FORTITUDINEFWSLETTER OF THE MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PROGRAM

VOLUME VII WINTER 1977 -78 NUMBER 3

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

PCN 10401220100

MUSEUMS

DIVISIONDIRECTOR

BGen Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret)

HISTORICAL BRANCHCol John E. Greenwood. USMC

Deputy Director for History

Mr. Henry I. Shaw, Jr.Chief Historian

Histories Section: LtCol Lane Rogers, USMC; MajGary W. Parker, USMC; Maj David N. Buckner,USMC; Mr. Jack Shulimson; Mr. Charles R. Smith;Dr. Graham A. Cosmas; Dr. Russell J. Parkinson.

Reference Section: Miss Gabrielle M. Neufeld; Dr.Martin H. Gordon; Mr. Danny J. Crawford.

Oral History Section: Mr. Benis M. Frank.

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

Mr. Jack HilliardChief Curator

Maj Charles H. Waterhouse, USMCRArtist-in-Residence

Personal Papers: Mr. Charles A. Wood. MilitaryMusic: Capt Judson E. Bennett, Jr., USMCR. MarineBarracks, Special Projects: Mr. Richard A. Long. Art:Mr. Jack B. Dyer. Exhibits: Mr. Carl M. DeVere.Registrar: Mr. Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas.

Museums Activities, QuanticoCol Thomas M. DAndrea, USMCR

Officer-in-Charge

Ordnance and Technology: Mr. Leo S. Champion.Aviation: Mr. Joseph E. Payton.

SUPPORT BRANCHLtCoI Russell B. Tiffany, USMCHead/Division Executive Officer

Administrative: CWO Robert M. Skidmore. USMC.Archives: Mrs. Joyce E. Bonnett. Library: Miss EvelynA. Englander. Still Photo Archives: MSgt Roy V.Ashley, USMC. Motion Picture and TelevisionArchives: Miss Doris 0. Gordon.Publication Production: Mr. Douglas Johnston.Illuslralor: SSgt Jerry L. Jakes, USMC. Typesetting:PFC Paul W. Gibson, USMC; Miss Catherine A. Stoll.

Editor, FortitudineMaj David N. Buckner

HISTORY AND

FORTITUDINE,%louo of the United States Marine ('orps in the /8/2 era.

Volume VII WINTER 1977-78 No. 3

This quarterly newsletter of the Marine Corps historicalprogram is published for the Corps and for friends of Marine Corpshistory by the History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S.Marine Corps (Code HD), Washington, D.C. 20380 in accordancewith Department of the Navy Publications and PrintingRegulations NAVEXOS P-35. Individuals and institutionsdesiring Fortitudine on a complimentary regular basis are invitedto apply to: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S.Marine Corps (Code HDS-1), Washington, D.C. 20380.Telephone: (202) 433-3838, 433-3840, 433-3841.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Director's Page 3

Readers Always Write 4

Automatic Weapons Collection 6

Marines in the Movies 10

''11 Words Were Bullets and

Phrases Were Soldiers'' 12

Oral History Report 15

Baka Bomb Restored 16

In Memoriam 18

Military Music Notes 21

Do You Know This Officer? 21

People and Places 22

Wanted 24

THE COVER

The cover drawing is the work of SSgI Jerry fakes, USMC,Illustrator, Publication Production Section. The w&zpons depictedare. Model 1871 Navy Gatling (1), Model 1917A1 water-cooled.30 caliber heavy Browning (2,5), hand-made first model Maxim(3,4), 1895 Colt-Browning on a landing carriage (6,7).

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Director'sPage

The other day we received a copy of RegimentalRegulations as published by the 4th Marines inShanghai on 27 March 1939. The donor was RAdmKemp Tolley, USN (Ret), an old China hand andauthor of Yangtze Patrol (Annapolis: Naval InstitutePress, 1971). In 1939 as a Navy lieutenant he wasattached to the 4th Marines as a Russian languagestudent ''with verbal orders to report in every threemonths and tell them where I'd been and what I'dseen; leave gun & camera in Shanghai."

The commanding officer of the 4th Marines at thetime and promulgator of the Regulations was ColJoseph C. Fegan, father of LtGen Joseph C. Fegan,Jr. presently commanding general at Quantico.

The index to the 26-page printed pamphlet rangesfrom ''Absentee'' to ''Walla Walla'' with suchinteresting entries in between as "Band andOrchestra'' (neither band nor orchestra nor in-dividual member was to play at any public or socialfunction without prior approval of the regimentalcommander, but occasional concerts would be givenat the Race Course and at clubs frequented bymembers of the American community), "ChineseEmployed in Billets'' (to be vaccinated against smallpox and cholera and inspected at least monthly forvenereal disease), and ''Dances'' (not to be held atthe Fourth Marines Dub without prior approval ofthe regimental commander and not permitted forcompanies or smaller units).

Barbers, tailors, and cobblers were authorized inabundance. There were barber shops in the FourthMarines Club, the Seymour Road Branch of theClub, and in six billets including the RegimentalHospital. There were tailor shops in four billets andcobbler shops in two billets (with provision foritinerant cobblers to service other billets). All billettailors, barbers, and cobblers were to pay to theFourth Marines Club a flat sum, agreed by verbal

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BGen Simmons

contract and approved by the regimental com-mander.

"The possession in billets and/or carrying ofblackjacks, sheath knives, knives having a blade overthree inches in length, sword canes, sword sticks,brass knuckles, pistols, and revolvers not authorizedfor military purposes'' required the written per-mission of the company commander.

Under "Joy Riding," no member of the regiment''shall wrongfully and willfully take, drive, operate,or use the automobile, motor-cycle, bicycle, ricksha,or other vehicle" without permission of the owner orlawful custodian.

If a man wore a uniform overcoat on liberty thefact was to be duly noted on the liberty list. If hereturned from liberty without the overcoat thecorporal of the guard was to report him to the officerof the day who was to investigate and take ap-propriate action.

The most tedious regulations concerned''Marriages.'' They occupy almost three pages,quote liberally from Asiatic Fleet Regulations, andare filled with requirements for proofs of citizenship,documentary evidence of race, and so on. An enlistedman contemplating marriage first had to report thefact to the Regimental Headquarters. That causedthe regimental law officer to start an investigation.After all documentation was satisfactorily gathered itwent forward to Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet,for approval and before it came back, authorized, itwas more than likely that the would-be bridegroomwould find himself departing Shanghai in a draftheaded for a less concupiscent station. Those familiarwith Col John W. Thomason's stories of China dutywill remember his poignant "Iove Story of a

Marine," purportedly based on a true incident of aShanghai Marine who wanted to marry a WhiteRussian and had to contend with the regulations.

The story is to be found in Marines and Others (NewYork: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1929) and in FixBayonets! (Washington, D.C.: Marine CorpsAssociation, 1973).

Walla Walla, of course, was the weekly newsmagazine published by the 4th Marines. We have anear-complete run of Wa/la Wallas in the HistoricalCenter Library.

The North China Marine, published monthly bythe Marine Detachments at Peiping and Tientsin,was the equivalent of Walla Walla. At about thesame time that RAdm Tolley sent us the 4thMarines' Regimental Regulations, LtCol HaroldGranger, USMC (Ret) wrote us:

"Recently, while searching through a collection ofseemingly useless papers for some thirty year old taxreceipts, I found a copy of the December 1941 issue of theNorth China Marine. It is my recollection that, duringthe year 1946, several bundles of that issue were found inattic storage in the U.S. Embassy Compound in Peiping.At that time it was supposed that distribution had beenprevented by a certain regrettable event. Now, theMarine Corps Historical Section may have bales of thesethings but, on the other hand, they may be rather scarce.If my copy would be of any use or interest please say theword and I will attempt delivery via the Postal Service.

We checked our run of the North China Marines,found we did not have the December 1941 issue, andsaid the word. The subject issue arrived safely. Onthe masthead, lstLt (now Col, USMC, Ret) GeorgeR. Newton appears as editor-in-chief and Cpl (nowCapt, USMC, Ret) Harold I. Retske appear as editor.

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Opposite the masthead is a ''Farewell Editorial.''Because of the deteriorating situation in the Far East,the Marine Detachments had been alerted to moveout.

In writing his farewell editorial, the editor wasmore prescient than he could have known; he waswriting an epitaph for an era. Here it is, with only thesmallest of deletions:

WelP Friends, the time has arrived that we must say''farewell" to old Peking. The times we have said ''HowI wish I were back in old Megwa'', but now that the timearrives for our return, down deep inside their is a slighttugging which tends to decide otherwise. Leaving thisparadise of the Orient, its bright lights, its wine, women,and song, brings tears to those weather-beaten eyes ofours, but then think of the rickshaws we won't have tododge, the old (&$ "?)dust storms we won't have to eat,the fragrant odors of the Honey Carts we won't have tosmell as is whiffed when roaming about the Hutungs, andthe forever-lasting ''CUM-SHAW MOLINE

So you guys, looks like this is it, ''The End", the endof many beautiful friendships, gained by sports or bar-room brawls, so lets say Good-Bye to old Peking.

