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FORTITtJfli..BULLETIN OF THE MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PROGI

HISTORICAL BULLETIN VOLUME XXVI WINTER 1996-1997 NUMBER 3'

'ALLIGAIOR MACHINES AND MARINES' SUBJECTS OF NEW LVT MUSEUM AT CAMP DEL MAR. ThJBUTE 1D

A SCHOLARLY AND GENTLEMANLY MARINE, MAJOR GENERAL JOHN P. CONDON. . NEW BAYFLE HONORS

ADDED TO 'Iwo JIMA MEMORIAL'. . . GIN BARNEYF'S MEDALS, SOME Now HARD TO FIND, Go TO MUSEUM

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

PCN 10401220100

Marine Corps Historical CenterBuilding 58, Washington Navy Yard

901 M Street. SoutheastWashington, D.C. 20374-5040

Telephone: (202) 433-3838, 433-3840, 433-3841

DIRECTOR EMERITUS

BGen Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret)

DIRECTORCol Michael F. Monigan, USMC

Acting

Secretary to the Director Vacant.

DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Col Michael F. Monigan. USMC

HISTORICAL BRANCH

Acting Head/Head, Histories Section: Mr. Benis M. Frank,Chief Historian; Dr. Jack Shulimson; Mr. Charles R. Smith:Ma1 Steven M. Zimmeck, USMC; Maj James G. Antal,USMC: Mrs. Wanda E Renfrow. Oral History Unit: Mr.Richard A. Long. Mr. David B. Crist. Reference Section: Mr.Danny). Crawford: Mr. Robert V. Aquilina; Mrs. Ann A.Ferrante: Miss Lena M. Kaljot; Mrs. Shelia Gramblin. Ar-chives: Mr. Frederick). Graboske; Mrs. Amy C. Cohen, Per-sonal Papers; Mrs. Joyce C. Hudson, Official Papers.

MUSEUMS BRANCH

Acting Head/Offlcer.in.Charge, Air.Ground Museum,Quantico: Mr. Charles A. Wood. Operations Officer lstLtKristina L. Wenger, USMC. Museums Section: Mr. CharlesA. Wood, Chief Curator; Mr. Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas,Material History; Mr. John G. Griffiths, Sgt Dieter Stenger,USMC, Ordnance; Mr. Mitch Garringer, SSgt Troy H. Lump-kin, USMC. Cpl David Nieves,Jr., USMC. Restoration; Mr.Michael E. Starn, Aeronautics; Mr. Ronald). Perkins, Mr.Ronnie D. Alexander, Exhibits; Mrs. Nancy F King, Uni-forms; Mrs. Jennifer L. Castro, Registrar, Mrs. Kathryn R.Troui, Programs Assistant. Security: SSgt Anthony). Pastella,USMC; Cpl David Trelinski, USMC; Cpl Chad G. Paquette,USMC; Cpl Tobias T Pasky, USMC; PFC Larrissa Morgan,USMC.

MARINE CORPS MUSEUM UNIT. WASHINGTON, D.C.

Exhibits: Mr. James A. Fairfax; Mr. Gordon Heim. MarineCorps Art Collection: Mr. John T Dyer, Jr.

SUPPORT BRANCH

Head/Division Executive Officer LtCol Leon Craig, Jr.,USMC. Editing and Design Section: Mr. Robert E. Struder;Mr. William S. Hill; Mrs. Catherine A. Kerns. Library: MissEvelyn A. Englander. Administration: lstLt Mark R.Schroeder, USMC; GySgt Dwayne L. Eubanks, USMC; SSgtMyrna A. Thomas, USMC; Sgt Eric M. Trischan, USMC; SgtMarello P. Harris, USMC; Cpl Juan E.Johnson, USMC; LCpIMichael L. Danielson, USMC. Security Unit: SSgt Treaty N.Williams, USMC; Cpl Edward M. Hartzell, USMC; LCplRichard W. Normant Ill, USMC.

Mr. Robert E. StruderSenior Editor/Editor Fortitudine

FORTIT[JD INEMotto of the United States Marine Corps in the 1812 era.

Historical Bulletin Volume XXVI Winter 1996-1997 No. 3

This quarterly bulletin of the Marine Corps historical program is published for Marines, atthe rate of one copy for every nine on active duty, to provide education and training in theuses of military and Marine Corps history. Other interested readers may purchase single co-pies or four-issue subscriptions from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office. The appropriate order form appears in this issue.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Memorandum from the Chief Historian: An Eagle is Downed:Major General John P. Condon

Benis M. Frank 3

New Battle Honors Added to Marine Corps MemorialCol Michael F Monigan, USMC 7

High-Tech Shelving Expands Space for Reference Section's Burgeoning FilesDanny]. Crawford 9

12th Commandant's Medals Provide Puzzles for StaffKenneth L. Smith-Christmas 10

Contract to Purchase Slave Among Commandant's 200-Year-Old PapersAmy Cantin Cohen 11

LVI Museum Preserves Pendleton's Amphibian HeritageCharles R. Smith 12

'Homemade' Histories Can Preserve Marine Fact and LoreBenis M. Frank 14

Awards Cite Veteran Pilot Condon and Author MoskinCharles R. Smith 17

Reservists Aim to Fill in Blanks in 4th Division HistoryMaj Craig A. Swanson, USMCR 19

