FORTITUDINENEWSLETTER OF THE MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PROGRAM
VOLUME XIII SPRING 1984 NUMBER 4
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A: Approved for public release; distribution isunlimited.
PCN 10401220100
Hislo,ies Section: Ma) Frank M. Bstha,Jr., USMC; Ma) Terrence P.Murray, USMC; Maj Edward F. Wells, USMC, Mr. Jack Shulimson;Mr. Charles R. Smith; Mr. V. Keith Fleming, Jr.
Reference Section: Mr. DannyJ. Crawford; Mr. Robert V. Aquilina;Mrs. Ann A. Ferrante; Mits Lena M. KaIjot; Mrs. Regina Strothet.
F 0 RTITUD INEMotto of the United States Marine Corps in the 1812 era.
Volume XIII Spring 1984
This quarterly newsletter of the Marine Corps historical program is published forthe Corps and for friends of Marine Corps history in accordance with Department ofthe Navy Publications and Printing Regulations NAVEXOS P-35. Individuals and in-.stitutions desiring Fortitudine on a complimentary regular basis are invited to applyto: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps (Code HDS-1),
Washington, D.C. 20380.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Director's Page: New Manual for the Marine Corps Histo rica! Program 3
Peleliu Sword Acquired by Marine Museum 6
Acquisitions 7
New Writing Guide 7
Decorating the Beer Tent—Gitmo, 1940 8
Grenada—in Retrospect 10
In Memoriam 16
World War II Chronology: March-May 1944 20
Historical Foundation Lists Recent New Members 24
Oral History Section. Mr. Benis M. Frank.
Archives: Mrs. Joyce E. Bonnctt.
MUSEUMS BRANCHCd F. B. Nihart, USMC (Ret)Deputy Director for Museums
Mr. Charles A. WoodChief Curator
Artist-in-ResidenceLtCoI Charles H. Waterhouse, USMCR
Marine &rn'achs, Special Projects: Mr. Richard A. Long. MaterialHistory: Mr. Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas. Exhibits: Mr. Carl M.DeVere. Sr.; Sgt RebeccaLynnJ. Mays, USMC; Mr. Benny L. Lenox,Sr. Art: Mr.John T. Dyer, Jr. Personal Papers: Mr.Joseph M. Miller.Registrar: Mr. John H. McGorry Ill.
Museums Activities, QuanticoLtCol Rudy T. Schwanda, USMC
Officer-in-Charge
Administration: Capt David C. Uhley, USMC. Ordnance: Mr. An.thony W. Tommell. Restoration: Mr. Joseph £. Payton. Aviation:Mr. John C. Willever. Exhibits. Mr. Ronaid J. Perkins. Uniforms:Mrs. Nancy F. King. Security: Sgt Miguel Saninocencio, USMC
SUPPORT BRANCHLcCol Philip A. Forbes, USMC
Head/Division Executive Officer
Administrative: CWO2J. C. Owens, USMC. Security: MSgt VernonD. Kittle, USMC. Library: Miss Evelyn A. Englander.
Publications Production: Mr. Robert E. Struder. Production: MissCatherine A. Stoll. Typesetting andl.ayout: LCpI Stanley W. Crow1,USMC.
Editor, FortuudineMaj Edward F. Wells
THE COVERLtCol Albert M. "Mike" Leahy, USMCR (Ret), Deputy Legislative and Public AffairsOfficer, Naval Air Systems Command, executed this ink and watercolor painting,"MCAS Douglas" as a civilian under Navy auspices (see Fortitudine, Winter 1984,Director's page). These and other paintings are now on display at the Marine CorpsMuseum as part of the current special exhibit "In Every Clime and Place." They areon loan from the Naval Internal Relations Activity, Chief of Information's Office,U.S. Navy, with whose permission LtCol Leahy's narrative account, the map ofGrenada and his paintings appear.