The 4th Marines had already departed for thePhilippines (and soon, Bataan and Corregidor). TheSS President Harrison was on its way back fromManila headed for Chinwangt. She was to arrive on9 December and the North China Marines were toleave the following day. Because of the InternationalDateline, Sunday 7 December, the day of PearlHarbor, was Monday, 8 December in China. Beforethe day was out the Peiping and Tientsin MarineDetachments had surrendered to the Japanese.

Readers Always WriteDear Editor:

Fortitudine is an excellent periodical whichperforms an outstanding service for all with a seriousinterest in Marine Corps history. Having said that, Iam prompted, as are many of your careful readers, tocomment on a recent item.

The Fall 1977 edition carries a captioned photo of atank, described as an M4A3, at the headquarters of1st Tank Battalion. Accurate as far as it goes, butthis seems to be a singular vehicle. It has the ''E8''horizontal volute suspension, 75mm main armamentand the angular turret characteristic of the 76mmgun M4. To the best of my knowledge, the onlyM4A3E8's in Marine Corps use were armed with the105mm howitzer; the only 76mm M4's I can recallwere a couple of mine clearance flail tanks on loan

from the army to 1st Tk Bn in Korea. The machinein question would appear to be a one of a kind hybridmade up of components for display although perhapsanother careful reader could cast light on its an-cestry.

In addition, the statement that the M4 was mainarmament of the tank battalions until just before theKorean War is not precisely accurate. The tankbattalion and regimental antitank companies of the3rd MarDiv were equipped with two different modelsof the M4 until shortly before the deployment toJapan in mid-1953. Col Nihart, as a Fourth Marinesbattalion commander at the time, may recall thefabulous antiques of the AT Companies' tankplatoons. One assumes that they would never havebeen committed to combat at that late date, but they

were good training vehicles. As a matter of fact, theonly non-M4 tank unit until the advent of the M47 inlate 1952 was 1st Tk Bn in Korea with its M26's andlater M46 's and of course the 1st MarDiv AT Co's.

I'm sure your patience is tried by your legion ofsecond guessers but I think that you should take ameasure of comfort in that they reflect the carefulattention with which you are read. Keep up the goodwork.

Semper FidelisRobert P. Chaney

LtCol USMC (Ret)In attempting to identify the "mark and mod' of

the 1st Tank Battalion 's relic we were as t,uzzled asLtCol Cheney, finding the gun too short for a 76mmand too small in diameter for the 105mm A plausiblehypothesis is that it is an E8 with the 76mm replacedby a 75mm or a dummy 75mm. Rather than cite allthe possibilities in a short caption we stopped a!calling it an M4A3. Perhaps the 1st Tank Battalioncan provide furt her information on the origins of thisseemingly non-standard Sherman. When we said theM4s armed Marine tank battalions until the KoreanWar, we plead guilty to generalizing from the 1stMarine Division 's case as it took M26s to Korea.The 2d and 3d retained the plentiful M4s a couple ofyears longer. Ed.

Dear Sir,I sure enjoy your newsletter, about what is being

done to give us vet Marines the history of the past.Several months ago I received a history by CaptFuller and Dr. Cosmas of the past action in SantoDomingo. I was there, served with 184th Co, 15thRegiment. It was a very good account of what wenton there, at and around Hato Mayor. We had the 33dand 44th serving from our outpost most of the time.Some action went on there from January to Octoberwhen I left for home, that was never recorded. I

received a copy but I let it get away from me, as someof my 2d [Marine] Division buddies wanted to read it• . . I think what you are doing for the history of theCorps is really important. Keep up the good work.Next time our 2d Division has a reunion nearWashington I'll visit the museum. Last time I wasthere all five Marine Divisions had a reunion there.That's the last time I saw Chesty Puiler (what aMarine.)

Sincerely,Gilbert C. Donley

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Dear Sir,It was with interest that I read in the Summer 1977

Fortitudine about Capt SM. Fuller's monograph onthe Marines in Haiti, as my grandfather had servedthere. My grandfather. lSgt Charles Frank Melson,USMC, (serial number 164328,) a native Texan,joined the Marines in June 1917. From 1919 until1928 he served as a Lt in the Garde d'Haiti. He wasstationed at Port-au-Prince, Petit-Goave, andJacmel. Enclosed are photographs taken during thisperiod, primarily at Jacmel. Most are annotated byhim or my grandmother, Pauline Melson, who, withmy father, William Melson, were also in Haiti.

After my grandfather left Haiti, he served atCharleston, S.C., Norklk, Va., Great Lakes, ill., onboard the USS Texas, at San Diego, Calif., and onboard the USS Pennsylvania. He died on active dutyon board the USS Relief on 20 March 1935.

I am sending these photographs in hopes they willby of use in the monograph and show some of theroutine aspects of service in Haiti. I want these printsback, but you are free to make copies of them. Theonly stipulation I make on their use is that they becredited to my grandfather.

SincerelyC.D. MelsonCapt USMC

Approximately six of lstSgt Me/son 's photographswill be used to illustrate the forthcoming monographof Marines in Haiti. Ed.

Marine Gunnery Sergeant Faustin E. Wirkus,Gendarmerie 1st Lieutenant and Sub-DistrictCommander of La Gonave, 1925-1 929, was crowned''King'' by the inhabitants because he had protectedthem from oppression and had the same first name asapopular early 19th Century local ruler. [Photofromthe collection of 1st Sgt Charles F. Me/son, USMC,courtesy of Capt Charles D. Melson, USMC]

Automatic Weapons CollectionDuring the past year, the Marine Corps Museum

has acquired several significant additions to itsautomatic weapons collection. These acquisitionshave been possible only through the tireless efforts ofmany people who are interested in filling some of thegaps in the collection.

Two days before the Historical Center officiallyopened on 12 May 1977, a Model 1895 Mark 1 Colt-Browning 6mm machine gun was installed in theSpanish-American War display case. This weaponhad just arrived from the Coast Guard Academy inNew London, Connecticut where CWO Gerald W.Schmer and Gunner's Mate Michial S. Jewett hadfound it in their armory. Realizing the historicalimportance of this piece, they contacted the museumto apprise the staff of its existence and to offer totransfer it. The significance of the weapon proved tobe twofold in that, besides being the earliest one of itstype in the collection, it also had not been altered aswere most in the early 1900s. The gun is stillchambered for the 6mm Navy cartridge instead ofbeing rechambered for the later .30 caliber Army orU.S. (1906) cartridges. This is the only fully originalModel 1895 known to exist today.

The Coast Guard offered another fine weapon tothe museum several months later. CWO R.C. Carr atthe Coast Guard Training Center at Cape May, NewJersey turned over a Model 1904 Colt-Maxim .30caliber machine gun he had received from the localpolice department which had found it in a barn. Thisweapon, now on permanent exhibit in the HistoricalCenter, was the first machine gun formally adoptedby the U.S. Army. It is not known how many ofthese guns are still in existence, but only 282 were onhand at the beginning of World War I.

Two weeks after this handsome, brass-mountedpiece was installed in the center, SgtMaj Robert N.Pemberton, USMCR, delivered two Model 1906Colt-Marlin .30 caliber machine guns. He hadlocated the weapons in the armory of the NassauCounty, New York, police department in the late196C. Through the efforts of SgtMaj Pemberton, theChief of Police, and the County Commissioner, theweapons were given to the museum and are now inthe research collection at Quantico. Since the MarlinCompany re-designed the old Colt-Browning systemwhen it made aircraft and tank machine guns in

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Sgt Ma] Robert N. Pemberton, USMCR examinesone of the two Marlin machine guns he was in-strumental in having transferred to the Marine CorpsMuseum.

World War I, it was assumed that the weapons wereto be of the Marlin type. Instead, they are of the 1895Browning design and thus fill an important place inthe evolution of the automatic weapon. One monthafter the guns arrived, the U.S. Army Center forMilitary History located original tripods in an oldgovernment warehouse at Indiantown Gap, Penn-sylvania and is in the process of sending them to themuseum.

