgi (eats Vasilev, USMC, Cpl I.ennard G. DeWolfe,

USMC Aers,nasatsic Vac,stss ilshshits. Mr Ronald) Perkins; Mr. PrankD Howard. l!ni/s,rrrsi: bits Nanci F King. Programs Assistant MrsKathryn R Trosis Secsarrty GvSgt William P Gravbill, USMC; SSgrMark Hearherron, USMC. SSgr Marrsv S Gaursa. USMC: Sgt PredrickA. Hattid Ii, USMC, Sgs Agursin A Satmienro. USMC; Sgt MarrhesvI. Dala. USMC. Cpl David A Nioelli. USMC, t..Cpl Samuel). Mssnti,

USMC.

SUPPORT BRANCH

Maj Richard A Ciute. USMCHead/Divisisiss Executive Offiser

Adrnin,stratsrse: Capt John B Dickison. Jr.. USMC; SSgr BubbvHsslmex, USMC; Sgs Terry I. PuSher. USMC, Cpl Roberr E. Clarke,USMC: Cpl Vicertse Velez, Jr.. USMC; ifpl Kimberly L. Toyekoyah.USMC. Secnrsts. SSgs Randy Shouse, USMC. Library Miss Evelyn A

Engiander, Mrs. Pasricia E. Miirgan

Publications Production, Nir Rolsers E. Srruder. Production: MrsCatherine A. Knrns. Graphics' Mr. William S. Hill. Typesetting: CplAndru L. Owens iii, USMC.

Editor. Fortitud,neNir itishert E Srsuder

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

Historical Bulletin Volume XIX Fall 1989 No. 2

This quarterly bulletin of the Marine Corps historical program is published forMarines, at the rate of one copy for every nine on active duty, to provide educationand training in the uses of military and Marine Corps history. Other interested readersmay purchase single copies or one-year subscriptions (four issues) from the Superin-tendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Memorandum from the Directoj- Alabama's Holland M. Smith 3

New Books: Volumes Trace Marines from Civil War to Vietnam 10

Historical Quiz: Quotes By, About, and For Marines 10

Twentynine Palms History Published 11

Readers Always Write: Summerall's Story Also a Colorful One 11

Museum Chiefs Attend International Conclaves 12

Answers to Historical Quiz: Quotes By, About, and For Marines 14

Marine Staff Learns from European Museums 15

The Infamous Reising Gun Remembered 17

Artist-Illustrator John DeGrasse Recalled 18

Mentioned in Passing: Deaths of Resistance Fighterand Corps Historian Noted - 19

Hungarian Military Historians Visit Center 21

Part I of a Chronology, May 1954-May 1975:The U.S. Marine Corps and the Vietnam War .22

Acquisitions: Museum Preserves Memory of Great War' Marines 24

THE COVER

'Post Docks, Quantico, Virginia" byjohn DeGrasse, serves both to illustrate pleasantpursuits of the last fine days of autumn and to provide a delightful example ofthe work of the recently deceased artist, a longtime colleague and friend of mem-bers of the Marine Corps historical community and an avid recreational boater. AMarine NCO, DeGrasse followed his active military service with continued involve-ment with the Corps as one of the most-published illustrators of its personalities,locales, and missions. In the course of a long career he produced more than 100covers for Leatherneck and Marine Corps Gazette. Curator of Art John T. Dyer, Jr.,offers an appreciation, with more illustrations, on page 18.

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.potnt Garamond typeface. Headlines are in 18-pointor 24-point Garamond. The bulletin is printed on 70-pound. matte.coated paper by offset lithography.

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

2

HISTORYAND MUSEUMSDIVISION

Memorandum from the Director

Alabama's Holland M. SmithBGen Simmons

Q N a AUGUST 1989, Gen HollandM. Smith—the legendary "Howlin'

Mad" Smith—was inducted into Alaba-ma's Military Hall of Honor, a long over-due honor.

The warrior ethic is strong in Alabamaand it is also a state wherein the populaceis unabashedly patriotic. The Military Hallof Honor is at the Marion Military Insti-tute, one of the oldest military academiesin the country, but Marion is not close toanything, so the induction ceremonieswere held in Birmingham.

It was a black-tie affair, held at TheClub up on Red Mountain overlooking thecity. The Club is a glittering kind of placemore suited, I would think, to Palm

Springs or Las Vegas than to Birmingham.The 4th Marine Aircraft Wing Band wasthere to provide music, which they did,and exceedingly well. MajGen Donald R.Gardner, CG MCB Camp Lejeune, was theCommandant's representative and I wasthere to give the dedicatory remarks onGen Smith.

Holland M. Smith was just one of fourpersons being inducted.

T HE LATh Cpl Sidney E. Manning,USA, called by Pershing one of the

ten immortals of the American Expedi-tionary Forces, received the Medal ofHonor for his remarkable performance asthe erstwhile commander of a rifle platoon

of the Rainbow Division on 28 July 1918.RAdm James S. Freeman, Sr., also de-

ceased, beached his cargo ship, USS Al-chiba, at Guadalcanal on 28 November1942 and unloaded supplies and ammu-nition under fire, an action that gainedhim the Navy Cross.

Col William R. Lawley, Jr., USAF, thefourth inductee, is still alive and waspresent at the ceremony. As a lieutenanthe had brought home to England his crip-pled B-17 bomber. Badly wounded him-self, his co-pilot dead, the other eightmembers of his crew wounded, and witha full bomb load frozen in the racks andhis engines either out or burning, he stillmanaged a successful crash landing.Recovering from his wounds, Bill Lawleyreceived the Medal of Honor and went onto a full career in the Air Force.

Gen Smith's accomplishments were ofa different sort.

About 175 to 200 persons were present,including about 20 flag officers, most ofthem active or retired Army generals,regular, National Guard, or Reserve. I wasgiven to understand that there are stillresidual sensitivities over the Smith vs.Smith controversy at Saipan and that thesefeelings had possibly delayed Howlin' MadSmith's juried acceptance into the Hall ofHonor.

T HE SMITHS WERE an old Georgianfamily who had come to Alabama af-

ter the Civil War. Holland McTyeire Smithwas born on 20 April 1882 in RussellCounty in the heart of the Cotton Belt.His father was a young school teacher whohad read the law and had been admittedto the bar a year before Holland's birth.Holland's mother was of staunchlyMethodist Scotch-Irish extraction, hencehis middle name, McTyeire. When he wasthree the family moved into Seale, thecounty seat, which then had somethingless than 300 persons. His elementary edu-cation was in Seale's one-room, one-teacher schoolhouse.

Holland's father, John V. Smith, ac-

Smith family portrait includes young Holland, top left, and his mother at center andfather at center right. The Smiths had moved to Russell County, Alabama, fromGeorgia after the Civil JVar His father John V, originally a schoolteacher later ad-mitted to the bar, was reputed to be one of the best criminal lawyers in the state.

3

quired the reputation of being cme of thebest criminal lawyers in the state. Fatherand son were not particularly close, but itwas taken for granted that Holland wouldfollow his father into law. In 1898 he en-tered Alabama Polytechnical Institute,which later became Auburn University.Polytech was run as a military school. Hol-land did not like the uniforms or the drilland he barely managed to graduate. His-tory was his favorite subject and Napoleonwas his favorite general. He graduated in1901 and at his father's insistence enrolledin a two-year law course at the Universityof Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He was a goodshort-distance runner and in his senioryear at the University was captain of thetrack team. He graduated in 1903 andreturned to Seale to work in his father'slaw office. He did not do well.

After a year of this he went to Washing-ton to see about getting a commission inthe Army. There were no vacancies in theArmy, but his congressman asked him ifhe would be interested in the Marines. Hehad never heard of the Marine Corps, buthe jumped at the chance. He went to acram school and in February 1905 passedthe examinations for a commission. Amonth later he was appointed a secondlieutenant.

H E LEARNED ThE RUDIMENTS of being

a Marine Corps officer at the Schoolof Application at Marine Barracks, An-napolis, much as today's new lieutenantsgo to The Basic School at Quantico, Vir-ginia. While at Annapolis he was muchtaken by Miss Ada Wilkinson of Phoenix-yule, Pennsylvania.

On finishing the course he was orderedto the 1st Brigade of Marines, then serv-ing in the Philippines. It was garrison dutyat the tag end of the Philippine Insurrec-tion. There was no fighting to be done butthere was hard training in jungle warfare.

On his return to the States in 1909 hemarried Miss Wilkinson. That year alsosaw him going, as a first lieutenant, on ex-peditionary duty to Nicaragua. AfterNicaragua he was assigned to Marine Bar-racks, Annapolis, and then transferred toMarine Barracks, Bremerton, Washington.In 1912 he went once again to the Philip-pines to serve as a company commanderin the 1st Regiment. Then he went to seaas Marine detachment commander in thecruiser Galveston which gave him 15months in Asiatic waters. The war in Eu-

Maj Smith was the subject of a snapshotin France during the First W/orld Ufir

rope had begun. In 1915 he returned tothe States for duty at Marine Barracks,New Orleans. From here, as a captain andcommander of the 8th Company, he wentwith the 4th Marine Regiment to activeoperations in Santo Domingo.

He was military commander of PuertoPlata on Santo Domingo's north coastwhen the United States entered the FirstWorld War in April 1917. Within a monthhe and his company were ordered toPhiladelphia where the 5th Regiment wasbeing formed for service in France.

H E SAILED WITH THE first convoy ofAmerican troops in mid-June 1917

in command of the 8th Machine GunCompany. Early in 1918 he became, as amajor, brigade adjutant of the 4th MarineBrigade. The brigade saw action in a quietsection of trenches near Verdun and thenwas plunged into the battle for BelleauWood. Major Smith's role in all this wasnot dramatic. He had moved from beingbrigade adjutant to brigade liaison officer.As such he was next assigned to the staffof I Corps, First Army. From this perspec-tive he saw Soissons, St. Mihiel, and theMeuse-Argonne.

4

In an article, "Liaison," which appearedin the September 1919 Marine CorpsGazette, he called liaison "the nerve centerof command." Much of what he called"liaison" we would now call "fire supportcoordination." ("The artillery cannot actefficaciously unless it is in intimate Liai-son with the infantry which it is sup-porting.")

After being briefly with the Army ofOccupation in Germany he came home inMarch 1919 to duty at Marine Barracks,Norfolk, Virginia. The following year hewas sent to the Naval War College at New-port, Rhode Island. He found it "boggeddown in obsolescence," particularly in thearea of amphibious warfare.

F OLLOWING HIS GRADUATION he wasnamed to the Joint Army-Navy Plan-

ning Committee, a kind of forerunner ofthe Joint Chiefs of Staff, headed by theChief of Staff of the Army and the Chiefof Naval Operations. The planners werealready quite certain that Japan was themost likely opponent and were devotingthought to a war in the Pacific. He was thefirst Marine to be so assigned.

Smith argued, without success, for thedevelopment of special amphibious land-ing craft. In 1924 the Navy and Marinesheld a large-scale landing exercise in theCaribbean. Smith, acting as an umpire,thoughts the results were appalling, mostparticularly in the ship-to-shoremovement.

