Courtesy of LtGen William K. Jones

Cards identical to this one drawn by2dLt James A. Donovan carried holidaygreetings from Marines in Iceland tofriends and relatives in the United Statesduring the first weeks after 7 December.

both the galleys and mess halls werepungent with the odor of mutton andcodfish obtained from local sources.Messmen described the day's menuas "mutton, lamb, sheep, or ram." Lo-cal milk and cheese products wereprohibited because it was reportedthat many of Iceland's cows weretubercular.

The Marines were issued a highlyconcentrated chocolate candy bar asa "combat" ration to be consumed incase the Germans attacked and otherrations were not available. One gun-nery sergeant dubbed this ration "thelast-chance goody bar:'

Communications in the brigadewere primitive even by the standardsof World War II. The primary me-ans of tactical and administrativecommunications were the land linesand sound-powered telephoneswhich tied together companies, bat-talions, regiment, and brigade. Bat-

talion and higher headquarters hadradio equipment that could bebroken down into man-pack loadsand were powered by hand-crankedgenerators. Eventually gasoline-powered generator units providedelectricity for radios as well as camplighting.

World news and information ofevents at home came mostly fromnaval channels and personal mail,which took two to four weeks to ar-rive via destroyers. A brigade week-ly newspaper, The Arctic Marine,provided some world news, Ameri-can sports news, some local newsitems, and Marine humor.

As the winter days passed, and nomovement orders had been pub-lished, the Marines began to face thepossibility of an indefinite stay inIceland. They had no way of know-ing that in November, powers inWashington had decided to begin

A winter scene at one of the camps, when the wind velocity was 65 miles per hour.

29

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redeploying them early in 1942,when more Army troops were sched-uled to arrive in Iceland. The brigadewould then return to the UnitedStates on the Army transports whichbrought the soldiers. When wordspread of the pending move home,griping about the dark, dull life in thebarren camps declined and the daysbecame more bearable. The prospectof returning to Marine Corps com-mand was also heartening.

During the weeks leading up to 7December and the entry of Americainto the war, the Marines had no realmorale problems outside of the bore-dom already described and an ina-bility to wander far from their camps.After 7 December, attitudes, motiva-tion, and interests focused upon thePacific War and the fate of Marinefriends attacked and captured by theJapanese at Wake Island, Guam, Chi-na, and the Philippines. The out-break of the Pacific War didn'tchange the conditions under whichthe Marines existed in Iceland, asthey were already in a war theaterand on war alert. There had beenrumors of the Marines going else-where than home when the Army ar-rived, but no firm plans had beenprepared, at least on the brigade lev-el. After 7 December, the Marines'great fear was that they would be leftin Iceland. There were no more com-plaints by troops about Iceland hard-ships, they just wanted to get to thePacific.

Christmas 1941 was a relativelygood day for the Marines. They en-joyed a proper holiday meal of tur-key, baked ham, and the othertraditional elements of a Christmasdinner plus free beer and cigars. TheNavy had provided a number ofsmall trees for the mess halls and allhands turned to in efforts to do someappropriate decorations. The firstreally heavy snowfall blanketed thedrab camps to provide a proper whiteChristmas.

Some fortunate Marines who hadmade friends with Icelandic families

were invited to their homes for theevening. Marine officers and someBritish officers enjoyed traditional fa-mily celebrations to which they wereable to contribute some gin, nuts,fruit, candy, and items not easy forthe Icelanders to obtain. Thesehospitable families shared their chil-dren, food, songs, and good will withthe soldiers and Marines occupyingtheir country. It was a memorableand merry day for all.

By January, the wind was blowingso hard and so constantly, manycamps had to install hand lines fromthe huts to the heads and mess build-ings to help keep all Marines frombeing blown and sliding off the pathsinto the mud. Major David M.Shoup wrote his wife on 20 January1942:

Well, we had a couple daysago one of those wind storms forwhich this place is noted. And inspite of the huts that are builtand banked to "take it," a num-ber had the ends sucked out,others just pressed together andsome messhalls of Icelandic con-crete construction were laid low

I saw men rolled along theground. I moved all out of myhut that was loose and locked thesafes and field desks . . . and

hoped . . . . The wind was 80miles per hour all day with in-termittent gusts reaching veloc-ities of 120 miles per hour.