Historical Quiz: Marine Corps AviationMidn2C Richard M. Rusnok, Jr 20

Japan's National Library Fulfills Microfilm AgreementFrederick]. Graboske 21

New Books: Letters from Women in Uniform Make Absorbing Text]ena Beth Antal 22

Answers to the Historical Quiz: Marine Corps AviationMidn2C Richard M, Rosnokjr 22

Marine Corps Chronology: July-December 1948Robert V Aquilina 23

Royal Marines in U.S. Stage Birthday Party at CenterCapt Dave U< H. lVilson, RM 24

ABOUT THE COVER

"Alligator Landing Craft" loaded with assault Marines move toward a Pacific island beachin this pen-and-ink drawing with watercolor wash by combat artist Tom Dunn, completedin the late 1940s. "Alligator Machines and Marines" are the subjects of the new World WarII and Korean War LVT Museum, created by the Assault Amphibian School Battalion atCamp Del Mar at Camp Pendleton, California. Historian Charles R. Smith describes thisnew museum facility and its complement of fully restored Landing Vehicles, Tracked, in afeature beginning on page 12. Elsewhere in the issue, Chief Historian Benis M. Frank recom-mends that Marine veterans get busy writing the histories of their battalion- and company-level units, before these memories pass into oblivion, in the article beginning on page 14.

Fortitudine is produced in the Editing and Design Section of the History and Museums Division. Thctext for Fortitudine is set in 10-point and 8-point Garamond typeface. Headlines are in 18-point or24-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 Fortitudine, Winter 1996-1997

HISTORYAND MUSEUMSDIVISION

Memorandum from the Chief Historian

R ETIRED VETERAN Marine aviator Maj-Gen John Pomeroy Condon died of

an aneurysm and lymphoma at his homein Alexandria, Virginia, on 26 December1966, just six days after his 85th birthday.

Gen Condon was a native of the upperpeninsula of Michigan, where it was oftensaid that "Summer was on Tuesday thisyear." He became interested in the UnitedStates Naval Academy early as a result ofknowing of the experiences of other youngmen of the area who were attending. Hefirst went to Severn School, in Severn,Maryland, a famed preparatory schoolwhich graduated many candidates for en-try into either the United States Militaryor United States Naval Academy.

Easily passing the entrance examina-tions, Condon entered the Naval Academyin June 1930 with the rest of the Class of1934. He said, in his oral history, that themost influential factor in his choice to be-come a Marine was the presence of hisroommate, Philip H. Torrey,Jr., son of Ma-rine MajGen Philip H. "Philip the Hard"Torrey. Of his classmates, those who optedto become Marines were Victor H. "Brute"Krulak, Frank Tharin, Harold 0. "Hap"Deakin, Ralph "Rollo" Rottet, and HenryW. "Bill" Buse, among others. All of thesemen eventually became general officers.

G EN CONDON HAD very warmmemories of his time at the Acade-

my, and often agonized about the hardtimes that it has come upon as a result ofthe recent flurry of unfavorable publicityabout certain incidents occurring there. Inhis years, he was the captain of the lacrosseteam, and, in fact, was elected to the All-American lacrosse team.

Following graduation and commission-ing, as were all new second lieutenants,Gen Condon was assigned to Basic School,which, at the time, was located in thePhiladelphia Navy Yard. His was a remark-ably small class of 35 boot lieutenants, infact the last small Basic School class inmodern history. His first assignment was

JOHN POMEROY CONDON

'Johnny" 'Clip pewa '"Ope"HOUGHTOr., Mien.

FROM the icy land of furs, copper and Paul Bunyan phan-tasmagoria comes the black haired John Pomerov Condon.Deserting his tribesmen, lie donned his snowshoes and

set our on the long trek to the Naval College.A versatile athlete, he has reached the acme of his desire, char

of captaining the lacrosse ream. The beautiful legged Apollocan be seen any afternoon, mesmerized by the copper faced god,Lacrosse, grunting, sweating and pirouetting with a grace whichwould have inspired the envy of the Cluppewa who must Ii avebeen his very close neighbors.

Coming from the Am'ien NoI,lc.cs of the Upper Peninsula lie hasthe persuasive charm of a Clsesterteld which gives him readyaccess to the hearts of G'nocracv the world over. Of late lie hasbecome more or less monogynous, hut, as far as we know, hehas not vet been bound by the rincalia,s ,natrjmonu.

Aside from all the verhage, Johnns' has the respect, admirationand friendship of his classmates. He is a true friend and has asinc he for everyone. Honi colt qo: mat iiii penis.

f.acroste 4, 3, 2, 1. 'N' 3, 2, 1. Captain i. Football 4.

C. P.O. )

Benis M. Frank

Fortziudzne, Winter 1996-1997

An Eagle is Downed:Major General John P. Condon

in the USS Pennsylvania, to the Marinedetachment commanded by Capt EmeryEllsworth "Swede" Larson, who was wellknown for his exploits as both footballcoach and player on the famous Quanticoteams of the early 1930s. Gen Condonreally wanted to go into flight training,and, in fact, had orders to Pensacola forthe February 1935 class. Capt Larson talkedhim out of accepting them because he feltthat young Lt Condon should experienceduty with the ground forces before learn-ing to fly. After his cruise in the Pennsyl-vania, in June 1936 he was assigned tocommand the machine gun platoon ofCompany H, 2d Batallion, 6th Marines.His decision regarding his future wasquickly made, for as he recalls in his tapedmemoirs:

After a few mornings of turningout for troop and inspection withmy . . . platoon and, instead of find-ing four [machine gun] carts andabout 30 to 40 Marines, I'd find onecart and three Marines. I found outthat the rest of them were out cut-ting grass, doing odd jobs or pick-ing up papers around the base andwhat not, a continuous thing. I said,'I think I've had enough of this,' soI reinstituted my request for flighttraining and I was ordered to Pen-sacola in October [1936], followingmy July reporting to the 6thMarines.