Finally, in December, Camp Pendleton accepted aconfiscated Model 1917 .30 caliber Browning heavymachine gun from the local police department. Thisweapon is complete with tripod, water can, hoses,

Single-barrelled Ager Union gun seems overwhelmed by the 25-barrel Billinghurst-Re qua battery to its right.

belts, belt loader, tool kit, and ammunition boxes. Itwas made in 1918 by the New England WestinghouseCompany, the smallest of the three wartimemanufacturers of the Browning, and bears serialnumber 10. This will be an important addition to thecollection as it is one of the first of its type. GySgt G."Dub" Allen, Jr. at Camp Pendleton has beeninstrumental in researching the gun and arrangingfor its transfer to the museum sometime this spring.

The Marine Corps Museum 's automatic weaponscollection consists of more than 400 weaponsspanning the years 1861 to present. In the collectionare diverse sub-collections of specific weaponssystems, such as Maxim, Hotchkiss, and Lewis,which contain many examples of variations of eachtype. Part of this collection is on display at theMarine Corps Historical Center, while the majorityof it is available for research in a special studycollection or in the reserve collection, both of whichare at Quantico.

LtCol George M. Chinn began the collection in theearly 1950s in connection with writing hismonumental, multi-volume series The MachineGun for the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance. Col JohnH. Magruder Ill, as director of the Marine CorpsMuseum, continued acquiring weapons and by 1960the museum possessed one of the most definitivecollections in the United States. Nearly one-fifth ofthe old Quantico Marine Corps Museum wasdevoted to a superb machine gun display.

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When the Quantico museum closed in 1976, partof the display was transferred to the researchcollection, with the balance being exhibited in thenew Historical Center. At present, plans are underway to exhibit the major portion of the Quanticodisplay plus weapons from the reserve collection inthe Aviation Museum scheduled to open in May1978.

The weapons which are on exhibit in theHistorical Center are the most significant in thecollection, with the majority pre-dating World WarI. This display covers most of the northern quarter ofthe museum floor, on which the weapons arearranged in a loose sequence of technologicaldevelopment.

The first piece on exhibit is a Billinghurst-Requabattery of Civil War vintage. This 25-barrelledweapon is on a wheeled carriage and used earlymetallic cartridges to fire a simultaneous volley froma single percussion cap. Although it had a rate of fireof 175 shots per minute and seems eminently suitedfor covering streets and bridges, it saw limited useduring the war. Adjacent to this piece is the betterknown Ager Union gun. Nicknamed the "coffeemill," this .58 caliber gun used a gravity feed hopperto drop steel cartridges into the receiver. A hand-operated crank was then turned to fire the cartridgesthrough a single barrel to which an upright bulletproof shield is attached.

Next in line is a grouping of Gatling-like guns. In

the corner is a Model 1871 Navy Gatling gun in.45Government caliber mounted on a naval landingcarriage. Dr. Gatling's competitors are arrangednear this weapon in a display of the various attemptsto improve on or circumvent the famed dentist'soriginal 1862 design. Among those is a five-barrelledNordenfelt which was widely used by Europeanarmies and navies in the late 19th century. Thisweapon operated much like the Billinghurst-Requabattery in that all five barrels fired simultaneouslywith a single movement of the side lever. The single-barrelled Gardner gun on display is the .45 caliberNavy model with a solid brass receiver. This crank-operated weapon stands next to a Lowell gun.Although named for the city in which is wasmanufactured, the Lowell was invented by DeWittainton Farrington in 1875 and, at first glance, looksdeceptively like a Gatling gun. Unlike the Gatlingprinciple of continually rotating barrels, however,the operator of the Lowell rotates the co-axial barrelsonly when the one in use heats from continuousfiring. The aluminum-cased and water-cooled Acciesrounds out the mechanical machine gun display. Theweapon, designed by James G. Accles, a longtimeassociate of Dr. Gatling's, was the zenith of themechanical systems before recoil- and gas-operatedweapons came into general use.

Recoil- and gas-operated weapons evolved from thefirst experiments of two men; Sir Hiram Maxim, anAmerican knighted by a grateful British Empire, andJohn Moses Browning, the prolific firearms geniusfrom Utah. In order to show the "granddaddies" ofthese famous systems, one of Maxim's hand-madefirst model guns is displayed next to an 1895 Colt-Browning, the Marine Corps' first automaticmachine gun. The Maxim, featured in full detail onthe cover, is a handsome piece of machinery with itsbrass water jacket and mountings. Equally im-pressive is the Colt-Browning on its wheeledcarriage, reminiscent of those used by the Marines inthe Spanish-American War and the Boxer Rebellion.The direct decendants of these weapons are exhibitednearby: the famous M1917A1 water-cooled .30caliber heavy Browning and the German Masch-inengewehr Modelle '08 on its peculiar sled-typemount. The Browning, first manufactured in 1918,was a mainstay of the Marine Corps through theKorean Conflict and until recently its air-cooledversion was still mounted in the LVTP-5 amphibiantractor and M48A3 tank.

Although the MG '08 was in production only

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Model 1871 Navy Gatling, right rear, is displayedwith five-barrelled Nordenfeld, .45 caliber Navymodel Gardner, Lowell gun , and, in the fore ground,an aluminum-cased Accles gun.

through 1918, its effectivness during World War Iwas greatly admired by those who served it andrespected by those who faced it. This was the"spitting Maxim" of John Thomason's FixBayonets!. The particular gun on display wascaptured by the 5th Marines at Blanc Mont Ridgeand sits beneath a large oil painting by Tom Lovelldepicting the 4th Marine Brigade cleaning out MG'08 positions at Belleau Wood.

Many other automatic weapons of various typesare displayed throughout the museum. Beginningwith the Spanish-American War display, almostevery subsequent case contains one or moreexamples. The next-to-last case features a weaponstrikingly reminiscent of the Gatling. This is a

prototype model of the 7.62mm minigun, a six-barrelled, 6,000-round -a-minute, motor-driven"Gatling" which is found on the Corps' AH-1J"Cobra" gunships and OV-1OA aircraft.

In order to expand and complete the collection, themuseum has an active program led by the Deputy

From left, M1917A1 Browning, M1914 French Hotchkiss, M1904 Colt-Maxim, handmadefirst model Maxim,arid Ml 895 Browning.

Germen Maschinengewebr Modelle '08 sits infront of painting by Tom Lovell which shows "DevilDogs" clearing out nest of similar weapons atBelleau Wood.

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Director for Museums and the Curator of Ordnanceto locate and acquire automatic weapons. At present,the museum is in need of at least 25 M2 .50 caliberaircraft machine guns to arm our aircraft at theAviation Museum in Quantico which will open inlate spring of 1978. For those retired Marines, I&Istaffs, and recruiters who may want to have theirpolice chief acquaintances keep an eye out for moreexotic and challenging fare, consider the following:commercial Colt heavy Browning machineguns withdouble spade grips vice the usual pistol grips; Coltexport BARS called Colt Automatic Rifles whichfeature quick change barrels and pistol grips;lightweight versions of the BAR called Colt''Monitors;" and experimental U.S. semiautomaticrifles from the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, marked with''T" instead of ''M'' and anumber.

Mr. Lawrence H. Suid, recent Research GrantFund recipient, has just finished the most completeinventory to date of Marines in the movies.

Over the years, the Marine Corps has served as amodel for the other armed services in the manner inwhich it publicizes itself to the American people.Using speakers, billboards, newspaper and magazineadvertisements, radio and television, and bothdocumentary and dramatic movies, the MarineCorps has regularly reached young men with itsmessage that the Marines are the first to fight and thefirst to uphold the honor of the nation.

Of these avenues of communication, Hollywoodfeature films perhaps have been the most successfulrecruiting tool. It was Mr. Suid's study of themilitary image as portrayed in war films that brought

him to the History and Museums Division. Whilediscussing his book in progress, Guts and Glory. TheGreat American War Movies, with referencehistorian Dr. Martin K. Gordon, it was suggestedthat he propose a motion picture research project tothe division which would benefit the Marine CorpsHistorical Program as well as further his book.

Ultimately, Mr. Suid proposed to compile a list oftitles of all films in which the Marines have appeared,both documentary and commercial, to aid futureMarine historians in viewing Marine activities inhistorical perspective. The research grant he receivedcovered work for three months and enabled him toaccomplish several tangible results.

He first collected almost 900 titles of documen-taries and training films in which the Marines have

Rest aging the Mt Suribachi flag-raising at Camp Pendleton during the filming of Sands of Iwo Jima. SculptorFelix W. De Weldon, who later created the huge bronze Marine Memorial at Arlinon,provides assistance.

Marines in the Movies

Raymond McKee and Marguerite Courtot in Theporation, November 1917.

appeared. Some of the historical movies date fromWorld War I and show Marines in action in France.Others are more recent, detailing the variousmissions the Marines had in Vietnam. While a largepercentage of the footage portrays the Marines incombat, many of the movies show the Marines inpeacetime activities such as serving as embassyguards. Except for the purely historical films, themovies constitute a body of information for thegeneral public, showing the Marines performingtheir duties. As such, the pictures also served asrecruiting aids.

