watched a 22-pound ball loosed from amallet head held by a hammer throwergrow larger and larger until it blacked outthe viewfinder of his reference-gatheringCine-Kodak 8mm movie camera, and fi-nally whisked the cap from his head as heplunged to the grass.

Jimmy Cannon, sports columnist of theNew York Post, wrote: "John Groth is theonly artist I know who gets the truth ofsports in his work."

He also gets at the truth of combat inWorld War II, Korea, French Indo-China,Africa, the Dominican Republic, andSouth Vietnam.

Groth tells these stories on himself:His sketchy drawing style developed

when an art director for a major publica-tion who later confessed he was just try-ing to "get rid of the kid," advised him tomake 100 drawings a day, every day. Grothcame close to 100 a day for years, and thenit was a habit. He advocates the sketchbook as a constant artist's companion.

He says he wore a beard for years be-

Sepia ink became a favorite "becauseRembrandt drew in brown."

H e hoped to trade Picasso sketch-for-sketch when he located him in Paris

during World War II by simply lookinghim up in the phone book, but "thisdidn't pan out." He turned a large num-ber of German troops over to U.S. Armypersonnel after they'd surrendered to him.He "felt like Sergeant York."

Indo-China. He illustrated classic editionsof Grapes of Wrath, Gone W7ith the Wind,Mark Twain's The War Prayer, War andPeace, Men Without Women, and the onehe had always wanted to do most, All'sQuiet on the Western Froni.

Groth is represented in the Museum ofModern Art and the Metropolitan Muse-um of Art in New York, the Museum ofWestern Art in Moscow, the Chicago ArtInstitute, the Library of Congress inWashington, and, of course, the MarineCorps Historical Center. Eli 775E11

)

1

— cause he thought "artists were supposedto look like that."

Groth became one of the first Alliedcorrespondents into Berlin by teaming pwith a Russian major in a red-flagged jeep"and caught hell for it."

Groth wrote and illustrated the booksStudio. Europe and Studio: Asia from hisexperiences in World War II and French

19

Looking for the Legation Guard in Pekingby J. Robert Moskin

A rmed, by the courtesy ofBGen Simmons and staff members

of the Marine Corps Historical Center,with a photocopy of a map that had beenhand drawn 80 or 90 years ago, I set outin Beijing this spring to find locationsrelated to the Marine Corps' defense of theLegation Quarter during the bloody Box-er Rebellion of 1900. The Boxer Rebellionwas a colorful and prominent incident inthe Corps' history, involving such charac-ters as "Handsome Jack" Myers, SmedleyButler, Dan Daly, "Tony" Waller, and BenFuller.

In the spring of 1900, the Boxers—fanatical, anti-foreigner, anti-Christian —had spread across China to Peking(Beijing). They were murdering mission-aries and priests and even Chinese convertsto Christianity. By May, they threatenedthe 500-some foreigners in the LegationQuarter, where officials and their familiesfrom 10 or 12 foreign nations huddledtogether in a prescribed area about three-quarters of a mile square. It was locatedjust southeast of the Forbidden City wherethe Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi held court.

On the southern side of the LegationQuarter rose the so-called Tartar City Wall,a venerable defense line of the city, 60 feettall and 40 feet wide. At the west end ofthe Quarter, the wall was pierced by theQin Men Gate and at the east end of theQuarter was the Hata Mon Gate. Abouthalfway between them was the Water Gatethrough which ran a small canal, almostbisecting the Quarter north and south.Running east and west across the Quarterwas Legation Street.

The American Legation was south of Le-gation Street and tucked in the southwestcorner of the Quarter. Its southern sidebacked up to the Tartar Wall. When theBoxers began to threaten the city; 49 Ma-rines and three sailors with a Colt auto-matic gun, all under the command ofCapt John T. Myers, were sent to the Le-gation Quarter as part of a force of 337

j Robert Moskin is the author of The U.S.Marine Corps Story, published byMcGraw-Hill. He is a senior editor ofWorld Press Review.

men of six nations from ships off China'sshore.

The legations pooled their meager mili-tary forces to defend the foreign popula-tion. Women and children were collectedin the British Legation, which was themost spacious. The Marines built a barri-cade on top of the wall facing west towardthe Qin Men Gate. The Germans, whoselegation was also south of Legation Street,built another barricade atop the wall fac-ing east toward the Hata Mon Gate.

Capt Myers sent Lt Newt H. Hall and20 Marines down Legation Street and outof the Quarter to the Methodist Missionacross the road to defend the foreignerswho had taken refuge there. The Marinesbrought them back to the Quarter.

T he Boxers surrounded and isolatedthe Legation Quarter on 2OJune and

began a 55-day siege. By 3 July, a quarterof all the foreign military professionals hadbeen killed or wounded. At 0300 thatmorning, Captain Myers led 14 Marines,16 Russians, and 25 British Marines overthe barricade and killed many Chinese inhand-to-hand fighting. Myers was badlywounded by a Chinese spear. Two Marinesand one Russian were killed.

On 13 July, the foreigners were pressedback. The Germans saved their area with

a bayonet charge and the Americansfought fiercely on the wall. Two nightslater, Pvt Daniel J. Daly volunteered tostay on the wall and hold the Marine po-sition alone with his bayoneted rifle allnight.

O n 4 August, the first units of an International Relief Force marched out

of Tientsin to lift the siege of Peking. Therelief force included 2,000 Americans withthe 1st Marine Regiment of 451 officersand men commanded by Maj William P.Biddle, and the. U.S. 9th Infantry. The firstbattalion of Marines was commanded byMaj Littleton W. T. Wailer; the second, byCapt FranklinJ. Moses; and F Companyof artillery, by Capt Ben H. Fuller, a fu-ture Commandant.

As the relief force fought its way towardPeking, the battle in the city rose in in-tensity. The relief force attacked the cityon 13 August. Two companies of Marinesstruck at Qin Men Gate. lstLt Smedley D.Butler was wounded in the chest but savedby a button on his blouse. Pvt Daly earnedhis first Medal of Honor. Myers' Marinescleared obstructions. And at 1430, BritishIndian troops emerged through the WaterGate onto Canal Street and the siege wasbroken. Sixty-six foreigners had beenkilled and 150 wounded.

On 31 May 1900, under the curious gaze of Chinese onlookers, the 52-man landingparty under Capt "Handsome Jack" Myers marches to the railway station at Tientsinfor transportation to Peking, there to join the six-nation guard at the Legation Quarter

20

Eighty-six years later, I tried to locatethese places of Marine Corps history.

First, I was taken to the Museum ofChinese Revolutionary History on T'ien-an Men Square, the huge open area im-mediately south of the Forbidden City andreputedly the largest square in the world.In the museum, curator and historian MaJingJiang walked me through the displaydevoted to the massive Taiping Rebellionof 1850, which was put down by BritishMaj "Chinese" Gordon, and the displayrelated to the Boxer Rebellion. Most of theitems were documents and primitiveweapons related to the Boxers. There wasone posed picture of Marines.

I quickly learned that to the Com-munist Chinese the Taipings and the Box-ers were the heroes and the foreigners werethe enemy. In Chinese eyes, the Boxerswere part of the anti-imperialist and anti-foreign struggle that the Communists fi-nally won in 1949. The Boxers tried towipe out Christianity and foreign imperi-alism from China. The Communists ad-mit that the murder of Chinese convertswas excessive but feel that this was the

price that had to be paid for a larger cause.Mr. Ma and Chen Sui Zhi, deputy

director of the All-China Journalists As-sociation, took me on a tour of the areawhere the Legation Quarter and the Tar-tar City Wall had stood years ago. Today,the Tartar Wall is gone, replaced by abroad, straight boulevard called Ch'ienNei-Tung Shun Ch'eng Avenue, with theBeijing subway running beneath it. Abovethe subway rises post-revolutionary hous-ing. The whole area is the heart of Beij-ing and no longer needs a defensive wall.