2dLt Condon had his photograph takenduring flight training in January 1937 atthe Pensacola, Florida, NavalAir Station.

served as general officers in World War II.As a new member of the squadron, hecontinued his training, including instruc-tion in fighter plane tactics. He had to gothrough a whole series of checks under thescrutiny of some of the more experiencedpilots in the squadron. Before the UnitedStates entered World War II, he was a con-siderably seasoned Marine pilot who had

flown most of the aircraft in the Corps' in-ventory at the time. In June 1941 he wastransferred to VMF-121 and assigned dutiesas squadron executive officer.

SHORTLY AFTER THE Japanese attack onPearl Harbor, the squadron was trans-

ferred to San Diego, and in March 1942,Condon was transferred to Marine AircraftGroup (MAG) 12, as group operationsofficer. In January 1943, the group wentforward to Noumea and then up to Efatein the New Hebrides. When his groupcommander, Col Ed Pugh, was ordered upto Guadalcanal to relieve Col Sam Jack,the fighter commander of Aircraft, Solo-mons (AirSols), Condon went along alsoto be the operations officer.

On 16 April, RAdm Marc Mitscher,Commander of AirSols, received a highlyclassified message signed by Secretary ofthe Navy Frank Knox. It was based ontranslated radio intercepts of Japanesetransmissions and stated that AdmIsoruku Yamamoto, the architect of thePearl Harbor attack and senior Japanesenaval officer, was to make an inspectiontour of Japanese bases in the Rabaul-Bougainville-Kahili area. The messagecontained his exact schedule. The AirSols

It was while he was undergoing flighttraining that he metJane Anson, who be-longed to a prominent Pensacola familyand who not too much later became hiswife. Gen Condon recalled that he enjoyedhis flight training and, in retrospect, feltit made "for a very well rounded appreci-ation and understanding of current aircraftand air power and also was a gener-alized approach which introduced the stu-dent aviator to his new environment.

U PON COMPLETION of his flight train-ing in December 1937, he was desig-

nated a naval aviator and assigned to Ma-rine Fighting Squadron 1 (VMF-l) atQuantico. He remained with the squadronuntil shortly before the attack on PearlHarbor. As he recalled, while at Quanticohe flew with some rather notable Marinepilots, among them " 'Paddy Mac' McKit-trick and Oscar Brice," both of whom

4 Foriziudine, Winter 1996-1997

On Guadalcanal in 1943, LtCol Condon, operations ofjicer Fighter Command, seatedcenter talked with, from left, LtCol L. S. Moore, executive officer MAG-12; Col EL.Pugh, commande, Fighter Command, and assistant operations officer LtColJ. Sapp.

command interpreted Knox's message asdirecting them to intercept Yamamoto'splane and shoot it down.

A s GEN CONDON recalled in an inter-view some years later:

Colonel Pugh and I were calledinto Reai Admiral Marc Mitscher'sComAirSols headquarters on the16th . . . . We sat down with Ad-miral Mitscher . . . . We discussedthe message . . . and who was in-volved. We read the detail of themessage to the minute, whereYarnamoto would be and at whattime, where he would board a boatto make the run to the seaplanebase, when he would come back tofly over to Kahili for the return toRabaul. It was very detailed, and wetalked about how best to do the job.Well, in the course of the conversa-tion and the discussion, it becamepretty clear that we had no aircraftthat had the range to do that exceptthe P-38s .

it was P-38s that we needed,and additional long-range tanks, ex-tra drop tanks, to make that long,low altitude mission . . . . It was tobe out of sight of land, down on thedeck, which was a hell of a long wayto go, at one hundred feet max overthe water. That's about close to atwo-hour flight without ever gettingabove a hundred feet .

Those parameters of the missionwere already discussed, includingthe need for radio silence, the needto avoid any possible detection fromobservers on islands, either visuallyor by radar. These requirementswere now mentioned, and then,based on the intercept schedule, thediscussion went into where thehighest probability of success wouldbe achieved. When he was landingat Ballale, with all its AAA? Whenhe was in the boat enroute to theseaplane base? . . . And [it wasi feltthat the time it would take to gofrom Ballale over to the sea planebase on Shortland would allow forsome flexibility. In other words, ifyou were two minutes late in mak-ing the air intercept, you weren't go-ing to see him, he would be gone.

In the final analysis, it was decided thatMaj John Mitchell, USAAC, who was to

command the flight, should decide howthe intercept was to be made, and he said,"I like the air intercept because, althoughthe probabilities might be fairly low atthat distance . . . if it's made, it's a surething . . . if we shoot that plane down,nobody is going to survive.

Condon went back to the AirSols Fight-er Command headquarters, and:

We had a table there with a chartof the area, and we went over theparameters of the mission as laiddown by the admiral: No closer than20 miles to any land until Bougain-ville, and the need for preciselymaintaining the courses, speeds,times, and legs that were prescribed,because otherwise there would be nointercept .