Smith's next assignment was as brigadeadjutant of the Marine Brigade in Haiti,which the Marines had been policing since1915. Two years passed uneventfully andthen he went to Quantico where he wan-gled a slot in the Marine Corps FieldOfficers Course. The tactics being taughtwere too rooted in First World War ex-perience and too defensive in nature tosuit Smith. He was also one of those, alongwith Lejeune and Holcomb, who saw thefuture of the Marine Corps as being else-where than as a reinforcement to the Armyin a land war in Europe.

T HE YEARS WERE PASSING. He nowwent to the humdrum job of post

quartermaster at Marine Barracks,Philadelphia Navy Yard. In 1930 he waspromoted to lieutenant colonel and in1932 was detailed to the USS Californiaas the Battle Force Marine Officer. Therewas a large-scale landing exercise on Oahu

On the 1st of February 1941 the 1st Ma-rine Brigade became the 1st Marine Divi-sion. There were more landing exercises.VAdm ErnestJ. King, then commandingthe Atlantic Fleet, was one of those withwhom Smith frequently clashed.

that did not impress him. The followingyear he served briefly as CommandingOfficer, Marine Barracks, Washington,D.C., and then, in 1935, became Chief ofStaff, Department of the Pacific, in SanFrancisco.

He was sure that war with Japan wouldcome. He wrote to the Commandant urg-ing that planning and training for am-phibious operations be stepped up. InMarch 1937, and now a colonel, he wastransferred to the staff of the Comman-dant, now MajGen Thomas Holcomb, along-time confidant and friend of Presi-dent Roosevelt.

Smith continued to have a special in-terest in the development of landing craft.He was promoted to brigadier general inAugust 1939, and a month later, at aboutthe same time that Hitler's armiesmarched into Poland, was transferred toQuantico to take command of the 1st Ma-rine Brigade, Fleet Marine Force. Injanu-ary 1940 he took his brigade to theCaribbean for amphibious training andlanding exercises.

dinates began calling him "Howlin' Mad,"although he did not learn of this nick-name until much later when it appearedin a Time magazine article.

Actually, he was ordinarily a quiet-spoken man and very considerate of theofficers and men around him. His contem-poraries called him by the nickname"Hoke." Those who knew him best say thatSmith never really lost his temper. "Thegreatest weapon that one can have," hetold one subordinate, "is controlled anger,and the greatest defect that one can haveis uncontrolled anger."

I NJUNE 1941, I Corps (Provisional), U.S.Atlantic Fleet, was activated as an ex-

peditionary force to consist of the 1st Ma-rine Division and the 1st InfantryDivision. Adm King insisted that Smithcommand the corps which in turn becamethe Amphibious Corps, Atlantic Fleet, es-sentially a training command.

When war did come on 7 December1941, 59-year-old MajGen Holland M.Smith was in the prime of his profession-al life. He was of medium height, perhapsfive feet nine or ten inches, and somewhatpaunchy. His once-black hair had turnedgray. His once-close-trimmed mustachewas somewhat scraggly. He wore steel-rimmed glasses and he smoked cigars in-cessantly.

Except for the cigars, this was the manI saw when I received my diploma ongraduating from the 9th Reserve OfficersCourse and 8th Candidates Class at Quan-tico on a Saturday morning, 22 August1942. 1 knew only vaguely that this mancommanded all the Marines assigned tothe Atlantic Fleet.

A COPY OF HIS REMARKS has survived.

What he had to say was not particu-larly profound, but there were kernels ofwisdom in what he said about the art ofcommand.

I N THE SUMMER OF 1940 the brigademoved to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and

began building a tent camp. BGen Smithwas demanding of his subordinates and hewas having problems with the Navy, par-ticularly with respect to landing craft.

It was about this time that these subor-

MajGen Smith, expeditionaiy troops commander points out American bombers headedfor Kwayalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands for V Amphibious Corps Chief of StaffBGen Graves B. Erskzne, without helmet, in February 1944. Next up was Eniwetok.

The Joint commander of all US. landforces in the Marshall Islands campaign, MayGenSmith, confers on the battle situation in February 1944 with Army MajGen Charles H.Corlett. Smith r relationshi/7s with Army commanders would soon become controversial.

"You must develop the iron energynecessary to surmount every exigencywhich battle may bring forth," he said,"and you must develop an inflexible willto execute that which has been planned."

He spoke of the virtues of discipline andloyalty:

"In order for a leader to enjoy the loyaltyof his subordinates, he must in turn beloyal to them . . . . Our Marines expectto be led. They expect their officers toshare their hardships and their hazardsand I say to you solemnly that you mustnever, under any circumstances, expect orcall upon your men to show greater spiritor courage than that which you manifestyourself . . . . Let no man in your com-mand have a better knowledge than you,of your weapons, their capabilities andtheir employment."

And then, in a few words, he sketchedin what really was his own leadershipcredo:

"Avoid, as you would the plague, an un-controlled temper. Shun favoritism. Treatevery man with a similar firm kindness,and you will have mastered the rudimentsin the art of command."

What I didn't know as a young secondlieutenant was that there were great pres-sures from as high a level as PresidentRoosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill toeither chop up the Marine Corps intocommando-size pieces or to send its divi-sions to the European theater. It took mensuch as Gen Smith and the Commandant,Gen Holcomb, to resist these pressures,and to keep the Fleet Marine Force orient-

ed to the war against the Japanese, the warfor which it had prepared.

G EN SMITH'S lARKS to my graduat-ing class were also, in effect, his fare-

well to Quantico. In that same month, Au-gust 1942, at least in partial recognitionthat the Marine Corps' war was in the Pa-cific, he turned over command of Am-phibious Corps, Atlantic Fleet, to an Armygeneral and prepared to take command ofits West Coast counterpart, AmphibiousCorps, Pacific Fleet.

When he left Quantico for San Diego

in September he took with him a hand-picked staff.

His chief of staff was the tough andcapable Col (now General, deceased)Graves B. Erskine. Wounded at BelleauWood and again at St. Mihiel and holderof the Silver Star, Erskine, after the FirstWorld War, had served in Haiti, SantoDomingo, Cuba, Nicaragua, and China.Already known as "the Big E," he had beenSmith's chief of staff in both the 1st Ma-rine Brigade and 1st Marine Division.

Erskine said later that he could usuallysee when Smith was getting ready to ex-plode: "He drew himself up, and usuallywhen he was real mad he would startbreathing very heavily, and I could see itcoming."

Another star performer was LtCol (nowGeneral, retired) Robert E. Hogaboom, a1925 graduate of the Naval Academy whohad seen service in Nicaragua and Chinaand who at Quantico had won the repu-tation of being a brilliant instructor.

Mercurial LtCol (now Major General,deceased) Donald M. Weller was also amember of the team that Smith took withhim to San Diego in September 1942.Weller had specialized in naval gunfiresupport on the staff of Amphibious Corps,Atlantic Fleet, and he would continue thatspecialty in the Pacific.

Weller, who remembered Smith as be-ing extremely kind and considerate of hisown staff, later pointed out how impor-

In February 1945, LtGen Smith and Chief of Staff Co/ Dud/ey S. Brown /oo overthe beaches of Iwo Jima which Marines of the V Amphibious Corps had just won.Landing vehicles, bogged down in soft sand, had received concentrated enemy Jire.

MaJor p/ayers in the Pacific IVar, from left, LtGen Ho//and M. Smith, VAdm Rich-mondK. Thrner and RAdm Harry U Hi/I, off Iwo Jima in February 1945. A/thoughSmith was in command of expeditionary troops he did not join the fighting ashore.

6

tant an influence the relationship estab-lished in 1941 between Adm King andGen Smith was on subsequent MarineCorps operations in the Pacific.

T HE CRUX OF THE PROBLEMS with AdmKing had been the penchant of Navy

admirals to get down into the tactical de-tails of operations of the landing forceonce it was ashore.

"Adm King was a hard-nosed, irascibletype; there's no question about it,"remembered Weller. 'King was verydemanding, very arbitrary, autocratic, butcompetent. The relationship between Hol-land Smith and Adm King grew to be oneof mutual respect, but it grew to be oneof mutual respect because Holland Smithrefused to lay over and play dead and letKing run over him."

Capt (now Lieutenant General, retired)Victor H. Krulak had been under Smithin both the brigade and division and inthe new command he served as his aide(Smith found his facile pen most useful)and as assistant logistics officer. In hisbook, First to Fiht, Gen Krulak has thisto say about Smith:

He took the Marines of theEast Coast Fleet Marine Force—about three thousand of them,air and ground—to the Caribbe-an in the autumn of 1940 anddrove them mercilessly in landingexercises at Culebra, grinding therough edges off their perfor-mance. . . . He made few friendsin the Navy with his critical as-sessment that the landing craftand troop transport available forthe 1940 exercises were wholly in-adequate.

SMITH HAD FOUND the BuShips-designed landing craft to be "without

merit." He had sighted in on a boat deve-loped by Andrew Higgins of New Orleans.Erskine remembered that "Higgins hadbeen building boats for the rum runners,which were pretty fast; they could run upinto the beaches where the Coast Guardcouldn't follow, and get away from them."

Smith considered the Higgins boat, ofwhich they had a dozen or so for testing,to be the only satisfactory type of landingcraft.

"If we had 300 of those boats and theships to carry them," he said, "we'd be inbusiness."

This was the time also of the develop-ment of Donald Roebling's "Alligator"into the amphibian tractor or "LandingVehicle, Tracked" (LVT). Capt Krulak wasput in charge of its testing. During theCulebra maneuvers Smith arranged forKrulak to give Adm King a demonstrationof the LVT's reef-crossing capabilities. Un-fortunately the tractor got hung up ahundred yards off the beach and an en-raged Adm King, in a starched white uni-form, had to wade ashore.

IN SAN DIEGO Smith took over thesupervision of the amphibious training

of both Marine Corps and U.S. Army di-visions destined for the Pacific.

LtCol John C. McQueen (now Lieu-tenant General, deceased), Naval Acade-my, 1921, joined Smith's staff at San Diegoin October 1942, initially serving as an in-telligence officer on temporary duty withRAdm Francis W. Rockwell's Ninth Am-phibious Force. Later he would becomeSmith's G-3.

LtCol Hogaboom was put in charge ofa training group sent to Fort Ord to readythe Army's 7th Division (which had beentraining for desert warfare) for amphibi-ous operations in the Aleutians.Hogaboom found the soldiers responsiveand eager to learn. On the other hand, Er-

skine said that the Army was courteous,but that "There was no real warmth for anyof us." In any case, the 7th Divisionreceived no real cold weather training be-fore being sent north against the Japanese-held Aleutians.

In April 1943 Smith, along with LtCoIsMcQueen and Hogaboom, embarked asobservers in the battleship Pennsylvania,RAdm Rockwell's flagship, watched themuddled landing of the 7th Division atAttu. Later most of Smith's staff would ac-company him as observers of the Kiskalanding. To the mortification of the taskforce, the Japanese had bailed out.

I MMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS Smith cri-

tiqued the operation for the benefit ofAdm King, now the U.S. Chief of NavalOperations, and Adm Chester W. Nimitz,Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet. So im-pressed was Nimitz that he invited Smithto accompany him on a tour of the SouthPacific. There were now three Marinedivisions—the 1st, 2d, and 3d, all threetrained by Smith — operating in the SouthPacific.