Qin Men Gate still stands, an impos-ing classic-style Chinese multi-roofedbuilding just south of T'ien-an MenSquare. Directly north of the gate rises themassive Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.The gate where Butler was wounded isnow a subway stop.

Legation Street, which was just northof the American Legation, is now

called Tung Chiao Mm Street. It is a grace-ful curving street. At its western end onefaces the huge square and directly in frontlooms the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.

21

Mao's body rests in this giant mausoleumbut is on display in its glass casket onlyon special occasions or for special visitors.Immediately north of the memorial is atall obelisk, a Monument to the People'sHeroes, bearing on one side a message in-scribed in Mao's calligraphy.

Most of the legation buildings have

Navy crew of the Colt automatic gun poseswith a Marine sentry in the courtyard ofthe American Legation prior to the siege.

W. STEPHEN HILL

stands, but its spires are broken and theircrosses have disappeared.

The north side of the Legation Quarteris still marked by Tung Chang An Avenue,the broad handsome boulevard that isBeijing's most important street and runseast and west between T'ien-an MenSquare and the Forbidden City.

been replaced since 1900, and theMunicipal Public Security Bureau—thenot-so-secret police—is now housed in abuilding on the site of the American Le-gation. The old buildings of the FrenchHospital and the Chartered Bank acrossLegation Street are still in place. Along thestreet to the east stand the main office ofthe People's Bank of China and the Inter-national Kuo-chi Hotel. The MethodistMission to the east is entirely gone.

The Water Gate, where the Internation-

al Relief Force penetrated the Tartar CityWall, is also gone; but the canal, whichnow seems to be a small brook, is thereand is known rather grandly as the RoyalRiver. On its west bank stood the Britishand Russian Legations.

Rue Marco Polo, which ran north andsouth just east of the canal between

the French Legation and French barracksand Catholic Church, is now called Tei JiChan Street. The Catholic Church still

W hen I first expressed interest in thehistory of the United States Ma-

rines in China, I was regarded with puz-zlement. Why would a friendly visitor likeme be interested in those imperialist in-vaders? I explained that the story of theMarines in China was part of Americanhistory and the expansion of American in-fluence and power across the world. Theyunderstood that.

I found that the journalist Edgar Snowwho wrote Red Star Over China is in theChinese pantheon of American heroes.But none of the educated journalists, scho-lars, and diplomats I talked with had everheard of Capt Evans F. Carlson, USMC,who in 1937-38 went to Yenan at Snow'surging and learned from the early Chineserevolutionaries living in the Yenan cavesabout guerilla warfare, small unit action,living off the land, and Gung Ho. Hebrought back all this and it became partof the tradition of Marine Raider units inWorld War II. This story fascinated myChinese friends. The Marines could befriends after all. LJ1775L1

Oscar Upham Collection

Boxers held the Tartar City IVall tower in the foreground while the American Marinesheld the nearest stone barricade, only several feet away, the morning of 3 July 1900.

The 1st Regiment of Marines, 451 officers and men under MajW7illiam P Biddle, marches to relieve Peking in August 1900.Major Littleton U T W7aller sits atop a white horse to the left

of the column. Also in the force was artillery commander CaptBen H. Fuller, a future Commandant. Wounded in the reliefbut saved by a blouse button, was lstLt Smedley D. Butler

WaIler Collection

22

As Others Saw Us

15th Infantry Meets Butler's 3d Brigade, Tientsin 1927by Col F Brooke Nlhart, USMC (Ret)

Deputy Director for Museums

.Seeking confirmation of one's favor-able self-image can be a risky busi-

ness and often a humbling experience.Since much of what we do at the Histori-cal Center is of that nature, it is pleasingto us when there comes to light a bit ofsincere praise of our Corps, and from anunexpected quarter.

Longtime supporter of the historicalprogram, frequent donor, and former Pek-ing Legation Guard Marine, Clem Russellhas sent us a copy of a chapter from a bookpublished in 1961 and titled The Old Chz-na Hands. It is by Charles G. Finney, whowas a soldier in the 15th U.S. Infantry,which garrisoned Tientsin, China, from1912 to 1938. Fortuitous for our story, Fin-ney served with the "Can Do" or "Man-chu" regiment in 1927. He witnessed thearrival of BGen Smedley D. Butler's 3dMarine Brigade in Tientsin, where it hadbeen dispatched to reinforce Westerndefenses against the possibility of ChiangKai-shek's approaching Northern Expedi-tion endangering European and Americanlives and trading interests. Finney has lefta soldier's discerning tribute to the profes-sionalism and combat readiness of Butler'sMarines and a humorous account of theeffect the spit-and-polish Army garrisonregiment had both on Butler and on hissalty Marines.

brought in more men, and sodid the Japanese and the Ameri-cans. The Japanese brought inmore men than anybody else,and formed what was later to be-come known in World War II asthe Kwangtung Army. The Unit-ed States brought in the Fourth[sic] Brigade [actually the 3dBrigade with the 6th Marines asthe major element] —four thou-sand men — under BrigadierGeneral Smedley Butler.

The Marines' arrival naturally occa-sioned much barracks discussion amongsoldiers of the 15th. According to Finney,one of them, Cpl Fautz, had served a four-year cruise in the Marines and his loyaltyremained with his first love:

He was very proud of theglobe and anchor. "A first-class

BGen Smedley D. Butler, hatless and back to camera, receives "Blessing Umbrella"in Tientsin. Right, 6th Marines drum major wears the skimpy lapel/ed khaki blouse.

T he pages Russell sent us were fromChapter 10, "The Marines Land." Fin-

ney writes:

So the British brought in moremen, and the French brought inmore men, and the Italians

"French 75 'f— caisson, limber crew, and prime mover—from 10th Marines battery withthe 3d Marine Brigade, grinds down Racecourse Road in Tientsin. The brigade wasa combined arms team with artillery, tanks, engineers, and service support troops.

23

BGen Butler poses with "Blessing Umbrel-la" awardedto him by city elders in 1928.

private in the Gyrenes . . . has

got to know more — a hell of alot more—than a second lieu-tenant in this lint-picking outfit.And as for officers, well, one ofour lieutenant colonels wouldn'tmake a pimple on the nose of aleatherneck shavetail."

Fautz's evaluations didn't go un-challenged, of course, but hear Fin-

ney describe the landing. Finney and twoof his pals headed for the Bund in jinrik-shas to watch the Marines come up the HaiHo in coal lighters from their transportsanchored at Taku Bar:

A tug brought up the firstthree lighters of Marines andlodged them, with much bangingand clattering, against the con-crete rim of the Bund. Lines werethrown ashore and made fast.The lighters were aswarm withyoung Americans in forest-greenuniforms, very dirty, very dis-heveled. Each man wore a steelhelmet and carried a pack, ahorseshoe-shaped blanket roll, aSpringfield rifle with bayonetfixed, a cartridge belt jammed

with shiny .30-06 ammunitionclips, and an extra bandolier ofcartridges over his shoulder.

This impressed the soldiers, one ofwhom recalled that when they went onpatrol their belt pouches were filled withwooden blocks so as to appear full.

Finney continues:

The three lighter loads of ma-rines emptied onto the Bund;there was nothing to stop them

we of the 15th Infantrybacked away from their deter-mined enterprise. Out of thebowels of their lighters —whichhad been previously used fortransporting coal, and hence wererather sooty—the landing partieshoisted machine guns, Stokesmortars, 37mm howitzers. Theydid it quickly, efficiently, seem-ingly without effort, as do welltrained teams. They brought outsandbags; and in something liketen minutes they threw up ahorseshoe-shaped barricade, fac-ing the city and sealing off theirportion of the Bund. This barri-cade bristled with weapons.

