FORTITUD INEBULLETIN OF THE MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PROGRAMHISTORICAL BULLETIN VOLUME XIX WINTER 1989-1990 NUMBER 3

NEW PORTRAIT OF FIRST COMMANDANT HAS BEaTER LIKENESS, CoR1cT UNIFORM. IKE SKEL1ON ONMILITARY HIS'IORY. MARINE CORPS HISaoiucAL PROGRAM'S FIRST 70 YEARS. CIVIL WAR ERA LEADEROF U.S. MARINE BAND MEMORIALIZED. . . HISiORIC UNIFORM KITS MAKING FIRST PAGEANT APPEARANCES

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

PCN 10401220100

Marine Corps Historical CenterBuilding 58. Washington Navy Yard

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

DIRECTOR

5Gm Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret)

Secretary to the Director: LCpI Kimberly L. Toyekoyah, USMC. Secre-tary to the Deputy Directors: Ms Jeanette R. Pelton.

HISTORICAL BRANCH

Col Daniel M Smith, USMCDeputy Director for History

Mr. Henry I. Shaw, Jt.Assistant Deputy Director for History/Chief Historian

!-Iistorteo Sectson: Mr. Jack Shulsmson; Mu) George R. Dunham, USMC

(Ret): Maj Charles D. Melson, USMC; Mr. Charles R. Smith. Refer.ence Section: Mr. DunisyJ Crawford; Mr. Robert V. Aquilina; Mrs.Ann A Fertu,nte; Miss Lena M. Kal1ot, Mrs. Regina Srrothet; Mrs. Shelsu

Grattiblin, Oral Hs4tory Section- Mr. Bruit M Frank: Mrs. MeredithP. Hartley Archives: Mrs. Joyce E Bonnert; Ms. Joyce C. Conyers; Sgt

Kevin L Parker, USMC A,is,otant to the Deputy Director: Capt RobertaE. Breden, USMC.

MUSEUMS BRANCH

Col F B. Nihurt, USMC (Ret)Deputy Director for Museums

Mr. Charles A. WoodChief Curator

Artrst-rn-Residence

Cv) Charles H. Waterhouse, USMCR

Marine Barracks, Special Projects: Mr Richard A. l,ong. Eschibits: Ms.

Nancy E. Chrisrin; Mr. Benny L Lenon, Sr., SSgr Leroy M. Dyus, USMC.

Art: Mr John T Dyer, Jr. Personal Papers- Mr.J. Michael Miller. Regis-

trar Mrvs Jennifer L. Gooding. Administrative Clerk: Vacant.

Museums Branch Activities, QuanricoLrCol William A. Beebe II, USMC

Assistant Deputy Director for MuseumsOfficer-in-Charge

Assistant Officer-in-Charge for Branch Activities: Mr. Kenneth L.Smith-Christmas. Education Officer: Capt Candell N. Parker, USMC.

Ordnance: Mr. John G. Griffirhs; GySgrJohn A. McCombs, USMC;SSgt Donald C. Martens, USMC. Restoration: Mr. Joseph E. Payron;Mr. Starkey M. Soknlowski; SgtJarnct L. Arnold, USMC; Sgr Raymond

E. Kirsey, USMC: Sgt Ivan Vasilev, USMC; Cpl Lcnnard G. DeWolfe,

USMC. Aeronautics: Vacant. Edhibids- Mr. RonuldJ. Perkins; Mr. FrankD. Howard. Uniforms: Mrs. Nancy F. King. Programs Assistant: Mrs.Kathryn R. Trout. Securtty: GySgr William P. Graybill, USMC, SSgrMask Hearherron, USMC; SSgr Martin S. Guunu, USMC; Sgr FtedrickA. Horrid II, USMC; Sgr Agusrin A. Sarmienro, USMC: Sgr MurthewL. Dulu, USMC; Cpl David A. Novelli, USMC; LCpI SamuelJ. Monti,USMC.

SUPPORT BRANCH

Maj Richard A. Clute, USMCHead/Division Enecurive Officer

Administrative: Capt John B Dickison, Jr., USMC; SSgt BobbyHolmes, USMC, Sgr Terry L Fulcher, USMC; Cpl Robert E Clarke,USMC, Cpl Vicenre Velez, Jr., USMC. Security: SSgr Randy Shouse,USMC. Library: Miss Evelyn A. Englander; Mrs. Patricia F Morgan.

Publications Production- Mr Robert E Srmder. Production: Mrs.Catherine A. Kerns Graphics: Mr. William S. Hill. Typesetting: CplAndre L. Owens III, USMC.

Mr. Robert E. SrvuderSenior Editor

Editor, Portitudine

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

Historical Bulletin Volume XIX Winter 1989-1990 No. 3

This quarterly bulletin of the Marine Corps historical program is published to edu-cate and train Marines on active duty in the uses of military and Marine Corps his-tory. Other interested readers may purchase single copies or one-year subscriptions(four quarterly issues) from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Memorandum from the Director On the Importance of History 3

The Marine Corps Historical Program—A Brief History 5

Readers Always U'iite: Great Marines' Stories Inspire Readers' Recall 6

Headstone Honors 19th Century Marine Band Leader 9

Japanese Veteran of Guadalcanal Visits Center 11

Historical Quiz: Animals and the Marine Corps 11

Major Samuel Nicholas: An Authentic Portrait 12

Answers to Historical Quiz: Animals in the Marine Corps 15

Marine Reservists Script Korean War Exhibits 16

Mentioned in Passing: Distinguished MarinesWho Died in 1989 Remembered 17

New Uniform Kits Brighten Pageants 20

Flight Lines: Curtiss F6C-4 Hawk' 21

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

Acquisitions: WWII 'Catalina' Delivered Safely to Cherry Point 24

THE COVER

Maj Samuel Nicholas, senior Marine officer of the American Revolution and so con-sidered the first Commandant of the Marine Corps, is the subject of this portrait—styled an "authentic" one—by Maj Donna J. Neary, USMCR. How Maj Nearyproduced the likeness with reference to antique miniatures and other sources is dis-cussed by Special Projects Curator Richard A. Long, beginning on page 12. Theportrait now hangs in the Commandant's House in Washington, D.C.

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

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

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HISTORYAND MUSEUMSDIVISION

Memorandum from the Director

On the Importance of History

BGen Simmons

TACTICAL PROFICIENCY is veryimportant, but so too is strategic vision.That can only come after years of carefulreading, study, reflection, and experience.But we can help start the process with to-day's young officers by making them awareof the natural yardstick of 4,000 years ofrecorded history. Thucydides, Plutarch,Sun Tzu, Clausewitz, Napoleon, Mahan,and Mackinder have much to offer tomor-row's future generals and admirals."

So said Congressman Ike Skelton at theAwards Dinner of the Marine CorpsHistorical Foundation held Sunday even-ing, 5 November, at the SheratonPremiere Hotel, Tyson's Corner, Virginia.

Ike Skelton — his full name is Isaac New-ton Skelton IV— but he is universallyknown as "Ike"— is a Democrat and he hasrepresented the 4th District of Missouri inthe House of Representatives since 1977.He is a member of several Congressionalcommittees, among them the HouseArmed Services Committee, better knownin Washington shorthand as the "HASC."He is on three subcommittees of theHASC: Military Installations and Facilities,Military Personnel and Compensation,and Procurement and Military NuclearSystems.

A LL THREE OF these subcommitteesare of great importance to the Ma-

rine Corps and its budget, but of specialsignificance to the Marine Corps Histori-cal Foundation is that he is the chairmanof the Panel on Military Education. Assuch he has been insistent on the impor-tance of history, and particularly militaryhistory, to professional military education.

The Foundation recognized this insis-tence with its Heritage Award. Present tomake the award was the Commandant,Gen Alfred M. Gray. In making the awardGen Gray made it obvious that he andCongressman Skelton are like thinkers onthe importance of history.

Congressman Skelton focused his re-marks on the challenges the Armed Serv-

ices will face over the next few years andhow a deep knowledge of military historycould help the Services—and theNation — to meet those challenges.

"It's not hard to see that we will be fac-ing flat budgets or worse for at least thenext few years, barring some emergency orworld crisis," said the Congressman. "Inthis budget climate, the incentive will beto cut force structure in order to preservereadiness, a lesson learned from the hardexperiences of the late 1970s and early1980s. Then we did the opposite, and end-ed up with ships that couldn't sail, aircraftunable to fly, and a hollow army. At thesame time that we will be trying topreserve readiness, however, Pentagon andCongressional budgeters will be focusingsharp scrutiny on the various training andeducation programs of the Armed Forces.The challenge in these next few monthsand years will be not to cut training andeducation to such an extent that we actu-ally find ourselves guilty of eating our ownseed corn. Education, it must be remem-bered, is the foundation upon which webuild the future. As Sir Francis Bacon not-ed, 'Knowledge is power,' and a strong

US. Rep. Isaac N. Skelton Ifr of Missou-ii, chairman of the Congressional Panel onMilitary Education, was guest speaker atthe MCHF awards dinner on 5 Novembe,

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military must have wise leaders who havenot suffered because of excessive cuts intraining and education."

T HE CONGRESSMAN WAS born in Lex-ington, Missouri, in 1931. Lexington

is still his home of record. He was an Ea-gle Scout. He attended Wentworth Mili-tary Academy and then went to theUniversity of Missouri where he took bothhis bachelor's degree—majoring inhistory—and his law degree. Polio kepthim from active military service. He alsoattended the University of Edinburgh inScotland and is a Phi Beta Kappa. Hisstudy of history has been life-long.

"During the Great Depression of the1930s, in a far harsher budgetary climate,all of the Services found themselvesreduced to pauperdom," he told thosepresent at the Awards Dinner. "The sizesof the forces were drastically cut andmodernization programs postponed andthen cancelled. Too poor to train andequip their forces, the Army, the Navy,and the Marine Corps took advantage ofa difficult situation by sending their bestofficers to various schools — to study, toteach, and to prepare for the future. TheInfantry School at Fort Benning, the Com-mand and General Staff College at FortLeavenworth, the Naval War College atNewport, the Army War College here inWashington, and the Marine CorpsSchools at Quantico experienced a renais-sance

He went on to say that "The MarineCorps spent the period of the 1920s and1930s at Quantico, its seat of learning,putting together the doctrine of amphibi-ous warfare used to such telling effect inthe Pacific campaigns, from Guadalcanalto Okinawa."

Congressman Skelton had approachedthe duties of the chairmanship of thePanel on Professional Military Educationwith characteristic thoroughness. In a let-ter dated 18 February 1988, he had statedthe purpose of the Panel on Military Edu-cation to be "to review the ability of the

Author Co/John G. Miller USMC (Ret),won the MCHF Gen IVallace M. Greene,Jr Award for The Bridge at Dong Ha.

Department of Defense professional mili-tary education system to develop bothstrategists and officers competent in theoperational and tactical employment ofjoint and combined forces."

In the course of the proceedings, thefour Service history chiefs, of whom I amone, were asked to appear before thepanel. We did so on 14 March 1988. Theatmosphere was cordial, but ChairmanSkelton set the tone by stating that thiswas the first time the Congress had inves-tigated military education and that he in-tended the investigation be "microscopic,leaving no stone unturned."

E ACH OF THE Service history chiefs wasasked for an impromptu description

of his Service's history program and its in-terface with officer education. This was fol-lowed by questions from the Chairmanand his staff.

On 15 April 1988 Chairman Skeltonheld hearings at the Marine Corps Com-mand and Staff College at Quantico. Thefocus was on the distinction between train-ing and education. He complimented thecollege on its campaign studies program.Gen Gray appeared before the panel on12 July 1988. Gen Gray underscored anofficer's responsibility for self-educationthroughout his career.

In his 18 February letter, CongressmanSkelton had asked for a history of the evo-Jution of curricula at the Marine Corps

Command and Staff College. This wasproduced by LtCol Donald F. Bittner,USMCR, the resident military historian atC&S (and subsequently published as an"occasional paper" by the History andMuseums Division under the title Curric-ulum Evolution, Marine Corps Commandand Staff College, 1920-1988).

The report of the Panel on Military Edu-cation was published on 21 April 1989. Ithas many far-reaching recommendations,some of them controversial, which are stillbeing debated. Not controversial, though,is the summary statement on the impor-tance of history:

Histoiy, or more specificallythe lessons of history, provides in-sights into how nations haveadapted their military and securi-ty strategies over time to dealwith changing domestic and in-ternational environments. Strate-gy is, after all, dynamic. It musttake into account changing reali-ties and circumstances. Militaryhistory is especially important.The history of combat operations,including an understanding ofwhy a commander chose a givenalternative, is at the heart of edu-cation in strategy.

A T THE AWARDS DINNER, Congress-man Skelton, in his remarks, shift-

ed "from the recent past to the more un-certain future" and gave a prescription forthe education of future military leaders:

"A first-rate junior officer training andeducation program will prepare future

military officers by providing them themost important foundation for anyleader — a genuine appreciation of histo-ry. I cannot stress this enough because asolid foundation in history gives perspec-tive to the problems of the present. Anda solid appreciation of history provided bysuch a program will prepare students forthe future .