On the return flight from his inspectiontrip, Adm Nimitz told Smith that he in-tended to give him command of all Ma-rines in the Central Pacific. The time wascoming when strategic emphasis on thedrive toward Tokyo would shifr from the

Retired Gen Smith, aged 70, visited Marines in Korea in April 1952. From left are com-manders Col Russell E. Honsowetz, 7th Marines, and Col Frederzc, P Henderson, 11thMarines, Gen Smith, and MayGen John T Selden, 1st Division commanding general.

7

South Pacific to the Central Pacific in ac-cordance with plans very close to those de-veloped by the Navy and Marine Corps inthe pre-war years.

Accordingly Smith's command wasredesignated as V Amphibious Corps andhis headquarters moved from San Diegoto Pearl Harbor. The first objective for thedrive west through the Central Pacificwould be the Gilbert Islands. Smith wasto be commander of expeditionary troopsfor this operation, code-named Galvanic.His immediate superior would be the Am-phibious Force Commander, RAdm (laterAdm) Richmond Kelly Turner, "TerribleTurner," whose temper was at least aslegendary as Smith's. The two men strucksparks like flint against steel, but, as Smithsaid it in Coral and Brass, ". . . our part-nership, though stormy, spelled hell in bigred letters to the Japanese."

Turner, like many admirals of his gener-ation, had a proclivity for playing gener-al. Smith told him bluntly: "I don't try torun your ships and you'd better by a god-damn sight lay off of my troops."

T HE MAJOR TARGET in the Gilberts was

Tarawa. The flagship for Tarawa wasagain the old Pennsylvania. LtColHogaboom was loaned to Turner's staffand in his mind, "The greatness of Ad-miral Kelly Turner was in that Kelly Turnerworked his plans out in minute detail him-self, right down to the last position of ev-ery amphibious vessel; where they wouldbe, when they should be there, what theywere to do."

As to the relationship of Turner andSmith, as Hogaboom saw it, "At the so-cial level the two seemed to get along quitewell together and seemed to enjoy drink-ing together. At the professional levelthough there was this tremendoustension."

The landing was made on 20 Novem-ber 1943 by the 2d Marine Division andin 76 terrible hours the battle against5,000 Japanese defenders was won. Therehad not been enough amphibian tractorsfor the bloody move from the reef line tothe beach, and naval gunfire preparation,to Smith's way of thinking, had been in-adequate. Also, progress by the 165thRegimental Combat Team from the Ar-my's 27th Division in the simultaneous at-tack against lightly-held Makin Island hadbeen, in Smith's mind, "infuriatingly

slow." Seeds for further problems betweenSmith and the Army were sown.

Next on the target list were the MarshallIslands.

H OGABOOM CONSIDERED RAdmRichard L. "Close-in" Conolly, the

naval attack force commander, one of thefinest amphibious commanders: ". . . he

had all the great features of Kelly Turnerand none of his faults."

Some of the lessons learned at Tarawawere successfully applied. There were moreamphibian tractors. Naval gunfire supportwas better. American losses in the takingin February 1944 of Roi-Namur by the 4thMarine Division and Kwajalein by the Ar-my's 7th Division, were light compared toTarawa. But while the Marines took Roi-Namur in a little more than a single day,the Army required four days to takeKwajalein. Again Holland Smith was notpleased by Army performance.

The concluding objective in the Mar-shalls was Eniwetok, taken in mid-

8

February by the 22d Marine Regiment andthe 106th Infantry.

In March, Smith received the third starof a lieutenant general. The next targetswere in the Mariana Islands, three islandsin succession — Saipan, Guam, and Tinian.

D-day for Saipan was 15 June 1944. Theassault was by the 2d and 4th Marine Di-visions. One of the concepts for the land-ing was not to debark from the amphibiantractors at the beach but to continue thetractors on inland. This was Erskine's idea.

T HE ARMY'S i7TH DIVISION was in re-serve. There was friction between Kel-

ly Turner and Smith as to who should havecommand of the reserve and who shouldsay when and where it was to be landed.On 2OJune the 27th Division was put intothe center of the line between the two Ma-rine divisions. On the 23d the three divi-sions jumped off in a shoulder-to-shoulderattack that was to sweep to the north ofthe island. The 27th Division boggeddown, the line bent in the middle, andLtGen Holland M. Smith, U.S. Marines,

Visiting the camp named for him in 1966, Gen Smith was escorted by former aide andlongtime colleague LtGen Victor H. Krulak. Attentive to the Vietnam W"ar and predict-ing a stalemate, Smith suffered a heart attack that same year and died in January 1967.

relieved the commander of the 27th Infan-try, MajGen Ralph C. Smith, U.S. Army.The press played up the relief and therepercussions would be felt for years. ColMcQueen, Holland M. Smith's G-3, wasone of those who thought that his boss'relief of Ralph Smith was a bit impulsive.

One immediate repercussion was thaton 12 July, before either the Guam or Tin-ian landings could take place, HollandSmith was kicked upstairs to command ofFleet Marine Force, Pacific, an administra-tive command just created. He did not,however, leave the Marianas immediatelyfor Pearl Harbor.

I remember getting a glimpse of himon the beach at Guam sometime after ourlanding on 21 July in company with Maj-Gen Roy S. Geiger, then commanding IIIAmphibious Corps. On 24 July he wasreplaced as Commanding General, Ex-peditionary Troops, by MajGen HarrySchmidt, USMC.

By now, as Gen Hogaboom later put it,the staff 'had a professionalism, a com-petence that—we knew how to solve theproblems and we knew what they were andfrom there on . . . there was little doubtof success."

H OWEVER, THE FINE STAFF that hadbeen assembled at Quantico was

breaking up. LtCol Krulak had left earlyin 1943 for parachute training and a com-bat command. Erskine, who had beenpromoted to brigadier general in the sum-mer of 1943, received a second star afterTinian and was given command of the 3dMarine Division. He took Hogaboom withhim as his chief of staff.

About this time BGen Lemuel C.Shepherd, Jr.'s 1st Provisional MarineBrigade, which had landed at Guam alongwith the 3d Division, was expanded intothe new 6th Marine Division. Newlypromoted MajGen Shepherd asked for ColMcQueen to be his Chief of Staff and GenSmith obliged.

Smith was in command of Expedition-ary Troops at Iwo Jima, but HarrySchmidt, as V Amphibious Corps com-mander, stood between him and the fight-ing ashore.

There were those who thought thatSmith should have had command of theTenth Army— the Army's XXIV Corps andthe Marines' III Amphibious Corps—which was formed for the Okinawa cam-paign, but command was given to the Ar-

my's much-less-experienced LtGen SimonBolivar Buckner. And so the war endedwith Smith shelved in Hawaii.

In February 1946, on my return fromthe Pacific, I became, as a 24-year-old cap-tain, managing editor of the Marine CorpsGazette. All the officers really qualifiedas editors were Reserves and they were tak-ing their post-war discharges just as rapidlyas they could get them. One of my firsteditorial tasks was the preparation for pub-lication of an imposing manuscript enti-tled "The Development of AmphibiousTactics in the U.S. Navy" putatively writ-ten by LtGen Holland M. Smith.

The amanuensis was his junior aide,lstLt William H. Lowe, Jr., a product ofHarvard. By the time we were ready to be-gin publication Bill Lowe had beenreleased from active duty and had gone towork for WorldReport, predecessor to US.News and World Report, and themanuscript was not yet complete. Lowepromised to finish it.

Part of my task of readying themanuscript for publication was to write abiographical profile of Gen Smith. Work-ing with the manuscript and writing thebiographical sketch caused me to wonder'where the man, Holland M. Smith, end-ed and the persona, Howlin' Mad Smith,possibly created by his staff and the me-dia, began. Frankly, now, 43 years later, Iam still not certain.

T HE FIRST INSTALLMENT of The De-velopment ofAmphibious Tactics in

the US. Navy appeared in theJune 1946Gazette. The series, so far as it goes, is avery thorough piece of work. It is particu-larly strong in its coverage of the theoreti-cal developments and landing exercisesconducted between the two world wars. Itis also good in that it covers both the Pa-cific and European theaters and includesall significant Army landings as well asMarine. The approach is analytical and theseries is still well worth reading and study.

With the October issue and the fifth in-stallment, the byline changed from"LtGen Holland M. Smith" to "Gen Hol-land M. Smith (Ret'd)." The series endsabruptly with the March 1947 issue of theGazette. That last installment deals withSalerno and the last line is "To be con-tinued."

But it never was. Bill Lowe went to Lon-

9

don and Paris as bureau chief for US.News and World Report.

Gen Smith himself had retired in April1946 with an honorary promotion to four-star general. He had no staff upon whomto depend for the completion of the ser-ies. He turned instead to the Australianjournalist, Percy Finch, and the writing ofhis "autobiography," Coral and Brass.

F INCH MUST BEAR much of the blamefor sensationalizing the autobiogra-

phy. It is a quarrelsome, bitter book thatmust be considered against the back-ground of the rampant postwar interser-vice rivalries which culminated in theenactment of the National Security Act of1947. Smith was concerned not only overthe future of the Marine Corps but alsohis own place in history.

Saturday Evening Post, then a tremen-dously influential publication, publishedmuch of Coral and Brass as a series of ar-ticles under such titles as "Tarawa Was aMistake," "My Troubles With the Army onSaipan," and "Iwo Jima Cost Too Much."The book was an embarrassment to theMarine Corps and it did not serve HollandSmith well. He could have better spent histime tending his roses in La Jolla.

QUITE POSSIBLY Gen Smith later re-gretted the book's publication be-

cause he made no further public commenton the conduct of the war. In 1950 hehosted a series, "Uncommon Valor," onthat new and burgeoning medium knownas television. In 1952, at age 70, he visit-ed the Marines then fighting in Korea. In1965 he predicted that all that could comeout of Vietnam was a stalemate. InNovember 1966 he suffered a heart attackand in January 1967 he died.

In 1987 the Marine Corps Associationpublished A Fighting General by NormanV. Cooper. Although imperfectly edited,it is a much better biography of Smiththan Coral and Brass. The book had itsorigins as Cooper's doctoral dissertation atthe University of Alabama. Dr. Cooper,himself an Alabamian, sums up GenSmith's career and contributions very well:

the aggressiveness and esprit decorps which. . . he fostered, demanded,and embodied was preserved and trans-mitted to future generations of Marines.That was his legacy to the Corps he hadserved so long and which he loved so well."

L1775L1

New Books

Volumes Map Battles from Civil War to Vietnam

F ROM THE LIBRARY of the MarineCorps Historical Center, recently pub-

lished books of professional interest to Ma-rines. Except where noted, these books areavailable from local bookstores or libraries.

Civil War BooksFighting for the Confederacy: The PersonalRecollections of General Edward PorterAlexander. Gary W. Gallagher, ed.University of North Carolina Press, 664pp., 1989. A previously unpublished per-sonal memoir, completed several years be-fore Gen Alexander's classic MilitaryMemoirs of a Confederate. Themanuscript was virtually unknown untilGary Gallagher identified its various seg-ments and reconstructed its original form.Gen Alexander was involved in nearly allthe great battles of the East from FirstManassas through Appomattox. $34.95.