Fom'tudine is produced in the Publications Production Section of the History and Museums Division.The text for Fortitudine is set in 10 point and 8 point Garamond typeface. Headlines are in 18 point or 24point Garamond. The newsletter is printed on 70-pound, matte-coated paper.
2
HIS TOR Y
No.4
AND MUSEUMSDIVISION
Telephone: (202) 433-3838, 433-3840, 433-3841
DIRECrORBGen Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret)
HISTORICAL BRANCHCd John G. Miller, USMCDeputy Director for History
Mr. Henry I. Shaw,Jr.Chief Historian
Director's Page
New Manual for the Marine Corps Historical Program
BGen Simmons
THE "Manual for the Marine CorpsHistorical Program," MCOP5750.1F, was published on 27
March 1984 and should be in the handsof all commands and some individualsby the time this issue of Fortitudinereaches you. Distribution is made to allreporting unit codes; however, activitieswishing extra copies or individualswishing their own copy can get them bywriting the Marine Corps HistoricalCenter (Code HDS).
The new manual replaces MCOP5750.1E which was published on 26November 1979. The old order reflectedthe opening of the Marine CorpsHistorical Center, including the MarineCorps Museum, in the Washington NavyYard, and of the Marine Corps AviationMuseum at Quantico. The new orderbenefits from nearly five years additionalexperience with the opening of theCenter and the then-new reorganizationof the History and Museums Division in-to a Historical Branch, a MuseumsBranch, and a Support Branch. Hopeful-ly, we have developed a truly usefulmanual delineating the procedures andrespective responsibilities of Head-quarters Marine Corps and field activitiesin the execution of the Marine CorpsHistorical Program.
Marine Corps history, of course, is buta part of the larger whole of militaryhistory. We firmly believe that ananalytic use of military history should bea vital part of any approach towardmeeting current operational or institu-tional problems.
As we say in the new order, "Effectiveplanning for the future must encompasspainstaking evaluation of the past, if
some of the harsher lessons of history arenot to be painfully revisited. Suchevaluation presupposes a systematicmeans of collecting, screening, andpreserving historical records."
W e also say, "In addition, tangibleevidence of unit and individual
achievement complements writtenhistory by fostering high standards ofmilitary virtue. This requires a com-prehensive program that honors tradi-tion and builds esprit through thedisplay of awards, battle honors,historical flags, and other objects ofhistorical and sentimental significance."
As Director of Marine Corps Historyand Museums, I am the Commandant'sprincipal staff officer for historical mat-ters. My duties include the direction ofthe History and Museums Division, the
3
supervision of assigned field historical ac-tivities, and staff cognizance over thegeneral execution of the historical pro-gram throughout the Marine Corps.
That's my responsibility. But neitherthe History and Museums Division nor Ioperate in isolation. Commanders havethe responsibility of conducting ade-quate command historical programs.Further, officers and noncommissionedofficers are encouraged to broaden theirprofessional knowledge through thestudy of military history and all Marinesare expected to have a clear understan-ding of the basic events that have shapedthe military heritage of the United Statesand, most particularly, the United StatesMarine Corps.
A command historical program must,at minimum, include the assign-
Marine Corps Historical Program ObjectivesMake the cumulative historical experience of the Marine Corps available for
widespread study and exploitation.Foster an appreciation of military history as an element of professional educa-
tion and as an important ingredient in staff planning and command judgments
and decisions.Enhance esprit de corps through wide dissemination of Marine Corps history
and traditions.Provide source material for the study of the development of tactics, weapons,
and equipment, both air and ground.Collect and preserve significant documents and records relating to the
Marine Corps.
Give substance to tradition by identifying, collecting, maintaining, and ex-
hibiting objects of lasting historical and sentimental value to the Marine Corps.
Encourage creative scholarship that promotes a deeper understanding of thehistorical role of the Marine Corps, both in the national development of theUnited States and as an instrument of national policy.
ment of a staff historian, themaintenance of the unit's historical sum-mary file, the preparation and submis-sion of command chronologies, and theaccounting of historical properties.