"In brief, the young military studentshould learn the historical links of leader-ship, being well versed in history's pivotalbattles and how the great captains wonthose battles. Successful military leadersof yesteryear were indebted to their mili-tary predecessors. Stonewall Jackson's suc-cessful Shenandoah Valley campaign re-sulted from his study of Napoleon's tactics,and, Napoleon, who studied Frederick theGreat, once remarked that he thought likeFrederick. Alexander the Great's armyprovided lessons for Frederick, two thou-sand years before Frederick's time. TheAthenian general, Miltiades, who won theBattle of Marathon in 491 B.C., providedthe inspiration that also won the Battle ofEl Alamein in 1942; the Macedonian,Alexander the Great, who defeated thePersians at Arbela in 331 B.C., set the ex-ample for the Roman victory at Pydna 155years later. The English bowmen who wonCrecy in 1346 also won Waterloo in 1815;Vandegrift, Bradley, Montgomery, orMacArthur, who won battles in the 1940s,might well win battles a century or sohence. Thus, I believe that every trulygreat commander has linked himself tothe collective experience of earlier gener-als by reading, studying, and having anappreciation of history." L111775L1

Artist Maj Donnaf Neary, USMCR, received the MCHF Co/John IV Thomason ArtAward for artistic contributions to Marine Corps history, in particular her recent paint-ings of First Commandant Maj Samuel Nicholas and "Fort Riviere, Haiti, 1915."

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The Marine Corps Historical Program —A Brief Historyby Henry I. Shaw, Jr.

Chief Historian

I N 1949, in a Marine Corps Gazettearticle titled "Marine Corps History—

Report to the Stockholders," a formerhead of the Corps' historical agencycharacterized its first 30 years at Head-quarters (HQMC) as "not distinguished byactivity, output, or even consistent longterm policy." The judgement, like manystatements by LtCol Robert D. Heinl, Jr.,was carefully thought out, meant to bepublished, and calculated to focus atten-tion on a problem. The historical officeat HQMC, like the Marine Corps itself inthe 1920s and 30s, had been charged witha multitude of tasks to be performed bya modicum of people. In the 1940s, withenormous expansion of the Corps beyondmost people's dreams, four years of com-bat actions across the whole range of thePacific, and stunning and rapid demobili-zation, the historical office had done lit-tle more than cope with its own expansionand contraction to suit the times. In thelast years of those three decades, however,Heinl (1946-49) and his successor, LtColGordon D. Gayle (1949-5 1), managed togive the official historical program a mis-sion, structure, and purpose that is easilyidentifiable in today's History and Muse-ums Division.

LtCol Heinl stated that a viable officialhistorical program had to: (1) maintainhistorical archives; (2) prepare and pub-lish official histories; (3) operate a work-ing reference collection; (4) performapplied research to answer questions; (5)encourage the preparation of private andsemi-official histories of miitaiy value; (6)arrange for the collection, preservation,and display of historical objects; and (7)establish a specialist Reserve componentto support the official program. Thesefunctions are now all performed in theHistories and Museums Division, but atvarious times in the past only a few cameunder the historical aegis at HQMC. Forthe most part in its pre-World War II ex-istence, the Corps' pitifully few "histori-ans," officers and civilians alike, had amost uneven existence, temporarilyblessed with official favor and just as oftenneglected arid forgotten. At times the

small office was led by gifted individuals,usually majors, who wrote or attemptedto compile historical publications of value.Between 1919 and 1945, however, onlythree historical publications of major sig-nificance and one unofficial history, writ-ten largely on "company time," werecompleted.

O NLY ONE OF THE official three,The United States Marine Corps in

the World War, written by Maj Edwin N.McClellan, was actually published by theGovernment Printing Office (1920). Theother two, a massive 2,274-page typescriptwith copious notes, "History of the U.S.Marine Corps" by Maj McClellan(1925-32) and a 163-page typescript "OneHundred And Eighty Landings of theUnited States Marines, 1800-1934" byCapt Harry A. Ellsworth (1934), werereproduced and given reasonably wide dis-tribution. The unofficial, popular volumewas LtCol Clyde H. Metcalf s 548-page AHistory of the United States Marine Corps(Putnam's Sons, 1939), which served asthe Corps history for almost a quarter cen-tury. Unfortunately, Metcalf's history isnot documented and has no bibliography,but it shows heavy reliance on the McClel-lan and Ellsworth works for its informa-tion on the early years. All three authorsserved as heads, and for the most part solemilitary members, of the HQMC histori-cal office while they wrote.

While occasional publications were themost evident outward sign that the Histor-ical Section, Adjutant and Inspector'sDepartment, HQMC, was functioning,the real day-to-day business of the officewas answering questions on Marine Corpshistory, using a hodge-podge of recordsthat had accumulated in its custody overthe years, but without any clear collectionpolicy. The few civilians who served hadto be well acquainted with Marine Corpsrecords held by the National Archives andby other agencies at HQMC. Fortunate-ly, for continuity's and efficiency's sake,both McClellan and Metcalf served twotours as section head and, throughout, thenumber-two person was administrative as-

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sistant/historian/archivist/civil service se-nior clerk James C. Jenkins, who servedfrom 1920 through 1944 and who also ranthe section himself from 1939-1942. It wasJenkins whom Metcalf credited "as prin-cipal research assistant" on his history, stat-ing that Jenkins had helped him reviseand copy the manuscript. One othercivilian's name cropped up continually inconnection with Marine Corps history dur-ing 40s and SOs, Joel D. Thacker. Mr.Thacker had a thorough research back-ground gained working with the MarineCorps' World War I unit and personnelrecords for HQMC's Muster Roll Sectionduring the 1930s. He spent so much of hiseffort on historical matters, includinghelping Metcalf with his history, that hewas a natural transfer to the Historical Sec-tion in 1942. He succeeded Jenkins in1944 as senior civilian in what was now theHistorical Division of the PersonnelDepartment and retired with the status ofsenior historian in 1957.

Several things happened to the Histor-ical Division during the war and the in-tervening years before Korea thatcompletely changed its outlook, prospects,and methods of operation. It was run insuccession by two officers, LtCols Heinland Gayle, who had an appreciation of thepotential for service and value to the Ma-rine Corps inherent in a fully functionaloffice with a clear mission and responsi-bilities. Both possessed the drive and peerrecognition necessary to win the Histori-cal Division a respected place in theHQMC hierarchy. And both recognizedthat the jobs that needed to be done hadto be done by professionals and that theycouldn't be done on a shoestring budgetwith a skeleton staff.

I T WAS DURING the late 40s and earlySOs that the first professional archivist,

John W. Porter, joined the staff, bringingNational Archives techniques and stan-dards to the division. Reference historians,librarians, and archivists became peoplewith college degrees relevant to their fieldsrather than converted clerk-typists. Thewriters employed in a now ambitious pro-

gram of writing World War II, and later,Korean War operational histories werewith one exception active duty officers,both regulars and Reserves, of proven writ-ing ability. These men by 1950 had evi-denced an acute need for professionalhistorical research assistants and a succes-sion of talented civilian historians, all withMAs and some with PhDs, began to behired in junior positions in 1950.

Most of these civilian historians, whowere themselves veterans of military serv-ice, stayed with the federal governmentand went on to become multiple authorsand senior and chief historians through-out the Washington area. Some returnedto successful careers in academia.

One key employment decision made byLtCol Gayle in 1950 was to bring on boardan accomplished civilian historical writer,Lynn Montross, to write the Korean Warhistory, first in magazine-article form inthe Marine Corps Gazette and then in aseries of chronological volumes. Montross'comprehensive military history War

Though the Ages (Harper Bros., 1944) wasalready established as preferred back-ground reading in most military historycourses and schools by the 50s.

T HE ARRIVAL OF Montross with acharge to write the Korean War his-

tory as the war itself was ongoing, en-hanced the Marine Corps' effort to writethe history of its accomplishments inWorld War II. A plan to write 15 histori-cal monographs of World War II cam-paigns to be followed by five substantialvolumes of overall history was a legacy ofLtCol Heinl. He wrote the Wake Island(1947) and Midway (1948) histories andstarted the Marshalls (1954) monographshimself, and other active-duty officers,and one civilian historian, John L. Zim-merman, a Reserve major, produced fivemore volumes in the increasingly morecomplete and detailed series by the endof 1950. The fifteenth monograph, cover-ing Okinawa, researched and written bya military and civilian historian team, MajCharles S. Nichols, Jr., and Henry I. Shaw,Jr., was published in 1955. Three yearslater, the first volume of the comprehen-sive History of US. Marine Corps Opera-tions in World War II, titled Pearl Harborto Guadalcanal, written by a military andcivilian team, was published.

The Korean War articles and booksproceeded apace with the World War II

histories. The first volume of US. MarineOperations in Korea, 1950-1953, titled ThePusan Perimeter, was published in 1954with Montross having Capt Nicholas A.Canzona, a veteran of the Korean fight-ing, as his co-author. The collaborationwas effective and two more volumes by thehighly productive team were produced by1959, the last covering The Chosin Reser-voir Campaign and giving title-page creditto the extensive research efforts of Dr. K.Jack Bauer, who subsequently becameRAdm Samuel Eliot Morison's assistant onthe final volumes of his monumental his-tory of U.S. naval operations in World WarII.

T HE RESEARCH and writing of the offi-cial histories of World War II and

Korean War actions drew the most atten-tion to Historical Division activities in thisperiod, but the naturally attendantregularization of the records in the nowformally recognized operational archivesof the Marine Corps encouraged theresearch and writing of dozens of otherworks. Prominent among these was theend result of "The Princeton Project," en-thusiastically supported by HQMC and itsHistorical Division. Jeter Isely's and PhilipCrowl's The US. Marines and Amphibi-ous Warfare (Princeton University Press,1951) was received with critical acclaim andis still an unparalleled source work for ac-complishments and ideas. All six Marinedivision histories benefited from researchin historical records and review byknowledgeable Historical Division staffmembers, as did Robert Sherrod's classicHistory of Marine Corps Aviation in WorldWar II (Combat Forces Press, 1952).

With few exceptions, all historians andbiographers who dealt at all with the Ma-tine Corps in the two wars showed up oneday or many days at the desks in thehistorical archives. One "private" authorwas already there. To fill a deep-felt needat HQMC to tell the story of Marine avia-tion's pioneering work in helicopters andto see that it was quickly and widely dis-seminated when published, Lynn Mon-tross wrote a history, Cavalry of theSky —The History of US. Marine CombatHelicopters (Harpers Bros., 1954), whilehe was working at HQMC. His considera-ble royalties were donated to the MarineCorps Memorial Fund, which commis-sioned the well-known Iwo Jima flag-raising statue.

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Following the Korean War, the HQMChistorical office, after 1952 organization-ally a part of the G-3 Division as theHistorical Branch, waxed and waned infavor depending on the various demandsfor its services. Like all Service historicalactivities, it reviewed for accuracy its shareof favored movies and TV scripts andturned thumbs down on others, reviewedcountless historical manuscripts authoredby both gifted and ungifted authors, andsomehow found space in crowded officesfor a host of visiting researchers. Unques-tionably, the most welcomed visitor was aMarine, active or veteran. The historical ac-tivity by whatever title at HQMC has aprimary duty to service the Marine Corpsand its multi-million-member family ofveterans, friends, and relatives.

As the Historical Branch, G-3 Division,grew steadily more professional in staffingin the late SOs and 60s, it also increasedits span of control and its charge of respon-sibility to the Commandant. Indeed, oneCommandant, Gen Wallace M. Greene,Jr., who led the Corps from 1964-1967,probably had more to do with shaping thedivision of today than any other. As theG-3, Deputy Chief of Sta.ff (Plans), Chiefof Staff, and Commandant over a 10-yearperiod, he personally saw to the initiationof oral history and combat art programs,set an example for retiring CMCs by send-ing his official papers to the archives andpersonal papers collections, and en-couraged the development of a viable na-tional Marine Corps Museum at Quantico.

Although museum activities are a

natural extension of historical activitiesoverall, as LtCol Hem! noted in 1949, andthere once was a museum section in theG-3's Historical Branch, the new museumand its director, LtCol John H. MagruderIII, when it opened in 1960, reporteddirectly to the Chief of Staff at HQMC.In time, however, the illogic and resultantproblems of separate existence brought themuseum and all its far-flung material his-tory activities back into the HQMC histor-ical fold.

A S NOFED IN regard to Gen Greene,and a succession of his predecessors

and successors as the G-3 or principaloperational staff officer at HQMC, it helpsto have an interested patron within any in-stitution. And the G-3 within a militarystaff is an influential individual. By the

time the Vietnam War began, the Histor-ical Branch was on a roll, in favor. In 1965,at long last, its head, Col Frank C. Cald-well, convinced the G-3 and the Chief ofStaff that all Marine bases, air stations,and units of battalion size or larger shouldsend operational historical reports toHQMC on a yearly basis to account fortheir activities. There had been no suchreports for FMF units since the end of theKorean War and never any from the sup-porting establishment on a regular basis.In March the first ground combat unitslanded at Da Nang and the reportingregularity became monthly. Thus, by for-tuitous circumstance, the Marine Corpswas in position to report its activities inVietnam in timely fashion far sooner thanthe other Services managed. Perhaps themost important point about this newhistorical reporting order, introducing thecommand chronology, was that it wasdesigned by Marine Corps historians,officers and civilians, who worked withrecords every day, and designed in such away that it could be highly useful to com-manding officers and make as little de-mand as possible to create records thatwere not already required. The commandchronology, now 25 years in being, is anessential tool of comprehensive historicalaccountability. It is the Marine Corps' offi-cial institutional memory and its home isthe archives of the present-day History andMuseums Division.