Finney's soldiers were in their usualstreet dress, the new roll-collar tunicsadopted just two years before, well tailoredand worn with white shirts, black ties, and

BGen Joseph Castner US. Army garrison commander, flanked by foreign militaryand diplomatic dignitaries, takes Marine Corps birthday parade at Tientsin Racecourse.

Browning machine gun crew of the 73d Company demonstrates gun drill for BGenButler, right hand in pocket at right, and guest from British Border Regiment in Oc-tober 1927. By this time, Marines had shined their previously camouflaged helmets.

24

pressed slacks. Their fair leather belts andcap bills were spit-shined and they carriedswagger sticks. The Marines assumed theywere officers and salutes were exchanged.The soldiers played along with the Ma-rines' confusion, complimenting a Marinehere for his efficiency, reprimanding onethere for failing to salute. Marines andsoldiers were off to a shaky start.

F inney describes the newcomers'appearance:

The tunic the Marine wore wasthe highcollar World War Imodel with black buttons. Theiruniforms had gathered muchcoal-dust grime from the trip up-stream in the lighters. Theirofficers wore uniforms of similarcut and color, but of better-gradecloth. As did the enlisted Ma-rines, they wore steel helmets.They were distinguishable bytheir leather boots and field SamBrowne belts and collar insignia.Most of them were companygrade. A lieutenant colonel wasin over-all command of the land-ing. He knew exactly what he wasdoing. The operation remindedme of a circus's arrival, by wagon-load, at its show grounds. Itseemed at first glance to be noth-ing but confusion compounded.But it wasn't that at all. It was awell-planned procedure, economi-cally and beautifully executed.Even our critical officers began tobe impressed.

The Army officers weren't overwhelmed,however. Finney overheard a captain say tohis companions, 'You can't tell a Marinea damned thing. They don't have to bat-tle their way ashore here. All they have todo is land and march off. But no, eachlanding has to be bloodier than the rest.They bring along their own correspon-dents, you know. Pretty soon, the papersin the States will be full of stories how theMarines against odds of one hundred toone captured Tientsin

W hen darkness fell the Marinesrigged acetylene floodlights and

continued the flow of men and material

ashore. A second wave of lighters broughtin tanks, trucks, and artillery. The first six-ton M1917 tank to be unloaded broke thedockside boom, but that didn't deter theMarines. According to Finney, "The Ma-rines cursed, found bridge timbers some-where, bridged the lighter to the Bund'sramp, and simply drove their tanks andtrucks ashore after that."

A Marine advance party had precededthe brigade to pick the Bund landing site,billets, and routes to them. The partyworked with the 15th Infantry staff,American diplomats, the foreign businesscommunity, and Chinese civic officials toleas'e "yamens, godowns, compounds,hongs, hotels, and anything else empty,or which could be emptied hurriedly, thathad a roof over it." Says Finney, "Absoluteorder prevailed, and their time schedulewas observed down to the minute. Theofficers, of course, knew there wasn't anywar going on, but they were only too hap-py to practice a large-scale landing opera-tion in a large, foreign city, and they wentat it with gusto."

Finney describes the professional em-barrassment suffered by the Army's garri-son showplace at the appearance of theMarine air-ground team of combinedarms, ready for action:

We were amazed at theamount of material the [3d]Brigade brought with it: tanks,

Coal lighter transferring members of the 6th Marines up the Hal Ho from USS Hen-derson off Taku Bar, arrives at dock in Tientsin. Finney says Marines debarked sootyfrom coal dust and wearing steel helmets instead of the field hats shown here.

Boeing FB-1 fighter of VF.1OM waits at Tientsin, 1927. The "Red Devils" left San Diegoas VF-3M, were redesignated shortly after arriving in China. Today the squadron fliesas VMFA-232. The pennant on the FB-1 fuselage denotes excellence in gunnery.

25

The l5th's '03 rifles didn't escape But-ler's gimlet eye. He visited their com-manding officer and the 15th turned outa company as guard of the day. Butlerasked to inspect it and inspect he did. Thesoldiers were impressed with his thorough-ness, which they reckoned was better thanany of their West Pointers. But Butler wasequally impressed with the condition ofthe soldiers' Springfields, especially of thestocks. Admiring the highly polished stockof one of Finney's friends, Butler observedquestioningly, "Linseed?" "Yessir" was theresponse, "and elbow grease." Butler gavea little appreciative nod and moved on.

field artillery, trucks, civilian-typeautomobiles, great heaps of mili-tary stores—and, to cap it all,twenty airplanes. We of the 15thInfantry had only mule-drawnforage wagons. Compared toSmedley Butler's Marines, wewere a regiment out of the CivilWar . . . brave with banners andmuskets, and that was about all.In our barracks we talked it overand became rather sullen aboutit. We, too, should have liked tohave modern trucks, tanks, ar-tillery, and airplanes. Our officerswere a bit miffed also. For onething, Smedley Butler rankedJoseph Castner. That meant, ifany shooting started, the 15thwould have to fight under a Ma-rine. General Butler was world-famous . . . . He had always be-lieved in setting forth his viewsloudly, lucidly, and practically in-terminably.

E ventually Gen Butler learned abouthis Marines saluting soldiers mistaken

for Army officers because of their well-turned-out uniforms. His first reaction wasto issue an order against the practice.When he came down off the overhead his

more tempered response was to sharpenup the appearance of his Marines. Thehigh collared blouses must be convertedto the new rolled lapelled style like theArmy and bronzed buttons polished toshiny brass. Every tailor in Tientsin wasmobilized for the effort. According toFinney:

The result was rather unhappy,because the high collars on thetunics didn't provide enoughcloth for a decent roll collar, andwhat the tailor did achieve wasalways skimpy and, in many in-stances, downright silly looking

the Marines were orderedto scrape the black paint off theirbuttons and shine the metal.They did so, and produced but-tons which looked like ancient,unwashed pennies. Our steel hel-mets were buffed and shellackedand bore shiny "Can-Do's" onthem. The Marines had to scrapethe sanded camouflage off theirhelmets and buff and shellacthem, and then drill holes inthem and mount shined-up an-chors and globes on them. Theydidn't like any part of it, butthey did it.

26

A s Finney describes it, "That veryevening, every Marine who toted a

Springfield was put to work scraping thestock of his rifle with a bone and rubbingin linseed oil, with an added advisory of'not to spare the elbow grease.' They wereinfuriated: What the hell was wrong withtheir Springfields the way they had beenissued to them? They were weapons, notjewels. If the bores were clean and thebolts worked, what the hell else was neces-sary?" There was resistance from the menwith officers sympathizing. Butler felt ex-planation was in order. He told of inspect-ing the Army and of being impressed withthe rifle stocks. The Marines' stocks mustbe equally beautiful. "Anything a soldiercould do, a Marine must do twice as well."Finney reports that this infuriated theleathernecks even more: "They consideredthemselves as being strictly a tugged com-bat outfit, living under field conditions,raring to go. The idea of polishing andshining so as to compete in appearancewith a sissified, understrength Army regi-ment was abhorrent." But they knew bynow that Butler meant every word of anorder, "and the price of linseed oil soaredin Tientsin."

What Butler and his Marines didn'tknow was that every soldier in the 15th hadtwo stocks for his rifle; one for dress andone "for drill and hikes and maneuversand target practice and were ordinary, asissued, untouched, sturdy walnut." Thesoldiers "over the years, had boned andscraped and honed and tubbed linseed oilinto the dress stocks . . until they hadbecome as beautiful as the finest everturned out by the master gunmakers ofFrance." And when not being used for pa-rade and guard mount they were wrappedlovingly in linseed-oily rags.