Bloody Roads South: The Wilderness toCold Harbor; May-June 1864. Noah AndreTrudeau. Little, Brown, and Co., 354 pp.'1989. An account of the 1864 VirginiaCampaign which pitted Lee against Grant.In recreating the 40 days of battle, theauthor has combined his narrative with arich selection of reminiscences, letters, anddiaries. $19.95.

World War II

Wartime: Understanding and Behavior inthe Second World War. Paul Fussell. Ox-ford University Press, 330 pp., 1989. Fus-sell, author of The Great War and ModernMemory, examines the impact of WorldWar II on common soldiers and civilians.He analyzes the psychological and emo-tional atmosphere of the war and thedamage the war did to such characteris-tics as intellect, discrimination, honesty,individuality, and wit. As in his book onWorld War I, there is also a discussion ofthe literature of the time and how it wasinfluenced by the events of the war.$19.95.

Into the Valley: A Skirmish of Marines.John Hersey. Schocken Books, 111 pp.,1989. Into the Valley originally publishedin 1943, has now been reissued as part ofthe "Witness to War" series, being pub-

by Evelyn A. EnglanderHistorical Center Librarian

lished by Schocken Books to com-memorate the fiftieth anniversary of\Vorld War II. $15.95.

Korean War

Disaster in Korea: The Chinese ConfrontMacArthur. LtCol Roy E. Appleman, USA(Ret). Texas A & M University Press, 456pp., 1989. Continues the narrative of theKorean War begun in South to the Nak-tong, North to the Yalu. This covers theperiod from 24 November to 26 Decem-ber 1950, when the advance by the Ameri-can and U.N. forces into the west of NorthKorea was halted by the Chinese Army.$35.00.

Vietnam

Khe Sanh, Siege in the Clouds.- An OralHistory. Eric Hammel. Crown Publishers,Inc., 508 pp. Eric Hammel's latest bookis an oral history of the siege of Khe Sanh.In writing this, he interviewed nearly onehundred participants of the battle. Blackand white photographs. $24.95.

The Memorial. James Amos. Crown Pub-lishers, 259 pp., 1989. In this novel, JakeAdams, businessman, husband, fatherremembers his time in Vietnam withCompany A, 1/9 during 1968-69, and inso doing, realizes what the war has meantto him and to his generation. $19.95

Historical Quiz

Quotes By, About, and For Marinesby Lena M. KalyotReference Historian

Identify the speakers, or writers, of the following quotes:

1. "Why in Hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can; they are all the samekind of men, why can't they be like Marines?"2. "Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common

virtue:'3. "Once a Marine, always a Marine."4. "We're not accustomed to occupying defensive positions. It's destructive to

morale."5. "Retreat hell! We're just attacking in another direction."6. "We've been looking for the enemy for several days now. We've finally found

them. We're surrounded. That simplifies our problem of finding these peopleand killing them."

7. "I had always enjoyed the title of Commander-in-Chief until I was informedthat the only forces that cannot be transferred from Washington without

my express permission are the members of the Marine Corps Band. Those arethe only forces I have. I want it announced that we propose to hold the WhiteHouse against all odds at least for some time to come8. "We don't want to get bigger—just better. The Marines' stock-in-trade is

readiness. We are ready to go!"9. "Where do we get such men?"

10. "We're going to ensure that every Marine is a warrior first ... and our Ma-rine infantrymen are going to be commandos. We're going to train them in fivelevels of martial arts. When we get through, nobody better mess with any ofmy Marines:'

(Answers on page 14)

10

Twentynine Palms History Published

A NEW BASE HISTORY, the 109-pageU.S. Marines at Twentynine Palms,

California, by Col Verle E. Ludwig, USMC(Ret), has just been published and sentout to Marine Corps organizations andlibraries on our distribution lists. It is avail-able from the Superintendent of Docu-ments, GPO, Washington, D.C. 20402(Order No. 008-005-00-176-5, $6.00) inthe soft-cover edition. Those who want tobuy copies should not hesitate; GPO'sreported small supply may well be usedup by base post exchange purchases.

The author of Twentynine Palms, analumnus of the University of Indiana, isa graduate of the old Historical Branch,G-3 Division, where he was, as a major,co-author of the first volume, Pearl Har-bor to Guadalcanal, of the World War IIseries. In addition to service as an infan-try platoon leader on Okinawa in 1945, asa journalist between the wars, and as a di-vision staff officer in Korea, Col Ludwigdid a tour with the University of MissouriNROTC as Marine officer instructor; com-manded the Marine Barracks, HuntersPoint; led the 1st Battalion, 9th Marinesinto Vietnam in 1965; served later duringthe war as Deputy Information Officer,Military Assistance Command Vietnam, inSaigon; and held the Marine chair in am-phibious warfare at the Naval War Collegeat Newport. In terms of this history,however, his most important appoint-ments were as Chief of Staff and then

by Henry I. Shaw, JrChief Historian

Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Base,Twentynine Palms, in 1973-75.

E NAMOURED OF THE high desertcountry, Col Ludwig settled down af-

ter his retirement in the town of Twenty-nine Palms and began two decades ofteaching English and creative writing forlocal community colleges. The bookreflects both the love of the desert and theart of writing.

In a highly personalized style, theauthor describes not only the Californiahigh desert, but also its earlyinhabitants—the Indians, the gold-miners, and the early settlers seeking bet-ter health and relief in the dry climate. He

covers the community's early history andthe military's use of the surroundingdesert, first as an Army glider trainingcenter during World War II, then as anaval air training area, and finally as asmall Marine Corps training outpost ofCamp Pendleton.

From the days of the original trainingactivity, established in 1952, the historycovers the growth from the SOs into the80s as the base became the largest com-bat training center of the Corps. Today,year round, battalions from all over thecountry, both regular and Reserve, set upat the base's Camp Wilson and spendweeks in live-fire maneuvers which featurearmor, artillery, and air. Brigade-size ex-ercises with brigade-size forces are not un-common. Twentynine Palms also housesthe Corps' large Communications andElectronics School and all the support fa-cilities needed to make the base function.A growing number of combat and com-bat service support units are permanentlystationed there.

Like all such History and Museums Di-vision publications, Col Ludwig's historyhas benefited from the comments of keyfigures in the narrative. The book, illus-trated with photographs and maps, has anindex, and several useful appendices, in-cluding one which gives biographicalsketches of the men for whom the prin-cipal streets are named. L1111775L11

Readers Always W7rite

Summerall's Story

Also a Colorful One

QUITE A LAD!

Your article about Gen Lejeune ('Direc-tot's Page," Summer 1989) was quite in-teresting. I'd like to add a wee bit aboutCharles P. Summerall, even though I knowyou are a Marine operation.

Then-Lt Summerall was assigned toReilly's Battery at the relief of Peking. Thefollowing citation is from Reilly's Batteryby Monro MacCloskey, Richard RosenPress, NY (he was a '92 classmate).

Suddenly the Allied observerswere dumbfounded to see Lt.Summerall calmly walk up to thegate and examine the stout eight-inch timbers. Peering throughthe crack he saw where the heavycrossbar was secured by enormousChinese locks. Taking a piece ofchalk from his pocket he markedthe location of this bar andwalked back to his gun.

The gun fired, the gate was opened andthe relief force went through a wall. Itseems Summerall did this for 3 gates andwas ready at the 4th when he was told tohold up. At any rate he apparently didquite well at Peking. For sure he did well,becoming Army Chief of Staff. The pa-

11

rade ground at Ft. Myer is named afterhim.

Ed MilliganAlexandria, Virginia

EDITOR'S NOTE: Curator j MichaelMiller the Center's Boxer Rebellionspecialist, comments that lstLt Summer-all indeed served in Reilly s Light Battery(Battery I' .5th Artillery), alongside US.Marines at the Chien Mien Gate in Au-gust 1900. Capt Henryj Reilly was killedas he stood beside Marine May L. TIValler whereupon Lt Summerall openedthe gate in the manner described The Ma-rines evidently were fond of the young ar-tillerymen, cheering them as the Ameri-can column began the march to Peking."

LI1i775L

Museum Chiefs Attend International Conclavesby CoI Brooe Nihart

Deputy Director for Museums

M USEIJMS ARE BIG BUSINESS, not only

in the United States but, as thosereaders who have travelled abroad will at-test, world-wide as well. Museums havetheir own trade association, InternationalCouncil on Museums (ICOM), which is awing of UNESCO, United Nations Educa-tional, Scientific, and Cultural Organiza-tion. When ICOM gets together it is sobig, and members often have to travel sofar, that conventions —'congresses" the in-ternational community calls them — are

held oniy every three years. More than2,000 members attended the most recentcongress. The writer has been fortunate toattend several of these events and visitcountries and their museums that heprobably would not otherwise see.

The XVth Congress of ICOM in 1989was held in The Hague, capital of theNetherlands. Side trips were conducted toother Dutch cities as part of the program.The theme for the congress was "Museumsas Generators of Culture," which implieda social-activist role for museums. Thistheme was discussed in the meetings ofthe several committees of ICOM duringthe course of the congress. Raporteursfrom the committees reported their con-clusions at a final plenary session. Not allcommittees felt that museums should takean active role as generators of culture but

should continue to reflect culture as it wasand is.

The several ICOM committees, of whichCharles Anthony Wood's InternationalCommittee on Museum Security (ICMS)is one, and the various associated organi-zations, of which the writer's InternationalAssociation of Museums of Arms and Mili-tary History (IAMAM) is one, heldseparate programs during the congress.IAMAM, represented by eight of its Ex-ecutive Committee members and a dozenother members attending ICOM, enjoyeda two-day program of visitations.

Q UR FIRST SlOP was the KoninklijkLeger en W/apenmuseum (Royal

Army and Weapons Museum) in the an-cient city of Deift. There IAMAM's execu-tive committee met, and among otherthings, settled details of IAMAM's 1990triennial meeting in Scotland. The meet-ing was followed by lunch and a tour ofthe museum which is located in a 17thcentury armory on a canal. In those daysships of the Dutch East India Companyfleet sailed right up to the armory wallwhere cranes transferred cannon, powder,and shot as well as other martial stores tothem. Quality exhibits presented well in-terpreted material from those early daysto the present and included everything

from uniforms and small arms to vehiclesand today's artillery and armor.

That evening we visited one of theworld's finest private collections of arms,belonging to Mr. Henk Visser, whospecializes in 16th and 17th century Dutchand Saxon arms. We also enjoyed a Dutch-Indonesian specialty for dinner, an out-standing rice staffel or rice table consist-ing of rice and a couple of dozen tastyaccompaniments.

The second day started with a visit tothe town of Heusden, an old fortified townalong the "water line" of flooded defensesagainst the 16th century Spanish invaders.The star-shaped earthworks and other fea-tures have been restored. We were lecturedby reserve engineer LtCol van Sluiters, anauthority on Dutch defenses of that age,after being greeted by the Burgermasteror, in this case, the Burgermistress in theStadthouse or city hall.

The next stop was the Van Brederode-kazern at Vught, the training center forDutch army engineers, where we lunchedin the officers mess. The historical en-gineer collection or Genie Museum at thecasern presents the regimental history ofthe engineers and serves as a training aidfor engineer recruits. In the first role, uni-forms, individual equipment, insignia,flags, and photographs are exhibited; in

Deputy Director for Museums Co/Brooke Nihart and Chief Cu-rator Char/es Anthony Vood traveled to the Netherlands for

12

meetings of the International Council on Museums, and visitedsuch sites as the 19 windmills of the Kinderdijk outdoor museum.