The training films show Marines preparing forcombat, using equipment, and educating men in alltypes of activities from the mundane—handlingmoney, repairing engines—to the sophisticated—flying a Harrier jet. These films are of primary in-terest to Marine historians in researching thedevelopment of procedures and techniques.

The commercial films, approximately 100 innumber, constitute the dramatic Hollywood moviesin which the Marines have appeared beginning withStar Spangled Banner and The Unbeliever duringWorld War I and continuing through Sands of IwoJima, Battle Cry, and Beach Red. In all these, theMarines have appeared as dedicated fighting men,the first to fight for their country. Sands of Iwo Jimawith John Wayne's portrayal of the "typical"Marine sergeant remains perhaps the most famouswar film to most Americans and Wayne's SergeantStryker became the ideal fighting man. Ironically,Mr. Suid's research reveals many Marines believeBattle Cry is a more accurate representation of theiroverall experiences in the Corps. On occasion,Marines have assumed other guises on the screen. InThe Longest Day, for example, the "soldiers'' inlanding craft off Omaha Beach with the fleet in thebackground are Marines taking part in regularlyscheduled Sixth Fleet maneuvers in the

Unbeliever, shot at Quantico by the Thomas Edison Cor-

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Mediterranean. Many of the extras in the 1976French Foreign Legion movie March or Die were off-duty Marines. For the most part, however, Marineshave portrayed themselves when appearing inHollywood combat movies.

For both the Marine Corps historical program andMr. Suid, the association made possible by theResearch Grant Fund has been beneficial. Hisresearch enabled him to write both an article for theApril Marine Corps Gazette as well as an entirechapter in his book devoted to an in-depth narrativeof the Corps as an image-maker in Hollywood.

A totally unexpected windfall from Mr. Suid'swork was his discovery of a copy of the feature lengthmovie The Unbeliver in the Library of Congress.The film, shot at Quantico by the Thomas EdisonCorporation in November 1917, featured as extrasthe newly formed 2d Battalion, 6th Regiment. Thebattalion, commanded by then-LtCol ThomasHolcomb, is seen training for its deployment toFrance. The History and Museums Division haspurchased a master negative from the Library whichhas been used to produce several copies.

The Research Grant Fund is the means bywhich donations can be used to support MarineCorps-related historical research projects ofdirect benefit to the historical program. Forthose who are interested in the fund's objectives,the scope of research grants, the procedures andqualifications for applying for a grant, or whodesire to contribute to the fund, an informationalbrochure is available from the Director ofMarine Corps History and Museums,Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps (Code HD),Washington, D.C. 20380.

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"If Words Were Bulletsand Phrases Were Soldiers"

A recent re-discovery in the Historical Center'sArchives Section illuminates an interesting battlefought more than 50 years ago in Nicaragua. Ms.Linda M. Tripp, archives technician, while re-arranging files, uncovered a black notebookoriginally compiled by the 5th Marines intelligencesection. The subject of the book was Augusto C.Sandino, famed guerilla leader and, antagonist of theMarines during their 1927-33 Nicaraguan interven-tion. The notebook contains a physical descriptionand psychological assessment of Sandino as wellas a sequence of letters and transcripts of telegramsbetween him and various Nicaraguans, Americancivilians, and Marines. Many of Sandino's letters arehand-written, signed originals.

The battle amplified by documents in the notebookwas fought in the town of Ocotal, located in nor-thwest Nicaragua, Nueva Segovia department, on 16July 1927. Ocotal, which Sandino attacked shortlyafter midnight with an estimated 300 men, wasdefended by Captain Gilbert D. Hatfield and 38 menof the 16th Company, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines and49 Guardia Nacional under the command of lstLtGrover C. Darnall, USMC.

Nicaragua had been wracked by political unrest foryears. The United States had intervened on severaloccasions when American lives and property were

Gen Augusto C. Sandino

12

threatened by the opposing factions. Marines andbluejacket landing parties were not an unfamiliarsight.

In January 1927, responding o an appeal fromNicaraguan President Adolfo Diaz, the United Statesintervened for the last time. By 7 March, BGenLogan Feland had arrived to assume command of the2,000-man 2d Marine Brigade. The Marine force hadtwo main tasks, training the Guardia Nacional deNicaragua and supervising the surrender of arms andammunition by both Liberal and Conservatiye forces.The demobilization agreement had been worked outbetween President Diaz and his Liberal opponentGen Jose Moncada, using the good offices of

President Coolidge's representative, Henry L.

Stimson. While the majority of forces complied,many Liberal groups of various degrees of politicalsincerity melted into the jungle.

The leader of one of these bands was ''General''Augusto C. Sandino, passionate Liberal by self-proclamation, branded bandit by Gen Moncada.Refusing Moncada's order to disarm, Sandino headednorth to Nueva Segovia. In late May, he wasfollowed by Capt Hatfield who settled down in Ocotalto show the flag and to be available to accept San-dino's arms should he decide to obey Moncada.

Hatfield's antagonist is described in the 5thMarines notebook as:

of very nervous temperment, and highly exciteable.It is believed that he is slightly demented . . . paces floor

most of the time, voluble in conversation and boastingcontinually of past achievements, and what he will do tothe Yankees.

In the weeks to follow, Capt Hatfield was to playon Sandino's nervous temperment man exchange ofletters and telegrams that, on reflection, may haveforced the battle for Ocotal. Often flowery and almostgothic in vocabulary, Sandino's messages werecountered by Hatfield's pokes at the guerrillaleader's sense of machismo.

Department of San Fernando 25 June 1927

Sir Chief of the American Marine Detachment:At this time I have arrived here with a detachment of

mountaineers because I was informed that you werearming the Conservatives to come to this place to drive

away the few miners that I have here who are keeping thepublic order. Well then, tell me, should I wait here foryou or shall I go to you? I am anxious to prove my bat-teries and also to see if I still remember how to placemines.

Your sure serventA.C. Sandino

25 June 1927

I received your telegram today from San Fernando. It isnot true that I am arming Conservatives to attack you andyours as I need no other help than that of the Marines toattack you and your forces. What I do need are quickrunning horses to be able to overtake you in yourmountains. You have never wanted to attack us althoughwe are small in numbei, nor have you even showed in-tentions of such. For this reason I am giving you the ideaof coming here, assuring you that we shall not run away.We do not teach how to place mines.

I thank you for your letter, and trusting that you willsoon come and salute me personally, I am yoursrespectfully.

G. D. HatfieldCapt., U.S.M.C.

• . Sandino's reply was verbal, the substance ofwhich was not recorded...

27 June 1927Dear General,

Since there seems to be no opportunity to meet you onthe field of battle it has occurred to me that if you arehonest in your desire to defend the rights and insure thehappiness of your people you might be willing to come inand talk with me. Your safety both coming and going isguaranteed and you might bring a reasonable number ofmen as a body guard, say twenty-five, to insure yoursafety while on the road.

I believe that I can convince you that we do not desirethe country of Nicaragua, that you will have an honestelection, and that, you yourself are the only obstacle to apermanent peace.

This offer is based on the supposition that you are doingwhat you think best for your people, even though you aremistaken in method.

If, however, you are merely trying to glorify yourselfand to collect tribute from helpless persons, then a talkwith you is useless.

Hoping that you are a patriot and not a robber and thatyou will talk with me soon,

lam,G.D. Hatfield

Capt., U.S.M.C.

29 June 1927Chipote by way of San Fernando

Chief of the American Detachment encamped at OcotalI have your appreciable telegram dated the 27th of this

month, to which I answer. You do not say that you havenot had an opportunity to face me on the battle field, ofwhich I have no fault, because it has not been that I have

13

Capt Gilbert D. Hatfield

lacked energy, it has been because you and yours ranaway from Telpaneca the day I expected to assault youwith only machetes, because I have no arms with whichto fight with, and now I am not very far from you and soyou can have that pleasure at any time you wish.

In respect to the conference which you invite me to,you made me think that you are very ignorant or verychildish, because a man like me does not fall so easy as isdone with a dove deceiving it with a few grains of rice inthe door of the trap; I am in the woods but the woods arenot in my brains so as to believe in the promises that youmade. Now then, as it is impossible to go there with aguard for my safety as you said, I will allow you to cometo the conference that you want, and I also allow you tocome with a guard of 500 men of your mother country.