Not a ',unk on the table" inspection, but one of the competitive displays begun byBGen Butler to keep his Marines on their toes and impress other military men. Crossedrifles on Marine's coatsleeve indicates aprivate first class. Ammunition is stacked at rear

Thus the Marine-Army relationship de-teriorated further. Aside from the initialsaluting deception the soldiers didn't pressthe advantage of being on their own turf.They even invited a few Marines over totheir mess halls for dinner, but Army foodin well established messes was so muchbetter than the Marines' that Army messfunds couldn't keep up the hospitality.The inevitable happened. Marines invad-ed the limited number of bars and cafescatering to the military trade and tried todrink China dry. Fights ensued and Bu-tler was forced to place the entire 15th In-fantry end of Tientsin out of bounds toMarines.

Finney concludes:

In Tientsin that year no wardeveloped, except the war be-tween the Marines and the 15thInfantry. It was only a tepid, ath-letic war fought on basketballcourts, baseball diamonds, inboxing rings, and once on a foot-ball field. The Marines won allthe contests.

W ith no civil war to threaten U.S.and foreign interests in Tientsin,

all elements of the 3d Marine Brigade werewithdrawn in January 1929. The 15th In-fantry soldiered on until March 1938,when it was withdrawn incident to the real

war between Japan and China whichopened in North China in July 1937. A200-man detachment from the 500-manMarine Legation Guard at Peking arrivedat Tientsin and occupied the 15th Infan-try barracks as the Army pulled out. TheLegation Guard remained in North Chi-na until surrendered to the Japanese short-

ly after the 7 December 1941 attack onPearl Harbor.

The 40-year era of Marines in NorthChina thus ended except for a brief reprisefrom 1945 to 1947 when the III Amphibi-ous Corps with the 1st and 6th Marine Di-visions occupied Peiping, Tientsin, andTsingtao. Liil775Ll

U S-built, French-designed M191 7 tank of3d Marine Brigade lands from coal lighterat Tientsin in July 1927. The brigade arrived khaki-clad, not in the winter greens Fin-ney recalled Photographic evidence shows the shift to greens taking place in the fall.

Foundation Adds New Members(Continued from page 36)Academy Issues Call for Papers

For 1987 History Symposium

The History Department of the U.S. Naval Academy willsponsor its 8th Naval History Symposium on Thursday andFriday, 24-25 September 1987. Past symposiums havebrought together historians concerned with the entire rangeof naval history— including U.S., European, and ThirdWorld navies — and encompassing ancient, medieval, andmodern periods.

Assistant Professor William B. Cogar, director of the1987 symposium, has issued a call for papers and an earlyinvitation to individuals interested in attending the con-ference. Those who wish to propose a paper, or to offeran entire panel, should submit an abstract to Professor Co-gar at the History Department, U.S. Naval Academy, An-napolis, Maryland 21402-5044. Deadline for proposals is1 March 1987.

MajGen Wood B. Kyle, USMC(Ret)

Mrs. Florence P. LeonMr. Stuart J. LandMr. Leif LarsenMr. Alfred A. ManninoMaj Edwin E Kelly, USMC (Ret)Mr. Joseph P. GaneyCol William L. Dickens, USMCR

(Ret)

Mr. William E. HolliwaySSgt Irvin R. Wilson, Jr., USMC

(Ret)

Mr. David P. Della PentaMr. Bleecker R. WilliamsMr. Robert M. DalyBGen Robert M. Gaynor, USA

(Ret)

CWO-2 Robert T. Donald, USA(Ret)

Mr. Robert F. KelleyMr. John S. MillerMr. Paul H. CaseboltCol Ralph Dc Lucia, Jr., USMCRSgtMaj Herbert J. Sweet, USMC

(Ret)

Dr. Forrest C. PogueCol John R. Grove, USMC (Ret)LtCol John C. Hudock, USMC

(Ret)

Mr. John W. WitteMr. John L. WindsorLtCol Raymond L. ValenteCol James R. Blackwell, USMC

(Ret)

CWO Harold E. Johnson, USMC(Ret)

Col William R. Bennett, USMC(Ret)

Mr. LeRoy N. Schneider

Inquiries about the Foundation's activities may be sent tothe office at the Historical Center or calls can be made to (202)433-3914 or 433-2945.

27

Marine Band Replays Century-Old Role in N.Y. Harbor

by lstLt Michael D. Visconage, USMCPublic Affairs Officer Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.

T he Statue of Liberty's rededica-tion on 4 July in New York Harbor

included the participation of several Ma-rine Corps organizations. It was not a first-time event for some of the units, mostnotably "The Presidents Own" UnitedStates Marine Band.

In 1886 the Marine Band, led at thattime by John Philip Sousa, played for theoriginal dedication of the statue. Theband is prominent in one of the paintingsof the event by Edward Moran. Moran,who painted several works documentingAmerica's sea battles in the 1880s and1890s, shows the band on a barge in theforeground of his painting titled "The Un-veiling of the Statue of Liberty Enlight-ening the World."

Newspaper articles from the 28 October1886 dedication specifically mention Sou-sa and the Marine Band. Historical ac-counts also describe the many militaryunits, including Marines, that participat-ed in the grand parade which woundthrough the city that day.

Edward Moran's "The Unveiling of theStatue ofLiberty Enlightening the World"depicts the US. Marine Band lower right.

One hundred years later, on the morn-ing of 4July 1986, the Marine Band playedfor the President as he arrived aboard theUSS Iowa. The president reviewed the Ma-rine detachment on the battleship before

taking his position on gun turret numberone (with the band playing at the base ofthe turret) to observe the InternationalNaval Review.

Transferred to the deck of the aircraftcarrier USS John F Kennedy for the even-ing's "Fireworks Spectacular," the bandagain played honors for the President's ar-rival. The nationally broadcast music ac-companying the fireworks display waswritten especially for the event and wasprerecorded in May by the band—allowing exact choreography between themusic and the fireworks.

Finally, the band played in the Inter-national Classical Concert with the NewYork Philharmonic Orchestra, under thedirection of Zubin Mehta, on 5 July inCentral Park.

Marine Corps participation also in-cluded the 3 July performance of

the Silent Drill Platoon at the pre-openingceremonies on Governor's Island. In ad-dition to the Silent Drill Platoon, theWashington Barracks provided Marines forseveral joint-service color guards, for stateand territorial flag details, ceremonial flag

President and Mrs. Reagan were transport-ed to various rededication ceremonies inNew York Harbor by "Marine One, "pres-idential helicopter operated by HMX-1.

Honor guard from the Marine detachment of the USS Iowa joined the Marine Bandin welcoming President Ronald Reagan on the morning of 4 July. The President ob-served the International Naval Review from the battleshzj, s number one gun turret.

28

raisings, and the color guard for the clos-ing ceremonies at Giants Stadium on 6July.

Marine helicopter squadron HMX-1transported dignitaries such as Presidentand Mrs. Reagan and French PresidentFrancois Mitterrand to and from the

celebration events. II Marine AmphibiousForce provided Marines and equipment fora static display aboard the USS Nashvillefor public tours during the weekend. Fromthe 2d Marine Aircraft Wing, two AV8BHarriers and two A6 Intruders took partin a fly-over of the International Naval

Review on 4 July. The 2d MAW Band alsoappeared at several events and in a paradethrough the city. Marine detachmentsfrom the Kennedy and Iowa cooperatedin several patriotic ceremonies, includinga "Marine Night" on 2 July for a baseballgame at Yankee Stadium. Eli 775E1

Foundation Presents Heini, Geiger Memorial Awards

T he Marine Corps Historical Founda-tion recently honored winners of its

annual competitions for the best articleson Marine Corps history and Marine Corpsaviation published during the previousyear.

Gen Wallace M. Greene, Jr., 23d Com-mandant of the Marine Corps andhonorary chairman of the Foundation, wasassisted by Mrs. Nancy Heinl and LtGenKeith A. Smith, USMC, the Marine Corps'deputy chief of staff for aviation, duringthe presentation of awards for articlesprinted in 1985.