In January 1942, the brigadereceived orders to begin movinghome. The redeployment was to beexecuted by battalions. First to leavewas the 3d Battalion, scheduled todepart on 31 January. The battalionquickly turned its camps over toArmy units and embarked, but notuntil it had set up the Army's metalbunks and made up their beds (as or-dered by Iceland Base Command).The Marines short-sheeted most ofthe bunks as a farewell gesture to thesoldiers. The advance echelon ofArmy officers arrived in a cold,howling snowstorm and proceeded to

30

slip, slide, and fall on the icy roads.The "Thundering Third" departed ina hurry and left the soldiers to theirnew misery.

The small convoy of a couple ofcargo vessels and a troop-ship withthe 3d Battalion took a far northerlyroute off the coast of Greenland inorder to avoid German submarineswhich were becoming increasinglyactive in the North Atlantic. The es-cort consisted of a light cruiser anda few destroyers. The weather wasvery heavy with green water break-ing over all the weather decks. Guncrews on decks had to be securedfrom their stations. Ice formed allover the ships and most of the Ma-rines took to their bunks sea-sick.

After a week of rough sailing, theconvoy pulled into the BrooklynNavy Yard and the troops rapidly de-barked. Marines from eastern stateswere to go on 15 days' leave whilethose from states west of the Missis-sippi would take a troop train to SanDiego where they would begin theirleave. The battalion was to reassem-ble at Camp Elliott in early March.

A large number of Marines scat-tered into Manhattan dressed in furcaps and green winter overcoats, withpolar bear shoulder patches and the6th Marines' fourrageres — the shoul-der cord representing the Croix deGuerre awarded the 6th in WorldWar I—and a rolling seaman's gaitfrom the rough sea passage. Theywere the first units to return from theEuropean Theater of Operations andreceived a warm welcome from NewYorkers wherever they went.

During February, the Army infan-try battalion which had replaced the3d Battalion at Brauterholt was or-dered to move back into the Reykja-vik area where the 10th InfantryRegiment was concentrating its units.So, the 1st Battalion, reorganized asa provisional battalion, went to con-siderable effort to move troops andequipment in horrible weather backout to the unattractive camp. A fewweeks later they returned and em-

barked for the States. The 1st and 2dBattalions, with attachments fromother brigade units, began to mountout for the return home on 8 March1942. The weather was cold, wet,and windy, making the movement tothe docks miserable and hazardous.But loading went on around theclock as all hands were ready andeager to get going. The brigade head-quarters and 1st Battalion, 6th Ma-rines, and its attached units, were thelast of the brigade to depart Iceland.Their ships sailed from Reykjavik at0800 on 9 March, then delayed forthree days up the Hvalfjordur fjordwaiting for the ships coming fromIreland to gather and form up theconvoy for the trip home.

The North Atlantic is on its worstbehavior during the late wintermonths, so each of the battalions ex-perienced the same rough seas, cold

temperatures, and icing as the con-voy constantly changed its headingto avoid submarines while enroute toNew York harbor and the welcomesight of the Statue of Liberty.

On 8 March 1942, General Mar-ston had moved his command postfrom on shore to the transport USSMcCawley, and the Marine brigadereturned to its place within the navalestablishment. So ended a uniquephase of World War II wherein a Ma-rine unit was "detached for servicewith the Army by order of the Presi-dent:' The brigade headquarterslanded at New York on 25 March atwhich time the brigade was dis-banded.

With the rest of the 1st MarineBrigade (Provisional), the 5thDefense Battalion was relieved byArmy units in March. The 61st Coast

31

Artillery took over Marine positionsand guns and the battalion embarkedfor New York in the U.S. ArmyTransport Boringuen. By July of1942, most of the battalion was en-route to the South Pacific: NewZealand, Guadalcanal-Tulagi, andFunafuti, Ellice Islands. The 6th Ma-rines and the artillery battalion of the10th Marines rejoined the 2d Divi-sion at Camp Elliott in California, asdid other supporting units.

How much strategic value the Ma-rine deployment had remains a ques-tion. It did not actually relieve manyBritish troops. The German threatbecame minimal because the Naziswere already overcommitted in Rus-sia and North Africa. The deploy-ment tied up numbers of experiencedofficers and men in Iceland whenthey were sorely needed in Califor-nia. The end of March 1942 saw all

Col Leo D. Hermle and MajGen John Marston hold the Ice-land Challenge shield presented to the 1st Brigade "as a

Marine Corps Historical Collection

token of comradeship by the British Forces in Iceland,1941-42." The brigade took it home to Camp Pendleton.