Assignment as staff historian is usuallyan additional duty. We require that it bedone in writing and encourage (but ob-viously cannot require) that the officer soassigned have primary duties that puthim in the mainstream of thecommand's functioning.
A key dutyof the staff historian is thecompilation of his unit's commandchronology. The command chronology isthe basic historical record of the characterand experience of each Marine Corpsorganization. Command chronologiesare permanent records and, as such, willeventually be retired to the National Ar-chives of the United States. As we pon-tificate in the order, "As these reports areoften the only lasting official record of acommand's activities, it is imperativethat they be complete, informative, legi-ble, and representative of the profes-sionalism and precision that have tradi-tionally characterized the Marine Corps."
T o ensure that the commandchronologies get the personal atten-
tion of the commander, we require thatthey be signed by the commander ratherthan "by direction."
While the form and content ofchronologies may vary to reflect thenature of the reporting unit, eachchronology must include four standardsections: Organizational Data, Narrative
Summary, Sequential Listing of Signifi-cant Events, and SupportingDocuments.
Routinely, active Marine Corps unitssubmit their chronologies on a semi-annual basis. Reserve activities and theMarine Corps Districts submit on an an-nual basis. Units on operationaldeployments or in combat submit on amonthly basis. These last are the "wardiaries."
Some readers may remember that inmy Director's Page, "Vietnam Histories:
4
Where we Are," (Fortitudine, Spring1983) I put command chronologies firstin the list of really basic primary sourcesfor our Vietnam histories. Other primarysources include after-action reports, jour-nal files, message files, debriefs, andfield interviews, but in my judgementthe command chronologies are the mostimportant. At least they are where onemust begin to construct an officialhistory of an organization or an opera-tion.
In the last Fortitudine (Winter 1984) Idescribed the on-going writing of theLebanon and Grenada monographs.Here the command chronologies are justas important as they are in the writing ofthe Vietnam histories.
A ll organizations required to submitcommand chronologies are also re-
quired to maintain a command historicalsummary file. Such files are exempt frompolicies governing the normal retirementand destruction of records.
Commands are also involved, to agreater or lesser degree depending upontheir size and mission, in oral history,the commemorative naming program,historic sites, acquisition of historicalmaterial, and Marine Corps art.
Duties of the Staff HistorianPreparing historical reports.
Assisting in the preservation of the basic records that document the history ofthe unit.
Augmenting these reports and documents by personal observation and inter-views.
Promoting general awareness of the unit's historical achievement.
Acting as responsible officer for all Marine Corps historical properties held bythe comand.
Managing the following command programs: unit lineage and honors, com-memorative naming, historic sites, and oral history.
(A command museums program or a historical holding program may also beassigned, where appropriate.)
Command Historical File ContentsCopies of certificates of lineage and honors (if issued).
Streamer entitlements. (Letter listing campaigns for which each honor wasissued.)
Copies of past command chronologies.
Press clippings from local military and civilian newspapers.
Copies of appropriate command-generated press releases.
Copy of the official unit history (if one has been published) and extracts fromother published works covering the history of the unit.
List and photographs of former commanding officers and other importantmembers of the command, complete with captions that detail the date, thename and grade of the subject, and the full title of the command.
Photographs of historical interest, complete with captions that denote dates,places, functions, and individuals involved.
Lists of all properties, facilities, or sites named in commemoration.
Master copies of unit insignia and all related correspondence, to includebackground information, drawings or photographs, and the histories of any in-signia or special identifying devices adopted by the unit.
Cruise books or other unit-oriented publications.
The fundamental objectives of the oralhistory program are to obtain personalnarratives of noteworthy professional ex-periences and observations from Marinesand to provide supplementary documen-tation for command chronologies.
In "The Odyssey of an Oral Historian"(Fortitudine, Fall, 1983) Benis M.