Russell Werts of Pueblo, Colorado,received the Colonel Robert D. Heinl, Jr.,Memorial Award in Marine Corps Historyfor his article, "The Ghosts of Iwo," in theMarine Corps Gazette of February 1985.The author fought on Iwo Jima 40 yearsago, and his article was praised by jurorsfor its vivid recollections of being initiat-ed into combat and the difficult days thatfollowed; it is said to capture the feel,sounds, and smells of small-unit combatwith accuracy and sensitivity. Werts writes,

my baptism of fire came on 6 March.Early in the morning, we started movingtoward the front. For the new men ofCompany A, it was the beginning of a19-day walk through the 'valley of deepshadow.' Over half of us would not finishthe walk. Prior to this day, we were fairlycertain that when we went to bed at nightwe would be alive in the morning, or whenwe ate breakfast we would be around forthe noon meal. But everything we hadtaken for granted, all the security of themoment, would be taken away and bereplaced with a constant danger that wemust now react to individually

A series of articles received an honora-ble mention in the Heinl Award compe-

tition. That honor went to LtCol DonaldB. Bonsper, USMC (Ret), for his "VietnamCombat Memoirs," in the Marine CorpsGazette issues of June-December 1985.

LtCol Bonsper's articles recount the ex-periences of the familiar "good youngofficer who lacks experience." It illustrateshow, for a newly assigned platoon leader,that "lack of experience" issue is difficultat best, disastrous at worst. LtCol Bonsperfaced many trials and tribulations as a lieu-tenant assuming his first command, andhe has been able to recreate those impor-tant moments in his serialized memoirs.Some of the titles of these reflective pieces:"Welcome to Vietnam," "Hill 179," "TheLP Doesn't Answer," "Ambushed," and"Rain, Bait, and Mortars."

The Marine Corps Gazette has con-tinued to run the series during 1986. LtColBonsper recently retired from the MarineCorps and currently is a profssor on thestaff of Defense Resources ManagementCenter, Monterey, California.

Literary reviewers often are pleased andexcited when they can include in an

article a statement such as, ". . . theauthor's first published work is beingwidely acclaimed The HistoricalFoundation's judges felt similar pleasureas they presented to Maj Gerald W. Cald-well, USMC, the General Roy S. GeigerAward for the best article on Marine avia-tion to appear in the Marine CorpsGazette during 1985, "The Destruction ofthe Soviet Air Defense System," from theDecember 1985 issue, was Maj Caldwell'sfirst major publication, and one which hasreceived the praises of senior professionalaviators: he is the first winner of theGeiger Award, sponsored by the Founda-

29

tion in what will become an annual com-petition.

The author's examination of the threatposed by the battlefield presence of asophisticated air defense system was con-sidered to be timely and significant. Byaddressing the factors of doctrine, train-ing, tactics, and improved weapons sys-tems, Maj Caldwell presents a case forchange and emphasizes the crucial natureof preparedness to destroy such an enemysystem.

Maj CaIdwell currently is assigned toFMFPac, Hawaii. Eli 775 El

by LtCol Richard Alger USMC (Ret)Executive Director, Marine Corps Historical Foundation

Law Restricts Use ofUSMC Seal, Emblem

Limited uses of the Marine Corpsseal, emblem, name, and initials per-mitted under U.S. Code, are spelledout in Marine Corps Order 5030.3, is-sued this past June. No use may bemade which suggests official approval,endorsement, or authorization of non-governmental promotions, goods, serv-ices, or commercial activities.

Reproduction and use of the MarineCorps seal itself is restricted to materi-als which originate at Headquarters,U.S. Marine Corps.

The Marine Corps emblem, names,or initials can be used in instanceswhere it imparts a Marine "accent," ex-cept that the use may not imply anyofficial or unofficial connection be-tween the Corps and the user. The ord-er further explains and defines this rulefor potential users. In nearly all in-stances, permission for use must first beobtained in writing from the Comman-dant of the Marine Corps (HQSP).

In Memoriam

Pacific War Engineer, Famed Marine Bandit Fighter Die

MAJGEN GEORGE E. TOMLINSON, USMCR

(RET), died of cancer at the age of 80 on13 August at Arlington Hospital, Arling-ton, Virginia. He was buried in ArlingtonNational Cemetery on 18 August with fullmilitary honors.

Gen Tomlinson was born in Gulfport,Mississippi, on 24 June 1906. He gradu-ated from the University of Mississippi in1926 and received bachelor of engineer-ing and master of arts degrees from thesame institution the following year, anda degree in civil engineering in 1933.Although he was commissioned in theArmy Reserve in 1932, he entered the Ma-rine Corps Reserve in 1942 as a major. Heserved for six years on the engineeringfaculties of Texas A&M College and theUniversities of Mississippi and Tennesseebefore joining the staff of the TennesseeValley Authority shortly after it was or-ganized in 1933.

MajGen Tomlinson

Gen Tomlinson served on active duty inthe Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946. Heparticipated in the New Georgia and Bou-gainville operations as engineer officer,Service Command, FMFPac. His other Pa-cific assignments included duty as officerin charge of all engineering supply in theSouth Pacific and III Amphibious Corpsstaff engineer officer during the Peleliu,Angaur, and Ulithi operations.

Following his release from active duty,

by Benis M. FrankHead Oral History Section

Gen Tomlinson remained in the MarineCorps Reserve, commanding severalReserve units in the Washington area,where, in civilian life, he worked for theU.S. Department of the Interior. At thetime of his retirement in 1972, he waschief engineer of the Federal Power Com-mission. Gen Tomlinson was a chartermember of the Marine Corps HistoricalFoundation.

Then-ColHanneken in 1943

BGEN HERMAN H. HANNEKEN, USMC(RET), who was awarded the Medal ofHonor for his deed of valor while servingin the Garde d'Haiti in 1919, died at theage of 93 in La Jolla, California, on 23 Au-gust. He was buried in Fort Rosecrans Na-tional Cemetery, San Diego, with fullmilitary honors on 27 August.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, GenHanneken enlisted in the Marine Corps in1914. He was a Marine Corps sergeant anda second lieutenant in the Haitian gendar-merie when — together with Cpl WilliamR. Button, disguised as Cacos—in an ex-tremely daring exploit he penetrated thecamp of Haitian guerrilla leaderCharlemagne Peralte and killed him. Dur-ing a visit a few years ago to the MarineCorps Historical Center, he participatedin an oral history interview, telling of theseevents which led to his Medal of Honor.

Shortly after his confrontation with Per-alte, he also shot and killed Osiris Joseph,

30

another bandit chieftain. For this, GenHanneken was awarded his first NavyCross. He received his second in 1928while serving with the Second Brigade,when he captured Sandino's chief of staff,General Jiron.

In World War II, Gen Hanneken servedwith the 1st Marine Division in theGuadalcanal, Cape Gloucester, andPeleliu operations, commanding the 7thMarines in the latter. He retired in July1948 and was advanced to the rank ofbrigadier general for having been decorat-ed in combat.

ERRATUM. In the summer 1986 issue ofFortitudine, the birthplace of the lateLtGen John C. Munn, USMC (Ret), wasincorrectly stated as Prescott, Arizona. Heactually was born in Prescott, Arkansas.The general died in April. The Comman-dant of the Marine Corps recently ap-proved the naming of the CampPendleton aitfield after the veteran Marineaviator and former commander of thebase. [11 775[i

Answers to Historical Quiz

Women in theMarine Corps

(From page 10)

1. Lucy Brewer

2. Pvt Opha Mae Johnson3. Col Ruth Cheney Streeter,

USMCWR (Ret)

4. Col Katherine A. Towle, USMC(Ret)

5. BGen Margaret A. Brewer,USMC (Ret)

6. BGen Gail M. Reals, USMC7. Col Mary V. Stremlow, USMCR

(Ret)

8. SgtMaj Bertha L. Peters (Billeb),USMC (Ret)

9. "Molly Marine"10. Patty Berg

New Books

Corps History Bibliography, Sea War Paintings Offered

F rom the library of the Marine CorpsHistorical Center, recently published

books of professional interest to Marines.These books are available from local book-stores or libraries.