T HE HIS1DRY OF today's Marine Corpshistorical agency fits fairly comforta-

bly into three eras with some overlaps.There was the pre-Worid War II era of fewresources and even fewer dedicated people,a holding operation. Then there werethree decades when a historical purposewas formulated and followed, adequatenumbers of trained people were availablefully as dedicated as their lonely predeces-sors, and a lot was accomplished. But therewere still goals to be achieved and impor-tant progress to be made. The 70s and 80ssaw that progress and these goals largelymet and a new array of historical possibil-ities open up.

In November 1971, the then-Chief ofStaff at HQMC, LtGen John Chaisson, aHarvard graduate in history who heartilyespoused the value of Marine Corps his-tory, recommended to the CMC, GenLeonard E. Chapman, Jr., that the Histor-

ical Division (a separate staff agency againsince 1968) should take control of the Ma-rine Corps Museum at Quantico and theCorps-wide museum program, and reas-sume control of the combat art program,then in the Public Information Division,which had come to life under the oldHistorical Branch. And in keeping withthe situation then in being throughout theArmed Forces, LtGen Chaisson recom-mended also that the new and enhancedHistorical Division be headed by an active-duty general officer. The Commandantagreed and BGen Edwin H. Simmons, awidely experienced officer and an accom-plished writer, once the editor of the Ma-rine Corps Gazette, was appointedDirector of Marine Corps History andMuseums on 1 December 1971.

T HE NEWLY COMBINED division, soon(1973) to be called the History and

Museums Division, garnered with its ac-quisition of the Marine Corps Museum,several new functions. It now had curatori-al responsibility for the Marine Barracks,Washington, and the Commandant'sHouse; it had a budding personal paperscollection to which it turned over all suchmaterial that resided in the historical ar-chives; it assumed responsibility (laterlargely delegated to the U.S. Marine Band)for an extensive military music and relat-ed memorabilia collection; and it againbecame the home of Marine Corps com-bat artists and the custodian of thousandsof pieces of artwork. In addition the divi-sion also acquired all those activities nor-mally associated with museums includingan exhibits and displays section and cura-tors to handle weapons, uniforms, andequipment. As Quantico had steadilybeen acquiring aircraft and vehicles dur-ing the 70s, armed and unarmed and inall kinds of shape, there was a small sec-tion of mechanics and aircraftsmen dedi-cated to restoring these artifacts tomuseum quality showpieces.

BGen Simmons, who headed the divi-sion as both an active duty and a re-tired/recalled officer, re-retired in 1978,and for a time the division was headed byits long-time Deputy Director for Muse-ums, Colonel E Brooke Nihart, also a re-tired/recalled officer. Then afternationwide recruitment and competitiveselection, BGen Simmons was chosen tocontinue as director as a cii1 servant. This

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change from military officers to civiliansas Service historical agency heads was partof a DOD-wide trend which continues tothis day when only the Army's Chief ofMilitary History is an active-duty officer.

E QUALLY AS BENEFICIAL to the Marine

Corps' historical program as continui-ty of leadership, was the gathering of thedivision's often-separated elements underone roof in 1977. Building 58, Washing-ton Navy Yard, part of a National Histor-ic Landmark, became the Marine CorpsHistorical Center after extensive renova-tion from its former role as a Marine Bar-racks. Its first floor houses the MarineCorps Museum. Three other floors, 37,000square feet of office, exhibit, and storagespace in all, contain the other activities ofthe division. The Air-Ground Museum atQuantico, a field activity of the MuseumsBranch, occupies several exhibit andstorage buildings and hangars at the Vir-ginia base.

Today, the History and Museums Divi-sion occupies a position at HQMC fardifferent than its tiny predecessor, theHistorical Section, Adjutant and Inspec-tot's Department, did in 1919. The divi-sion generates and monitors the Corpshistorical reporting system, provides an ar-chives for its operational records, and ex-ploits those records through a long-rangewriting program which also uses the col-lections generated through extensive oralhistory and personal papers programs. TheHistorical Center also houses and makesavailable for official and public use a30,000-book military library, unique refer-ence collections dating back to the Revo-lution, and a collection of thousands ofpieces of artwork. It's Reference Section an-swers well over 7,000 queries a year fromofficial and public sources.

Q N THE MUSEUMS SIDE, the divisionoperates national-scope museums in

Washington and at Quantico and has staffresponsibility for all other museums in theCorps. Its talented artisans are as capableof restoring a World War I "Jenny" toready-to-fly form as they are of bringinga neglected Vietnam-era Ontos up to dis-playable condition. Its curators haveresponsibility for reserve collections of ar-tifacts and weapons that supply, on loan,museum exhibits throughout the country.

LI11775LI

Readers Always lVrite

Great Marines' Stories Inspire Readers' RecallIMAGE AND SUBSTANCE

Your profile of Holland Smith("Memorandum from the Director," Fall1989) is a fine job.

In it you make an observation that goesfar to explain why no biographer has suc-ceeded totally in portraying the whole ofHolland Smith. As you point out, hisshadow and image often eclipsed his sub-stance, and it is hard to tell where oneended and the other began.

I probably knew him as well as did anyMarine. My association began at age 17,when, in trying to persuade his son—myroommate—to become a Marine, he hitme instead. I saw him—even then—as anintuitive and compassionate man, with asincere loyalty to his Corps and to the in-dividuals under his command.

Later, in various staff and command po-sitions under his authority, and as WorldWar II came on, I saw his dedication tothe Corps enlarge into a fierce, almostparanoid devotion.

He wanted the best of everything for hisMarines, and he wanted it now. This loyalemotion was often interpreted as un-reasonable impatience with the Navy andderisive resentment of the Army. Some-

Gen Krulak, left, and Gen Smith view theplaque mounted at Camp Smith, "Namedin honor of Gen Holland McTyeire Smith

Through whose vision and resource-fulness the concept of a Fleet Marine Force,Pacific became a reality, and under whoseaggressive leadershz that unit distin-guished itself in the Pacific campaigns ofthe Second W7orld War. 3lJanuaiy 1956."

times that image got him in trouble—withAdmiral Nimitz, and others who were de-termined that the services should getalong, at all costs.

That was the embittered, mercurial, ex-plosive "Howling Mad Smith" of whom somuch was written. It was not the spiritualHolland Smith who cried over casualtylists, who carried on a wide-ranging cor-respondence with the families of "hisboys." It was not the intellectual HollandSmith, a student of military history anda painstaking planner.

And it was certainly not Holland Smiththe leader, who enjoyed and deserved theapostolic devotion of those who served un-der him.

LTGEN VIcmR H. KRULAK, USMC (RET)SAN DIEGo, CALIFORNIA

LEJEUNE'S ARMY FRIENDSMy thanks for your Fortitudine article

on Gen Lejeune ("Memorandum from theDirector' Summer 1989). I knew immedi-ately that even as arrogant as the Armyoften is toward Marines, we wouldn't dareto give the "greatest Marine of them all"a bad fitness report . . . especially if hewas a 2d Infantry Division-trained Marine.

You mention in the article that C. P.Summerall later became the Chief of Staffof the Army. He succeeded MajGen John"Call It Like It Is" Hines who served in theposition from 14 September 1924 to 20November 1926. Hines also had been theArmy's Deputy Chief of Staff during JohnJ. Pershing's '2124 tenure. This made allthree, Pershing, Hines and Summerall,Gen Lejeune's Army counterparts duringhis service as Commandant which surelymust have put them in the same Washing-ton social circles. If a bad fitness reporthad been rendered, there probably wouldhave been strained relations during thistime.

Lastly, you write of having marched inLejeune's funeral procession. I had the greathonor of marching in C. P. Summerall's inthe early spring of 1955 when my [USMA]cadet company, Company F, 1st Regiment,was so selected.

MAJGEN JAMES DRUMMOND, USA (RET)HAMP'ION, VIRGINIA

8

Thanks to all the careful readers who spot-ted the incorrect identification of the Colt.45 pistol in the caption of a photographaccompanying the article "Colt .45 Leavesthe Corps After 77 Years"in the Summer1989 issue. The weapon in the photographis, of course, a "Model 1911," vice "Model1911A1." The error was editorial, and notthe author's. — Editor

AVAILABLE PUBLICATIONS

Marine Corps Bulletin 5750, issued 15 Au-gust 1989, distributed the newly revised"Marine Corps Historical Publications Cat-alog" to most Marine Corps units. Copiesof the catalog are also available to individ-uals on request to the Historical Center

loLl: IIANIPB CORPS OISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS CATALOG

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Headstone Honors 19th Century Marine Band Leaderby MGySgt Frank Byrne

U.S. Marine Band

F RANCIS MARIA SCALA, Leader of theU.S. Marine Band from 1855 to 1871,

has long been recognized as one of themost important and influential men toserve as the band's director. As clarinetist,conductor, and composer, Scala wasprimarily responsible for formalizing themodern instrumentation of the band. Yetfor many years his grave at Washington'shistoric Congressional Cemetery has beenunmarked and, therefore, anonymous.

This changed on Tuesday, 28 Novem-ber 1989, when representatives of the Ma-rine Corps Historical Foundation,Congressional Cemetery, and the band,unveiled a new headstone identifying Sca-la's final resting place. The headstone wasmade possible by the Marine CorpsHistorical Foundation's Marine Band Fundand matching funds from CongressionalCemetery.

John Hanley, superintendent of thecemetery since May 1988, was responsiblefor locating the Scala grave and bringingthe information to the attention of theband. "I had been reading articles on Scalaand was very impressed by what I hadfound," Hanley said. "Our records saidthat he was in one place, but as I was go-ing through them I found that there hadbeen a misprint. In effect, he was in adifferent place. I wanted to go out andlook at his marker but when I went outthere, there was no marker. It just spurredme on. I thought he is the kind of personwe would like to have on our walking tourof the cemetery but you can't do that ifhe's not even memorialized. I had to comeout here with a ruler to exactly pinpointthe grave."

C ONGRESSIONAL CEMETERY wasestablished by members of Christ

Church, Washington Parish (Episcopal) in1807 "for all denominations of people."Five hundred sites—later doubled to onethousand — were dedicated for the use ofCongress and the new federal govern-ment. A series of Congressional appropri-ations dating from 1823 make it, in thewords of a 1939 report, "the first nation-al cemetery created by the government."

Congressional Cemetery is the finalresting place of over 65,000 persons fromall walks of life. Notables include Vice

President Elbridge Gerry; Joseph Nicollet,explorer and mapper of the MinnesotaTerritory; architect Robert Mills, design-er of the Washington Monument; Mat-thew B. Brady, Civil War photographer;George Watterson, the first Librarian ofCongress; and J. Edgar Hoover, Directorof the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Among the military personnel areCommandant of the Marine Corps BGenArchibald Henderson and 100 soldiers,sailors, and Marines from the Revolution-ary War, the War of 1812, and the CivilWar.

SCALA IS BUT ONE of the Marine Bandmusicians buried at Congressional

Cemetery. John Philip Sousa, who joinedthe band as an apprentice musician dur-ing Scala's tenure as leader, and becameleader himself from 1880-1892, is buriedthere, as is his father, Antonio, who wasa trombonist in the Marine Band. Otherband members include Antonio Pons(Leader, 1843-1844 and 1846-1848), JohnBaptista, John Bonini, and Gaetano Cam-si, one of the original group of musiciansrecruited from Italy at the suggestion ofThomas Jefferson to bolster the member-ship of the early Marine Band.

Francis Scala was born in Naples, Italy.Due to inconsistencies within varioushistorical documents, there is some discus-sion among scholars regarding the exactyear of his birth but it is generally placedat 1819. An article published in a

Francis Maria Scala, Marine Band directorfrom 1855 to 1871, sat for eminent CivilWar photographer Matthew B. Brady.

9

Washington newspaper around 1894-1895entitled "Scala's Glorious Past" containspersonal accounts of Scala's life in his ownwords:

My family was not a musicalone but I had loved music andhad been trained at the musicalcollege in Naples. I was about 20years old when I went aboard theold Brandywine of the Mediterra-nean fleet in 1841 and enlistedas a 3d Class musician.

During his voyage aboard the Brandy-wine, Scala (who had been born Francis-co Maria Scala) adopted the English formof his first name and became known asFrancis. Scala continued, "I spoke no En-glish but the Executive Officer of theBrandywine spoke Italian. I was soon play-ing the clarionette [sic] in the band on theBrandywine. I had only been one monthon the Man-of-War when the ExecutiveOfficer told me he would place me incharge of the band."

T HE SEAGOING LIFE did not agreewith Scala. He wrote, "Finally we

reached Norfolk. I was determined that Ishould never again go near salt water andI soon secured my discharge not havingbeen a year in the Navy. Then I was askedto become a bandmaster in the Army, sta-tioned at Fortress Monroe. I was about toaccept it, but then I looked at all the saltwater around the fort and declined the po-sition."

Scala's decision set the stage for his join-ing the Marine Band. "I journeyed up theChesapeake to Baltimore and came toWashington. Soon I secured a place in theMarine Band." Official records show thatScala enlisted in the Marine Corps on 11August 1842 at Washington, D.C., withthe rate of musician. He was described asbeing 22 years old, 5 feet 6 inches high,with grey eyes and dark hair.

However, Scala found an organizationmuch different from the one we know to-day. "It was a small reed affair then. Wehad one flute, one clarionette [sic], onefrench horn, two trombones, one bugle,one bass drum, one small drum, and onecymbal player. The nations represented inthe band's makeup were America, Eng-

land, Germany, Spain, and Italy." Scalanoted, "Congress had made no provisionfor the band, so the . . . members wereenlisted as fifers and drummers."