Your telegram will soon be leaving for its publication inthe Associated Press; so that the whole world gets toknow how valiant you are with the feeble which have noother fault than that of defending the nation's honor andsovereignty. I advise you and yours that when you andyours come to my mountains to make testamentsbeforehand. . . . It happens that there is a lot of yellowfever around here, which might be the cause of your notbeing able to return home.

With all the sure attention and high esteem that youare worthy of, I remain,

General A.C. SandinoSan Fernando, Nicaragua

Dear Sir,

Your very sure servant thatwishes to put you in a beau-tiful tomb with handsomeflowers,

A.C. Sandino

11 July 1927

It seems impossible that you will remain deaf to areasonable proposal and in spite of your insolent replies inthe past I am giving you another opportunity to surrenderwith honor.

As you no doubt know, we are prepared to hunt you toyour stronghold and destroy your troops and yourselfshould you stand your ground.

On the other hand should you escape to Honduras orelsewhere you will have a price set upon your head and

will never be able to return in peace to the country youclaim to love, but can at best make forays as a bandit uponyour peaceful countrymen.

If you will come to Ocotal with all or part of your armedforces and surrender your arms peacefully you have theguarantee of safety from me, a representative of a countrywhich does not win battles by treachery.

Furthermore you will then be able to live an honorableand useful life in your native land and be able to help yourpeople by setting an example of rectitude and the qualitiesof leadership.

Otherwise you will be an exile and outlaw, wantednowhere, and in constant danger of death, not the deathof a soldier in battle but the death of a criminal or oftreacherous shooting in the back by one of your ownfollowers.

No outlaw has ever prospered or died contentedly, butas an example of one who was in your position twenty-fiveyears ago, but came to his senses in time, I invite yourattention to Aguinaldo of the Philippines who eventuallybecame one of its greatest leaders and a firm friend of theUnited States.

In conclusion I wish to inform you that Nicaragua hashad its last revolution and that the soldier of fortune willfind no opportunity to employ his talents here in thefuture.

You have but two days to give me an answer that willsave the lives of many of your people, and if you are thepatriot you claim to be I will expect you to be in Ocotal ateight o'clock in the morning of July 14, 1927.

Please advise me of your intentions in one word, eitheryes or no, and I sincerely hope that it will be yes.

Chipote vis San Fernando

G. D. HatfieldCapt., U.S.M.C.

13 July 1927

GD. Hatfield;I have in my possession your telegram dated the 11th of

this month and which I am now answering. When Ijoined this Constitutional movement I did it with the firmidea of either having a free country or dying and as wehave not succeeded in gaining an effective freedom and Ihave neither died, we shall continue in our firm resolve.Our arms shall not be given up because they represent theenergetic protest of my country and for that reason yourthreats seem very pale to me and I care little for what yourepresent and the first one that trespasses the boundarythat I have marked will leave several tons of cadavers inmy territory and if you are resolved in this you can comesoon and in that way I shall have the honor of sprinklingthe soil of my native country with the blood of traitors andinvaders, also if the United States wants peace inNicaragua they shall have to turn the presidency over to alegitimate Liberal and then only I shall dispose of my armspeacefully.

Your respectfullyA.C. Sandino

undated, butprobably 14 July

Bravo! General. If words were bullets and phrases were

14

soldiers you would be a field-marshal instead of a mulethief.

When you have something more than the ravings of aconceited maniac to tell me please telegraph me again.

G.D. HatfieldCapt., U.S.M.C.

This was more than Sandino could take. Two dayslater he attacked his pen pal at Ocotal.

Hatfield had figured something was about tohappen. The townfolk acted nervous and had puttheir valuables away. He doubled the guard, laid in alarge supply of fresh water in casks, and waited. Onthe afternoon of the 15th the telegraph line to thesouth was cut.

A Marine sentry spoiled Sandino's surprise whenhe fired at some shadowy figures around 0100 on the16th. The battle was on. Three guerrilla attacks weremade and driven off in quick succession. Both sidessettled down to sniper fire. At 0800, Sandino sent amessenger under a flag of truce to demand Hatfield'ssurrender. The Marine told him the cease-fire wouldlast just long enough for him to get around thenearest corner. The battle resumed.

At mid-day, two Marine aircraft arrived overhead.1st Lt Hayne "Cuckoo" Boyden landed his planenear the town, grabbed a passing peasant and, after aquick interrogation, headed south to Managua withthe news. Major Ross E. Rowe!! and five aircraftfrom his VO-7M squadron scrambled for Ocotal. Inaddition to the normal machine gun armament, eachaircraft was carrying four 17-pound fragmentationbombs. Sandino's men, experienced with and readyfor strafing attacks, found themselves on thereceiving end of the first dive-bombing attack inMarine Corps history. The guerillas fled, manyabandoning their arms and leaving 56 dead. Marinelosses were one killed and five wounded. Ocotal wassecure.

For his part in the Ocotal fight, Capt Hatfield wasawarded the Navy Cross. He retired a lieutenantcolonel in 1939, was recalled to active duty one daylater, served throughout World War II, and re-retired in 1945. When the Marines left Nicaragua in1933, Sandino was still on the loose. He soon wasgiven amnesty by the newly elected Liberal presidentJuan Sacasa and came down from the hills. However,on the evening of 21 February 1934, while returningfrom a party, Sandino and two companions weretaken from their car by members of the Guardia andmachine gunned. To this day his name, if not hispolitics, is used by a dissident faction in Nicaragua.

Oral History ReportThe Oral History Section has recently conducted

and accessioned a number of interviews touching ona broad cross section of Marine Corps 1-listory.

Before she returned to inactive status inSeptember 1977, Col Mary V. Stremlow, the authorof an upcoming history of women Marines,1946-1977, deposited in the Oral History Collectionsome 32 interviews she conducted to support herresearch. In this body of interviews are a numberconducted with former Directors of WomenMarines, Cols Julia E. Hamblet, Margaret M.Henderson, Margaret A. Brewer, and the lateJeanette I. Sustad. The remainder of the interviewsare those Col Stremlow obtained from serving,retired, and former commissioned and enlistedwomen Marines.

Gen Lucius D. Clay, Jr., USAF (Ret) was in-interviewed at the Historical Center in october 1977by Mr. Benis M. Frank, head of the Oral HistorySection, and Dr. Graham A. Cosmas, a staff

historian, about the relationship between SeventhAir Force and the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing inVietnam during 1970-1971. Later that month, Mr.Frank traveled to California, where he completedinterviews begun several years earlier with LtGenFrederick E. Leek, and MajGen Lowell E. English,Both USMC (Ret). To support the division'sVietnam history writing program, he also in-terviewed MajGens Ross T. Dwyer and Wilbur F.Simlik about their Vietnam experiences. During histour in Viemam, 1968-1969, MajGen Dwyercommanded the 1st Marines, was assistant divisioncommander of the 1st Division and commandinggeneral of Task Force Yankee, and was the G-3 of IllMAF. MajGen Simlik commanded the 3d Marinesand was G-4 of Ill MAF when he served in Vietnam,1969-1970.

In early December, Col Ralph M. Wismer, USMC(Ret), a veteran Marine communicator, visited thecenter to be interviewed in depth about his careerwhich spanned the years 1939-1966.

Before he retired in 1973, MajGen Marion E. Carlwas interviewed about his tour as CG, 1st MarineBrigade, 1964-1965, his role in contingency planningand preparations for Marine employment in Viet-nam, and his tours as Deputy CG, III MAF, andAssistant Wing Commander, 1st Marine Aircraft

15

Wing. In January 1978, before moving to Oregon, hevisited the Historical Center and was interviewed byMr. Frank and Maj Gary Parker about his Marinecareer in general In the course of the wide ranginginterview, he spoke about his early flying ex-periences, his participation in the air battles ofMidway and Guadalcanal, during which time hebecame an ace and won two Navy Crosses, and hislater tours as a test pilot at Patuxent River. Oneinteresting anecdote he related occurred at VellaLavella when he commanded VMF-223 and MajGregory "Pappy" Boyington commanded VMF-214and where they tcok turns being tactical air com-mander. On 2 January 1944, Boyington asked Carl totrade flights the next day because, he, Boyington,was scheduled to rotate and he didn't think that hewould be allowed to return to the Pacific and fly incombat. He already had 26 planes to his credit andwanted to improve on his record. The trade wasmade, Boyington led the mission against Rabaul thenext day, was shot down, and captured.

Two major interviews recently accessioned werethose with Gen Edwin A. Pollock and MajGenThomas G. Ennis. One of Gen Pollock's more in-teresting reminiscences concerned his tour asCommanding Officer, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines onGuadalcanal, where he won the Navy Cross. Heretired in 1959 as Commanding General, FleetMarine Force, Atlantic. A veteran aviator, GenEnnis participated in the development of MarineCorps air doctrine in the 1930s, participated inMarine Corps operations in Haiti and the Pacific, andupon retirement in 1962 was commanding theRecruit Depot at Parris Island.