Frank described his oral history coverageof 22d Marine Amphibious Unit atGrenada and 24th MAU in Lebanon.
In most cases field commands are en-couraged but not required to have for-mal oral history programs. Their primarycontribution comes through submissionof recordings of briefings, presentations,and speeches. They may, however, be re-quired to conduct specific interviews.And more and more we are encouragingthe timely interviewing of commandersand key staff officers who participate insignificant operations or other activitiesthat have a marked impact upon theMarine Corps.
T he commemorative naming pro-gram has also been the subject of a
recent Fortitudine article, "MarinesCommemorated in Recent Namings" byRobert V. Aquilina (Spring 1983).
Commanders who have occasion toname Marine Corps buildings or otherproperty can submit recommendednames to us (we do the staff work; thedecision is ultimately theCommandant's) or can request a list ofcandidate names from us. The pro-cedures are well set forth, we think, inthe manual. If they are not perfectly ex-plicit, Mr. Aquilina is the person to call(Autovon 288-3483 or 202-433-3438).
Mr. Aquilina is also in charge of thehistoric sites program. All commands arerequired by law to be aware of this pro-gram and to participate in the identifica-tion and safeguarding of historic sites.
Commands and individuals should bealert to discover material relevant toMarine Corps history: artifacts, art,graphics or printed matter, ormanuscripts. These memorabilia may befound either within the command or inthe hands of private individuals. Newhistorical material should be reported tothe Commandant of the Marine Corps
either for accession or, if it is in privatehands, solicitation.
The Marine Corps art program is sowidely known and has been so extensive-ly reported in the pages of Fortitudineand elsewhere that it scarcely needsdescription here. The collection, con-sisting of more than 6,000 pieces of art,is under the immediate supervision ofJohn T. Dyer, Jr. We are constantly ad-ding to this collection as readers of For-titudine know. Procedures for getting artcoverage of command activities, or, forthat matter, an exhibit of completedwork, can be found in the manual.
1. A staff historian is appointedor a specific individual is assignedto assist the commander in fulfill-ing responsibilities to the MarineCorps Historical Program.
2. The unit's historical summaryfile is being properly maintained.
3. Certificates of lineage andhonors are displayed in a perma-nent place within the unit's head-quarters.
4. Streamers displayed on theorganizational colors reflect thehonors listed in the official cer-tificate of unit honors.
5. The national flag, organiza-tion colors, and streamers are insatisfactory material condition.
6. Command chronologies arebeing submitted in a timely man-ner.
7. The command chronology for-mat adheres to the sequencerecommended in the order.
8. The narrative summary ofcommand chronology gives a
meaningful picture of command'sactivities, problems, andachievements.
9. The command chronology ispersonally signed by the comman-ding officer.
10. The original (ribbon) copy ofthe command chronology is being
Commanders are also encouraged toestablish command museums or ex-
hibits of historical holdings. A "historicalholding" can be as simple as a display ofinoperable ordnance or a grouping offlags and artifacts in a theater, chapel, orlobby of a headquarters building. Nearlyall commands have historical holdings.Command museums are much moreelaborate. Our order sets forth thecriteria for certification as a full-fledgedcommand museum. As of now only Par-ris Island has a certified commandmuseum — and its certification is condi-tional.
forwarded via the chain of com-mand.
11. Reports of subordinate unitsrequired to submit commandchronologies are being collectedand forwarded with the parentunit's report.
12. The command has satisfactori-ly contributed to the Marine Corpsoral history program.
13. The command havingcognizance over real property, hasmaintained a list of com-memoratively named sites andfacilities.
14. The command has dischargedits responsibilties under thehistoric sites program.
15. The command is aware of theprovisions requiring the reportingand forwarding of historicalmaterials to the Marine CorpsMuseum.