By that time it was late in the af-ternoon on the 17th, and I sat downat that table and plotted withparallel rules and so forth, the truecourse and true air speeds that hadto be maintained to work the inter-cept selected, all based on Yamamo-to's schedule . . . . We had to makesome assumptions, and an impor-tant one involved the Japanese pen-chant for precise performance,punctuality, etc. . . . They were notgoing to be one second off thetimed schedule. And furthermore,I felt that they would do the samewith the airplanes. We thought thebomber. . . would be all shined upand waxed up and everything, andso I even added five knots to what

Col Condon, in warm leather flight jack-et, was an aircraft group commander inKorea when this photo was taken in 1952.

we normally gave them as a cruisingspeed.

T HE FINAL RESULT of this mission wasthat the P-38s intercepted Adm

Yamamoto's flight exactly as planned andshot his bomber down, which caused amorale crisis in Japan when news of hisdeath was released to the Japanese peo-ple. Based on the planning for the mis-sion, a task in which then-Maj Condon wasa major player, the assignment was success-fully carried out by Army Air Corps pi-lots flying twin-engine P-38s. Because ofhis role as AirSols operations officer andplanner for this mission, for many yearsGen Condon was considered the "dutyexpert."

LtCol Condon accompanied the AirSolscommand in the invasion of Bougainvilleon 1 November 1943. The missions of Air-Sols were to supervise the building of thePiva strips and to direct the operations ofAllied aircraft which rose from the newairfield to strike Rabaul, the heart of ene-my strength in the area. In January 1944,Condon returned to the States for assign-ment as executive officer of Marine BaseDefense Aircraft Group 45 on the westcoast, at Miramar, California. In Octoberhe was reassigned as executive officer ofMarine Aircraft Support Group 48, whichwas tasked with training and qualifyingMarine squadrons for service on board es-cort carriers to fill the Navy's need for ad-ditional carrier-borne planes in the finaldays of the war.

Gen Condon returned to the Pacific tojoin MAG-33 on Okinawa as executiveofficer, and later joined MAG-14 as com-mander. During the occupation ofJapan,he served as executive officer of MAG-31at Yokosuka. In the period 1946-1948, hewas assigned in Washington to the staffof the Deputy Chief of Naval Operationsfor Air (Military Requirements), and backhe went to duty with Marine Corps air. Inthe post-WWII period, he commandedseveral groups and squadrons. One ofthese was VMF-311, the first Marine jetsquadron "stood up." Gen Condon stat-ed in his memoirs that he was given thissquadron because he had been instrumen-tal in getting jet aircraft for the Corpswhen serving in the office of DCNO (Air).He went to the Air War College, MaxwellAir Force Base in 1949 and, followinggraduation, was assigned back to Washing-ton for duty in the Weapons Systems

For/ittidine. Winter 1996-1997 5

Evaluation Group in the office of theSecretary of Defense.

I N 1951, C0L CONDON went to war oncemore when he took command of

MAG-33 at Pohang in Korea. After sixmonths, he was given command ofMAG-12, which had the last of the Cor-sairs and ADs in the Corps. Following hisreturn to the United States in early 1953,he was assigned to Headquarters MarineCorps to sit on a board to examine thestructure of Marine Corps aviation. In Au-gust he went down to Quantico, to theMarine Corps Education Center, where hewas one of three aviation colonels in agroup of 10 colonels working on MarineCorps problems associated with the adventof nuclear warfare. After a year in the FirstAdvanced Research Group, Col Condonwas assigned in 1954 as the chief of staffof the Education Center, and in 1956 aschief of staff of the 2d Marine Corps Air-craft Wing at Cherry Point. Two years later,promoted to brigadier general, he went toParis, France, to become AssistantJ-3 onthe staff of the U.S. European Command.

Following his tour in Europe, in 1961Gen Condon was assigned as Command-ing General, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, inIwakuni, Japan. At the same time, he woretwo other hats: Commander, Task Force 79

(Seventh Fleet), and Commander, JointTask Force 116 (CinCPac). He was given hissecond star as a major general in 1961, andwas ordered back to the States to com-mand the 3d MAW in July 1962. He re-tired in 1962, after more than 28 years ofactive service.

In his retirement, he spent 14 years withNorth American Aviation and RockwellInternational as a program manager andexecutive at the division and corporate lev-els. During this time, he acquired a masterof science degree in business at the Univer-sity of California, Irvine, and in 1975, adoctorate in administration from the sameinstitution. He retired from Rockwell in1976, and moved to Alexandria, Virginia,where he resided until his death.

H E BECAME ACTIVE in the affairs of theMarine Corps Historical Foundation

from its beginning, serving as a memberof the board and as president. His leader-ship during its formative years did muchto shape its subsequent course and direc-tion. Shortly before his death he delivereda completed history of Marine aviation oncarriers in World War II for publication bythe Naval Institute Press.

At its annual meeting in November1996, Gen Condon was awarded the Ma-rine Corps Historical Foundation'sHeritage Award in recognition of "his ac-

complishments in the Marine Corps, hislifetime interest in Marine Corps history,and his services to the Foundation. In allthings, John Condon epitomizes the idealof officer, gentleman, and scholar." GenCondon was too ill to accept the award atthe meeting, so the Foundation President,retired LtGen Philip D. Shutler, visitedhim at home to present the well-deservedhonor.