His musicianship was immediately not-ed and he was promoted to fife major on22 May 1843. (Another account of Scala'spromotion to fife major dates the promo-tion to 19 October 1854 to be effectivefrom 7 October 1854.) At that time, theMarine Band had both a fife major anda drum major. Both were of equal rankand wore identical uniforms, but the drummajor was considered to be the leader.

Q N THE RETIREMENT OF Rafael Triayin 1855, Scala was put in charge of

the band. Scala would become the firstman to hold the title of "Leader of theBand," but this position was not estab-lished until the Act of2SJuly 1861 whichabolished the rank of fife major, and creat-ed the positions of "Leader of the Band"and "Principal Musician." Scala reportedthat at that time, the leader of the Ma-rine Band was paid $16 a month.

During his 16 years as leader, Scala in-creased the size of the band from the 10or so musicians he found when he joinedthe band to approximately 35 pieces at thetime of his retirement. More important-ly, he established and maintained a fullcomplement of woodwinds in the bandduring the Civil War period, a time whenmany bands were dominated (if not com-posed entirely) by brass instruments. Sca-la's foresight in keeping the balancedinstrumentation of both woodwinds andbrass gave the Marine Band a continuitymatched by few other organizations andset the stage for the further developmentswhich were accomplished under theleadership of John Philip Sousa.

As Leader of the Marine Band, Scala be-came close to all the Presidents of theUnited States for whom he provided musicat the White House. He provided color-ful descriptions of the Presidents: "Gener-al Taylor was an old-fashioned soldier whoput on no airs whatsoever." "Fillmore wasa handsome man and a pleasant gentle-man." "Pierce was a man of pleasant per-sonality and I have many kindreminiscences of him."

U NDOUBTEDLY, SCALA established his

closest relationship with PresidentLincoln. He wrote, "Lincoln I alwaysremember with affection. He was sodelightfully plain and honest. 'Old Abe'

liked music and was my friend. I havemany personal souvenirs of him." Scalahad conducted the Marine Band in aserenade for Lincoln the evening thePresident-elect arrived in Washington.Scala wrote, "The night he arrived inWashington, the band serenaded him atthe National Hotel and I see him now ashe stood at a window and addressed thegreat crowd on the street below." Scala andthe Marine Band also accompanied Lin-coln to Gettysburg for the dedication ofthe National Cemetery when Lincoln deli-vered his "Gettysburg Address."

As a composer and arranger, Scala wasprolific. His personal music collection,now housed at the Library of Congress,contains over 600 titles ranging from origi-nal compositions (marches, quicksteps,waltzes, etc.) to major transcriptions andarrangements of operatic repertoire, par-ticularly that of Italian composersGiuseppe Verdi and Gioacchino Rossini.This music was used by the Marine Bandunder his directorship for concerts,ceremonies, and White House events. Alsoincluded in the Scala Collection is thecomposition which he described as "themost important achievement of my musi-cal career. . . the march composed for theInaugural Ball of General Grant." NormanP. Scala, son of Francis, donated the col-lection to the Library of Congress in 1952.In addition, through the bequest of Nor-man P. Scala, a trust fund has been estab-lished at the Library for the study andpromotion of the music of Francis Scalaand his period.

In her book Music at the White House,Dr. Elise Kirk documents the impact thatthe Marine Band and Scala had upon thepopular music of the day. The occasion wasan outdoor White House concert for thePrince of Wales in early October 1860. Thefeatured selection of the concert was thepremiere performance of Scala's arrange-ment of "Listen to the Mocking Bird,"which he dedicated to Harriet Lane, nieceof bachelor PresidentJames Buchanan. Anunidentified news clipping in the ScalaCollection relates the story:

On the afternoon it was first tobe played in public, Scala cameto the grounds with a handsomeprogram of the selections. On itwas painted a mocking bird. MissLane did not know of the honor,and was not there; but a mes-

10

senger was sent after herand she was on hand when the"Mocking Bird" was played.There was a good crowd present,and much applause followed.Miss Lane bowed and bowed; andScala bowed and bowed; but ithad to be repeated. In less thana week, every man was whistling,and every lady who could play itwas playing and singing it. But Idon't think I ever heard it playedas well as it was played that af-ternoon.

SCALA WAS DISCHARGED as leader ofthe band on 13 December 1871. He

remained in Washington for the rest of hislife, residing in his home on South Caro-lina Avenue, Southeast. He died there on18 April 1903. Funeral services were heldat his home and at St. Peter's CatholicChurch. The Marine Band played "Near-er My God to Thee" (Scala's favoritehymn) as the body was carried from thehouse. At the church, the band playedScala's arrangement of the funeral dirgefrom Verdi's opera "Ii Trovatore." This issignificant because it is the same arrange-ment which had been played by Scala andthe Marine Band when the Prince of Walesvisited the tomb of George Washington.On that occasion, the music had such aprofound effect upon both PresidentBuchanan and the Prince of Wales thatScala reported seeing tears in the eyes ofthe President. Following the requiemmass, the body was interred at Congres-sional Cemetery.

Francis Maria Scala served as leader ofthe band at a critical period in its historyand will be remembered as a visionaryman who played a singular role in the evo-lution of the organization. It has been saidthat the advancements made under JohnPhilip Sousa were due, at least in part, tothe groundwork which had been lain byScala during his time as leader.

With the placing of the new marker onthe Scala grave, both the casual visitor andthe serious researcher will have the oppor-tunity to honor this great musician. LtGenClyde D. Dean, USMC (Ret), President ofthe Marine Corps Historical Foundation,said, "It is most fitting that this recogni-tion be given to this former Leader of theMarine Band. From the standpoint of theHistorical Foundation, we are most pleasedto be part of this effort." L11775E1

Japanese Veteran of Guadalcanal Visits Centerby Henry I. Shaw, Jr

Chief Historian

F ORMER IMPERIAL Japanese Army CaptAkio Mantis Tani, commander of an

artillery battery on Guadalcanal, a contri-butor to our museum collections (see Thr-titudine, Fall 1989, p. 10), and a frequentcorrespondent with the Guadalcanal Vete-rans Association (GVA) historian (andthereby us) on the Japanese side of thebattle, visited the Historical Center on 1November. Escorted by Mr. Shaw, one ofthe two World War H veterans on the staffon board that day, Mr. Tani visited thelibrary, archives, reference, and personalpapers offices, as well as stopping by tomeet Deputy Director for Museums ColBrooke Nihart, the only person in the di-vision whose prewar and wartime servicespan nearly matches that of Mr. Tani.

Col James Leon, also a World War IIveteran, who works regularly in PersonalPapers as a volunteer, was able to show Mr.Tani the letters, photographs, and sketcheshe had sent to Mr. Harry Horsman, theGVA historian, about the battle. Mr. Hors-man had faithfully turned over copies ofall this material to the Center and we haveestablished a file in his name that is cross-

referenced in several ways via computer toshow the Tani input. Hopefully, Mr. Tani,who was on a rather whirlwind trip to theStates, will be back next year to spend aweek in Washington seeing the "sights"and visiting with a number of Guadal-

canal veterans, like Mr. George MacGil-livary, our map collection expert volunteer,who are anxious to exchange informationin person with a former enemy who hasbecome a firm and helpful friend.

fI11775LI1

Identify the following:

1. During the war with Tripoli, in 1805, lstLt Presley N.O'Bannon and a small detachment of enlisted Marinesspearheaded William Eaton's expedition on the 600-milemarch from Egypt to Derne, Tripoli, mounted on theseanimals.2. In what year did the first organized unit of mounted Ma-rines in the United States come into existence?3. During what year was the Mounted (horse) Detachmentof Marines at Peking disbanded?4. Originally a gift to MajGen Smedley D. Butler from theVeterans of Foreign Wars, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, in 1938, itserved as mascot of Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia, be-cause, as the general felt, it typified the Marine spirit.

5. What was the highest rank attained byJiggs, the first Ma-rine Corps bulldog mascot?6. List the three primary uses of war dogs during World War II.7. This mascot of the 4th Marines joined the unit in Chinain 1938, and also weathered the terrors of a Japanese prisoncamp in the Philippines when the regiment was captured in1942.8. This mascot, adopted by the 5th Marines, 1st Marine Di-vision in Korea, joined the Marine Corps in October 1952to carry ammunition over the rugged, mountainous terrainto recoilless rifles on the front lines.9. Most war dogs in Vietnam were of this breed.10. What is the name of the current mascot of Marine Bar-racks, 8th and I, Washington, D.C.?

(Answers on page 15)

Former Japanese Army Capt Akio M. Tani, center tours the Personal Papers Collec-tion with Mr Shaw, left, and Co/Leon. Stuffed tiger was gift to former commandant.

Historical Quiz

Animals and the Marine Corpsby Lena M. Ka/jot

Reference Historian

11

Major Samuel Nicholas: An Authentic Portraitby Richard A. Long

Curator of Special Projects

M AJ DONNAJ. NEARY, USMCR, whoduring her more than 15 years of

professional association with the MarineCorps History and Museums Division, hasproduced art in many media, has recentlypainted an oil on canvas portrait of MajSamuel Nicholas. As senior Marine officerin the American Revolution, Nicholas isconsidered the first Commandant of theMarine Corps.

Maj Neary's portrait is based on minia-ture portraits of two individual Continen-tal Marine officers. The first, of course, isthat of Nicholas himself, from a damagedcolor likeness discovered in 1977 in thepossession of a direct descendant in Penn-sylvania.

The second likeness she used as a sourcewas that of Capt Matthew Parke, a contem-porary and second in command to Nicho-las, by an unidentified artist. Thisspecimen, together with a companionpiece of his wife, is the property of theNaval Historical Foundation, Washington,D.C. Its importance lies in the excellenceof the artist in depicting minute detailsof the coat, cloth stock, undergarments,lace, buttons and single epaulette of a Ma-rine officer of the period. These charac-teristics were not available in the portraitof Nicholas. Maj Neary has portrayedthem faithfully.

Copy of a miniature of Ma] Nicholas wasacquired in 1921 from a great-grandson ofNicholas by Ma] Edwin N. McClellan.

In 1916, MajGenComdt George Bar-nett, the 12th Commandant of the Ma-rine Corps, conceived the idea of havingportraits painted of all former Comman-dants. In a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt,Acting Secretary of the Navy, he statedthat the portraits would be preserved at"the Headquarters of the Corps," andwould show future generations the succes-sive changes in Marine Corps uniforms.

Roosevelt agreed with Gen Barnett, andin requesting the Comptroller of the U.S.Treasury to determine an appropriationagainst which the expenses of having thempainted might be charged, pointed outthat the War and Navy Departments anda number of other federal bureaus hadportraits executed under the heading ofcontingencies. Furthermore, in accordancewith his own personal philosophy,Roosevelt declared, "I believe that it is theduty of the government to encourage inevery way possible the collection andpreservation of every kind of historicalmaterial."

In turn, the Comptroller also agreed,and shortly after, Marine QuartermasterCol Charles L. McCawley notified theCommandant that a contract had been en-tered into for an oil portrait of MajGen-Comdt George F Elliott. Within the nexttwo years, contracts were let for an addi-tional eight portraits, including that ofGen Barnett.

T HE HEADQUARTERS of the Corps hadbeen located at Washington's Marine

Barracks until early in the 20th century,and from thence nearly into World WarH occupied various other sites in the city.None of these was especially suited for thehanging, safekeeping, and preservation ofthe portraits. At some unknown time, adecision was made to preserve them in theCommandant's House, located promi-nently since 1806 on its permanent site inthe barracks. Because Roosevelt had hadthe foresight to have them classified offi-cial and permanent furniture, they remainthere today.

Of the original nine portraits commis-sioned, five were copies of photographiclikenesses, and four were painted from life.That of Samuel Nicholas was not among

12

them, for no likeness of him had yet beenfound.

That discovery was not long in coming,but it remains poorly documented to thisday, for the discoverer apparently hid hislight under a bushel. When the Comman-dant and the Quartermaster were obtain-ing permission to have the portraitscommissioned and painted, Marine CaptEdwin N. McClellan was on duty in theNavy's Judge Advocate General's Office inWashington. His duties to prepare theIndex-Digest of Court-Martial Orders forthe years 1914, 1915, and 1916, as well asthe "Naval Digest, 1916," may have led tohis future interest in researching and writ-ing Marine Corps history (Fortitudine, Fall1973). In consideration of his position, hemay even have been tasked with search-ing for precedents associated with theauthority to have the portraits painted.

A T THE END OF World War I, McClel-lan, then a major, was ordered to

France to collect data regarding the activi-ties of Marines during operations in Eu-rope. This led to the establishment of aMarine Corps Historical Section at Head-quarters Marine Corps on 8 September1919, with McClellan as its officer incharge. A "concise history" of The United

Second miniature, attributed to CharlesW7illson Peale, discovered in 1977, wasprimary source for Ma] Neary 's painting.

Miniature oil on ivory portrait of CaptMatthew Parke, Continental Marines, wasused to recreate details of the uniform.

States Marine Corps in the World War wassubmitted by him and published in 1920.

In addition to this historical work, MajMcClellan edited several issues of the Ma-rine Corps Gazette in 1921 and 1922, wasits secretary-treasurer, and contributed ar-ticles on the war in France.

Personal correspondence of Maj McClel-lan reveals that his initial research of theContinental Marines and their associationwith the city of Philadelphia, the majori-ty of it in the Historical Society of Penn-sylvania, took place during his first touras historian of the Corps.