16. Historically significant itemsheld by the unit have beenreported to the Commandant ofthe Marine Corps (Code HD).
17. The unit has complied withthe History and Museums Divisionrequirement for semiannual inven-tory of Marine Corps Art.
18. The command maintains amuseum which has been reportedto or certified by the Commandantof the Marine Corps (Code HD).
Command Historical Program Checklist
5
Peleliu SwordAcquired byMarine Museum
Dear Mr. John McGarry;It is with a great deal of pride
and honor, that I make this dona-tion. I give this in memory of allthose fine Marines who fought thatterrible battle of Peleliu. I also amforced to honor those who gave methe best fight of my career as aMarine. I have served this Corps infive major engagements, includingthe Chosin. Without hesitation,this was a battle that called for thelimit a man can give this Corps,and taxed me to the depths of hor-ror, that I had not known then orsince. I have only met four of mycomrades, out of an entire platoon,and one of them was killed in ac-tion at the Chosin, since that cam-paign.
My memory is not as clear as itonce was, but that battle will livein my nightmares. Maybe age is ablessing. The date of the capturewas either September the 19th or20th, 1944. I was 17 years old,private first class, USMCR. I hadenlisted, underage, in March of1943, mainly because of an unclewho was with the Marines in Francein 1917-1918. He related stories oftheir experiences that would shockany normal youth, but for somereason since I was of Celticheritage, they motivated me. "Seastories are fables, not to be takenliterally," so I thought until thisbattle. Then I knew this MarineCorps was no sea story, I saw it. Allthose brave men, young, oldveterans, and the fine leaders wehad. Gone to wherever Marines gowho brought honor to our Corps.
This sword was taken right ontop of Hill 210, what we calledBloody Nose Ridge. There is somedoubt about just what was BloodyNose Ridge, after the Navy done a
number on it. These Japanese werein a narrow slit trench, now en-tombed under palm logs and coral.We were looking for woundedMarines, and a couple of Japanesesnipers, who were raising thedickens with us. I looked downdeep into the slit trench. Therewere about eight dead Japanesesoldiers, shirtless. Apparently twoof them committed suicide withgrenades held to their heads. Fromunder one of the logs, I saw thisbrown tassel, then a handle, thenthe Japanese soldier with the bladeinto his middle. My buddiescovered me, and I went down intothe trench. With the rifle of one ofthe dead Japanese (the bayonet wasaffixed, with the hook [bayonetcross guard]) I snared the tassel.Needless to say, I had finally gotthe prize that all Marines therewanted, a genuine samurai sword.
You can well imagine the smellof this sword. I was not popular inanybody's hole. Our corpsman didrelieve the smell with somethinghe poured over the blade. Youknow too, that every ounce ofweight feels like a ton to a
rifleman. I lugged it around for ashort time, protecting it from bothsides, but I knew it was hopeless.One of our men had taken a coupleof hits, our corpsman was dead, sowe dressed his wounds as best wecould, and called for a stretcher.He seemed reasonably "with us,"so I took a desperate chance. I real-ly did not believe I would make it
6
off that hell hole. With a brokenpencil, I wrote on the wrapper ofthe first aid paper, my father's ad-dress, stuck it into his dungareepocket, and asked him to try andforward it. I laid the sword besidehim. That was the last I saw of thatMarine. I cannot even rememberhis name. He joined us just beforethe campaign.
Then about four months, or so,later, I received a letter from myfather, saying that he received thesword, and that my mother did notwant it in the house. God onlyknows what transpired in the in-terim. Some sailor on board thehospital ship, or an officer, realiz-ed what this meant to a Marine onthe island. My father proudlydisplayed this prize in every Irishgin mill in Sunnyside, Queens,New York.
Then it lay in the dark corner ofa closet until my marriage, whichwas one of the first requests mymother had. "Get this unholything out of the house." Thencame my three boys, who all havesince served in the Corps. They
(Continued on page 7)
New Writing Guide
Acquisitions
THE MARINE CORPS Museum hasreceived a framed, hand-coloredphotograph of the USS Oklahoma
from BGen John S. Letcher, USMC(Ret), of Glasgow, Virginia. Mr. StevenR. Kidd, a noted artist from Elmsfield,New York, donated the original art workhe created as a participant in the Center'sMilitary Art Workshop reported in theFall issue of Fortitudine.