MajGen Carl Gen Pollock MajGen Ennis

Baka Bomb RestoredThanks in part to the assistance of a Japanese

major general, the Marine Corps Museum nowpossesses the country's only fully restoredoperational model of the Yokosuka "Ohka" ModelII, otherwise known as the Baka Bomb. It will bedisplayed at the soon-to-open Marine Corps AviationMuseum at Quantico.

Late in World War II when the tide of events beganto turn against them, officers of the Japanese highcommand turned increasingly to the use of mannedaircraft suicide missions against American ships.Those missions were flown in a variety of aircraft,ranging from ordinary combat planes to speciallydesigned piloted missiles known to the Allies as BakaBombs.

The simply designed, cheaply produced, mainlywooden bomb was taken aloft under the belly of abomber, then released when within gliding range ofthe target. The pilot of the wheelless bomb, usuallyyoung and with a minimum of ffight training, at-tempted to glide the craft much of the remainingdistance. He could, however, fire any or all of the

three small rockets in the tail k)r an eight to 10second burn providing added speed either to evadeattacking aircraft or to make a final spurt into thetarget. Small and maneuverable, the Baka could glideat 288 miles per hour and, with the rockets cut in,could top 400 miles per hour. On paper, the Bakawould appear to be a formidable weapon but the factis, although their attacks could be terrifying to thecrews of ships, they frequently missed their targets.The first mission on which the Baka was employed isan example. On 21 March 1945, 16 Japanese''Betty" bombers, each with a Baka, flew to attackUnited States naval vessels off Okinawa. On the waythey were attacked by American fighters and had toprematurely drop their lethal suicide plans far shortof the target area in order to escape. The pilotedBakas plummeted to the sea, their mission a totalfailure.

But raids by the small greenish-gray craft, similarin concept to the cruise missile of today, were notalways so unsuccessful. Again off the hotly contestedisland of Okinawa, in April 1945, Baka Bombs in-

Marine Corps Museum 'sfully restored Baka Bomb sits outside early aircraft hanger located at old Brown Field,Quantico.

16

flicted heavy damage on three U.S. troop transportsand the battleship West Virginia (BB 47).

One of only 755 built, the museum's Baka Bombwas captured by U.S. Marines on Okinawa. Afterslowly disintegrating for nearly 20 years, the bombwas brought to the United States as a potentialexhibit for the proposed National Armed ForcesMuseum. When it became obvious, in the mid-60s,that that museum would never materialize, theMarine Corps Museum obtained the bomb.

During the restoration process, Col Thomas M.D'Andrea, OIC, Museums Activities, Quantico,appealed to the Japanese Embassy in Washington forassistance in deciphering the bomb's cockpitmarkings. Help came in the person of MajGenTsuneo Azurna, Japanese Air Self Defense Force,the embassy's senior military attache.

Gen Azuma served as a Zero pilot during WorldWar II. He was based at Nagoya, Japan and flew withthe 210th Naval Wing. His unit was charged withintercepting the B-29 bombers which were carryingthe war to the Japanese home islands. The Japaneseaviator served from October 1944 until war's end inAugust 1945 and had some opportunity to becomefamiliar with the Bakas, also based at Nagoya.

Inside cockpit of the Baka. Note the rudimentarycontrols and bombsight.

Acquired as a pile of rotted parts, the tiny single-seater has been brought to a state now where all itlacks is solid fuel rocket propellant, three motors inthe tail, and half a ton of high explosives for itswarhead to bring it to full combat readiness.

MajGen Tsuneo Azuma assists Col Thomas M. D 'Andrea in deceip he ring cockpit markings.

17

In Memo riamGen Oliver P. Smith,

USMC (Ret) died 25

December 1977 in LosAltos, California. GenSmith was commissioneda second lieutenant in1917 and stationed atGuam for two years.Following a tour at MareIsland, he commandedthe Marine Detachment

on board the battleship USS Texas (BB 35) from1921-1924 before reporting to HQMC for a four-yeartour. In 1928 he began three years service with theGendarmerie d 'Haiti, earning the Haitian DSM.

After completion of the Army Field Officer'sCourse at Fort Benning and instructional duty atQuantico, Gen Smith was assigned in 1934 to theAmerican Embassy in Paris as assistant naval at-tache. While on this duty he attended the EcoleSuperieure de Guerre, the French War College.Returning from Europe in 1936, Gen Smith rejoinedthe instructional staff at Quantico before becomingthe operations officer of the FMF at San Diego.

In 1940 he was given command of the 1st Bat-talion, 6th Marines and sailed with the regiment foroccupation duty in Iceland. When the Marines wererecalled in early 1942, Gen Smith proceeded toHQMC where he was made the executive officer ofthe Division of Plans and Policies. Less than twoyears later he was ordered to report to the 1st MarineDivision on New Britian where he was givencommand of the 5th Marines. After being promotedto brigadier general in 1944, he became the assistantdivision commander and helped plan and execute thedifficult Peleliu operation. Duty at Honolulufollowed where, as Army LtGen Simon B. Buckner'sdeputy chief of staff, he helped plan and later executethe Tenth Army's invasion of Okinawa.

Reassigned to Quantico in mid-1945, Gen Smithwas first the schools commandant and later com-manding general of the entire base. In 1948 he wasappointed Assistant Commandant of the MarineCorps.

When North Korean forces invaded the south,Gen Smith left headquarters to assume command ofthe 1st Marine Division which was rebuilding atCamp Pendleton. Under his leadership the divisionwas landing at Inchon only two months after having

18

been converted from peacetime strength andorganization. Two weeks after the landing, GenSmith's Marines recaptured Seoul.

A month later the division was landing at Wonsanas part of the X Corps/Eighth Army offensivedesigned to drive to the Yalu river and destroy the re-maining North Korean forces. Despite urging fromhigher headquarters to press quickly to the Yalu,Gen Smith deliberately moved his regiments north incolumn. When the Chinese Communists (CCF)struck and mauled the Eighth Army on 25November, his foresight was vindicated. When GenSung Shih-lun and eight CCF divisions surroundedand attacked his division, the Marines held. Whilemilitary experts and the press the world over ex-pected the annihilation of the 1st Marine Division, orat least its headlong flight to the sea, Gen Smith laidplans for a controlled, carefully executed "attack inanother direction." Thirteen days and 70 miles laterthe Marines reached Hungnam. They came out as afighting division with their wounded, dead, equip-ment, and even some prisoners. Behind them theyleft the remains of the eight CCF divisions which hadtried to bar the way.

In April 1951 Gen Smith was assigned as Com-manding General, Camp Pendileton. Two years laterhe was promoted to lieutenant general and namedCommanding General, FMF, Atlantic. He retired 1September 1955.

An editorial which appeared in the New YorkTimes the day of his retirement stands as an ap-propriate testimonial, "THE MAN WHO DIDN'TRETREAT, . . . Ordinarily the retirement of ageneral officer attracts little attention. But GeneralSmith is no ordinary general. Scholarly and soft-spoken, he looks like a college professor. But he hasnever lacked the flash of fire; among a corps noted forits fighting men he was eminent. . .

Gen Smith's decorations induded theDistinguished Service Cross, the DistinguishedService Medal, the Silver Star Medal, the BronzeStar Medal with Combat "V," the Legion of MeritMedal with Combat "V" and oak leaf cluster, andnumerous foreign, service, and campaign medals.

A serious student of military history himself, GenSmith actively supported the Marine CorpsHistorical Program. In 1961 he donated many of hispersonal papers and in 1969 he participated in theoral history program.

His coolness under fire won him the ArmyDistinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross.Postwar assignments included duty as aide-de-campto the Major General Commandant, service atseveral Marine Barracks, and sea duty. Foreign dutyincluded the Gendarmerie d'Haiti, command of theMarine Barracks, Guam, service with the 4thMarines in Shanghai, and duty with the 1st

Provisional Marine Brigade in Iceland. DuringWorld War II, Gen Murray commanded the MarineBarracks, Balboa, Canal Zone and was deputycommander of the military government on Guamand Okinawa. After the war the general served asdeputy commander and chief of staff of the Depar-tment of the Pacific.

Mrs. Murray has generously donated many of thegeneral's medals and books to the Marine CorpsMuseum.

LtGen Thomas E.Bourke USMC (Ret) died5 January 1978 in SantaClara, California. He wascommissioned a secondlieutenant on 5 February1917 after service in theMaryland NationalGuard along the Mexicanborder. While enroute to

Santo Domingo for his first tour, he and 50 recruitswere diverted to St. Croix where they were the firstU.S. troops ashore in what had just become theAmerican Virgin Islands.