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Iceland Marines — except those onleave — back in California where theyprovided trained cadres for numer-ous newly formed units: raiders,defense battalions, artillery, and the9th Marines of the new 3d MarineDivision.

By the end of 1942, some of theseMarines were battling the Japaneseon Guadalcanal in the South Pacif-ic Other Iceland Marines went on toserve with distinction in the othermajor amphibious assaults of the Pa-cific War.

The Marines in the brigade werebenefited by a unique experience offield service which added to therecord and character of the Corps.Their tour in Iceland gave validity tothe first line of the second verse ofthe Marines' Hymn, "In the snows offar off northern lands . . .

Marines load their gear on board a transport which has just unloaded U.S.Army units which are relieving the 1st Marine Brigade. On the way home, theships would be wallowing in the North Atlantic heavy seas and coated with ice.

32

Staff and Command List1st Marine Brigade (Provisional)

Brigade Headquarters

July 1941

BGen John Marston Commanding OfficerCol Charles I. Murray Executive OfficerMaj Walter A. Churchill B-2

Maj Edwin C. Ferguson B-3

Capt George H. Brockway B-4

Capt Robert E. Hill Adjutant and B-i

istLt William W. Young, Jr Bn-4

2dLt William C. Chamberlin Bn-2

3d Battalion

6th Marines

LtCol Maurice G. Holmes Commanding OfficerMaj Chester B. Graham Executive OfficerCapt Robert J. Kennedy Bn-3

lstLt Harold C. Boehm Bn-2

2dLt Cyril C. Sheehan Bn-4

Cot Leo D. Hermle Commanding OfficerLtCol William McN. Marshall Executive OfficerMaj David M. Shoup R-3

Capt Arnold F. Johnston R-1

Capt William T. Wise R-2

Maj Ralph D. Leach R-4

5th Defense Battalion

1st Battalion

Col Lloyd L. Leech Commanding OfficerLtCol Charles N. Muldrow Executive OfficerMaj George F. Good, Jr Bn-3

Capt H. S. Leon Bn-2Capt Charles W. Shetburne Bn-4

LtCol Oliver P. Smith Commanding OfficerMaj Clarence H. Baldwin Executive Officer and Bn-3istLt Robert W. Rickert Bn-1

lstLt Loren E. Haffner Bn-2lstLt Charlton B. Rogers, III Bn-4

Reinforcing Units2d Battalion, 10th Marines

2d Battalion

LtCol John B. Wilson Commanding OfficerMaj Archie V. Gerard Executive OfficerCapt Harry A. Traffert, Jr Bn-4lstLt Thomas S. Ivey Bn-3lstLt Martin Fenton Bn-2

LtCol William A. Worton Commanding OfficerMaj Joseph F. Hankins Executive OfficerCapt Thomas J. Colley Bn-3

lstLt Rathvon McC. Tompkins Bn-1

1st Scout Company Capt Reed M. Fawell, Jr.1st Engineer Battalion lstLt Levi W. Smith, Jr.2d Medical Battalion LCdr Ralph E. Fielding (MC)2d Service Battalion 2dLt Arthur F. Torgler, Jr.2d Tank Battalion Capt John H. Cook, Jr.