Not all the donations to the MarineCorps Art Collection are receivedthrough the museum in Washington.An example is an original oil painting ofJohn Wayne presented by the VietnamVeterans Historical Association. Thispainting is currently on display at theHeadquarters of the 3d Marine AircraftWing.
The Uniform Collection has received anumber of significant items. LtColHorace S. Mazet, USMCR (Ret), sent ushis leather flight jacket from his home inCarmel, California. LtCol Robert A.Browning, USMC, currently attendingthe National War College, has donatedthe herring-bone twill utilities worn byhis father. Mr. Dixon E. Poole, nowresiding in Puyallup, Washington,presented the camouflage fatigues wornby his father when he was a member ofthe 1st Marine Raider Battalion.
These maps, Cuban mess gear, and can-teen were contributed by Capt Gary R.Cullop of the 22d MAU at Grenada.
A collection of panoramic photos ofMarines in the field was delivered
to the Personal Papers Collection byLtCol Marshall Salvaggio, USMC (Ret),of La Mesa, California. Researchers in-vestigating the Vietnam War will befascinated by the materials of the "RiverRats" presented by Mr. Eugene E. Cox,of Phoenix, Arizona. An assortment ofpersonal papers, books, and fieldmanuals was received from Col Harry G.Botsford, USMC (Ret), of Rockville,Maryland. Through the assistance of MajJohn M. Shotwell, USMC, New York
7
Public Affairs Office, and LtCol HarryW. Edwards, USMC (Ret), the museum
has received the personal papers of thelate Col Francis T. Farrell, USMCR,donated by Mrs. Maureen O'Hara Blair.
Additional items were added to ourgrowing Grenada collection by CaptGary R. Cullop, USMC, serving with the22d Marine Amphibious Unit. Theseitems included an assortment of Cubanmess gear which Capt Cullop acquired,and the maps which he personally usedin that action. —JHMcG
This World War I German Jiechette, col-lected by BGen (then Maj) Robert L.Denig, USMC, in France, was donated tothe Museum by his son, BGen Robert L.Denig, Jr., USMC (Ret), of Los Altos,California. The elder Gen Denigreported that these deadly darts, laterfamiliar to Vietnam Marines in Jiechetteartillery munitions, were dropped "bythe bucketful" from enemy aircraft.
Prized Souvenir Added to Collection
(Continued from page 6)found a good use for it. We hadjust bought our first, well used,home. They were hacking downthe weeds out back since we had notools for this as yet. One of themactually chopped down a tree withit.
worthy. To have the knowledgethat it was resting on somecivilian's mantle, would bedownright sacrilege. It belongswith the Corps, to honor what wedid. I wonder, thisJapanese soldiernever would have imagined that hewould rate such a distinction.
I sat here about three monthsago, after cleaning out an oldcloset, and there it was, in a corner.To sell it would be ignoble and un-
The revised edition of theWriting Guide of the History andMuseums Division, Headquarters,U.S. Marine Corps, is nowavailable. Keyed to the needs of of-ficial historians, the Writing Guideaddresses research, documenta-tion, and writing techniques.
The 74-page, 1983 edition in-cludes new chapters on "Prepara-tion of Maps," "CaptioningPhotographs," Indexing MarineCorps Historical Publications," and"Writing for Fortitudine."