Postwar tours included service at Quantico, ParrisIsland, San Diego, and HQMC. He also served atPearl Harbor, was commanding officer of the Lega-tion Guard in Managua, Nicaragua, and commandedthe Marine Detachment on board the battleship USSWest Virginia (BB 48). In July 1936 he assumed

command of the 10th Marines kr the first of severaltimes.

In June 1943 he was promoted to brigadiergeneral, marking the only time the 10th Marines wascommanded by a flag officer. Following the Tarawacampaign, Gen Bourke was assigned as the V Am-phibious Corps artillery officer for the invasion ofSaipan. He next trained a combined Army-Marineartillery unit for the XXIV Army Corps, thenpreparing for the Leyte operation. As CG of the 5thMarine Division, he was planning the invasion ofJapan when the war ended. The division landed atSasebo, Kyushu in September 1945 and assumed thecomplex duties of occupation. With the disbandmentof the 5th Marine Division, Gen Bourke becameDeputy Commander and Inspector General ofFMFPac. He retired on 1 November 1946.

His decorations induded the Legion of MeritMedal with Combat "V," the Bronze Star Medalwith Combat "V" and a gold star.

In 1969 Gen Bourke participated in the Historyand Museums Division's Oral History Program. Atranscript of his interview is on file at the MarineCorps Historical Center.

Mr. Harold L. Peterson, a member of the Corn -mandant's Advisory Committee on Marine CorpsHistory, died on 1 January 1978 after a long illness.Mr. Peterson, 55, was Chief Curator of the NationalPark Service and as such was largely responsible forthe high quality of interpretative exhibits at the ParkService's many historical parks. A member of manysocieties concerned with military antiquities and aft)under, past president, fellow, and governor of theCompany of Military Historians, Mr. Peterson wasadviser on military matters to the ColonialWilliamsburg and Plimoth Plantation restorations,author of hundreds of magazine articles and 24books, and a noted lecturer.

BGen Edward J. Dillon, USMC (Ret) died 9January 1978 in Charleston, South Carolina. Hewas commissioned a second lieutenant upon gradua-tion from the Naval Academy in 1931. FollowingBasic School he served two years in Shanghai, Chinawith the 4th Marines. After a series of barracksassignments Gen Dillon took command of theMarine Detachment, USS Texas (BB 35) in 1938.

Brigadier GeneralCharles I. Murray,USMC (Ret), died 24September 1977 in FortSam Houston, Texas.Commissioned a se-cond lieutenant on 21May 1917, he ac-companied the 6thRegiment to France.

19

He later commanded the Sea School Detachment atNorfolk where he was serving at ihe outbreak of thewar.

In March 1943 he took command of the 2d Bat-talion, 23d Marines, a post he held during the unit'smovement from Camp Lejeune to the Pacific and thesubsequent battles of Roi-Namur, Saipan, and Ti-man. Assigned as the 2 3d Marines executive officerin August 1944, he participated in the invasion ofIwo Jima. During the battle, when the commandpost of his former battalion was struck by an enemyrocket, then-LtCol Dillon resumed command. Hisactions during the Iwo Jima campaign earned himthe Navy Cross.

Postwar service included duty at Quantico; atHQMC; on the staffs of CinCPacFlt and FMFPac;and as chief of staff of the Troop Training Unit,Pacific Fleet. His final duty station was Charleston,South Carolina where he commanded the MarineBarracks.

In addition to the Navy Cross, his decorations in-duded the Legion of Merit with Combat "V," andthe Purple Heart Medal with two gold stars.

Col Jeanette I. Sustad,USMC (Ret), sixthDirector of the WomanMarines, died 5 Februaryin Bremerton, Wash-ington. Col Sustad wascommissioned a secondlieutenant in the Wo-man's Reserve in Dec-ember 1943 after sixmonths enlisted service.

Wartime duty stations included Cherry Point;MCAAF, Oak Grove, North Carolina; and MCAS,Ewa, Hawaii. Col Sustad transferred to the Depart-ment of the Pacific in November 1945 and wasreleased from active duty a month later.

After three years of inactive duty, Col Sustadreturned to active duty and was assigned successivelyto Parris Island, Quantico, and Camp Pendleton.

In 1952 she was stationed at Frankk)rt, Germanywith the U.S. European Command HQ. Returningto the United States in September 1954, Col Sustadheld a variety of staff billets at Parris Island, HQMC,and Quantico.

In 1962 she was promoted to lieutenant coloneland three years later became the first full-time Depu-ty Director of the Woman Marines. From December

20

1967 to January 1969 she served as Assistant G-1,MCB, Camp Pendleton. On 1 February 1969, sherelieved Col Barbara J. Bishop as Director of theWoman Marines. During retirement ceremonies in1973, Col Sustad was awarded the Legion of Merit.

LtGen Clayton C.Jerome, USMC (Ret),died 13 February inWashington, D.C. Hewas commissioned a se-cond lieutenant in 1922upon graduation from theNaval Academy. After ayear at 8th and Eye, GenJerome reported to Pen-

sacola for flight training. Duty at San Diego wasfollowed by foreign service in China, the Philippines,and Guam.

In the mid-3( Gen Jerome served as naval attachefor air for eight Latin American countries while sta-tioned at the American Legation in Bogota, Colum-bia.

During World War 11 Gen Jerome took part in theconsolidation of the Northern Solomons and theTreasury-Bougainville operation as operations officerand later chief of staff to Commander, Aircraft, Nor-thern Solomons. He was later Commander, Aircraftand Island Commander, Emirau before serving withthe Army in the Philippines. During the Luzon cam-paign he commanded Mangalden airfield and Marineaircraft groups at Dagupan, directing Marine air sup-port for the U.S. Army.

Postwar duty included command of MCAS, Quan-tico; duty as Chief of Staff, MCS, Quantico; andsimultaneous service as Director of Public Informa-tion, Recruiting, and Marine Corps History atHQMC. He was serving as Assistant Commandantfor Air when reassigned as Commanding General,1st MAW in Korea in 1952. In 1953 he reported toCherry Point as Commanding General, 2d MAWand Commander, Aircraft, FMF Atlantic. In 1955he became Commanding General, Aircraft, FMFPacin El Toro. He retired in 1959.

His decorations included the Distinguished Ser-vice Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal with Combat"V" and gold star and two Oak Leaf Clusters, theDistinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal,the Air Medal, and a New Zealand award of Com-mander of the Most Excellent Order of the BritishEmpire.

Military Music Notes

On 6 November 1977 the Military Music Collec-tion held its second open house commemorating, asbefore, the birth of John Phillip Sousa, the "MarchKing."

The program featured Mr. Jon Newsom of theLibrary of Congress. Mr. Newsom spoke on thecareer of Francis Maria Scala, a predecessor of Sousa,who led the Marine Band from 1855 to 1871. He alsoplayed recordings of this era's music played onauthentic instruments.

Mr. John Philip Sousa HI, grandson of the"March King" was also present and provided someunusual insights into the personal aspects of hisgrandfather's life.

Several exhibits were on display, including Sousatrophies, medals, uniforms, and other memorabilia.SSgt Mark Elrod of the Marine Band brought in hiscollection of keyed bugles and other Civil War periodbrass instruments with which he created an im-pressive display. The newest exhibit on view wascreated from a donation of batons, papers, andtrophies by LtCol William F. Santelmann, leader ofthe Marine Band from 1940 until 1955. His father,Captain William H. Santelmann, led the band from1898 until 1927. Their combined service both asleaders and musicians totals 72 years.

Several significant donations were made to theMilitary Music Collection recently. On 30

November 1977 the music collection of the late Mr.James R. McBeth of Cincinnait arrived at the center.A gift of Mr. McBeth's daughter and son-in-law,Mr. and Mrs. Harry B. Raibourne, the collectioncontains more than 3,500 band arrangements, manyof them marches. Mr. Bob Hoe of Poughkeepsie,New York, a well known philanthropist andpublisher of band music, was instrumental in

referring the Raibournes to the Historical Center.Additionally, the collection received a donation of

music and memorabilia which had belonged to Mr.Clyde Hall of Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania. Mr. Hallwas a clarinettist in John Philip Sousa's professionalcivilian band during the season of 1925-1926. Helater joined the Marine Band and stayed for 30 years.His collection includes many photographs, concertprograms, newspaper dippings, some old woodwindmethod books, a Marine Band clarinet, and uniforms

21

from early Marine Band days as well as a Sousa Banduniform in excellent condition.