T HESE RECORDS DO NOT show how hefirst found a descendant of Samuel

Nicholas. There is no surviving correspon-dence of McClellan with Dr. John Nicho-las Mitchell, a great grandson of Nicholas,but this contact may have come aboutthrough a letter Dr. Mitchell wrote fromAtlantic City on 6 March 1921 to oneEthan Allen Weaver, whose identity isunknown to us. In this letter, Mitchell stat-ed that he had Nicholas's commission asa captain of Marines, as well as a smallminiature of him, which he volunteeredto have copied.

Therefore, through either Weaver orMitchell, it appears Maj McClellan ac-quired negatives or photographs of thesememorabilia. A rather indistinct black andwhite illustration of the portrait was pub-lished as the frontispiece of the MarineCorps Gazette, September 1921. The sameissue contained an article, 'American Ma-rines in the Battles of Trenton and Prince-ton," authored by McClellan, the first of

his many on the subject of ContinentalMarines in the years to come. One of itsillustrations was a full-page reproductionof the Nicholas commission. This was thesecond issue of the Gazette edited byMcClellan. Unfortunately, he provided hisreaders no provenance of these illus-trations.

This black and white likeness of Nicho-las was dim in perspective. The quality ofits negative may not have been good;neither it nor an original print has beenfound. Nicholas is pictured from the topof his head to mid-chest, the boundariesof the oval cutting through his narrowshoulders. It is uncertain whether his dressis civilian or military; they were then verysimilar. The body of his coat is of a darkmaterial, with a white vest, soft neck stock,and very narrow lapels which may havebeen a buff color. No buttons or hooks arevisible. He wears no insignia or epaulettes.The likeness faces slightly to the left. Hishair appears gray and crinkled, cut shortto his head, but may be actually pulledback tightly into a queue. Prominent darkeyebrows top large eyes, blunt nose, anda small pursed mouth.

F OR SOME UNEXPLAINED reason, MajMcClellan instructed PFC Arman T

Manookian, USMC, an artist assigned tothe Historical Section, to paint a recon-structed portrait of Nicholas"dress[ing] him up in the Marine uniform,put[ting] a wig on him, and there he istoday." The face and body were broad-ened; military rolled collar, wide lapels,lace neckpiece, and plain buttons added,and a epaulette placed on his right shoul-der, all in stark pen and ink and blackwatercolor. During McClellan's ensuingtour aboard, this caricature was used to il-lustrate an article in the Gazette's Decem-ber 1925 issue. These incongruouselements apparently influenced other ar-tists painting subsequent portraits ofSamuel Nicholas.

Dr. John Nicholas Mitchell died in1923, and in May 1925, Maj McClellan be-gan to correspond with his son, CharlesThomas Mitchell, of Glen Ridge, NewJer-sey. The latter had inherited the commis-sion and also had a portrait of SamuelNicholas, Jr., by Rembrandt Peale, ofPhiladelphia. For some unexplained rea-son, he did not own the miniature por-trait described above. McClellan's effortsto acquire the commission for the Marine

13

Anna M. Kosinsky 's interpretation in the1930s of the likeness of May Nicholas fea-tures an idealized Continental uniform.

Corps were unsuccessful, but he urgedMitchell to safeguard it and pass it on toresponsible people.

Following a tour of duty in Hawaii,McClellan returned to his second tour ashistorian of the Marine Corps in 1930. Twoyears later, he made considerable effort tohave Charles T. Mitchell's son, the secondJohn Nicholas Mitchell, enlisted in theCorps, but the latter failed the physical ex-amination.

D URING THE TENURE of MajGenJohnHenry Russell, 16th Commandant

of the Marine Corps, 1934 to 1936, he andMrs. Russell were assisted in the interiordecoration of the Commandant's Houseby Marine MajGen Louis McCarty Little,his wife, and their friends, Ms. EdithMcCartney and Ms. Anna M. Kosinsky,both of Washington. An artist and por-traitist, Ms. Kosinsky painted a portrait ofSamuel Nicholas. It is evident that she hadaccess to a copy of the original likeness,for the facial characteristics in her oil oncanvas are very similar. However, she tookliberties with his stature, depicting hisshoulders even more broad than in thecaricature by Manookian.

She pictured his uniform in more, anddifferent, colors than those of the Revolu-tionary period, with a blue body, rolledcollar, soft white neckware, broad redlapels, buttons of a muted design, anepaulette on each shoulder, and a whitecrossbelt over the right shoulder. It is

unknown whether this portrait was ever ex-hibited in the Commandant's House, but

it did hang in the Barracks' Center Housefor a number of years. It is now in the col-lections of the History and Museums Di-vision.

At some time in the 1920s, John JosephCapolino, of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia,painted a portrait of Nicholas which, un-til recently, hung on the south wall of theHouse's main foyer and center hallway onthe first floor.

C APOLINO WAS BORN in Philadelphiain 1896 and studied at the Pennsyl-

vania Academy of Fine Arts and in Europe.He was hired as an artist by the MarineCorps Depot of Supplies at Philadelphiain 1923. In 1926 he supervised the con-struction of a Tun Tavern replica forPhiladelphia's Sesquicentennial Exposi-tion and decorated it with a 21-piece ex-hibit of Marine Corps murals, paintings,and a portrait of Nicholas. He received aMarine Corps Reserve second lieutenant'scommission the same year.

He was called to active duty in 1940 tohead the Corps' Publicity Bureau, retiringas a lieutenant colonel in 1960. During hiscareer, he executed more than 80 histori-cal paintings and 40 portraits of Comman-dants, quartermasters general, and depotcommanding officers. The majority of theportraits were done from photographs, afew from life, and others purely from hisimagination.

His portrait of Maj Samuel Nicholas ap-pears to fit into this last category. That ofMaj William Ward Burrows, the 2d Com-mandant, he copied from a pastel by Ms.Edith McCartney, who based her likenessof him on photographs of two maledescendants in Burrow's female lineage. Itis suspected that Capolino's portrait ofBurrows was selected for the Comman-dant's House because it was larger thanMs. McCartney's and he had the foresightto make it the same size and format as hisportrait of Nicholas.

I T IS UNFORTUNATE that for so manyyears visitors to the Commandant's

House envisaged Maj Nicholas in such aromantic affectation. By contrast with theoriginal miniature, Capolino's face ofNicholas was full, well-formed, and mas-culine; with a sharp, well-defined ratherthan blunt nose; lips full and generous;complexion clear above and with a hint ofheavy beard beneath the skin; and aprominent left ear topped by a full head

of brown page-boy hair curling at its ends.Full and complete research of the likeness-es of actors in the 1920s might reveal thatCapolino copied the facial image of one,as he had later painted Lieutenant of Ma-rines Presley Neville O'Bannon in the ex-act image of actorJohn Payne in the movieFrom the Shores of Tripoli." This portrait

of Nicholas bore no resemblance whateverto the photographic print of the minia-ture that had been preserved by the Mitch-ell family.

The uniform pictured by Capolino wasnot at such odds with the documentabledescription provided by McClellan in hisUniforms of the American Marines, 1775to 1829, which was available to Capolino.However, the shade of green may havebeen too deep, and he added an unautho-rized epaulette to the left shoulder.

Ila Junod, Capolino's wife, also an ar-tist, painted another portrait of Nicholasabout the same time. This likeness doeshave the facial characteristics of JohnPayne, to which she added a white headof hair, fuller than in the miniature, whichmay have been a wig powdered with flourafter the contemporary custom. She toldthe writer several years ago that the bodyof the coat was a dark blue, with facingsand collar of scarlet. These colors werecloser to the officer uniform regulationsof 1797, long after the service of Nicholashad ended. This portrait cannot at presentbe located.

T HE DISCOVERY of a second oil on ivory

miniature portrait of Maj Samuel

Another romanticized portrayal of MayNicholas was produced in the 1920s byPhiladelphia artist John J. Capolino.

14

Nicholas is the achievement of Mr. CharlesR. Smith, author of the History and Muse-ums Division's bicentennial history of Ma-rines in the Revolution, published in 1975.Using genealogical notes and lineage thiswriter had compiled an official biographyof Nicholas, published in Appendix J ofhis book. Mr. Smith consulted with Mrs.Edward B. Tryon, a great, great, greatgranddaughter of Nicholas, in Florida. Shereferred Mr. Smith to her nephew, Mr.Nicholas Spies, then of Philadelphia, whoacknowledged that he owned such aminiature. (Mrs. Tryon, together with hersister, Mrs. Otto R. Spies, the daughtersof Charles Thomas Mitchell, had in 1943presented Samuel Nicholas's captain'scommission to MajGen Alexander A. Van-degrift, USMC, in a ceremony at theHistorical Society of Pennsylvania. As theMarine Corps did not at that time havean official museum, Gen Vandegrift en-trusted it to the Society for safekeeping.Mr. Smith and the writer relocated it inthe Society's manuscript collections in1975, and the Director of Marine CorpsHistory and Museums persuaded the So-ciety to release it permanently to the Ma-rine Corps. It is now on exhibit in theMuseum).

Mr. Spies inherited the miniature andother Nicholas memorabilia from hismother's estate in 1973. He had sincemade application for membership in theSociety of the Cincinnati. Finding that hehad not sufficient evidence to support hisclaim, a deal was struck with him. Inreturn for the writer's assistance in genea-logically documenting his lineage andmaking an attempt - sta:' theprovenance of his miniature, the divisionwould be allowed to include the originalminiature in its major opening exhibition"The Marine Corps as Seen Through Con-temporaneous Art" at the Center in 1977.Permission was also obtained to aecolor transparencies and photographs ofit for future exhibit and publication. Mr.Spies declined to donate the miniature tothe Marine Corps.

I N AN ENSUING discussion with Mr.Spies, he related that he had consult-

ed with Dr. Charles Coleman Sellers,Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a descendant andofficial biographer of Charles WillsonPeale, prominent painter and portraitistof Maryland and Pennsylvania in the late1700's and early 1800's. At this point, the

writer assumed responsibility for furtherresearch.

A startling discovery was made whendetailed and enlarged color prints of thetransparencies were received. The minia-ture portrait of Samuel Nicholas owned byMr. Spies was not the same specimen asthat owned by his grandfather, Dr. JohnNicholas Mitchell, from whom MajMcClellan had acquired either a black-and-white negative or print in 1921.

Comparison of these two illustrationsshows that the two ovals enclosing the im-ages are of a different configuration. Thefirst is more elongated, allowing more ofNicholas's coat and lapels to be seen, whilethat belonging to Mr. Spies is more bluntat the bottom, nearly an oval circle, show-ing less of the coat and lapels. Other thanthis feature, the facial images are almostidentical, with the exception of paint hav-ing flaked from the obverse surface of theSpies specimen. This may be accounted forby the fact that Mr. Spies found it loosein his mother's personal effects, devoid ofany protective covering or preservation. Onthe reverse of this miniature its circumfer-ence is marred by glue marks to whichpaper or cloth may have been attached,together with very dim pencil script whichDr. Sellers informed me he had not beenable to decipher.

I N HIS CORRESPONDENCE, Dr. Sellersstated that in his list of Peale's portraits,

published in 1952, he may have erred inattributing one of Peale's sitters as"Nicholson" instead of "Nicholas." Inanother reply to the writer, dated 23February 1977, he wrote: "The materialyou sent certainly confirms my opinion,given to Mr. Spies last year, that the minia-ture of Maj Samuel Nicholas is an origi-nal work of Charles Willson Peale. I hadsuggested then the date 1781-82. From thisnearer look I would incline to date it threeor four years earlier." This possibilitystemmed from research done in an at-tempt to find Peale and Nicholas together,or at least in the same vicinity on someoccasion.

Peale was elected a second lieutenant ofthe Philadelphia Associators in October1776, and in December had found a housefor his family in the suburb of Abington,the small town also the home of Nicho-las' wife. Peale's militia unit then depart-ed for the battles of Trenton and Princetonwith Cadwallader's battalion, the same or-

ganization to which Nicholas's Marineswere also attached for these engagements.Peale's diary mentions several occasions ofhaving worked on various portraits of fel-low officers while in the field in Decem-ber 1776 and January 1777.

In the following month, Peale adver-tised in the Philadelphia Journal for ahouse in the center of Philadelphia andshortly after, found lodgings on MarketStreet which his family occupied intermit-tently between 1777 and 1780 and inwhich he had his studio. This house ap-pears to have been near the ConestogaWagon, a tavern on Market betweenFourth and Fifth Streets, owned and oper-ated by Mary Jenkins. Mrs. Jenkins wasNicholas's mother-in-law. Documentationhas been found that Samuel Nicholastended the tavern during several periodsin the years between 1775 and his deathin 1790. Peale's rented house was sold in1780, and he purchased a brick house onthe corner of Third and Lombard Streets.There he established the gallery in whichhe exhibited art and curiosities in the fol-lowing years.

T HE WRJThR ALSO consulted MissRobin Bolton-Smith, Assistant Cura-

tot of 18th and 19th Century Painting andSculpture at the National Collection ofFine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, inWashington. She responded with "Judg-ing from the photographs which you sent

15

me (she later viewed the actual miniatureas well) it appears to me to be a verydamaged miniature painted in the styleof the work of Charles Willson Peale donein the latter half of the 1770's."

As early as the discovery of Mr. Spies'sportrait of Nicholas, it was suggested thata new portrait based on this likeness bepainted for the Commandant's House.Reproductions of it would also replacethose in the Marine Corps Museum andelsewhere.