For a decade or more, Gen Condon wasworking on his carrier history and also ahistory of Marine Corps aviation in a car-rel around the corner from my office. Heknew all of the Center's staff personallyand by name, and was generally acceptedas an ex-officio staff member. Every daythat he was in the Center, he would joinme in a cup of coffee for far-ranging dis-cussions of the current and past MarineCorps, of Marine Corps personalities weboth knew (and not necessarily loved,although he was gentler than I), the newsof the day, and politics. It is very difficultto accept that he will no longer do this.I will miss him.

A funeral mass attended by the Com-mandant and numerous other dignitarieswas celebrated for him at the Naval Acade-my chapel, and he was interred in theNaval Academy cemetery with full militaryhonors on 31 December 1996. L11775L11

A career highlight occurs on 7 August 1961 at Iwakuni, Japan,as 1st Marine Aircraft Wing commander Condon 's new two-star

insiginia are pinned on by, from left, Marine Corps IG BGenT F Riley and assistant wing commander BGen R. L. Kline.

New Battle Honors Added to Marine Corps Memorialby Col Michael F Monigan, USMC

Acting Director

F OR ONLY THE third time since itsdedication in 1954, additional battle

honors have been added to the MarineCorps War Memorial, better known as theIwo Jima Monument, near Arlington Na-tional Cemetery. The Persian Gulf, Pana-ma, and Somalia have taken their places ofhonor in chronological order on thesecond band of the frieze, expertly carvedand gilded by Mr. Thomas H. "Tom"Winkler of Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

The original band of battle honors,which was chiseled into the black granitebase prior to installation, starts with theREVOLUTIONARY WAR and ends withKOREA in an unbroken line, spanningthe entire frieze. In 1974, prior to the endof the conflict, VIETNAM was added,without dates, commencing a second bandon the north facade of the granite frieze.This placement was intentional, so as toavoid the front three panels of theMemorial and therefore maintain the in-tegrity of Dr. Felix DeWeldon's originalconcept. This second band was added tofurther in 1986 and contains honors forLEBANON 1958, placed before VIET-NAM; the dates were added to VIET-NAM, 1962-197 5; and DOMINICANREPUBLIC 1965, LEBANON 1981-1984,

and GRENADA 1983 also were added.The most recent battle honors were ap-

propriately completed in time for the an-nual wreath-laying ceremony which wasconducted this year on the morning of 9November 1996. The emblazoned se-quence of the second band now reads: LE-BANON 1958 * VIETNAM 1962-1975 *

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1965 * LEBA-NON 1981-1984 * GRENADA 1983 *PERSIAN GULF 1987-1991 * PANAMA1988-1990 * SOMALIA 1992-1994.

Rumor has it that this update all start-ed with a question posed to the Comman-dant of the Marine Corps (CMC), General

Charles C. Krulak, by a Marine sentry."Sir, when will we put the Persian GulfWar on the Iwo Jima Memorial?"Whatever the genesis, General Krulakdecided it was time and set in motion theprocess which culminated in the additionof the new inscriptions. The Marine CorpsWar Memorial is, of course, a nationalmonument and as such, does not belongto the Marine Corps. Ownership of theMemorial was relinquished to the Nation-al Park Service for perpetual care by thenow-defunct Marine Corps War Memori-al Foundation. This Foundation had raisedthe original $850,000 to create this nation-al treasure and the organization disband-ed shortly after the dedication ceremony.Since federal funds cannot be expendedto embellish or add to an existing nation-al monument, a funding source had to beidentified. The Marine Corps HistoricalFoundation was briefed on what the Ma-rine Corps intended to do and quicklyvolunteered to underwrite the project.

T HE REQUEST 10 add the three battlehonors which were approved by CMC

was forwarded to the National Park Serv-ice (NPS) on 9 April 1996. What followedwas a series of meetings, deliberations, anddecisions made by the Marine Corps, theNational Park Service, and the Commis-sion of Fine Arts, in concert, on how toproceed. Several crucial conferences en-sued. The proposed updates requiredmore space than that which was availableon the panel containing the last entry,GRENADA 1983. One of the key artistic

The inscrij#ion for the peacekeeping mission in Somalia, 1992-1994, incised by

stonecarver Tom W/inkler is so far the sole battle honor on the second band of its panel

New inscrztions for the Persian Gulf W/ar 1987-1991, and the intervention in Pana-ma, 1988-1990, close out the second band of inscrzj.?tions on one panel of the base.

Fortitudine, Winter 1996-1997

proposed addition which were hung in-place on the memorial and approvedunanimously.

T OM WINKLER, the stonecarver, is apowerful man, his burly frame hint-

ing at his profession. He returned toWashington and took up residence inArlington on 16 October 1996. With lit-tie fanfare, he commenced work immedi-ately. This no-nonsense but affablegentleman spent long hours each day atthe Memorial and it became apparent thatthis was not the first major undertakingfor the Coloradan. His precision hand-chiseling quickly brought to life the in-scriptions in beautifully shaped letters,numerals, and devices meticulously in-cised into the smooth granite surface. Theconstant interruptions from tourists, cu-rious about his work, never flustered him.

He obviously enjoyed the interaction withthe never-ending flow of visitors, his out-going personality and easygoing nature ac-commodating all. He became, in fact, anambassador for the Marine Corps andbonded easily with the sense of pride andrespect all Marines feel for our Memorial.Mr. Winkler fastidiously completed allwork on Sunday, 3 November 1996 and fi-nal acceptance being approved, hereturned home the next day to continuework on a project for the University ofDenver.