Vietnam, the Valor and the Sorrow: Fromthe Home Front to the Front Lines inWiords and Pictures. Thomas D. Boettch-er. Little Brown & Co. 472 pp., 1985. Thisbook is intended to be a comprehensivehistory of the Vietnam War. Complement-ing the basic text are more than 500 pho-tographs with accompanying captions andanecdotes which add to the reader's un-derstanding. Mr. Boettcher, a graduate ofthe Air Force Academy, served as Air Forceliaison to the press in Vietnam, 1968-69.$27.50.

Brothers in Arms: A Journey from War toPeace. William Broyles, Jr. A. A. Knopf.284 pp., 1986. Broyles, a former editor ofNewsweek magazine, spent four weeks inVietnam in 1984 visiting places he hadbeen 15 years ago as a young Marine lieu-tenant, at one time serving as aide to theHistorical Center's present director, BGenSimmons. His 1984 journey took him toboth North and South Vietnam, where hetalked with the people: tribesmen, fisher-men, Communist party officers, and form-er members of the Viet Cong and NorthVietnamese Army. His reminiscences cap-ture the essence of the war and its after-math. $17.95.

An Annotated Bibliography of US. Ma-rine Corps Histoty. Paolo E. Coletta,Comp. University Press of America. 417pp., 1986. Written with the assistance ofa Marine Corps Historical Foundationgrant, this book is a bibliography of 4,000titles relative to Marine Corps history. Itsbasic historical arrangement includes alsosubject bibliographies and listings of Ma-rine Corps histories and relevant periodi-cals. $37.50.

War at Sea. John Hamilton. BlandfordPress, distributed in the U.S. by SterlingPublishing Co. 272 pp., 1986. A beauti-fully presented, comprehensive history of

by Evelyn A. EnglanderHistorical Center Librarian

the naval battles of World War II. Theauthor's research provides an accurate ac-count of events to accompany his 176 colorpaintings in the volume. The paintings,which capture the continuous struggle ofwarships, aircraft, submarines, and land-ing forces for control of the sea, bring theevents of the naval war to life. $49.95 (alsoa special limited edition for $250).

Strength for the Fight. A History of BlackAmericans in the Military. Bernard C.Nalty. The Free Press, a Division of Mac-millan, Inc. 424 pp., 1986. Nalty's booktraces blacks in the armed forces from the1600s to the 1980s. It is a history of Ameri-ca analyzed from the perspective of theblack fighting man. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, it looks at the ex-periences of blacks in all the services.Author of Air Power andthe Fight forKheSanh, co-author of volume three of His-tory of US. Marine Corps Operations inWorld War II, co-editor of the 13-volumeBlacks in the Armed Forces: Basic Docu-ments, Nalty is now a historian with theOffice of Air Force History. $22.50

Peacekeeper at War: A Marine's Accountof the Beirut Catastrophe. Michael Petit.Faber and Faber. 229 pp., 1986. As a form-er corporal with the 24th Marine Am-phibious Unit in Beirut, Petit survived thebombing of the Marine Barracks on 23 Oc-tober 1983. This is his story of his timewith the Marines in Beirut. His accountof the bombing, its aftermath, and themood of the survivors is effective andhonest. $17.95.

Once They Were Eagles: The Men of theBlack Sheep Squadron. Frank E. Walton.University Press of Kentucky. 248 pp.,1986. Walton, who served as intelligenceofficer with Marine Corps Fighting Squa-dron 214, "The Black Sheep Squadron,"has written a history of the unit's ex-periences in the South Pacific in late 1943.The second part of the book is a recordof his interviews 40 years later with the 34survivors of the original 51 squadronmembers. These "Black Sheep" share theirexperiences in the years following. With

31

an introduction by former Commandant,Gen Wallace M. Greene, Jr. $18.00.

VilardMilitaiy Series'Elite Forces is a newseries of books in military history pub-lished by Villard Books. The series editoris Ashley Brown, with consulting editorsBGenJames L. Collins, Jr., USA (Ret); Dr.J. Pimlett; and BGen Edwin H. Simmons,USMC (Ret). The first four titles are: TheUS. Marines in Action; British 22ndSASRegiment: Undercover Fighters; IsraeliAirborne Troops: Strike from the Sky; andUS. Special Forces from Vietnam to Del-ta Force: The Green Berets. Each volumeis softbound, with black-and-white andcolor photographs and uniform plates. 96pp. They trace each force's developmentand give a history of its recent deploy-ments. $4.95 each. L1775L1

Special Care GivenQuantico's Rare Books

More than 1,500 old or rare booksfrom the collection of the James C.Breckinridge Library at the MarineCorps Development and EducationCommand, Quantico, will be housedand cared for in the library's new rarebook room, dedicated in August.

Volumes receiving the special atten-tion include a "History of the EnglishArmy" dating from the American Revo-lution.

All of the books were formerlyshelved in the main library collection.They include hard-to-find volumessupplied by retired or former Marines,including MajGen Comdt John A.Lejeune, whose signature appears insome, and Col James T Breckinridge,son of the library's namesake, who do-nated a part of his father's personallibrary.

Special conditions for use of the rarebook room are aimed at protecting thebooks from defacement by writing im-plements, liquid spills, or cigarettesmoke.

World War I Crewman Hero Honored in BEQ Naming

by Robert V AquilinaAssistant Head, Reference Section

L ater this year, a completely renovatedbachelor enlisted quarters (BEQ) will

be dedicated at the Marine Corps Air Fa-cility, Quantico, in honor of lstLt RobertG. Robinson, USMCR. The dedicationhonors the only enlisted Marine crewmanto earn the Medal of Honor in World WarI. His battlefield heroics, along with hispioneering influence on the developmentof what is now the Marine Naval FlightOfficer specialty, make him uniquelyqualified for the honor at Quantico.

A native of Wayne, Michigan, Robin-son was born on 30 April 1896. He enlist-ed in the Marine Corps on 22 May 1917at Port Royal, South Carolina, and wassubsequently transferred to the 92d Com-pany at Quantico. He joined the 1st Ma-rine Aviation Force on 14 April 1918. Afteradditional training at Atmorer School,

GySgt Robert G. Robinson, awarded theMedal of Honor for heroism in the air overBelgium, displays early US. flying gear.

Wright Field, Fairfield, Ohio, Robinsonembarked on the USS DeKaIb in July1918, arriving in France several weeks later.

While he was serving as an aerial ob-server/gunner with Squadron 9, 1st MarineAviation Force, GySgt Robinson's plane,piloted by 2dLt Ralph Talbot, USMC, be-came detached from its squadron matesand was attacked by 12 enemy scouts. Thecitation accompanying Robinson's Medalof Honor describes the fierce dogfight overPittham, Belgium, as well as an earlieraction:

"For extraordinary heroism as ob-server in the First Marine Avia-tion Force at the front in France.He not only participated success-fully in numerous raids into ene-my territory, but on October 8,1918, while conducting an airraid in company with planesfrom Squadron 218, R.A.F., hewas attacked by nine enemyscouts and in the fight which fol-lowed he shot down one of theenemy planes. Also, on October14, 1918, while on an air raidover Pittham, Belgium, his planeand one other became separatedfrom their formation on accountof motor trouble and were at-tacked by twelve enemy scouts. Inthe fight which ensued he be-haved with conspicuous gallantryand intrepidity. After shootingdown one of the enemy planeshe was struck by a bullet whichcarried away most of his elbow,ahd his gun jammed at the sametime. He cleared the jam withone hand while his pilot maneu-vered for position. With the guncleared he returned to the fight,though his left arm was useless,and fought off the enemy scoutsuntil he collapsed after receivingtwo more bullet woulds, one inthe stomach and one in thethigh."