Photos by Charles Anthony Wood

the latter, engineer equipment such asmines and demolition kits are displayed,plus models of bridges and other engineerworks.

FROM VUGHT IT WAS a short trip bymini-van to Veghel and the Bevrilj-

dende Vleugels (Liberating Wings) Muse-um. The museum is dedicated to memoryof the Allied airborne troops in the Mar-ket Garden or "Bridge Too Far" operationand is in a town lying between the Eind-hoven and Nijmegen drop zones of theU.S. 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions.The museum is a private venture of Mr.Jan Driessen, who was in the DutchResistance and later an interpreter and liai-son officer with an American division. Themain exhibits represent a tour-de-force asthe inside walls of the long, hangar-typebuilding are painted to represent thestreets of Veghel. Along the right side inthe foreground are the actual armored andwheeled vehicles of the Allied forcestogether with uniformed mannequins oftheir crews and mannequins representinglocal townspeople. On the left side aresimilarly conceived scenes of the Dutchmobilization of 1939, the German inva-sion and occupation, and the Resistance.

After dinner at Mr. Driessen's we weredriven to Breda, site of the Dutch Mili-tary Academy, to witness the NationalTapptoe. Tapptoe is the original spellingof the English Tattoo which today signi-fies an evening military display of march-ing bands and other events. In the 17thcentury it was a signal by drummersmarching through a town where troops

were billeted to signal the tavern keeperstap toe (taps shut) and the troops to returnto their billets. Breda's Tapptoe was heldon the barracks square of the academy forseveral thousand enthusiastic spectators. Itincluded every military band in theNetherlands, including their large MarineBand, plus a band and company-sized drillteam from Norway's Royal Guard Regi-ment, and a fanfare from the French Gen-darmerie.

In connection with ICOM we visited themuseums of The Hague, the old univer-sity town of Leiden and its museums, anoutdoor museum of historical buildingsnear Arnhem, and Appeldoorn palace ofWilliam of Orange and later kings. Onfree days I visited the Riyksrnuseum inAmsterdam to see Rembrandt's "NightWatch" and other portraits of 17th centu-ry militia companies.

A NOTHER DAY lOOK me to Rotter-dam and the Royal Netherlands Ma-

rine Corps Museum. I was greeted thereby retired LtCol Nicolas, the director. Themuseum, though small, comprehensivelycovers Corps history from 1666 to thepresent. Included was the full story of theconnection with the U.S. Marine Corps in1944 when a Netherlands Marine Corpsbrigade was organized, equipped, andtrained at Camp Lejeune. It then deployedto the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia,to oust theJapanese and then, as it turnedout, oppose an Indonesian liberationmovement until 1949. Interestingly, theDutch Marines continued to wear U.S.Marine-style herringbone twill utilities un-

13

til 1972, 12 years or more after we hadreluctantly given them up.

After ICOM I visited Brussels and theRoyal Belgian Army and Weapons Muse-um, where an old friend, Mr. Jacobs, thedirector, showed me around. Only 12miles from the 1815 battlefield of Water-loo the museum, as might be expected,has a vast collection of Napoleonic Warsmaterial. Most is displayed in the tradi-tional museum way; lots of great artifactswith little interpretation. However, twogalleries have been redone in the most up-to-date manner, the medieval arms andarmor and a special collection of

Professional Development

Part of the History and MuseumsDivision's professional developmentprogram is attendance at meetings,seminars, workshops, and trainingcourses of professional societies. Di-vision policy is for each employee atthe professional level to be sent atgovernment expense or permitted toattend at his own expense at leastone such event each year.

Attendance is part of a profession-al's experience and growth.Knowledge of his field is learned,new techniques gained, informationexchanged, useful professional con-tacts made; in all a positive ex-perience.

Thus our professionals attendmeetings of the American Histori-cal Association, Organization ofAmerican Historians, Society ofAmerican Archivists, AmericanLibrary Association, Oral HistoryAssociation, and American Associ-ation of Museums, as well as AirForce and Navy military history sym-posia, Army Museum Conference,and so forth.

In late August Deputy Directorfor Museums, Brooke Nihart, andChief Curator, Charles AnthonyWood, attended the triennial con-gress of the International Council onMuseums (ICOM) plus programs ofsubsidiary groups, the Internation-al Association of Museums of Armsand Military History (IAMAM) andthe International Committee onMuseum Security (ICMS).

The Netherlands Royal Navy, from the Amsterdam Navy Yard, above, hosted confer-ence members for a legendary meal of nasi goreng—Indonesian-style fried rice—atthe ancient, waterlocked building housing the Netherlands Maritime Mu.ceum.

on German military museology at ourHistorical Center. He heads all 28 of theBundeswehr museums from his head-quarters in the flagship museum, theUehrgeschichliches (Military History)Museum at Rastatt between Karlsruhe andBaden-Baden. Other museums were visit-ed in the latter two cities as well.

It was an intense, tiring, but profession-ally rewarding two and one-half weeks. I'llbe repeating the pace in 1992 when ICOMmeets in Quebec City. LIJ1775LIIJ

The city of Utrecht, beneath its imposingcathedral tower houses several museumswith unusual and important collections.

Napoleoniana. Large collections of WorldWars I and II material are also held andwill be exhibited in the future in newgalleries. Fine collections of World WarsI and II aircraft and World War II armorare also exhibited.

A day was spent at nearby Liege, Belgi-um, site of FN (Fabrique Nationale desArmes), and its sponsored Musee dArmes.Again the director conducted me throughthe museum which is the last word inmodern museum technique, featuring thearms made in Liege by FN and earlier gunmakers. As FN was licensed by John

Browning to produce his inventions forEurope, there are displays of his pistolsand FN versions of the M1895 "potato dig-ger" machine gun, the BAR, M1917 andM1919 machine guns, and M2 .50-caliberguns. Today FN is making M16A2s andM249 squad automatics in Columbia,South Carolina. Mr. Gaier, the director,is also an old friend and a onetime ex-change student at Notre Dame HighSchool in South Bend, Indiana.

F INALLY, I VISITED West Germany andLtCol Dr. Schmidt, who has lectured

Madurodam, a historically correct reproduction of an average Dutch city and its sur-roundings, eveiything to a scale of 1.25, was on the must-see list for conference visitors.

Answers to Historical Quiz

Quotes By, About, and For Marines(Questions on page 10)

1. In a letter to Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, dated 12February 1918, concerning his recent inspection of the Ma-rines, by GenJohnJ. Pershing, USA, Commander-in-Chief,American Expeditionary Forces.2. FAdm Chester W. Nimitz, USN, Pacific Fleet commu-

nique, 16 March 1945.3. MSgt Paul Woyshner, a 40-year Marine, is credited with

originating this expression during a taproom argument witha discharged Marine.4. LtGen Holland M. "Howlin' Mad" Smith at Iwo Jima,

1945.

5. Attributed to MajGen Oliver P. Smith, CommandingGeneral of the 1st Marine Division in Korea (1950), regard-ing his order for Marines to move southeast to the Hamhungarea from the Hagaru perimeter.

6. LtGen Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller's response to reportersregarding Marine positions in the Chosin area during Novem-ber 1950.

7. President John E Kennedy, during a visit to the MarineBarracks, 8th and I Streets, Washington, D.C., 1962.

8. Gen Louis H. Wilson, 26th Commandant of the MarineCorps, 1978.

9. Gen Paul X. Kelley, 28th Commandant of the MarineCorps, welcoming remarks made at Camp Lejeune in Decem-ber 1983 to the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit returning fromLebanon.

10. Gen Alfred M. Gray, 29th Commandant of the MarineCorps, 1988.

14

Marine Staff Learns from European Museums

F OUNDED i6 YEARS AGO, the Inter-national Committee on Museum

Security (ICMS) currently has representa-tives from 33 nations as members. I haveattended eight of the committee's sixteenannual meetings, including the one heldthis August in the Netherlands at TheHague.

These annual conferences serve themuseum community by enabling mem-bers to meet with professionals in the secu-rity and protection disciplines fromthroughout the world and establish face-to-face working contact. They are forumsfor sharing advice on protecting irreplace-able artifacts more effectively and effi-ciently, and less expensively.

Our first observation tour of the 1989meeting was to the Het Rijksmuseum inAmsterday on 29 August. The generalmanager of the museum briefed the visi-tors and led the group on an unusual in-spection of just-installed protectivearrangements for the gallery which housesthe world-famous paintings by Rem-brandt, The Night Watch and The Syn-dics: The Sampling Officials of theAmsterdam Drapers Guild.

We traveled up narrow staircases thatbrought us out three stories up onto thebuilding's exterior (with a view of visitorsentering) and continuing through a small

by Charles Anthony WoodChief Curator

door to something like a theater's catwalk.We saw above us a large skylight — newlyinstalled — covering the length and widthof the Rembrandt gallery. Below the cat-walk, a wall-to-wall stretch of opaque glassobscured a further view below. Betweenthe skylight and the glass was an unusualapparatus that employs a series of canvas"sails" arranged at various angles, each sailcontrolled by a computer-monitored drivemechanism. Our host explained that thesails regulate the amount of natural lightreaching the priceless artwork to levelswhich help to ensure the paintings' preser-vation. Back in the gallery, on a day ofbright sunlight, the adjustments made tolevels of light in the room were nearly im-perceptible, but the art was fully protect-ed from the most harmful of the sun'srays.

F OLLOWING THE COMMITrEE'S firstbusiness meeting, another official visit

took us to the Stedelijk Museum, whichhas a large collection of art from 1850 tothe present, and to the Vincent Van GoghMuseum. At the Van Gogh Museum,members were astonished by the extent ofthe collection of important and familiarpaintings by this well-known artist, ex-hibited over three floors!

Making our way to the site by boat

through Amsterdam's canals increased thepleasure of a visit and buffet dinner servedat the Riyksmuseum Historisch Scheep-vaartmuseum (Netherlands MaritimeMuseum), housed in what was an arsenaland maritime stores for the city's ancientadmiralty shipyards. The building is sur-rounded by water and, once, supplies andammunition could be picked up only byship. The Netherlands Royal Navy ac-quired the building in 1813 and held ituntil 1971. Since 1975 the MaritimeMuseum has occupied the site with a per-manent exhibition tracing the history ofshipping in the Netherlands from the year1000 to the present.

At the invitation of the Royal Navy wewere treated to the legendary meal of nasigoreng (fried rice), reminding us that upuntil 1945 Indonesia was a Dutch colony,and that Indonesian cuisine (with its sateand "rice table") is very much enjoyed bythe Dutch. So much so, that no matterwhere in the world its ships may be, theRoyal Navy serves nasigoreng every Mon-day and a rice table every Wednesday.