The criteria established for battle honorssubmitted to the Commandant of the Ma-rine Corps for ultimate approval are: theoperation must be a definable military ac-tion, participation must be recognized bythe award of an expeditionary streamer orappropriate campaign streamer, and thatMarine fatalities resulted at the hands of

Thomas H. Wink/er of Wheat Ridge,Colorado, added the new inscrij,tionswhile attending to questions from tourists.

decisions made called for the additionalhonors to be broken apart. GULF WARand PANAMA would close out the panelcontaining GRENADA, the rear dedica-tion panel would be skipped, and SOMA-LIA would be added to the follow-onpanel, continuing the line of the band.Ultimately, the Marine Corps was issueda work permit by the NPS on 9 October1996 to commence work. This permit wasmade possible by the personal involvementand indispensable assistance of Mr. GaryPollock, Mr. Creg Howland, and Mr. GlenDemar of the National Park Service andMr. Thomas Athertotì, Secretary of theCommission of Fine Arts.

Simultaneously, the Marine CorpsHistorical Foundation initiated a funddrive and solicited bids from three promi-nent architectural sculptors. Mr. Winklerwas selected for the commission and wasnotified of this action by the DirectorEmeritus, BGen Edwin H. Simmons,USMC (Ret), on 14 August 1996. Mr.Winkler came to Washington, D.C. in ear-ly October to take a rubbing of the exist-ing battle honors and to meet with theofficers of the National Park Service andMr. Atherton. Upon his return to Colora-do, he submitted scale-drawings of the

8 Fortitudine, Winter 1996-1997

The majestic scale of sculptor Felix de We/don's conception of the Iwo Jima flag raisingis made apparent by contrast to the size ofstonecarver Winkler at work atop his scaffold

a hostile force while engaged in this ac-tiori. The prominent, wreath-decorateddedication reads, "IN HONOR AND

COUNTRY SINCE 10 NOVEMBER1775." The Commandant stated it best onthe clear and bright morning of 9 Novem-ber 1996, as he addressed the large turnoutof Marines, distinguished guests, and spec-tators: "Today we engraved three new bat-tle honors onto this symbol of uncommonvalor and common virtue—Persian Gulf1987-1991, Just Cause 1988-1990, andSomalia 1992-1994. In doing so, we arereminded that yet another generation ofMarines have engraved, by their sacrifice,their commitment to this great Nation ofours. It is those Marines and the ones whowent before, that we honor today."

The Marine Corps Historical Founda-tion is accepting donations for this and fu-ture updates to the Marine Corps WarMemorial. Those who care to help shouldsend their contributions to: War Memori-al, Marine Corps Historical Foundation,P.O. Box 420, Quantico, Virginia22134-0420. L11J1775L11i

High-Tech Shelving Expands Space for Reference Section's Burgeoning Filesby Dannyf Crawford

Head, Reference Section

A MAJOR, TWO-MONTH renovationproject designed to increase the file

storage capacity of the Reference Sectiongreatly, while at the same time improvingthe appearance of its work spaces, wascompleted in November 1996.

Since the opening of the Marine CorpsHistorical Center nearly two decades ago,in spring 1977, the section's files havegrown dramatically to the point wheretheir cabinets were filled to capacity andthe number of cabinets had doubled, withspace for no more. These five groups offiles—subject, unit, biographical, geo-graphic, and photographic files—are the"life's blood" of the Reference Section,enabling the historians to respond to near-ly 8,000 requests each year. New files areadded each week on all sorts of topicsrelating to Marine Corps history, but thespace available in the Historical Center ismore or less fixed.

A solution came in the form of a"modular mechanical assist aisle saver sys-tem," or high-density moveable shelving,that would allow for a 40-50 percent ex-pansion of the files. Work began in lateSeptember with the first challenge beingto move 50 loaded five-drawer file cabi-

nets out of the section into the adjacentmulti-purpose room so that the new shelv-ing could be installed. Aside from thesheer magnitude of moving all thesematerials, which would be accomplishedwith the excellent support of the Center'senlisted Marines, the challenge was tokeep these files organized and accessibleso that the staff could continue to respondto the requests that pour into the sectioneach workday.

W ITH THE FILE cabinets moved out,installation of the moveable shelv-

ing commenced, and within a week, thereference staff was beginning the rime-

consuming task of bringing the contentsof 50 file cabinets back into the sectionand into the new shelving. As historianssplit their time between phone calls andvisiting researchers, and their filing tasks,they awaited the final stage of the reno-vation process—the installation of newcarpet. In late October, nearly all of theremaining furniture was moved out to al-low installation of the carpet.

Similar plans are in the works for reno-vation of the Archives Section and its Per-sonal Papers Unit during the next twoyears, as part of the overall plan to con-tinue to modernize and refurbish the Ma-rine Corps Historical Center. L1J1775LJ

I'oriziad,ne, Winter 1996-1997

Wink/er prepares the gilding for the new inscrittions, all three of which were sup-ported by the Marine Corps Historical Foundation. The Foundation has createda fundfor which donations are welcome to finance this and future updates to the memorial.

MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THE UNIT-ED STATES MARINE CORPS WHOHAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES TO THEIR

The 'modular mechanical assist aisle saver system "is a boon to reference historians,who respond to nearly 8,000 public requests for detailed information each year.