DO YOU KNOW THIS OFFICER?While going through his files, the Marine Officer

Instructor at Tulane University found the aboveuncaptioned photograph and sent it to the MarineHistorical Center for inclusion in its photographicarchives. Several senior members of the staff as wellas a few retired Marines were asked to identify theofficer in this photo, but without success. Perhapsone of our faithful readers will recognize the officerand tell us.

People and PlacesIn addition to the November meeting of the

Military Classics Seminar during which Col Nihartdiscussed The Social History of the Machine Gun,several other historically oriented groups have avail-ed themselves recently of the Historical Center'sfacilities.

On Sunday, 22 January, the Washington areachapter of the Military Vehicles Collectors Clubgathered to hold its business meeting. Membersexamined the books in the library pertaining tomilitary vehicles, and were treated to an extensiveMarine Corps vehicle photographic display preparedby MSgt Roy V. Ashley, Archives Chief, StillPhotograhpic Archives. Thankfully, travel to thecenter by privately owned military vehicles waslimited to Jeeps and did not include the LARC-5s andM-4 Sherman tanks some members own.

The next Saturday, 28 January, the center washost to the Potomac Chapter, Company of MilitaryHistorians. In addition to the business meeting, themembers heard a presentation by Mr. Harry Berry,Jr. on the discovery, exhumation, and identificationof the remains of John Paul Jones in Paris at the turnof the century.

The Military Order of Foreign Wars' Washingtoncommandery toured the center on the evening of 7February. The Order, founded in 1894, is a nationalorganization with commanderies in ten states and inParis and is dedicated to maintenance of Americanmilitary strength and the remembrance of pastbravery of arms.

On Saturday, 11 February, the Washingtonchapter of the Loyal legion of the United Statestoured the center. The patriotic organization,composed of decendents of Civil War Union officers,attended a small reception during the visit.

The well known screen and television actor Mr.lloyd Bridges toured the Historical Center on 7December 1977 after completing the filming of a pilotshow for a Time-Life Television series on World WarII. The pilot production which he narrates covers thecampaign for Iwo Jima in February 1945 and pro-minently features color kotage of the battle from theMotion Picture Film Archives at Quantico. He was

22

filmed while seated in front of the Iwo Jima exhibit inthe Marine Corps Museum which includes theoriginal flag shown in the now-famous flag-raisingphotograph by Mr. Joe Rosenthal.

MajGen Edward J. Miller, Commanding General,4th Marine Division and members of his staff visitedthe center on 31 January. In addition to a tour andbriefing on the new facilities, Gen Miller surveyedthe Marine Corps Art Collection with Art CuratorMr. Jack B. Dyer. It is planned that the Reserve-oriented art will be displayed in the new 4th MarineDivision headquarters in New Orleans, and possiblywill form a travelling art exhibit.

A special exhibition of American decorations andmedals is being displayed at the Historical Centerthrough 30 April 1978. The comprehensivecollection is on loan from SgtMaj Robert M. Ohman,USMC (Ret) who spent 24 years acquiring thedecorations and five years creating the exhibit. Thecolorful display is divided into three sections;reproductions in bronze of the ten silver medalsauthorized by Congress for presentation to specialheros of the Revolution; all decorations, medals, andribbons of the Armed Forces of the United States;and the special Bicentennial medals of all the states,the Virgin Islands, and the three cities that have beenthe capital of the United States. An unusual featureof the collection is that both the obverse and reverseof each medal is shown, requiring two examples ofeach medal.

Volunteer Training Unit (Historical) 1-8 wasrenamed Mobilization Training Unit (Historical)MA-6 effective 1 October 1977. The change oc-curred as part of the transfer of administrativeresponsibility for such training from the reservedistricts to the Commanding General, 4th MarineDivision. The ''MA-6'' in the new title indicates it

is the sixth training unit in Massachusetts, a

distinction it acquires from its commanding officer,Col Joseph B. Ruth, Jr., a resident of Ashburnham,Massachusetts. Regardless of title, its 25 memberswill continue to work on projects related to MarineCorps history.

Mr. David E. J. Pepin, noted authority onJapanese edged weapons, visited the center on 27January. While here he examined the samuraiswords of two Commandants, one captured by Genli)uis H. Wilson on Guam and one presented toBrevet Maj Jacob Zeilin, senior Marine officer withCommodore Matthew C. Perry's expedition to Japanin 1854. He also examined the Virginia statepresentation swords awarded to Brevet BGenArchibald Henderson for service as senior Marineofficer on board the USS Constitution during the Warof 1812 and to lstLt Presley N. O'Bannon forheroism and leadership in the capture of Derna,Tripoli on 17 April 1805. Mr. Pepin's personalcollection of Japanese edged weapons is on temporarydisplay in the Navy Memorial Museum, also in theWashington Navy Yard.

Mr. David E.J. Pepin prepares to remove thehandle of the Bvt Ma] Jacob Zeilin presentationsamurai sword in order to examine the tangmarkings. Cdt Terry A. Damon, USN, AssistantDirector of the Navy Memorial Museum and BGenSimmons look on.

Seven second lieutenants and a college intern havebeen assisting at the Historical Center this winter.The lieutenants are all recent graduates of The Basic

23

School who are fledgling aviators standing by forclass openings at Pensacola beginning in March.

Lts Steven A. Hummer and Robert K. Sheldonsplit their efforts between helping Mr. Dyer updatethe catalog of Marine Corps art works and assistingCapt Bennett in accessioning several large collectionsof military music. Lt James M. Langner had the taskof assembling and collating the names of individualsfor whom areas, buildings, and streets have beennamed at all Marine Corps installations. Lt James D.Gaillard helped Maj Parker, who is writing theaviation volume in the Vietnam series, research andcompile some of the appendices which will appear inthe book. Lt Cohn S. Mackenzie III worked with ourrecent research grantee, Mr. Lawrence H. Suid, ingathering further information on Marines in motionpictures.

The Reference Section was augmented by LtsRobert L. Brant and Steven A. Butera, who alsoworked for the Support Branch. Both lieutenantshandled their share of the many requests for informa-tion that pour into the center. Also as a referencehistorian is Miss Laurie R. Monsell, a history majorin the second semester of her junior year at MaryWashington College.

In the past the work done by college interns hasbeen beneficial both to the division and to the in-dividuals concerned. We are always receptive to pro-posals from colleges and universities that we givetheir students the opportunity to gain useful workexperience. Ed.

The Reference Section has been heavily involvedin work regarding the atomic tests conducted duringthe 195 Os. The reference historians were assigned thetask of identifying Marine participants in Exercises''Tumbler-Snapper,'' ''Teapot,'' and ''Plumbob,''"Upshot-Knothole." This information was used byMarine spokesmen in testimony before the HouseSubcommittee on Health and Environment.

For the November Professional DevelopmentSeminar the Historical Center staff visited FolgerLibrary for a guided tour of its facilities and a view ofits exhibition, ''Renaissance Art of War."

In December, Dr. Graham Cosmas and Mr JackShulimson, members of the Historical Branch, spoketo the center staff on the 14th about the Marine

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVYNEADQUARTFRr, U S MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON. 0 C. 20380

OFFICIAL BUSINESSP1NAT FOR PRIVATE USE 1100

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People and Places (Cont'd)

Corps Advance Base Force, which was the topic oftheir joint presentation at The Citadel Conference onWar and Diplomacy, held earlier in the year atCharleston, S.C.

Heading up the 1978 series of seminars, on 25January BGen Simmons led a general discussion ofMarine Corps roles and missions, using his paper,"The Marines: Survival and Accommodation," aswell as suggested readings as the basis for thediscussion.

On 8 February, the seminar featured Col HerbertY. Schandler, USA (Ret), a PhD from Harvard, andauthor of the recent book, The Unmaking of aPresident, Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam. Currentlya staff member of the Library of Congress'Congressional Research Service, Col Schandler 'stopic concerned the strategy of the Vietnam War.

From 27-30 December Mr. Henry I. Shaw and Dr.Russell Parkinson represented the division at theannual meeting of the American Historical

Association held in Dallas, Texas. While there theyattended a full schedule of sessions, seminars, andworkshops on military and governmental historicalsubjects.

WantedIn 1945, two members of the 3d Marine

Division Band, PFCs J.E. Bradley and R.R.Smith, composed and dedicated a march to theirdivision commander, MajGen Graves B.

Erskine. The work, suitably enough, was en-titled "The General Graves B. Erskine Mar-ch." We would like to obtain manuscript copiesof the march's music for our Military MusicCollection. Anyone knowing of the whereaboutsof the composers or of the music itself, pleasewrite the Director of Marine Corps History andMuseums, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps(Code HD), Washington, D.C. 20380