Although wounded 13 times, Robinsonassisted Lt Talbot in bringing their aircraft

32

Marine artist ColJohnj Capolino recalledthe gallant repulse of 12 enemy scouts by2dLt Ralph Talbot and GySgt Robinson.

down in Belgian territory. The surgeon-general of the Belgian Army successfullygrafted GySgt Robinson's wounded arm.Sadly, Lt Talbot, who also received theMedal of Honor for his role in the dog-fight over Pittham, was killed several dayslater in a plane crash.

G ySgt Robinson was transferred to theU.S. Naval Hospital at Brest, France,

in November 1918. He was honorably dis-charged in 1919 as a gunnery sergeant, andappointed a second lieutenant in the Ma-rine Corps Reserve. Retired on disabilityin 1923, he was promoted to first lieu-tenant in 1936. lstLt Robinson made hishome in St. Ignace, Michigan, and livedto see the initiation of the Robert G.Robinson Award in 1971. Awarded annu-ally to the "Marine Flight Officer of theYear," the award symbolizes the quietstrength and determination of the gun-nery sergeant who earned the Medal ofHonor against severe odds.

lstLt Robinson died at his home in St.Ignace in 1974, and was buried with fullmilitary honors at Arlington NationalCemetery. L11775E

Fhght Lines

McDonnell FD-1 Phantomby Maj G. Ross Dunham, USMC

Historical W"riter

M cDonnell's FD-1 (FH-1) Phantommade its first flight as the XFD-1

on 26January 1945. Bureau number 48235flew twice that day for a total of 49 minutes.It ended its brief aviation career when itcrashed on 1 November 1945. Its sister craft(bureau number 48236), the only other ex-perimental Phantom in service, earlier hadcrash landed after a dual engine failure at250 feet during final approach on 24 Au-gust 1945. This craft redeemed itself on 21July 1946 when it became the first jetpropelled aircraft to land on a carrier. Thecarrier trials, including several take-offs andlandings, took place on board the USSFranklin D. Roosevelt (CV 42) and justifiedthe use of jet aviation by the naval service.

Yet naval aviation had to overcome onemore obstacle if jet carrier operations were tobecome feasible. Deck space on a carrier re-presented prime real estate used for spottingaircraft and could not be traded for takeoffrunway. The catapult appeared to offer a so-lution, but neither the XFD-1 or any otherjet aircraft had ever been launched from thedeck of a carrier by this means. Ironically,it was an Army Air Force aircraft on loanto the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River,Maryland that first accomplished this feat.A Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, piloted bythen Marine Maj Marion Carl, achieved this"first" on 1 November 1946 when the USSRoosevelt catapulted it into flight.

Even though the XFD-1 never exper-

ienced a catapult launch and had its flightdemonstration for 1946 cancelled, it so

pleased the Navy with its overall perfor-mance that they ordered 100 of the produc-tion model, designated FD-1, an improvedversion of the XFD-1. On 23 July 1947,Navy squadron VF-17A took delivery of twoFD-ls. One month and five days later, theNavy changed McDonnell's designation let-ter from a 'D' to 'H', making the FD-1 anFH-1. This did not alter the fact that theaircraft was officially known by the popularname Phantom. Some of the major changesto the aircraft included replacement of itstwo Westinghouse 19B engines with West-inghouse 19XB 030) engines; modificationof the gunsight and instrumentation ar-rangement, the fuel system, and the seatposition; plus redesign of the empennage,and use of a heavier and longer airframe.

The FH-1 Phantom, the first jet fighterdesigned for naval use to be operated by theMarine Corps, was assigned to VMF-122,MAG-li, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing at CherryPoint, North Carolina. Thus in November1947, VMF-122 became the first operationalMarine Corps squadron to fly jet fighter air-craft. Additionally, the FH-1 served as thedemonstration aircraft for the first and onlyMarine Corps flight demonstration team,dubbed the "Marine Phantoms." The "Fly-ing Leathernecks," as they were also known,flew FH-ls marked with a yellow sawtoothdesign on the tail.

By the end of 1949, the flight team hadbeen disbanded and the F2H Banshee hadreplaced the FH-1 Phantom. A few lingeredon until VMF-122 received its full comple-ment of F2H-2s.

The McDonnell Corporation "Phantom"at the Marine Corps Air and Ground Muse-um was acquired by exchange/sale with Mr.William C. Yarborough of Marietta, Geor-gia and has been fully restored by the muse-um staff. Bearing bureau number 11768,this "Phantom" first joined the MarineCorps on 23 October 1947 when VMF-122accepted delivery. It currently resides inHangar 3 at Quantico, Virginia awaiting dis-play in a future exhibit. L]1775L1

McDonnell PD-i Phantom, bureau number i1768, resides in Hangar 3, at Quantico.

Technical Data

Based on Airplane Characteristics and Performance Chart, Model FH-1, October1949.

Manufacturer: McDonnell Corporation, St. Louis, Missouri.Type: General purpose Navy-Marine Corps fighter.Accommodation: Single-seat.Power Plant: Two Westinghouse J30-WE-20 jet engines rated 1560 lbs., 17,000

rpm at sea level.Dimensions: Span, 40 ft., 9 in.; Length, 38 ft., 9 in.; Height, 14 ft., 2 in.Weights: Empty, 6,699 lbs.; gross combat, 9,974; maximum take-off and landing,12,500 lbs.Performance: Max speed, 410 knots at sea level; Service ceiling, 29,500 ft.; Range,670 n.mi.; Climb at sea level (gross combat), 4,800 ft. per mm.Armaments: Four .50-cal nose guns firing 1,300 rounds total; MK23 Mod 0 gunsight.

33

Korean IVar Chronology

September-December 1951by Robert V Aquiina

Assistant Head, Reference Section

A s the Communist delegates walked out on the Kaesongtruce talks late in August 1951, all units of the 1st Marine

Division were alerted to prepare immediately for offensive oper-ations. The heavily reinforced division's strength now was 1,386officers and 24,044 enlisted Marines; most of its Inchon-Seouland Chosin Reservoir veterans had rotated back to the UnitedStates.

On 30 August, the division, commanded by MajGen GeraldC. Thomas, jumped off toward objectives in the Punchbowl areaof east-central Korea. The ensuing three weeks of fighting wit-nessed some of the hardest operations mounted by the divisionin Korea. Throughout the period, the division was supportedby the Korean Marine Corps Regiment (KMC), which provedits mettle in fierce fighting against Communist Chinese andNorth Korean units. Enemy forces occupied strongly defendedpositions in the mountainous terrain surrounding the Punch-bowl, and fortified their defensive zones with heavy artillery andmortars, The tenacity of the Chinese and North Koreans indefending their positions reminded Marine veterans of WorldWar II of Japanese defensive tactics in the Pacific.

With brief interludes until 20 September, all three infantryregiments of the 1st Marine Division, ably assisted by the KMC,

Earning a role in history are 1st Division Marines on the easternfront in Korea who took part, in the autumn of 1951, in whatis reckoned to be the Corps'flrst helicopter vertical envelopment

Marine HRS-1 transport helicopter from HMR-161 delivers cold-weather gear to 1st Division troops on the front lines. The trans-port squadron was the first to arrive in Korea and subsequentlymade history in operations W/indmilll and II in September 1951.

staged in a combat zone. Such tactics boosted the effectivenessof the division by allowing it to enter previously inaccessible ter-rain as the drive against Communist Chinese forces went on.