On 30 August, the committee traveledto Dordrecht, one of the oldest cities inHolland, to visit the city's museum andconduct a security review at the request ofthe director. The Dordrecht Museum is lo-cated in the heart of the city, with a col-lection of artwork from the 17th centuryto the present. The director spoke on therecent mutilation of 10 paintings by a61-year-old unemployed man. Paintingsby masters such as Nicolaas Maas and Fer-dinand Bol were repeatedly slashed by theman. Although he gave himself up, andhe was convicted for the crime, his punish-ment consisted of being set free underorders to seek psychiatric help and to stayaway from the museum for six months.The committee broke down into subcom-mittees, reviewed the museum's securityprocedures, and made recommendationsto the director for correcting problems.

T HE COMMITFEE WAS welcomed to HetMauritshuis and the Royal Cabinet of

Paintings, by its director, Dr. Hans R.Hoetink, on 31 August. This palace wasbuilt in 1634-1644, destroyed by fire in1704, and rebuilt as a site for the art col-

Large street organ is a feature of Utrecht 's "National Museum from Musical Clock toStreet Organ," opened in 1971 and housed by a building inside a medieval church.

Photos by Charles Anthony Wood

15

lection of King Willem I. It became amuseum in 1822. Dr. Hoetink led us ona tour, including behind-the-scenes in-spection of work spaces, security systems,and storage facilities. Each painting ondisplay is individually alarmed. Electron-ic monitors respond to two encroach-ments: they emit a high-pitched signal ifa person comes too close (which breaks offas soon as the person moves out of range)and, if the painting is removed, a pulsat-ing signal (which cannot be turned off un-til the monitor is reset). In addition, othersystems respond to break-in, fire, andwater damage.

Museums in the city of Utrecht werevisited on 1 September. The NationaalMuseum van Speelklok tot Pierement, theNational Museum From Musical Clock toStreet Organ, was the first stop, an oppor-tunity to see an entire museum complexinstalled inside a medieval church. Thestructure is self-contained and capable ofbeing completely removed from thechurch, if needed, in a span of two weeks.It contains a collection of 500 automaticmusical instruments from the 18th to 20thcenturies.

stories high, within the old church. Thestructure even floats on its own neoprenecushion, so it does not mar the floor!Committee members were impressed withthe innovative use of an old building, anddelighted with the objects on display,among them a Dutch carillon clock ofabout 1730; a mechanical nightingalefrom France, circa 1880; and a Paris streetorgan from around 1910.

The Rzjksmuseum Het Catharzjnecon-vent, housed in a beautiful 15th-centuryconvent in the center of Utrecht, wascreated in the late 1970s by merging thecollections of three religious museums inthe city, resulting in the largest collectionof medieval art in the Netherlands. The

museum's security chief escorted the visi-tors through the onderdoorgan (cellar)and bogenkelder (a portion of the cellarwith valuted arches). Here the museumhas on display priceless artifacts datingfrom the 9th to the 15th centuries, anda special lighting system. When a visitorenters the space the light throughout theentire exhibit is about one lux, or minimalillumination of the exhibits. Electronicrheostats automatically increase the light-ing as a person enters the perimeter of anobject on view. Should more light bedesired, timed rheostats can be manipu-lated to increase it further.

On the final day of official functions,the committee made a visit to the provinceof Northern Holland, to see one of themost interesting preservation projects Ihave ever encountered. The Museum DeCruquius is one of three pumping stationswhich reclaimed the Haarlemmeer (LakeHaarlem) between 1849 and 1852. Thisfunctional pumping station became amuseum in 1933. The old steam engine,dating from 1849, is the largest in theworld and is still in its original condition.The three stations pumped 800 millioncubic meters of water over the three-yearperiod to reclaim the land occupied by thelake.

Committee members find at each ofthese meetings that there is much to learnfrom each other, and that the process canbe enjoyable as well as instructive. Thenext opportunity will be a planned ICMSmeeting in both Lisbon, Portugal, andMadrid, Spain. Eli 775E11

T HE MUSEUM'S DIRECTOR explainedthat when the collection had out-

grown its original site, use of the churchwas granted, providing that this would notcause removal or restructure of the church.The architect accommodated this by in-stalling what we would call a "Bally Box,"a self-contained, heated, air-conditioned,and humidity-controlled structure, three

16

The city of Rotterdam staged an informal reception for the nearly 2,000 conference-goers along the esplanade of the 'Old Harbor," an urban renewal project created byDutch architect Piet Blom, including tilted cube-shaped houses on concrete pillars.

Chief Curator and Mrs. W/ood pose at the Netherlands Open-Air Museum nearArnhem. The museum preserves traditional Du'ch structures and regional culture innatural settings over 104 acres. Thirty-three nations were represented at the conference.

The Infamous Reising Gun Rememberedby John G. GriffithsCurator of Ordnance

T HERE IS A RENEWED interest in theReising sub-machine gun. It is fea-

tured in a new life-sized diorama in the"World War II" hangar at the Air-GroundMuseum in the hands of a Marineparachutist. Then we receive queries aboutthe gun from a Reising collectors clubacross the Potomac in Maryland. That isa lot of attention for one of the rarest sub-machine guns of World War II and onethat was retired by the Marine Corps af-ter failing the test of but one campaign.

The Reising was designed and deve-loped by noted gun inventor Eugene Reis-ing. It was patented in 1940 andmanufactured by the old gun-making firmof Harrington and Richardson of Wor-cester, Massachusetts. It is said that it wasmade on existing machine tools, some dat-ing back to the Civil War, and of ordinarysteel rather than ordnance steel. With newmachine tools and ordnance steel scarceand needed for more demandingweapons, the Reising met an immediaterequirement for lots of sub-machine gunsat a time when production of ThompsonM1928s and Mis hadn't caught up withdemand and the stamped-out M3 "greasegun" had not yet been invented. It was awartime expedient.

The Reising was made in two differentmodels, the 50 and the 55. The Model 50had a full wooden stock and a Cutts com-pensator attached to the muzzle. Thecompensator, a device which reduced theupward muzzle climb from recoil, was in-vented by Richard M. Cutts, Sr., and hisson, Richard M. Cutts, Jr., both Marine

brigadier generals. The Cutts papersdetailing their service and inventions areheld in the Personal Papers Collection atthe Historical Center. The other versionwas dubbed the Model 55. It had a fold-ing metal-wire shoulder stock whichswivelled on the wooden pistol grip. It alsohad a shorter barrel and no compensator.It was intended for use by parachutists,tank crews, and others needing a compactweapon. Both versions of the Reising firedthe .45 caliber ACP, the same cartridge asthe Colt automatic pistol and theThompson.

IN ALL, THERE were approximately100,000 Reising sub-machine guns

produced between 1940 and 1942. Smallnumbers of the weapons were acquired byboth Great Britain and the Soviet Union.However, most were used by the U.S. Ma-rine Corps in the Solomon Islands cam-paign early in \Vorld War II. The Model55 was issued to both Marine ParachuteBattalions and the Raiders, seeing servicefirst on Guadalcanal. After its dubiousdebut in combat it was withdrawn fromfrontline service in 1943 due to severalflaws in design and manufacture.

The Reising's major shortcoming was itspropensity for jamming. This was due toboth a design problem in the magazinelips and the magazines themselves beingmade of a soft sheet steel. The safetymechanism didn't always work and if thebutt was slammed down on the deck thehammer would set back against the main-spring and then fly forward, firing a cham-

Reising web magazine pouch.

bered cartridge. The design allowed theentry of dirt into the mechanism and closetolerances caused it to jam. Finally, thesteel used allowed excessive rust to formin the tropical humidity encountered.Nevertheless, at six pounds it was handi-er than the 10-pound Thompson, moreaccurate, pleasanter to shoot, and reliableunder other than combat conditions; butkeep the muzzle pointed in a safe direc-tion. Thus, the Model 50 continued inuse, being issued to Marines for guardduty at posts and stations in the UnitedStates.

The Marine Corps Museum has in itsfirearms collection five Model 50 and fiveModel 55 Reising sub-machine guns. Mostare in the reserve and study collection atMuseums Branch Activities, Quantico. Onexhibit are one Model 50 and one Model55 at the Marine Corps Museum,Washington; one Model 55 at the Air-Ground Museum Quantico and oneModel 55 at the Marine Corps RecruitDepot, Parris Island, Command Museum.

LI11 775 LII

The Model 55 Reising sub-machine gun was intended for use by parachutists.

17

Artist-Illustrator John DeGrasse Recalled

T HE NAME John DeGrasse—whenheard among his friends who served,

worked with, or knew him for any lengthof time — stirred anticipation of a goodtale: ofJohn performing a ridiculous stunton the tennis court while beating or los-ing to some game admiral, general, orlance corporal; or employing an unortho-dox method of cumshawing material fora project. John built a sailboat—fromscratch—from such scrap material; his sail-ing craft are represented often in hisPotomac riverscapes.

His sudden death after a short illnesson 20 September shocked at first, then in-furiated; a DeGrasse joke we knew we'drecover from when John poked his grin-ning, goateed countenance over a partitionor around a corner. But we soon realizedand accepted the loss of a good friend whorarely said bad of anyone and never wast-ed his tremendous energy on holding agrudge.

John was born in Salem, Massachusetts,in 1919; grew up to receive an art scholar-ship to the University of Maine's PortlandSchool of Fine Arts; and, in 1941, joinedthe Marine Corps to serve on the Presiden-tial Guard Detail at Shangri-La (nowCamp David), Maryland. As art directorfor Leatherneck magazine (1943-48), hemet, drew, and painted with and was posi-tively influenced by Reserve Sgts Tom

DeGrasse highlighted familiar features ofMarine Barracks, 8th and I, in 1972.

by John T Dyer, JrCurator of Art

Lovell and John Clymer. He producedmore than 100 covers for Leatherneck andthe Marine Corps Gazette, and many in-side illustrations. Both cartoons and sculp-ture had the DeGrasse signature, andhardly any medium was foreign to John.

A s NONCOPvtMISSIONED OFFICER inCharge of the 1st Combat Art Team

assigned to the 1st Marine Division inKorea he observed and painted frontlineaction, winter and summer, and some ofthese works of art are in the Museum's col-lection of Korean War art.

He painted nuclear-exercise Marinesagainst a background of a mushroomcloud at Yucca Flats, Nevada, and had adream assignment covering Marines atposts and stations around the world (Ber-

muda, Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico,

Trinidad, London, Paris, Rome, andBerlin).

InJuly 1974, while exhibits chief of theMarine Corps Museum, he went to CampLejeune and painted the relatively newHarrier AV-8 aircraft during an exercise,Express Charger.

N JED FOR HIS ART, he was equallyknown for sharing his experience

and talent and encouraging his fellowartists.

Tennis-playing angels who like to paint,have a healthy interest in sailing, and giveSt. Peter a crinkle in his eye, may be partof heaven's scene, but we know ourShangri-La-trained John DeGrasse is

NCOIC of the streets guard. L111775L11

Originator of a style known to nearly all Marines, DeGrasse produced more than 100covers for Leatherneck and Marine Corps Gazette and many inside illustrations.

DeGrasse visited Marines around the world, from Cuba to Berlin. In July 1974, whileexhibits chief of the former Marine Corps Museum at Quantico, he painted the rela-tively new Harrier AV-8 aircraft during exercise Express Charger, at Camp Lejeune.