1jk

Marine Corps Nistorica CoIlecLn

The basic sources for this work are: His-tory of US. Marine Corps Operations inWorld War lI—Pearl Harbor to Guadal-canal, by LtCol Frank 0. Hough, Maj Ver-le E. Ludwig, and Henry I. Shaw, Jr.(Washington: Historical Branch, G-3 Divi-sion, HQMC, 1958); A Brief History of the6th Marines (Washington: Marine CorpsHistorical Center, 1987) by LtGen WilliamK. Jones, USMC (Ret); Follow Me! TheStory of the Second Marine Division inWorld War II (New York: Random House,1948) by Richard W. Johnston; The Battleof the Atlantic (Alexandria, Virginia:Time-Life Books, 1977) by Barrie Pitt andTime-Life editors; The United States Ma-rines: 1775-1975 (New York: Viking Press,1976) by BGen Edwin H. Simmons, USMC(Ret); The United States Marine Corps(New York: Praeger, 1967) by Col JamesA. Donovan, USMC (Ret); The UnitedStates Marines in Iceland (Washington:Historical Division, HQMC, 1970) byLtCol Kenneth J. Clifford, USMCR;"Iceland1 Marine Corps Gazette, Nov65;The First Marine Brigade (Provisional)1941-1942 (Washington: Historical Divi-sion, HQMC, 1946) by John L. Zimmer-man; Mr. Roosevelt's Navy (Annapolis:United States Naval Institute Press, 1975)by Patrick Abbazia; and U.S. MarineCorps Aviation (Washington: DCNO [AirWarfarel and ComNavAirSys, 1978) byMajGen John P. Condon, USMC (Ret).

All oral history transcripts addressingthe Marine deployment to Iceland were ex-amined. The interviews with the follow-ing officers were found particularly useful:Gen Oliver P. Smith; MajGen William A.Worton; MajGen Raymond L. Murray;and LtGen Leo D. Hermle. In addition, thediary, notes, and comments of LtColOliver P. Smith about his duties as CO.lstBn, 6th Mar, serving at San Diego,California, and Iceland were researched inthe Personal Papers Collection, MarineCorps Historical Center.

Besides the letters, photographs, inter-view tapes, and personal papers of theauthor, others from the following weregratefully received and useful in writingthis history: LtCol Harold K. Throneson,USMC (Ret); Gen David M. Shoup,USMC (Ret) (Dec) (letters and papers fur-nished by Mrs. D. M. Shoup); Col DavidE. Marshall, USMC (Ret); LtCol Robert J.Vroegindewey, USMC (Ret); and ColJames 0. Appleyard, USMC (Ret). Thefiles of the Reference and Archives Sectionsof the Marine Corps Historical Center werealso researched for material and officialdocumentation relating to the Marinedeployment to Iceland.

C olonel James A. Donovan, U.S. MarineCorps (Retired), entered the Marine Corps

via the 1938 Western Platoon Leaders Class. Hewas commissioned in the Reserve upon gradua-tion from Dartmouth College in 1939 and wenton active duty with Chicago's 9th Reserve Bat-talion in 1940.

He soon was assigned to the 6th Marines andremained in the regiment throughout World WarII, participating in battles at Guadalcanal, Tara-wa, Saipan, and Tinian. He served as platoonleader, company commander, operations officer,

and finally executive officer of the 1st Battalion. He was awarded the Bronze Starand Silver Star Medals.

After World War II, he was editor of Leatherneck Magazine. During the KoreanWar he was assigned to 1st Marine Division and later went to 3d Marine Divisionon Okinawa to command the 2d Battalion, 9th Marines.

He retired from active service in November 1963 and became publisher of theArmy, Navy, Air Force Journal. In 1967 he went to work at Georgia Tech in publicrelations and publications, and retired in 1980.

Colonel Donovan is the author of The United States Marine Corps (Praeger, 1967)and Militarism, U.S.A. (Scribners, 1970).

WORLD WAR II

/ A11941 WWIlI 11945

THIS PAMPHLET HISTORY, one in a series devoted to U.S. Marines in theWorld War II era, is published for the education and training of Marines bythe History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps,Washington, D.C., as a part of the U.S. Department of Defense observanceof the 50th anniversary of victory in that war.

Editorial costs of preparing this pamphlet have been defrayed in part bya bequest from the estate of Emilie H. Watts, in memory of her late husband,Thomas M. Watts, who served as a Marine and was the recipient of a PurpleHeart.

WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES

DIRECTOR OF MARINE CORPS HISTORY AND MUSEUMSBrigadier General Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret)

GENERAL EDITOR,WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATIVE SERIES

Benis M. Frank

CARTOGRAPHIC CONSULTANTGeorge C. MacGillivray

EDITING AND DESIGN SECTION, HISTORY AND MUSEUMS DIVISIONRobert E. Struder, Senior Editor; W. Stephen Hill, Visual Information

Specialist; Catherine A. Kerns, Composition Services Technician

Marine Corps Historical CenterBuilding 58, Washington Navy Yard

Washington, D.C. 20374-0580

1992PCN 190 003118 00

-. —