Medals of Honor: 2dLt George H. Ramer Sgt Frederick U Mausert, CplJack Davenport, CplJoseph Vittori, PFC Edward Gomez.

slugged it out with North Korean and Red Chinese forces. TheMarines fought doggedly to secure a seemingly endless series offortified hills which comprised the enemy defenses. Artillery andmortar fire, and supporting air strikes (when available) of napalm,rocket, and strafing fire, were used to drive the enemy out ofentrenched bunker positions. The lack of close-air support forMarine ground units became a mounting problem, as MajGenThomas stated flatly that the air support supplied to his Ma-rines by the Fifth Air Force was unsatisfactory. The 1st MarineAircraft Wing, operating under the control of the Fifth Air Force,was engaged in Operation Strangle, an interdiction operationconsisting of massive aerial strikes against enemy road networksused to supply Red Chinese and North Korean forces. Whiledesigned to cut the flow of enemy vehicular and rail traffic, theoperation severely limited the availability of Marine close-air sup-port sorties during the Punchbowl operation.

The mountainous terrain surrounding the Punchbowlchallenged Marine Corps logistical ingenuity in supply opera-tions. While Marine Corsair and Panther jets smashed enemy

LtGen Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., soon to become Commandant,visits men of the 11th Marines in Korea on 8 November 1951Although there was a lull in fighting, patrolling continued

supply lines during Operation Strangle, the tactics of verticalenvelopment took root in the forbidding terrain of east-centralKorea. On 13 September 1951, HMR-161, the first helicoptertransport squadron to arrive in Korea, made history by complet-ing the first large-scale helicopter supply operation in a combatzone. Operation Windmill I succeeded in supplying the 2d Bat-talion, 1st Marines with 18,848 pounds of cargo while evacuat-ing 74 casualties from the battalion's combat zone. A similaroperation, Windmill II, was conducted on 19 September, andtwo days later, HMR-161 successfully transported 224 Marinecombat troops, along with 17,772 pounds of cargo to the front.The Sikorsky HRS-1 transport helicopters launched a new era inMarine Corps air-ground teamwork. Operations Windmill I andII raised the effectiveness of 1st Marine Division units in inac-cessible terrain as they continued their drive against Communistforces. Though inflicting grievous losses on North Korean andRed Chinese units, the Marines also suffered heavy casualties.

On 18 September, a particularly bitter engagement pitted the2d Battalion, 5th Marines against a determined North Koreanassault. The resulting struggle for the "Rock," which includedhelicopter support of the battalion in Operation Windmill II,resulted in some of the fiercest fighting of the Punchbowl oper-ation. North Korean forces repeatedly charged Marine positions,and were finally driven off by 20 September by the grenades andautomatic weapons of Companies E and F. The battle for the"Rock" was the last major action of the Punchbowl campaign.The intensity of the fighting over the three weeks was reflectedin the five Medals of Honor, all posthumous, which were awardedto members of the 1st Marine Division for heroism during theperiod 5-21 September 1951.

35

Shortly after a visit to the front in mid-September, LtGenJames A. Van Fleet, Commanding General, Eighth U.S.

Army in Korea, issued orders curtailing X Corps offensive oper-ations after 20 September 1951. While conferences at Panmun-jom between United Nations and Communist representativeswere held to discuss repatriation of prisoners of war, the 1st Ma-rine Division resumed patrolling activities in the east-central por-tion of Korea. The relative lull allowed training exercises for thebenefit of newly arrived Marine replacements from the UnitedStates.

Christmas 1951 found the 1st Marine Division in possessionof 11 miles of front on the north face of the Punchbowl. WhileHMR-161 continued its untiring supply and evacuation for front-line units with rations, fuel oil, requisite cold-weather gear, andtransport of casualties, the conflict that was not officially a warrefused to end. Eli 775L]

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVYHEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20380

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Historical Foundation Notes

New Directors' Elections at Annual Meeting

Robert L. Kurth, M.D.Col Samuel S. Wooster, USMCR

(Ret)

MajGen Oscar F. Peatross, IJSMC(Ret)

Sidney C. Phillips, M.D.

LtGen Lewis J. Fields, USMC (Ret)LtCol R. 1. MacPherson, USMC

(Ret)

LtCol Thomas H. Hughes, USMC

Mr. Samuel C. Plott, Jr.

Mr. Bernard GrayMs. Theresa M. SousaCpl James T. Jamara, USMCRLtCol Eleanor M. Wilson, USMCRMaj Albert A. Grasselli, USMC

(Ret)

Col Joseph T. Fisher, USMCRMr. Daniel B. PotochniakCol Richard H. Jeschke, USMC

(Ret)

LtCol Warren H. Keck, USMC(Ret)

Col Verle E. Ludwig, USMC (Ret)Sgt Jeffrey R. Dacus, USMCRMr. Richard R. HayesMaj Charles E. Conway, Jr., USMC

(Ret)

Mr. W. E. SimonsJudge James M. Macnish, Jr.lstSgt Mac A. Tracy, USMC (Ret)Dr. M. Lynn HieronymusMr. James R. ConnorMr. Charles L. Henry, Jr.Mr. Elbert J. KimbleMr. James J. BierbowerLtCol Byron F. Brady, USMC (Ret)SgtMaj John E. Lelle, USMCR

(Ret)

Col James B. Carpenter, Jr., USMC(Ret)

Mr. Douglas W. KingeryMr. Tom J. StanleyCapt Gordon M. Nettleton, USMC

(Ret)

Col John H. Lauck, USMC (Ret)Mr. John E. ChesterCol Alfred V. Jorgensen, USMCR

(Ret)

Mr. James W. SymingtonMajGen Michael P. Ryan, USMC

(Ret)

SgtMaj Neal D. King, USMC(Ret)

SSgt Donald B. Woods, USMCR(Ret)

Mr. Joseph MorkeskiMr. Harold W. GrayCol Warren E. McCain, USMC

(Ret)

Capt George H. O'Kelley, USMCRLtCol Harry M. Parke, USMCR

(Ret)

Mr. John J. AumanLcCol James D. Munson, USMC

(Ret)

Mr. Jack R. WilliamsonMr. Robert J. De VilliersBGen Virgil W. Banning, USMC

(Ret)

Maj Eugene W. Gleason, USMC(Ret)

Maj James C. Harrington, USMC(Ret)

Mr. John C. WirthMr. John L. RussellMaj John H. Borleis, Jr., USAF

(Ret)

Mr. Jerald L. FrandsenMr. Forrest F. GessweinMaj Bruce R. Jones, USMC

(Ret)LtCol James W. Loop, USA

(Ret)MSgt John). Morgan, Jr., USMC

(Ret)Mr. Andrew H. CainCWO-4 Robert E. Smith, USMCR

(Ret)

Dr. James E. HalpinGySgt John F. DeWitt, USMC

(Ret)

Mr. James Ivanoff

BULK RATE

POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

USMC

PERMIT NO. G-63

T he official ballots for electing directors to fill the sevenvacancies that occur on the board of the Marine Corps

Historical Foundation in November have been distributed tothe membership. Terms expire for the following directors:

Dr. Philip A. Crow!LtCo! Lily H. Gridley, USMCR (Ret)Col Alan R. Millett, USMCRCol Roger Willock, USMCR (Ret)Co! John E. Greenwood, USMC (Ret)SgtMaj George F. Meyer, USMC (Ret)Mr. Robert L. Sherrod

All incumbents, except Col Greenwood, SgtMaj Meyer, andMr. Sherrod, are qualified for reelection. Gen Alan Arm-strong, chairman of the Nominating Committee, was to an-nounce the results of the election at the annual meeting ofthe membership on Monday, 3 November.

On the day before—Sunday, 2 November—the Founda-tion was to sponsor an early daytime visit to the Marine CorpsAir-Ground Museum at Quantico. Bus transportation betweenWashington, D.C. and Quantico, and a luncheon, were in-cluded in plans. Sunday evening ws to be highlighted bythe annual dinner party at the Marine Corps Museum,Washington Navy Yard.

A s of 17 July, the Foundation has 1,219 members. Thosewho have joined since the listing in the Summer 1986

issue of Fortitudine are:

(Ret)

(Continued on page 27)

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