The History and Museums Division'sHistoric Art and Research Committee inMay 1988 agreed that Maj Neary's paint-ing should be of a vertical and rectangu-lar format to fit the existing frame and ovalmat already in the Commandant's House.This format matched that of the Burrowsportrait mounted on the opposite side ofa pier glass and pier table in the foyer ofthe house. However, the entire canvas wasto be covered in paint, so that when a sal-on print was made, it would be compati-ble with the portraits of the othercommandants.

The portrait was completed in mid-December. Following the approval of theCommandant, the portrait was document-ed in photography by the Curator of Artand hung in the Commandant's House,reproductions were made for the Museum,and a salon print was installed in the"Commandants of the Marine Corps Cor-ridor" in the Pentagon. Eli 775L11

Answers to Historical Quiz

Animals and the Marine Corps(Questions on page 11)

1. The detachment made the demanding seven.week trek across the Libyan desert on camels.2. In October 1836, during the Indian campaigns in Georgia and Florida, one company of Marines was mountedon native horses and used extensively for reconnaissance and patrol duty. This company was disbanded inJuly 1837, although small mounted detachments of Marines were occasionally used in Florida until 1840.3. On 21 February 1938, this detachment, which had been reorganized in 1912 to maintain a mounted patrolat night and conduct weekly census of all Americans living in the city and its suburbs, was disbanded.4. Old Gimlet E' a bald eagle, was presented to the barracks by Gen Butler and sm in on 8January 1938.5. SgtMaj Jiggs I enlisted in October 1922 at Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia, and was promoted tohis final rank in July 1924 by the Secretary of the Navy.6. Most dogs were trained as scouts and message carriers, while some were initially trained for guard duty.Several dogs were cited for outstanding performance during operations in alerting enemy ambushes and po-sitions, thereby saving the lives of many Marines.7. "Soochow" (a dog) was liberated with the survivors of the regiment in January 1946, and later stationedat Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California.8. "Reckless," a red Mongolian mare, earned the Purple Heart with one gold star, a Presidential Unit Citationwith star, Korean Service Medal with three battle stars, the United Nations Service Medal, and the NationalDefense Ribbon for outstanding service.9. Trained for either scout or sentry duty, most war dogs in Vietnam were of German Shepherd lineage, butvery few were thoroughbred. There were a total of four platoons, each with 28 dogs, serving with Marinesin Vietnam.10. "Cherry IX" made his debut at the beginning of the 1989 Barracks Evening Parade season, followingin a long line of bulldog mascots bearing that name. The first bulldog mascot named "Chesty" made hisdebut in the summer of 1957, when the Marine Barracks began the Evening Parade ceremonies.

Marines Reservists Script Korean War Exhibitsby Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas

Curator of Material History

T HE KOREAN WAR segment of theMarine Corps Air-Ground Museum

at Quantico, until recently still in theplanning stages, with artifacts being ac-quired and restored for display, is nearlyready for opening in the reconditionedhangar at the former Brown Field. Withthe upgrading of the building nearly com-plete, the placement of the restored ar-tifacts, weapons, and vehicles is due tostart this winter with a formal opening ex-pected during the 1990 tourist season.

Although a more detailed presentationis expected to follow, a skeletal story linefor the new segment, consisting of sevenlarge text boards and maps, has beenresearched and written by the staff. Theseven boards trace the broad history of thewar from its outbreak in 1950 to the cease-fire in 1953 and provide the museum vi-sitor a historical perspective from which toview the items on display. In addition,short descriptive labels for each of the Ma-rine vehicles, large weapons, and aircraftare being produced. These labels are, inturn, related to the chronological textboards.

These efforts, however, are meant to bean expedient to opening the new part ofthe museum. Although the information,artifacts, and displays will present a goodgeneral view of the war, the overall effectin comparison to the "Early Years" and"World War II" displays, will be moresparse. Topics such as air-ground tacticsand the use of small arms remain to bemore completely covered and the cam-paigns of Pusan, Inchon, and Chosin willneed to be examined in greater depth.

SHORTLY AFTER ASSUMING command as

Officer-in-Charge of the Air-GroundMuseum and Museums Branch Activities,LtCol William A. Beebe was contacted bythe then-commanding officer of theMobilization Training Unit, North Caro-lina 2 (MTU-NC2), LtCol Jerry A. Cum-mings, to see if the museum had anyprojects the unit could undertake. TheMTU had worked for LtCol Beebe in hisprevious assignment, but was now withouteither a sponsor or a project. LtCol Beeberesponded that he would welcome the

help of the MTU in scripting the new ex-hibit. The project was tentatively accept-ed by the unit and LtCol Arthur L. "Les"Scheer arrived at the Museum Branch Ac-tivities Building in early spring 1989, tostart research on the topics and to help es-tablish a structure for the project. The en-tire unit appeared briefly in June to goover individual assignments and for a tourof the museum's operations. Returning inAugust, LtCol Scheer and the unit's newcommanding officer, LtCol William "Ray"Hargett, conducted research on their par-ticular topics, set up a timetable for thereview of submitted scripts, and started anew recruitment drive.

T HIS DRIVE PAID off when several newmembers joined the unit this fall.

Selected members came on board in thefall and early winter to work on assignedtopics and to research the Marine Corps'official photograph collection, which is ad-ministered by the National Archives andRecords Administration.

After the Korean War exhibit opens thisyear, the displays researched and writtenby the MTU will be added piece-by-piece

as they are approved. The newly developedinformation will also be offered to othercommand museums, as well as being avail-able in a modular format, as appropriate.As the project progresses, these new ex-hibits will provide an impetus for repeatvisitors, in addition to attracting more Ma-rine and civilian travelers to Quantico forfirst-time viewing of the museum.

The major advantage of the MTU pro-gram is obvious: the museum is receivinggood quality help in putting together avery large and complex standing exhibit.There also are some advantages which arenot immediately apparent. While thecuratorial staff is adept at identifying in-dividual items and conducting research,few have a solid background in the fielduse of the items to be displayed. MarineReservists with extensive experience in suchareas as communications, aviation, and ar-tillery find research and writing in theseareas more easily accomplished. Moreover,being 'in tune" with today's MarineCorps, the Reservists also are able to com-pare and contrast the historical conceptsof the Korean War to current practice.

EJ1775E1

Members of Mobilization Training Unit, North Carolina 2, work on scrzts for theKorean War exhibit at the Marine Corps Air- Ground Museum at Quantico, lendingfield experience in communications, aviation, and artillery to their writing projects.

16

Mentioned in Passing

Distinguished Marines Who Died in 1989 Rememberedby Benis M. Frank

Head, Oral History Section

MajGen Arthur B. HansonMajGen Arthur B. "Tim" Hanson,

USMCR (Ret), 72, died of cancer on ijuly1989 at his home in Potomac, Maryland.A native Washingtonian, Gen Hanson wascommissioned in May 1941. For a year,January 1942-January 1943, he was sta-tioned at the Marine Barracks, Balboa,Canal Zone. He joined the 4th Marine Di-vision in January 1944 and participated inthe battles for Roi-Namur, Saipan, Tini-an, and Iwo Jima. He was awarded aBronze Star in each of these operations.Gen Hanson was released from active dutyin early 1946, but remained active in theMarine Corps Reserve, progressing in rankuntil he became a major general. He re-tired from the Reserve in 1974. Gen Han-son was past president of the Marine CorpsReserve Officers Association and the Ma-rine Corps Reserve Policy Board. At thetime of his death, he was president of theMarine Corps War Memorial Foundation,which was instrumental in having the IwoJima flag-raising statue by Felix de Wel-don erected in Washington. The founda-tion was less successful in its efforts toreconstruct Tun Tavern in Philadelphia.Gen Hanson was interred 7 July in Arling-ton National Cemetery with full militaryhonors.

MajGen Francis B. Loomis, Jr.MajGen Francis B. Loomis, Jr., USMC

(Ret), 87, died in Oceanside, California,on 31 December 1989. His remains werecremated and his ashes spread at sea offPoint Loma on 13 January. Gen Loomis wasborn in Washington, D.C., in 1903, GenLoomis entered the Naval Academy fromCalifornia in 1920. A serious bout withpneumonia forced him to leave the Acade-my in 1922. After recuperating, he enteredStanford University the same year. Whileat Stanford, he was a member of theNROTC. He was commissioned an ensignin the Naval Reserve in 1924. Already atrained pilot in civilian life, he went onactive duty as a Navy Reservist but flewand trained with Marine squadrons from

North Island for two years until he trans-ferred to the Marine Corps in 1926. Fol-lowing graduation from Basic School inPhiladelphia in 1927, Lt Loomis joined theChinese Composite Expeditionary Force atSan Diego, and sailed to China with it inApril of that year. While in China, hecommanded a machinegun platoon atfirst, and then was assigned as a studentnaval aviator to VMO-10 at Hsin Ho. LtLoomis returned to the States to enterflight training at Pensacola. After receiv-ing his wings, he flew with Marine squa-drons in Haiti and the United States, butwas forced to relinquish his flight orderswhen he developed trouble with his eyes.He returned to China in 1932 to serve withthe 4th Marines in Shanghai. He becameinvolved with defense battalions in the ear-ly 1940s, and during World War II, servedwith Garrison Forces, 14th Naval Districtat Pearl Harbor and with the 15th DefenseBattalion. He participated in the Roi-Namur, Guam, and Peleliu operationsand was logistics officer of III Amphibi-ous Corps in the Okinawa landing. Fol-lowing the end of the war, Gen Loomis wasthe inspector general of the Departmentof the Pacific in San Francisco, after whichhe became the Marine Corps liaison officerfor guided missiles and atomic energy inthe Office of the Chief of Naval Opera-tions. Later, while chief of staff ofFMFLant, he was promoted to brigadiergeneral and assigned as CommandingGeneral, Force Troops, FMFLant in 1953.Gen Loomis retired the following year andwas advanced to major general by reasonof his combat decorations of the Legionof Merit and Bronze Star.

MajGen Frank D. VeirMajGen Frank D. Weir, USMC (Ret), a

Marine Corps aviator who first flew incombat during the Nicaraguan Campaignof 1927, died at the age of 87 on 17 Sep-tember 1989 in Santa Barbara, California.

Gen Weir was born in Brooklyn, NewYork, in January 1902, entered the NavalAcademy in 1919, and graduated in 1923.

17

He became a naval aviator in 1926. In1942, he was assigned as assistant opera-tions officer and later aviation officer inthe staff of Commander, AmphibiousForces, Pacific Fleet, which was laterredesignated as Third Amphibious Force.He participated in six operations in thePacific — Guadalcanal-Tulagi, Russell Is-

lands, New Georgia, Vella Lavella,Treasury-Bougainville, and Cape Torokina.

Prior to his retirement in 1953, GenWeir was Assistant Commanding Gener-al, Aircraft, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.Gen Weir was cremated and his ashesspread at sea on 8 October.

MajGen Wiiiam J. U'/halingMajGen William J. Whaling, USMC

(Ret), died at the age of 95 in Lyons, NewJersey, on 19 November 1989, and was bu-ried in Arlington Cemetery with full mili-tary honors 10 days later. Gen Whalingwas born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and en-listed in the Marine Corps in May 1917.He was commissioned in the field the fol-lowing year while serving with the 6thRegiment in France. During the interwarperiod, he served the usual post and sta-tion tours; did foreign duty in Haiti,Nicaragua, and China; and served at sea.Throughout his career, he was renownedas one of the top rifle and pistol shots ofthe Marine Corps and was widely knownfor his competitive marksmanship. Hefired "Distinguished" with both rifle andpistol, and was a member of the U.S. teamin the 1924 Olympics. In World War II,he served with the 1st Marine Division onGuadalcanal, where he initially trainedscouts and snipers in practical combatskills. Gen Gerald C. Thomas, in his oralhistory, said of this assignment that he"felt the need of a troubleshooter, and he[Whalingj was an ideal man for that.Rugged, fearless, [built] like a rock." In thedrive up the island coast, he commandedthe Whaling Group, consisting of the 3dBattalion, 2d Marines, and his scout-snipers. He commanded the 1st Marines

in the Cape Gloucester operation, and the29th Marines on Okinawa, where he wasawarded the Navy Cross for extraordinaryheroism. By the time of the Korean War,Whaling was a brigadier general and 1stMarDiv commander MajGen Gerald C.Thomas selected him to be his assistant di-vision commander. Of this period in theKorean War, Winter 1951-52, Gen Tho-

mas recalled that the fighting and weathertogether were difficult, but "There was onebright aspect to this—the hunting waswonderful and I had the greatest old hun-ter of all in Bill Whaling," who was ableto furnish the CG's mess with pheasantand waterfowl he shot. Upon his return tothe States in 1952, Gen Whaling was as-signed duties as Deputy Commander,

MCRD, San Diego. He retired in July 1954after 37 years of active service.

Mrs. Virginia D. ShepherdMrs. Virginia Driver Shepherd, 91, wife

of former Commandant of the MarineCorps Gen Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., for67 years, died at her home in La Jolla,California, on 29 November. 111 775L13

PBY-5A 'Catalina' Alarms Air Force on Pensacola-Cherry Point Hop(Continued from page 24)

T he basic design of the ConsolidatedPBY was created by Isaac M. Laddon

and the term "Catalina" originated withthe Royal Air Force. The name was adopt-ed by the U.S. Navy in 1941 with the firstdeliveries of the PBY-5A (the first am-phibious version with retractable tricyclelanding gear).