12th Commandant's Medals Provide Puzzles for Staffby Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas

Curator of Material History

Q F THE MORE THAN 4,000 medals inthe Marine Corps Museum's collec-

tion of decorations and medals, the mostnoteworthy are those awarded to Marineswho had a significant impact on the his-tory of the Marine Corps. Among themare such Marines as SgtMaj Dan Daly,remembered for their acts of selfless valor,and former Commandants and othersenior officers who shaped the destiny ofthe Corps. In this latter category are themedals of MajGenComdt George Barnett,which were donated to the Museum thispast summer by his step-grandson, GeorgeBarnett Gordon.

Gen Barnett's tenure as Commandantis clearly one of the most important peri-ods in the history of the Corps during thiscentury. Commissioned into the MarineCorps upon his graduation from the NavalAcademy in 1881, Barnett served a seriesof sea-going tours, interspersed with theusual barracks and special duty tours,through the Spanish-American War, dur-ing which he landed in Cuba with ColRobert W. Huntington's Battalion. Priorto being selected as the 12th Comman-dant of the Marine Corps in 1914, he spentthree years on expeditionary duty in Cubaand, most importantly, organized andcommanded the First Advanced BaseBrigade at Philadelphia's League IslandNaval Shipyard.

W ITHIN THREE MONTHS of assuming

the post of Commandant, GenBarnett organized and dispatched a

brigade of Marines to support the U.S. Na-vy's seizure of the Mexican port of VeraCruz, an act directed by PresidentWoodrow Wilson to halt arms shipmentsto the Mexican rebels. In the next year,Marines came ashore at Port au Prince,Haiti, in what would become a 19-year oc-cupation, while next door, in the Domini-can Republic, Marines landed thefollowing year and occupied that countryuntil 1924.

However, the greatest test of the MarineCorps during this period was America'sentry into the war which had been ragingin Europe for the previous two and one-half years. In 1917, the strength of the Ma-

rine Corps stood at little more than 18,000officers and men, but would expand tomore than three times that number by theArmistice. Two brigades of Marines weresent to France, with one of them coveringitself with glory at the battles of BelleauWood, Soissons, Saint Mihiel, Blanc Mont,and the Argonne Forest. More Marineswere guarding the oil fields in Texas andnaval bases around the country, andproviding garrisons in Cuba, Haiti, Chi-na, and the Dominican Republic, as wellas serving with the fleet. The large Marinebase at Quantico, Virginia, was purchasedand the recruit depot (also acquired un-der Gen Barnett's tenure) at Parris Island,South Carolina, was expanded.

In spite of his many achievements andalthough widely regarded as a popular andcompetent officer, Gen Barnett wasrelieved as Commandant in a controver-sial move by the Secretary of the Navy twoyears after the end of World War I, andwas assigned to be the first Commanderof the Department of the Pacific until hisretirement in 1923. Gen Barnett died in1930.

Gen Barnett's medals were given to hisstep-grandson when his widow, Mrs. Le-ha Barnett, passed away. When the me-dals arrived at the Museum, there wereseveral questions raised by the staff con-cerning the condition and configurationof the medals. In the first place, most ofthe medals were either suspended fromthe wrong ribbons, or were turned back-wards from the attaching clasps. Second-ly, the ribbon with the rarel seen West

Indies medal was different from thatshown in Gen Barnett's official portrait.This handsome oil painting which hadbeen executed in 1917, was the genesis ofthe History and Museums Division's ser-ies of Commandants' portraits (see "TheCommandants' Portraits", Fortitudine,Winter 1994-1995). Mr. Gordon had noidea why the medals were incorrectlymounted and stated that they were in thatcondition when they came into his pos-session. The staff conducted research onthe medals and was able to reconfigurethem properly. The question on the differ-ence in the ribbon colors was solved whenthe staff found that the ribbon on theWest Indies campaign medal had, as hadboth the Army and Navy versions of theSpanish Campaign medal, changed fromred and yellow (as seen in his portrait) toblue and yellow in 1913. Gen Barnett ap-pears to have had this medal re-ribbonedafter World War I when he had the groupremounted to include his World War Imedals.

HE HIGHEST DECORATION in theI group is the Navy DistinguishedService Medal, which was presented toGen Barnett for his outstanding serviceduring World War I. (The French govern-ment also conferred a Legion of Honormedal on Gen Barnett, but, sadly, thismedal is not included in the group.) In-cluded in the grouping is his World WarI Victory Medal with a "France" clasp (hevisited the front during the war) and theMaltese cross which was worn on the rib-bon bar to represent the "France" clasp.

10 Foriitudine, Winter 1996-1997

Gen Barnett's medals include, from left, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, "Samp-son" Uest Indies Medal with the four bars, and Navy IVest Indies Campazn Medal.

In addition to these are his medal for serv-ice during the Cuban Pacification (SerialNumber 335) and his Marine Corps Ex-peditionary Medal (Serial Number 4486),with a numeral "4" on the ribbon. Bothof these medals have the serial numbersimpressed on their rims. The general'sNavy/Marine Corps West Indies 1898Campaign medal (Serial Number 9) withits blue and yellow ribbon, of course, isalso included.

This scarce medal was among the firstseries of campaign "badges" awarded toAmerican servicemen shortly after the turn

of the century, and confusion soon aroseover its use. The medal was given to thoseMarines and sailors who had served onboard ship in the West Indies, but it waslater discontinued because it could not beworn with the Naval Campaign-West In-dies "Sampson" medal which had beenauthorized as early as 1901, and most ofthe participants were eligible for both me-dals. In order to rectify this situation andto regularize the issuance of medalsamong the services, the Navy/MarineCorps counterpart to the Army's SpanishCampaign medal was authorized for issue

to all combatants serving in any of thetheaters during the Spanish-AmericanWar.