Mentioned in Passing

Deaths of Resistance Fighter and Corps Historian Notedby Benis M. Frank

Head, Oral History Section

BGen Horace W' FullerBGen Horace W. "Hod" Fuller, USMCR

(Ret), 81, died of cancer on 15 August athis home on the island of Spetsai, Greece,some 50 miles southwest of Athens. Hehad been one of the nine living survivorsappearing in the historic photographtaken 11 August 1942 of Gen Vandegriftand his staff on Guadalcanal.

Gen Fuller was a 1930 graduate of Har-vard University. He was an enlisted Marinereservist 1931-1936, and was commissionedin 1941. He was executive officer of the 1stAmphibian Tractor Battalion on Guadal-canal, where he was wounded andevacuated.

When then-Maj Fuller returned to serv-ice, he was assigned to the OSS inEngland, where he was detailed as theleader of a Jedburgh Team, consisting ofan American officer, a British officer, andtwo Free French officers who parachutedinto the Pyrénées Mountains area inSouthern France in 1944. Here they joinedthe French resistance movement, the Maq-uis, in liberating that area from Nazi oc-cupation forces.

After the war, in 1948, Gen Fuller wentto Greece as a member of the Marshall

BGen Horace U Fuller

Plan and Military Air Group during theGreek Civil War. He later entered theshipping business. The accompanyingphotograph of Gen Fuller was taken at theArch of Triumph in Paris, where as seniorofficer of American volunteer parachutistsin the Jedburgh operations he placed awreath honoring his fallen comrades dur-ing the French Cérémonie de Ia Flamme.For his gallantry in action against the ene-my in France, he was awarded the SilverStar Medal by the United States, made aChevalier of the Legion of Honor by theFrench government, and Mentioned inDespatches by the British government.

Ralph fl DonnellyRalph W. Donnelly, 75, former head of

the History and Museums Division's Refer-ence Section, died on 26 August inCharlotte, North Carolina, following aheart attack. He was buried 30 August inWashington, North Carolina, where hehad retired in 1975.

A native of Washington, D.C., duringhis working years Mr. Donnelly was en-gaged there in a number of activities andoccupations. He graduated from the James0. Wilson Teacher's College in Washing-ton in 1935, and in 1940 obtained amaster of arts degree in political sciencefrom the Catholic University of America.He was at various times a junior highschool teacher in the Washington schoolsystem; an insurance company employeeand executive; and finally, in 1967, follow-ing a long interest in history and research,a Marine Corps civilian employee.

In a lifetime of research, which neverceased, Mr. Donnelly became the un-doubted leading expert on the history ofthe Confederate States Marine Corps. Hisinterest in the Civil War grew slowly dur-ing his high school and college years. Inthe early 1950s, he joined both theWashington Civil War Roundtable and theAmerican Military Institute, and later TheCompany of Military Historians, which, inrecognizing his contributions to history

19

and historical research, elected him a Fel-low of The Company. Membership inthese organizations brought him into con-tact with some great Civil War historians,notably Bruce Catton. The first fruits ofhis research into the Confederate StatesMarine Corps resulted in articles andpapers beginning in 1957. In 1973, hepublished on his own, BiographicalSketches of the Commissioned Officers ofthe Confederate States Marine Corps; fol-lowed in 1976 by The History of the Con-federate Marine Corps; and in 1979 byService Records of Confederate EnlistedMarines. These three books were paper-backs with typescript text. This fall, WhiteMane Publishing Company is releasing hisRebel Leathernecks: A History of the Con-federate Marine Corps in a single volume.

While a Marine Corps historian, Mr.Donnelly wrote for Fortitudine five bi-ographical essays on as many Marine Corpshistorians who were selected for outstand-ing achievement and service. Also whilea member of the History and MuseumsDivision, Mr. Donnelly co-authored withHenry I. Shaw, Jr., Blacks in the MarineCorps. In 1975, Mr. Donnelly retired toNorth Carolina, where he remained veryactive in historical and geneaological en-deavors. L111775L11

Ralph W Donnelly

'Great War' Marines(Continued from page 24)

was the quickest and luck was with me forI got the drop on them with my pistol sothey dropped their rifles and threw uptheir hands. They were my prisoners butwe were in the German lines so there wasstill some difference and a little to theiradvantage and I think they realized it forgiving up so easily. There was only onething to do and that was keep my prisonerswith me and try to get back into our lineswhich I did and it is needless to say I wasglad to get there too." Mr. Watson was dis-charged on 28 May 1919.

Mrs. Watson also sent three photo-graphs of her husband. In one, Mr. Wat-son appears in civilian clothes on 16 May1917, the day he enlisted in the MarineCorps.

M R. CARL L. SNARE, SR., of Rialto,California, donated personal papers

and the Army Song Book which belongedto his brother, Bernard Wesley Snair, whowas killed in the Battle of Soissons on 18July 1918. The song book was among thepossessions of Bernard Snair sent back tohis family upon his death. The book wasissued by the War Department Commit-tee on Training Camp Activities and wascompiled with assistance of the NationalCommittee on Army and Navy Camp

Robertj Watson had his picture taken on16 May 1917, the day he became a Marine.

Music in Washington in 1918. Song bookssuch as this featured spirited tunes meantto help fighting men maintain morale andesprit de corps during trying times. Someof the songs in the book are "The StarSpangled Banner," "The Battle Hymn ofthe Republic," "Sweet Adeline," "My OldKentucky Home:' plus songs of the Allies,"La Marseillaise," the French national an-them; "God Save the King," the Britishanthem; and "The Garibaldi Hymn," theItalian anthem.

Also donated were three citations issuedto Bernard Snair by the French govern-ment, for service with the 4th Brigade and5th Regiment and upon his death atSoissons.

A Short Vocabulary of French Wordsand Phrases with English Pronunciationwas donated to the Personal Papers Col-lection by Col James M. Weidner, USMC(Ret), of Olympia, Washington. This dic-tionary was printed and distributed by theUSMC Publications Bureau in New YorkCity, 15 August 1918, and was preparedfor Marines serving in France.

R. CLARENCE E. D0NzE of Lehighlvi Acres, Florida, provided 19 photo-graphs of friends who fought in the war,one of himself in uniform, and some ofthe sights in Paris. Mr. Donze never sawactual battle, but many of his friends werein the 13th Regiment and were picked asreplacements for the dead and woundedfrom the 5th and 6th Regiments after thefighting at Belleau Wood, Chateau-Thierry, and Aisne-Marne. Mr. Donzespent his service in World War I as a mili-tary policeman, guarding German POWsand American supply warehouses.

Several memoirs were sent to the Muse-um by World War I veterans recountingtheir training, hardships, and battle ex-periences while serving their country inthe 2d Division, AEF.

Mr. Frank D. McClelland of Maryville,Tennessee, writes of joining the MarineCorps in May of 1917 after seeing a "Sold-iers of the Sea" recruiting poster. Mr.

McClelland served with the 78th Compa-ny, 2d Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment,and was sent to France on board the USSHenderson, arriving on 8 February 1918 atSt. Nazaire, France. Troops were transport-ed by railroad boxcars and this mode oftransport was given the name "40Hommes, 8 Chevaux" or 40 men and 8

20

horses, from the French standard for a ful-ly loaded car. He spent about threemonths, from February to May, in thedefensive sector on the front lines, mean-while training vigorously at marching,trench digging, and grenade throwing.

M R. MCCLELLAND TELLS of the many

hardships that Marines had to dealwith, such as rain, night raids, snow, mud,long marches, hard digging, shell fire, rats,and cooties.

The Marines' most persistent struggleswere with mud, cold, and "cooties", their"worst enemies next to the Germans."Cooties were large body lice, acquired byimpromptu sleeping arrangements whentroops slept on straw in dugouts and oldbarns. The cooties left welts on the bodyand apparently no amount of clothes-washing or hot showers got rid of them forlong. In a 7 May 1918 letter home to hisbrother Mr. McClelland wrote, "I foundthe other day that I don't have a singlecootie. They are all married and have bigfamilies."

In more serious passages, Mr. McClel-land goes into detail about trainingmethods, use of explosives and their ef-fects, hand-to-hand combat, the terrainand type of soil and how it affected com-bat, and mustard gas bombing (which hehad the misfortune to experience).

L1111775L1

Mr McClellandtraveledto the front in a'40 and 8" boxcar here seen in a snap-

shot from his photo album. His lettershome dealt humorously with hardshiôs.

Hungarian Military Historians Visit Center

I NJUNE 1988, BGen William A. Stofft,USA, then the Army's Chief of Mili-

tary History, led a U.S. Army and Air Forcedelegation to Budapest to get a first-handview of the Hungarian Peoples' Army'smilitary historical and educational insti-tutions. Part of an ongoing program ofofficial visits to Warsaw Pact and USSRmilitary historical and museum activitiesinitiated in the spirit of glasnost (see For-titudine, Spring 1989), the American visitto Hungary was reciprocated during thefirst week of October 1989. Two Hungari-an military historians, MajGen Ervin Lip-tai, Director General of the War HistoricalInstitute and Museum, and Col Imre Fuzi,Chief of Faculty of the Zrinyi Mikios Mili-tary Academy, made the trip.

The Hungarian officials' first day-longround of briefings took place on Monday,2 October, at the Army's Center of Mili-tary History (CMH) in the Pulaski Build-ing in Washington. The next morning wasspent at the Pentagon in protocol visitsand presentations at the DOD and JCShistorical offices. The afternoon was givenover to a visit to the Washington NavyYard's adjoining Navy and Marine CorpsHistorical Centers and Museums.

The visiting party, led by Gen Liptai,and consisting of Col Fuzi, two StateDepartment interpreters, and Dr. BurtonWright III, CMH escort, crossed the streetto the Marine Center in mid-afternoonand was greeted by the Director, BGen Ed-

by Henry I. Shaw, JrChief Historian

win H. Simmons, USMC (Ret), on themuseum's quarterdeck.

A FTER A SHORT briefing by Gen Sim-mons on the Marine Corps' History

and Museums Division's organization andmission in the second-deck conferenceroom, the tour group, which also includ-ed the division's two deputies and thechief historian and curator, visited eachsection. As they often do on such occa-sions, the section heads made a brief butcomprehensive statement of the functionsthey were responsible for and answered thevisitors' questions. All comments in En-glish made during the visit had to betranslated for the visitors, who had ques-tions at several points in the tour, whichnaturally enough had to be translated inturn for the Center's staff. A small Hun-

garian flag occupied a prominent place inthe Reference Section, placed there byhistorian Robert V. Aquilina, who ac-quired a collection of eastern Europeanflags in anticipation of the series of visits.

Gen Liptai, in the course of commentsmade as he moved through the Center,said that the day's duty NCOs, SSgt Ran-dy Shouse and Sgt Kevin L. Parker, bothin dress blues, reminded him of the U.S.Embassy guards in Budapest. He also not-ed in passing that Soviet Marines had adeserved reputation for being feisty andfull of themselves.

As the visitors departed, bound for din-ner and a visit to the Kennedy Center anda National Symphony concert, Gen Sim-mons presented them sets of prints of MajDonnaJ. Neary's "Marine Corps Uniforms1983" and Col Charles H. Waterhouse's"Marines in the Frigate Navy" paintings.During the rest of their week in theWashington area, the Hungarians spent amorning at the USAF historical office andan afternoon at the Air and Space Muse-um, a day at the Army's Military HistoryInstitute at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and aday at the Gettysburg Battlefield takingpart in a staff ride organized by ColHarold Nelson, the Army's new Chief ofMilitary History.