The patrol bomber flying boat had al-ready seen action with the RAF in Europeand the Atlantic in 1937 and 1938. It wasalso flown by Canada and Australia, andin the Dutch East Indies. The Navy hadordered 200 PBY-5s for the NeutralityPatrol in 1939. Delivery started in 1940.Russia was to fly a version of the PBY laterin the war.

0800 Local—Pilot to copilot. "Whereare we?" "How do I know? I'm trying tofly nose attitude and I can't see over thenose, only out the side." So it's airspeed,needle-and-ball, altitude (plus or minus200), engine instruments. "I think we justpassed over somewhere where my hand ison the map." Long stare from pilot! Darnthing is wallowing all over the sky, out of

trim, and making a student pilot look likethe ace of the base, compared to me. "Atleast the intercom works," as I shouted overthe roar of the engines.

C APT ROBERT L. RASMUSSEN, USN(Ret), Director of the National Muse-

um of Naval Aviation (NMNA), Pensaco-la, Florida, had graciously provided thePBY-5A to the aircraft collection of His-tory and Museums Division, and a crewto fly the aircraft, excluding a copilot/navi-gator. BGen Edwin H. Simmons, Direc-tor of Marine Corps History and Museums,approved the recommendation to placethe aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station,Cherry Point. BGen Clyde L. Vermilyea(now MajGen-select) had made CherryPoint a historic holding site in anticipa-tion of placing this historical aircraft in theproposed A. A. Cunningham Museum(Cherry Point's command aviation muse-um), which is scheduled to open in 1992.Col Brooke Nihart, Deputy Director forMuseums, allowed me to fly Bureau Num-ber 46456 as the copilot/navigator/radio

18

operator since I had flown many "cross-countries" in helicopters from MCAF NewRiver, North Carolina, to Pensacola.

The nucleus of the crew was LCdr Sear-cy, pilot and air operations officer forNaval Air Station, Pensacola; Mr. Hayslit,engineer and exhibit maintenancespecialist at NMNA; and Mr. Johnson,structural mechanic and museum shop su-pervisor for NMNA.

1045 Local — Passing northwest of MCASBeaufort, South Carolina, I had taken thecontrols for the pilot and was flying in theleft seat. Hayslit was in the right seat andwe were looking at the Atlantic coast forrecent damage from Hurricane Hugowhich had devastated Charleston, SouthCarolina. Still at 3,500 feet altitude (nowplus or minus 100 feet) and headed 035degrees magnetic, the 105-foot wingresponded to my newfound muscles—nowonder multi-engine pilots have large bi-ceps! How did the crews in World War IImanage their 2,000-mile, 18-hour flightsin this ponderous beast? Was that a pop?Did the aircraft slow? No, just an air pock-et and my imagination. Instruments nor-mal. Pop! I looked at Hayslit and he waslooking at me. That wasn't an air pocket!We saw the starboard engine RPM gaugedrop 200 RPM then return to normal. Itold Johnson to get the pilot. Searcy wasalready headed to the cockpit and the star-board engine was popping at 20 to 30 se-cond intervals.

IWENT BACK iD the radio/navigator's

position and switched to CharlestonAir Force Base tower frequency. Noresponse. Double-checked frequency andtried again. Still no response. Switch toground control. No joy! Try approach con-trol. Hit radio. Nothing. Back to tower fre-quency and transmit in the blind. Searcyasks for the nearest airport. I tell him

Cherry Point Command Aviation Museum

T HE MCAS CHERRY POINT command aviation museum, in the final stages ofplanning, is beginning to acquire exhibit aircraft provided by the Muse-

ums Branch. In consideration of the transfer of a 1918 Belgian Hanriot fighter,the Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, gave the Marine Corps one of its Con-solidated PBY-5A Catalina patrol bombers. Almost 800 were accepted original-ly by the Navy with more going to our allies. While a most significant aircraftto the Navy for its long-range patrolling, air-sea rescue, and night-torpedo at-tack capabilities, relatively few were used by the Marine Corps and mainly ina support role. The notable exception was a successful torpedo attack by MajJack R. Cram flying BGen Roy S. Geiger's personal transport against Japanesetransports, which earned Cram a Navy Cross and a verbal reprimand from Geiger.Twenty PBYs were flown by Marine pilots in World War II, generally to carrypersonnel to the islands and bases of the Pacific, but also as a rescue craft fordowned fighter pilots. Two such were aces CaptsJosephJ. Foss and Jefferson J.DeBlanc, both Medal of Honor recipients.—FBN

Charleston Air Force Base. "Where?" I getup and bang my head on the bulkhead"Straight ahead at 10 miles," although Icannot see over the nose. Back on the ra-tio, "Charleston Tower, Charleston Tow-

er, Mohawk 01 south of your positiondeclaring an emergency and requestingimmediate landing." No answer as I feelthe gear go down and the PBY start todescend. Johnson gets down from the ob-server's position under the wing and looksat all three landing gear and gives athumbs-up to Searcy, indicating the land-ing gear is locked in the down position.He returns to his seat. Hayslit, from thecopilot's seat, is monitoring the engine in-struments. The starboard engine is stillrunning rough. I have made three or moreradio calls in the blind.

F OR THE FIRST TIME, I hear a faint"cleared to land." Then the aircraft

booms and groans as the main geartouches down. The pilot (I found outlater) had a green light from the tower andthe tower had heard our transmissions.The crash crew had been waiting and hadchased us down the runway. Switching overto ground control frequency, I ask for taxiinstructions and a follow-me truck.

I can now hear ground control talkingto me. "Mohawk 01, do you want to go tothe civilian or military flight line?" "Mo-hawk 01 requests taxi to the military flightline." "Mohawk 01, what type of aircraftare you?" "Mohawk 01 is a PBY-5A."(Pause) "Mohawk 01, what service areyou?" "Mohawk 01 is a Navy/Marine Corpsaircraft." (Long pause) "Mohawk 01, whatcountry?" My answer of course "TheU.S.A.!"

I later realize that the white-and-grayCatalina has no markings. After convinc-ing the operations officer of the base wewere military and not drug runners, wefound that rough-running starboard en-gine was caused by water in the fuel. Ad-ditionally, we found out that I had usedthe wrong call sign in the excitement andthat the radio receiver was shorting out.

A FTER DRAINING about a gallon ofwater from the fuel system, adding

alcohol to make any excess water solublein the fuel, and acquiring a radio, Moss-back 01 filed another flight plan anddeparted for Cherry Point at 1500 local.

T HE AIRCRAFT we were flying was ac-cepted by the Navy on 22 January

1944. It was assigned to VPB-94, and on29 March 1946, transferred to Rio deJaneiro, Brazil. No records exist thereafter.Scuttlebutt states that it was used on theAmazon River for 20 years and then inPanama. In 1985, it was returned to theU.S., to NMNA at Pensacola. The aircraft'spaint was peeling but revealing very littlecorrosion. However, it had been modifiedto carry troops and had had the waist gunblisters removed.

The PBY aircraft, both seaplane andamphibian, were used by the Navy forscouting reconnaissance, bombing, utili-ty transport, anti-submarine patrol, andair search and rescue during World WarII. Many downed flyers were daringly res-cued by the flying boats.

1545 Local—Here we go again. The star-board engine starts acting up. This timewe are ready. I have been maintaining ra-dio contact with stations out of Charlestonand tell the pilot that Myrtle Beach AirForce Base is dead ahead. Searcy electsagain to execute an emergency landingand I give the calls to the tower (using thecorrect call sign). Johnson again checks thegear down and locked and returns to hisposition. Hayslir monitors the engines andincreases the propeller RPM for landing.This will be a piece of cake.

W RONG AGAIN! Touch down on themain gear went well, but when the

nose wheel contacted the runway there wasa loud bang and the aircraft started shak-ing violently. It Felt as if the nose wheelhad collapsed. Searcy immediately shutthe engines down and we coasted to ashuddering stop. The crash crew at Myr-tle Beach had been waiting and rapidlyapproached us from the rear; however,they had an addition — military police.

Myrtle Beach Air Force Base had anOperational Required Inspection (ORI)planned for the next day and they thoughtthat an unmarked aircraft might be an ear-ly start of the scenario (the reason for theMPs). The commanding officer met us atthe flight line after the aircraft was towedoff the runway. He offered us any as-sistance necessary and wished us well be-fore returning to his other duties.

Our shimmy dampener to the nosewheel had broken and fallen off on therunway, causing the shaking of the aircraft.At midnight, with the kind and profes-

19

sional assistance of base personnel, John-son and Hayslit had welded the shimmydampener back and fixed the main leadto the starboard engine magneto, thecause of our second rough-running-engineemergency

0800 Local—After waiting for the morn-ing fog and clouds to cl,ear, we were air-borne and winging our way to CherryPoint, placing ourselves over every airfieldfrom Myrtle Beach to Cherry Point. Radiocontact was excellent with all airfields. Wefinally followed the iron TACAN (railroad)into Cherry Point. The starboard enginehad only coughed a couple times.

T WENTY PBYs were used by the Ma-rine Corps in the Second World War.

Most were used by wing headquarters, ob-servation, and utility squadrons to carrypersonnel to the distant bases and islandsof the Pacific. Maj Jack R. Cram, BGenRoy S. Geiger's pilot and aide, employedthe general's PBY-5A to attack Japanesetransport ships that were bringing rein-forcements to Guadalcanal on 15 October1942. Maj Cram used the PBY, rigged withtwo torpedoes, to make a run on theJapanese transports and then was attackedby fiveJapanese Zeroes. He made it homeand landed at Henderson Field after hav-ing the last Zero shot down over Hender-son by a damaged VMF-121 fighter whichwas returning to homefield. Maj Cram waslater to become commanding officer ofVMB-612, and helped to develop proce-dures subsequently followed to attackJapanese shipping with Mitchell PBJs(B-25s) at night. Two renowned Marinefighter pilots were rescued during the warby PBYs, CaptsJosephJ. Foss (twice) andJeffersonJ. DeBlanc, both Medal of Honorrecipients and aces.

0915 Local—On 14 October 1989Bureau Number 46456 made its last land-ing at Marine Corps Air Station CherryPoint and taxied to the operations build-ing. It was an emotional event for me asI was allowed to assist in the landing ascopilot.

T HE A. A. CUNNINGHAM Air MuseumFoundation, sponsors of the Cherry

Point Museum, will restore the PBY-5A tothe original condition and colors of WorldWar II, to help tell more of the historyof those courageous Navy and MarineCorps flyers of the vast Pacific War.

LIII 775 LII

New Uniform Kits Brighten Pageants

T HIS PAST NOVEMBER'S series of Birth-

day balls saw the first use of the newhistoric uniform kits produced for the Ma-rine Corps by the New Columbia Com-pany of Charleston, Illinois. As previouslyreported in Fortitudine (Fall 1987 andSpring-Summer 1988), the revitalizationof this project started in 1985 at theprompting of then-Commandant GenPaul X. Kelly, when he found that themuseum could no longer continue theloan program with the reproductions onhand. The uniforms had suffered toomuch wear over the more than two decadesof use in historic pageants.

After a tortuous and frustrating two-year search for a qualified manufacturer,New Columbia was selected both to pro-duce the uniforms and to subcontract withother companies for those items that werenot normally made by the firm. Close liai-son was maintained between New Colum-bia and the Museum staff to ensure thehistorical accuracy of the garments and ac-couterments. Periodic inspections of the

New "old" uniforms made a Birthday Ballappearance worn by reservists of the 14thMarines at Dallas Nava/Air Station, Texas.

completed prototypes generated a streamof packages between Illinois and Quanticoas details of insignia and sturdiness werechecked.

When they arrived in Spring 1989, thecrated uniforms were moved into a spe-cial climatically controlled room that wasspecifically constructed for the storage ofreproduction uniforms by the exhibitsstaff at the Air-Ground Museum. In thesame room, racks were built to hold theserviceable remnants of old uniform kits,which are loaned both for classroom in-struction and displays. When the new kitsare loaned, the wooden crate containingall ten uniforms is shipped directly to theborrower.

T HIS YEAR, ASIDE FROM those used byHeadquarters, Marine Corps, and the

Basic School at Quantico, kits wereshipped to the 4th Marine Corps District(Philadelphia), the Navy-Marine Corps In-telligence Center (Dam Neck, Virginia),the 14th Marines (Dallas, Texas), the Ma-rine Aviation Training Support Group(Meridian, Mississippi), the Marine CorpsAdmin Detachment (Goodfellow AFB,Texas), and two Marine Corps ReserveTraining Centers (Wichita, Kansas andCincinnati, Ohio). Major commands suchas MCRD Parris Island and MCB CampPendleton have ordered their own kits,while a number of smaller commands arepurchasing the kits one uniform at a timeas funds become available.

Comments from the borrowers are gen-erally favorable. Several minor construc-tion problems have been identified andare being rectified by the manufacturer.

Garbed as Civil Uar Marine, a member ofthe Navy-Marine Corps Intelligence Com-mand, Dam Neck, Virginia, takes pose.