The prize of this medals group is the"Sampson" West Indies medal with bothits "USS New Orleans" bar and the three"Santiago" bars shown suspended on themedal in Gen Barnett's portrait. The edgeof the medal is marked "1st Lieut GeorgeBarnett USMC" in capital letters. All ofthe medals, with the exception of the Ma-rine Corps Expeditionary Medal, aremounted together and arrived in a vintageleather case. L111775E1

Contract to Purchase Slave Among Commandant's 200-Year-Old Papers

T HE MARINE CORPS' Personal PapersArchive is generally comprised of

primary source materials that give a first-hand perspective on historical Marines andMarine operations. Typically these are oneperson's view of events in which they par-ticipated or which they witnessed,documented in various forms: diaries, let-ters, manuscripts, and photographs. Mostfocus on wartime situations.

The Archives' LtColComdt FranklinWharton Collection in some ways is an ex-ception. Within it there are no journalsor diaries describing daily events, andthere are no letters written home to his fa-mily. It is an unusual collection, but itdoes contain documents which areprimary sources. One of these gives per-spective on American society of thenineteenth century: it is a slave sale con-tract, dated 1814.

On 5 May 1814, the 3d Commandantof the Marine Corps purchased a "negroman" named Natt for the amount of $450from Alexander H. Boteten. The transac-tion occurred in the tenth year of Whar-ton's 14 as Commandant (1804-1818).Within the contract, Boteten stipulatesthat the man can be Wharton's property"for twelve years and no longer." Afterthat, he "is and shall be free." It is proba-ble that Boteten had an agreement withthe man and was thereby ensuring that thearrangement would be honored over time.

I N THE MULTIRACIAL, multiculturalAmerica of today it is astounding to

learn that Wharton owned slaves, andmore so to read that he purchased a slave

by Amy Cantin Cohen

Personal Papers Unit

while serving as Commandant of the Ma-rine Corps, the first to occupy the Com-mandant's House. However, in the contextof the times it is not really so surprising.Two hundred years ago, many high-ranking officials of the United StatesGovernment were members of affluent fa-milies, a great number of which were slaveholders. Then, by some accounts, Whar-ton's own family was the wealthiest inPhiladelphia. His brother Robert was themayor of Philadelphia for 15 terms, hisbrother Samuel was a prosperous mer-chant, his brotherJoseph was a well-knownauthor, and his cousin Thomas was gover-

nor of Pennsylvania.,Looking upon the society of the peri-

od, it seems almost to be expected thatWharton, as other men of substantialwealth, owned slaves. Perhaps his decisionin that regard was more of a reflection ofhis society than a dark act which over-shadows his talents and abilities, the suc-cess of his tenure as Commandant, or theearly growth of the Marine Corps as an in-stitution. Indeed, one of the insightsgained from using the Archives is to findthat all Marines in some way, for good orill, reflect the civilian society from whichthey come. L111775L11

Fortitudine, Winter 1996-1997 11

Handwritten in Georgetown in the District of Columbia in May 1814, the sale con-tract stipulates that after a full term of 12 years the man Natt "It and shall be free."

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LVT Museum Preserves Pendleton's Amphibian Heritageby Char/es R. Smith

Historian

A WORLD WAR lI-era Quonset hut built in 1944—originally used for trackedvehicle maintenance — is home to seven meticulously restored period amphibi-

an tractors and armored amphibians used by the Marine Corps during the Pacific War,and later in Korea. The Assault Amphibian School Battalion officially dedicated theWorld War II and Korean War LVT (Landing Vehicle, Tracked) Museum at Camp DelMar, MCB Camp Pendleton, California, last spring.

Although the museum focuses on the restored LVT 1, LVT 2, LVT 3, LVT 3 (C),LVT 4, LVT (A) 1, and LVT (A) 5 (modified) amphibians, it also features two rebuiltLVT engines (the massive radial Continental and V-8 Cadillac), uniforms and equip-ment displays, photographs, and artwork. Interpretive displays trace the development,operational employment, and impact of these "Alligator Machines and Marines" onthe conduct of amphibious and ground combat operations and the history of the Corps.

For more than 50 years, assault amphibian vehicles used in World War II, Korea,and Vietnam sat in an outdoor lot on the corner of Vandegrift Boulevard and Rattles-nake Canyon Road at MCB Camp Pendleton. Over the years, exposure to the sun,rain, and salt air took its toll. Several years ago, the decision was made that those vehi-cles of historical importance to the Marine Corps would be maintained at Camp Pen-dleton, while the remaining, largely prototype, vehicles would be sent to the Marine Among the LVTi the Museum alio of/2'iCorps Logistics Base at Barstow, California, for safeguard and perhaps future restoration. amtrackers' uniforms and memo,abilia.

F OR THOSE VEHICLES remaining at Camp Pendleton, something needed to be done.Thoughts of preservation soon evolved into ideas for creating an amphibian trac-

tor museum. Previous attempts to preserve and display the amphibians had run out

Envisioned as an unarmored cargo-carrying vehicle, the Museum 's LVT I was one ofthe first production mode/s delivered to the Marine Corps. The vehicle wou/d see serv-ice on Guada/canal, Bougainville, Tràrawa, and Cape Gloucester during World War II.

On display in the Del Mar Quonset hut arethe World War Il-era LVT (A) I, above, andthe Korean War- vintage LV] 3 (c. below.

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