Poland is the next country on the agen-da of proposed reciprocal visits of officialmilitary historians, with a trip to Warsawby a U.S. delegation, with Marine Corpsparticipation, planned for the early partof 1990. L111775L1J

On the Museum quarterdeck after their tour parting remarks are translated for GenLz/tai and Gen Simmons by State Department interpreters, center right. Looking on,center left to right, are Mr Shaw, Col Fuzi, Col Smith, Col Nihart, and Dr. U'/right.

MajGen Ervin Lzptai, Director General of the Hungarian W'ar Historical Institute andMuseum, is welcomed to the Historical Center by SSgt Randy Shouse and Sgt KevinL. Parker Gen Lzptai said he was reminded of the security guards at US. Embassies.

Part I of a Chronology, May 1954-May 1975

The U.S. Marine Corps and the Vietnam Warby Robert V Aquilina

Assistant Head Reference Section

N ext spring will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the firstlarge-scale deployment to Vietnam of US. Marine corn -

bat troops. Fortitudine is commemorating that event by pub-lishing a serial chronology of Marine Corps participation inAmerica's longest conflict — the Vietnam War This issue high-lights the critical events of the period 1954-1964, from the fallofDien Bien Phu to the passage of the Tonkin GulfResolution.A more detailed treatment of these and other events of the periodis provided by the History and Museums Division's volume inthe Vietnam War series, U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Advisoryand Combat Assistance Era, 1954-1964, from which many of thefollowing entries were excerpted

1954

7 May—A 13,000-man French and Vietnamese garrison at DienBien Phu surrendered to Viet Minh Communist forces un-der the command of Gen Vo Nguyen Giap. The crushingdefeat effectively ended French determination to maintain acolonial presence in Vietnam dating from long before WorldWar II.

20 Jul—Armistice terms agreed upon in Geneva, Switzerland,ended the fighting in Vietnam, and divided the country at

LtCol Victorj Croizat, who arrived in South Vietnam in 1954,became the first Marine advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps.

the 17th parallel of north latitude, pending reunification elec-tions to be held in 1956. The Viet Minh, officially theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam, was to take the northernzone of Vietnam, including the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong.The State of Vietnam, soon to be known as South Vietnam,was to take all areas south of the 17th parallel. The UnitedStates acquiesced in the terms of the agreement without sign-ing any conference documents, and the Government of SouthVietnam withheld its assent from the formal settlement.

2 Aug—LtCol VictorJ. Croizat, USMC, arrived in South Viet-nam for duty with the U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group(MAAG). LtCol Croizat headed the MAAG detachment atHaiphong, where he coordinated U.S. refugee operations inthe Tonkin area with the French and South Vietnamese.

8 Sep—The Manila Pact was signed by the U.S. and seven othernations (Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand,Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan), and was quickly trans-formed into the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEA'TO).The treaty specifically included the "free territory under thejurisdiction of the state of Vietnam" as eligible for both theprotective features and economic benefits provided by thetreaty.

13 Oct—Premier Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam decreedthe establishment of a 1,137-man Vietnamese Marine Corps(VNMC).

1955

Feb — LtCol Croizat became the first U.S. advisor to the VNMC.26 Oct—After a plebiscite in which the people of South Viet-

nam were asked to choose between him and former EmperorBao Dai, Premier Ngo Dinh Diem declared the state of SouthVietnam a republic—henceforth the Republic of Vietnam—and proclaimed himself president.

1956

Jul—President Diem refused to hold elections for reunificationof North and South Vietnam, called for in the Geneva Ac-cords of 1954, claiming that no election in the Communistnorth could be fair.

1957

Jan-Dec—During this year a campaign of terrorism began inSouth Vietnam, aided by the Communist government inHanoi, but also arising in the South from opponents of theDiem government. By 1958 the Diem government was fight-ing a guerilla war.

22

1959

ijun—The VNMC expanded to a Marine Corps Group of 2,276officers and men. A third landing battalion was formed from

a nucleus of veteran VNMC officers and noncommissionedofficers.

1960

20 Dec—The Communist 'National Front for the Liberation ofSouth Vietnam" was formed. This body was designated as thepolitical arm of the movement and the Viet Cong as the mili-tary arm. Many South Vietnamese who had migrated to thenorth at the time of the 1954 partition, now began to returnsouth to join in the political and military resistance againstthe Diem government.

1961

May—Small groups of U.S. Marine officers and noncommissionedofficers began an on-the-job-training (OJT) program whichallowed them a brief (two-week) period "in country" to ob-serve the counterguerilla tactics employed in Vietnam.

Jul—The VNMC was reorganized and expanded to a strengthof 3,321.

Nov—PresidentJohn E Kennedy sent his special military advi-sor, Gen Maxwell D. Taylor, USA, on a fact-finding missionto Vietnam. Gen Taylor's report, along with President Diem'simplied request for American military personnel to assist inlogistics and communications, led to a new phase of greatlyincreased American aid to South Vietnam. By the end of 1963,this aid would total nearly $500 million annually.

11 Dec—An American escort carrier arrived in Saigon, bearingmore than 30 helicopters, four single-engine training planes,and operating and maintenance crews numbering about 400men. This event was a direct prelude to the "helicopter war"in which the U.S. Marine Corps would play a large role intransporting South Vietnamese forces in "search and destroy"operations.

1962

1 Jan —The former Vietnamese Marine Group was redesignatedthe Vietnamese Marine Brigade and expanded to 6,109 officersand men. An amphibious support battalion, consisting of justover 1,000 officers and men, also was organized.

l7Jan—The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff directed the Commanderin Chief, Pacific (CinCPac), Adm Harry B. Felt, to preparefor increased operations in South Vietnam. It was evident fromthis order that additional helicopter units would be deployedto South Vietnam to augment the three U.S. Army helicop-ter companies already in operation.

9-15 Apr— Marine Task Unit 79.3.5 (codenamed Shufly), underthe command of Col John F. Carey, arrived at Soc Trang tobegin operations in support of South Vietnamese governmentforces. The task unit was built around Marine MediumHelicopter Squadron 362 (HMM-362), which began its firstcombat support missions on 22 April.

24 Apr— Sixteen Marine helicopters supported the 21st Divisionof the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in Opera-tion Nightingale conducted near Can Tho. Almost 600 ARVNtroops were lifted into eight landing zones.

4 Sep—Initial Shufly elements began deployment north to DaNang, South Vietnam's second-largest city, located in theARVN I Corps Tactical Zone. (In August 1963, HMM-163replaced HMM-362 as the operational squadron assigned to

Shufly. By early 1965, half the medium helicopters in the Ma-rine Corps had rotated through Da Nang for a tour of duty.)

6 Oct—A U.S. Marine Corps search-and-rescue helicopter crashednear Tam Ky while on a mission in support of the 2d ARVNDivision. Five Marines and two U.S. Navy personnel werekilled in the crash, the first deaths suffered by Marine TaskUnit 79.3.5 since its deployment to Vietnam.

1963

15-16 Aug—HMM-261 helilifted 2d ARVN Division units fromthe field in Operation Lam Son XII.

Oct —VNMC units participated in a major search-and-clear cam-paign in northwest Gia Dinh Province.

1 Nov—The South Vietnamese Government of President NgoDinh Diem was overthrown by a group of Army officers head-ed by MajGen Duong Van Minh. Both Diem and his brother,Ngo Dinh Nhu, were assassinated. The new provisionalgovernment was immediately recognized by the United States.

Dec—The number of American troops in South Vietnam hadreached 16,500.

1964

1 Jan—Gen Wallace M. Greene, Jr., succeeded Gen David M.Shoup as Commandant of the Marine Corps. Gen Greenehad been serving since 1960 as Chief of Staff of the MarineCorps.

March—LtGen Victor H. Krulak replaced LtGen Carson A.Roberts as Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacif-ic. A Navy Cross recipient from World War II, LtGen Krulakserved both Presidents Kennedy and Johnson as a special as-sistant for counterinsurgency operations.

15 May—The U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG)was abolished. The Marine Advisory Division was renamedthe Marine Advisory Unit, and placed under the operationalcontrol of the Naval Advisory Group, Military Assistance Com-mand Vietnam.

2-4 Aug—North Vietnamese patrol boats clashed with U.S. Navyships cruising in international waters in the Gulf of Tonkin.The U.S. retaliated by bombing North Vietnamese naval sta-tions. The U.S. Congress, at the specific request of PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, passed a joint resolution to "take all neces-sary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces ofthe United States." Passed unanimously by the House ofRepresentatives and by a vote of 82-2 in the Senate, the TonkinGulf Resolution gave PresidentJohnson a wide grant of powerto escalate the American military presence in Vietnam.

31 Dec—A Viet Cong terrorist bomb killed three and wounded51 at an American bachelor officers' quarters in Saigon. Ma-rine Capt Donald B. Koelper, advisor to the 4th VNMC Bat-talion, was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for warningthose present at a theater to take cover immediately prior tothe bomb's detonation.

31 Dec—The 4th VNMC Battalion was badly mauled in fight-ing at Binh Gia in the ARVN III Corps area, suffering morethan 200 casualties and large losses of weapons and equip-ment, after engaging elements of the 9th I/jet Cong Division.

LII11775LI

23

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVYHEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20380

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

24

BULK RATE

POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

USMC

PERMIT NO. G-63

Acquisitions

Museum Preserves Memory of 'Great War' Marinesby Jennifer L. Gooding

Registrar

M ARINES WHO FOUGHT IN World War I have donatedpersonal papers, memoirs, photographs, and uniform

items to the Marine Corps Museum over the past few months,some in response to an unusual effort mounted by PersonalPapers Collection Curator J. Michael Miller.

Mr. Miller conducted a vigorous search across the nation

Illustration from the 1918 Song Book carried at Soissons by thebrother of Mr CariL. Snare, Sr., symbolizes American inten-tions in World W/arl, "To make the world safe for democracy."

for surviving World War I veterans with the help of a list ofnames of Marines who served in the war provided by the Vete-rans Administration. Mr. Miller sent letters to 220 individu-als believed to be surviving veterans, in hopes of betterpreserving the memory and experiences of the Marines whofought with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in the"Great War."

Mrs. Margaret E. Watson of St. Clairsville, Ohio, donateditems belonging to her late husband, Robert Joshua Watson,including uniforms, copies of letters he sent to his family, andcopies of the citations and letters which he received award-ing him Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal Number 24723and the World War I Victory Medal with five battle clasps.Mr. Watson was a member of the 81st Company, 6th MachineGun Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2d Division, AEF. As a memberof the 6th Battalion, Mr. Watson saw some of the fiercest fight-ing of the war, participating in the battles of Belleau Wood,Soissons, Chateau-Thierry, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne.

SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY?

I N ONE OF HIS LEVFERS home, written on 25 September1918, Mr. Watson described a situation that developed

when he was injured and attempting to rejoin his company.After receiving attention at a first-aid station he walked intothe enemy lines: "I was wounded the first day but not bad andstopped at a dressing station to get first aid and then startedout to catch up with the company. Well, I got lost and wan-dered into the German lines and didn't know it until Ibumped right face to face with two Huns. It was a case of who

(Continued on page 20)