In addition, detailed instructions on thecleaning of the uniforms are being drawnup. One complaint is that too few accou-terments accompany each kit. This was aconsideration when the project was inau-gurated, and it was decided that fully ac-coutered kits would be too complex interms of both shipping and accountabili-ty. Borrowing units are encouraged to bor-row additional items from local sources,e.g., volunteer historical interpreters, bat-tle re-enactors, and private collectors. Indeed, the 1917 Marine does look betteiwith a gas mask, canteen, first aid pouch,bayonet and pack, in addition to the lonecartridge belt that comes with the kit.Another problem is that of weapons.Swords are provided with both the CivilWar and Spanish-American War kits, butcosts, federal regulations, and MarineCorps orders preclude the inclusion ofshoulder arms. Sources for realistic copiesof muskets, 1903 Springfields, MIs, andM14s are being investigated. It is possiblethat some of these reproduction weaponscan be procured through U.S. Army train-ing aids services. Th775L111

by Kenneth L. Smith-ChristmasCurator of Material Histoiy

The complete set ofperiod uniforms, from modern-era to Continental Marine, is modeled by Air- Ground Museum staff members.

Flight Lines

Curtiss F6C-4 'Hawk'by Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas

Curator of Material Histoiy

O N 17 SEPTEMBER 1989, curious on-lookers at the Marine Corps Com-

bat Development Command (MCCDC) atQuantico, Virginia, saw a rare sight rollinginto the museum's restoration facility atLarson Gym. On a trailer was the beautifulsilver fuselage and yellow wings of a disas-sembled Curtiss F6C-4 "Hawk."

Negotiations for the acquisition of thisaircraft began in April 1988, when Mr.William L. Hodson of the Worldwide AeroCompany of Moonpark, California, con-tacted the museum and offered to ex-

change the then-partially restored biplanefor a number of surplus stricken T-28 train-er aircraft and engines. After receiving ap-proval to conduct the trade from both theCommander, Naval Air Systems Commandand the Secretary of the Navy, the muse-um became party to a contract for the ex-change. Mr. Hodson had acquired thefuselage and engine in 1982 and locatedthe wings later.

The original fuselage (BuNo A-7412)had been stricken from the U.S. Navy atPensacola in 1927 after it had wrecked.

With the able assistance of the museum'sformer aviation curator, retired MGySgtWalter F. "Fritz" Gemeinhardt, the aircraftwas meticulously restored to the configu-ration of an F6C-4 belonging to MarineFighting Squadron VF-1OM, based in SanDiego, circa 1931. These aircraft were dif-ferent from the first four F6C-4s used byMarine Fighting Squadron VF-9M atQuantico in 1927. The San Diego versionhad the "speed ring" cowling and aspring spreader bar on the landing gear.VF-1OM (the "Red Devils") had eight ofthese aircraft from 1930 to 1932.

The F6C-4 was an updated version of theCu "Hawk" series fighter plane that waspurchased by both the Army and the Navyin the mid-1920s. Curtiss' two main com-petitors at this time were Boeing andVought, and it is not surprising that thefirst three models of the F6C closely re-semble a contemporary of theirs, the Boe-ing FB5. An example of this aircraft bor-rowed from the Smithsonian's Air andSpace Museum is on display in the "EarlyYears" hangar at the Air-Ground Museum.

However, the F6C-4 was a radical depar-ture in design in that it had an air-cooled410 h.p. Pratt and Whitney R-1340 "Wasp"radial engine mounted in place of the liq-uid-cooled 400 h.p. Curtiss D12 12-cylin-der engine. This transformed the sleek,pointed nose of the F6C-3 to the bluntnose of the more maneuverable F6C-4.Even so, this improved aircraft was alreadyobsolescent when introduced to the fleet.

San Diego received its first F6C-4s afterthey were replaced by Boeing F3Bs andF4Bs in the fleet. According to an officerwho flew them, the aircraft were receivedin poor condition and had to be completelyoverhauled. The F6C-4 had a short life inVF-1OM in the three years before beingreplaced by Boeing F4B fighters. One ofthese aircraft is also on display in the"Early Years" hangar.

The new F6C-4 was re-erected by Mr.Hodson, his assistant and the Museum'srestoration staff upon its arrival at Quan-tico, and is now in "open storage" at therestoration facility at Larson Gym. [11 775[IIJ

The 65-year-old Curtiss "Hawk" on display at the Air-Ground Museum has been re-storedto the configuration of an F6C-4 belonging to Marine Fighting Squadron VF-JOM.

Technical Data *

Manufacturer: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co., Inc., Buffalo, New York.

Type: Carrier-based fighter.Accommodation: Pilot only.

Power Plant: One 410 h.p. Pratt and Whitney R-1340.Dimensions: Span 37 ft., 6 in.; Length, 22 ft., 6 in.; Height, 10 ft., ii in.; wingarea, 225 sq. ft.Weights: Empty, 1,980 lbs.; gross, 3,171 lbs.

Performance: Max speed, 155 m.p.h. at sea level; Initial climb, 2-5 mm to 5,000

ft.; Service ceiling, 22,900 ft.; Range, 360 st/miles.

Armaments: Two fixed, forward-firing 0-30-in, machine guns.*From United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911 by Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers.

21

Part II of a Chronology, May 1954-May 1975

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

Assistant Head Reference Section

Fortitudine's Fall 1989 issue inaugurated a chronologicalseries on Marine Corps participation in America's longest

and most controversial conflict—the Vietnam War. Part I high-lighted the critical events of the period 1954-1964, officiallyreferred to as the 'advisory and combat assistance era." This se-cond installment focuses upon the year 1965, and the first large-scale deployment to Vietnam of Marine combat forces. A detailednarrative of this period appears in the History and Museums Di-vision volume, US. Marines in Vietnam: The landing and theBuildup, 1965, from which much of the following informationis excerpted.

8 Feb—Battery A, 1st Light Anti-Aircraft Missile Battalion ar-rived at Da Nang, and was operational the next day. More ele-ments of the battalion arrived three days later at Da Nang, andwere shortly operational.8 Mar—The 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, under the com-mand of BGen FrederickJ. Karch, began landing in the Bay ofDa Nang, the first American ground-combat forces to come toVietnam. The brigade's mission was to defend the Da NangAirbase.10 Apr—Battalion Landing Team 2/3 was airlifted to Da Nang.The first fixed-wing Marine squadron also arrived at Da Nangon this date—Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 531, which flewthe F-4B Phantom. The squadron flew its first combat missionon 13 April.13 Apr—Battalion Landing Team 3/4 arrived in Vietnam fromHawaii, and was located at Phu Bai.3 May—The advance party of the III Marine Expeditionary Forcecommanded by MajGen William R. Collins, arrived at Da Nang.Four days later, the 9th MEB was dissolved, and III MEF wasredesignated III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF). The head-

BGen Frederick]. Karch, Commanding General, 9th Marine E-peditionary Brigade, center confers in Da Nang in May 1965with MajGen Paulj Fontana, left, and MayGen William R. Col-lins, commanding general of the III Marine Expeditionary Force.

22

Troops of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, first US. groundcombat forces in Vietnam, land at Da Nang on 8 March 1965.Th announced mission was to defend the Da Nang Airbase.

quarters of the 3d Marine Division, also commanded by MajGenCollins, was established. Marines of the 3d MEB deployed to ChuLai, 55 miles south of Da Nang.11 May—The advance headquarters of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing(1st MAW), commanded by MajGen PaulJ. Fontana, was estab-lished at Da Nang.ijun—Marine attack aircraft from VMA-225 and VMA-311 flewtheir first combat missions in Vietnam from the recently com-pleted expeditionary airfield at Chu Lai.4 Jun — MajGen Lewis W. Walt assumed command of III MAFand the 3d Marine Division, relieving MajGen Collins.5 Jun—BGen Keith B. McCutcheon relieved MajGen Fontanaas CG, 1st MAW.ijul —The Seventh Fleet's Special Landing Force, BLT 3/7, alongwith HMM-163, landed at Qui Nhon to protect the arrival ofthe Army's 1st Air Cavalry Division.6Ju1 — Regimental Landing Team 9 (RLT-9) arrived at Da Nang.15 Aug—The headquarters of RLT-7 arrived at Chu Lai. By latesummer, four Marine infantry regiments, the 3d, 4th, 7th, and9th, were in Vietnam.18 Aug — Operation Starlite, designed to thwart an anticipatedViet Cong attack on the Chu Lai airfield, was launched in thefirst regimental-size battle fought by U.S. forces since the KoreanWar. The 7th Marines, with other supporting Marine units, at-tacked the 1st Viet Cong Regiment in a combined amphibious-heliborne search-and-destroy operation. Mopping-up operationswere completed by 24 October. Intelligence estimates placed tnumber of enemy dead at nearly 1,000.7 Sep—Operation Piranha, another regimental-sizedamphibious-heliborne attack, was launched to destroy a concen-

Marines of Cocnpany G, 2dBattalion, 9th Marines, attached to2dBattalion, 7th Marines, come under fire on 12 December 1965while taking part in Operation Harvest Moon. Conducted

tration of enemy forces on the Batangan Peninsula. More than160 Viet Cong were killed in the operation, which was conclud-ed three days later.8 Sep—Operation Golden Fleece began. It was designed to pre-vent as much rice as possible from falling into enemy hands dur-ing the summer/fall 1965 rice harvest.8 Oct —Viet Cong sappers struck Marine air facilities at MarbleMountain and Chu Lai, and succeeded in destroying or damag-ing a number of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Most of theattackers were killed.18 Oct—Operation Trail Blazer started, consisting of deep patrolsover a six-day period conducted by the 3d Reconnaissance Bat-talion to determine enemy strengths and intentions towards theDa Nang area.10 Nov— Operation Blue Marlin was launched and resulted in thefirst combined landing of U.S. and Vietnamese Marines. Thecombined forces executed a successful search-and-destroy oper-ation midway between Da Nang and Chu Lai. The operationconcluded 12 November. Resistance was light, and casualties werefew.

16 Nov—Operation Blue Marlin (Phase II) began, similar in con-cept to Phase I. A combined U.S. Marine Corps and RVN Rangerforce conducted a search-and-destroy operation over a two-dayperiod north to the Song Cua Dai.17 Nov—Air elements from III MAF were used to lift 788 ARVNtroops to the relief of a besieged ARVN garrison at Hiep Duc,about 25 miles west of Tam Ky. The Viet Cong assault on HiepDuc was defeated, but the ARVN commander later ordered thetown abandoned, as he had too few regular troops to occupy thearea.30 Nov—In Operation Dagger Thrust IV, BLT 2/1 and HMM-261

23

appro-imately 25 miles northwest of Chu 1az the 12-day oper-ation included the first B-52 airstrikes in direct support of Ma-rines in the field Enemy losses were reported to be heavy.

executed an amphibious raid at Lang Ke Ga, about 70 miles eastof Saigon. Enemy contact was negligible.8 Dec — Operation Harvest Moon was conducted approximately25 miles northwest of Chu Lai. Marine aircraft supported Ma-rines and ARVN troops in a 12-day operation. Enemy losses wereheavy. The first B-52 airstrikes in direct support of a Marine Corpsoperation conducted during Operation Harvest Moon.31 Dec—As of this date, U.S. military strength in Vietnam stoodat 181,000. U.S. Marine Corps strength in Vietnam (III MAF)was just over 39,000. Marine casualties thus far totaled approxi-mately 3,000. Eli 775L11

Among the array of Marines and weapons deployed around theDa Nang Airbase in March 1965 was this Hawk missile emplace-ment. By December there were 39,000 Marines in Vietnam.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVYHEADQUARTERS U.S. MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20380

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

24

BULK RATE

POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

USMC

PERMIT NO. G-63

Acquisitions

WWII 'Catalina' Delivered Safely to Cherry Pointby LtCol William A. Beebe H

Assistant Deputy Director for Museums

O 700 LOCAL—The noise ofthe engines multiplied

as power was increased to 31" manifoldair pressure (MAP). The brakes werereleased and the aircraft started its roll.At about 15 knots indicated airspeed,MAP was increased to 41" as the Pratt& Whitney 1830-92s responded withmore of a roar; at 60, 65 knots thenosewbeel broke the ground and the air-craft increased in airspeed to 75 knots;the main wheels were free of the run-way and the aircraft's speed increased to80 knots. The gear was raised and Mr.William Johnson, structural mechanic,checked the landing gear up and locked.

The morning dusk had given way tothe day which revealed high clouds andwisps of light ground fog. When thegear was raised, throttles were backed to31" MAP and propeller adjusted to 2400RPM. Departure control directed a leftturnout to heading 090 degrees. The air-craft continued climbing at 80 knots andfive minutes later LCdr William Searcyleveled off at 3,500 feet. Mr. Lloyd Hays-lit then throttled back and reset theprops to 2100 RPM. The engines were

Its eventful fizht from Pensacola completed the PBY5A piloted through some har-rowing moments by ILdr W/illiam Searcy, USN, is safely at home at MCAS Cher-ry point. Gun blisters, replaced by cargo doors, will be reinstalled upon restoration.

running smoothly in unison as LCdrSearcy trimmed under the dash of thepilot's cockpit, then overhead.

"Pensacola Departure, Mossback 01clear to the east." "Roger Mossback 01,frequency change approved, have a niceflight." We turned to 060 degrees andheaded toward Cherry Point, NorthCarolina. Surprisingly, our airspeed hadincreased to 140 knots. We had expect-ed only 100 to 110 knots airspeed, butwithout the gun blisters on the aircraft,

the drag was reduced. I exchanged myradio/navigator's spot with Hayslit, andSearcy turned the controls over to me.Even at 140 knots, the aircraft respond-ed like a wallowing whale—visibilityfrom the cockpit was minimal and all ofthe switches were written in Portugese.Still the thrill of flying a Catalina fromWorld War II, navigating and thinkingabout the Navy and Marine aviators whoflew this aircraft, absorbed the nextthree hours.

(Continued on page 18)