Francis H. KilleenGySgt, USMC (Ret)
Rocky Point, New York
Decorating the Beer Tent— Gitmo, 1940
NORMALLY THE BETTER artists don't do bar rooms.But when one is a Marine Reserve officer mobilized in anational emergency with his own syndicated comic-
adventure strip and a magazine illustrator — Leatherneck andCurtis Publishing Company — he is likely to be called upon forextra duty in line with his civilian profession. Such was the caseof then Capt Donald L. Dickson, USMCR, with the 1st MarineDivision in Cuba during 1940-41. The result was series of sixpaintings, just come to light, used to decorate the division beertent at Guantanamo Bay during the build-up preceding WorldWar II.
BGen Holland M. Smith took the 1st Marine Brigade fromQuantico to Guantanamo in the fall of 1940. The MarineCorps numbered only about 18,000 at the time. In the follow-ing months, with increased recruiting and the mobilization of15 understrength Reserve battalions and the Marine AirReserve, it rose to around 25,000. The brigade, consisting ofthe 5th Marines; 1st Battalion, 11th Marines; 1st Marine Air-craft Group; and various special units, numbered barely 2,000Marines, hardly more than one of today's Marine AmphibiousUnits.
During that tropical fall and winter the brigade trained hardin the heat and jungle of Guantanamo — good conditioning fortwo years later on Guadalcanal. More men arrived from ParrisIsland and the east coast reserves. The 7th and 1st Marines wereformed as well as additional battalions of the 11th and suchnew to the Marine Corps units as the 1st Scout Companyequipped with armored scout cars and motorcycles. On 1February 1941 the brigade was redesignated the 1st MarineDivision and by 31 March, when it returned stateside, itnumbered over 7,600 and Holland M. Smith was promoted tomajor general.
8
T here was no liberty worthy of the name in thosedays — a visit to the mainside naval station or to the can-
tinas of Caimancra, Cuba just beyond the gate. For the stay-at-camps there was an occasional movie, lots of baseball, and thebeer tent. The tent, really a canvas fly with a bar, is shown inthe background of one of Dickson's paintings as a Marineseated in the foreground upends a bottle of the local brewlabelled Cerveza Hatuey. Actually the local beer was CerverzaCamaguey, the only available in those days of primitive recrea-tion and morale arrangements. "Hatuey," the sound of clear-ing the throat and spitting after sampling Camaguey, was whatthe Marines dubbed it. Actually rum was a more popular drinkas it was cheap and packed more wallop. A gallon in a raffia-wrapped jug was $2.29 or a refill of your own gallon jug a mere$1.90. Cola to combine with the rum for a cuba libre wasscarcer than rum and cost almost as much. Most Marines, as aconsequence, took to drinking it with water—grog if you will.
Dickson's paintings decorated the backbar. Painted in oilson finished packing box lumber, they portray Marines forMarines realistically and with humor as Dickson saw them andwas later to immortalize them with his drawings onGuadalcanal. They wore cotton khaki and field hats, theutilities of the day, and carried the Springfield '03 rifle as the5th Marines had in France 22 years before and would continueto do with great effectiveness through 1942's Guadalcanal cam-paign. Three of the paintings, a triptych if you wish, remindedthe Marines of their recent places of duty. One, labelled ParrisIsland, shows a Marine being "chewed out" by his drill instruc-tor. The second, captioned "Quantico" has an overcoatedMarine on guard duty in the snow, while the third labelled
"Cuba" shows the Marine still on guard, this time in ponchoenduring Cuba's tropical rain.
Another painting captioned "Cactus" shows two Marines infield training. One advances while his buddy is stopped by thespine of Cuba's ubiquitous cactus fired from six o'clock. Thebeer drinking scene has been mentioned above which leavesthe last picture called "Sun Hat." Trade named the "TheHawley Topper" it was a pressed fiber, khaki twill coveredtopee in classic British tropical pith helmet form. It was then aninnovation and curiosity for the Marines who had been weddedto the felt field or campaign hat since 1898. They never quitegot used to it. While it offered no more protection than thefield hat it did ventilate the head a little better. Its drawback,however, was that once crushed by being sat on or suffering atrip in the bottom of a sea bag, it stayed crushed while the feltfield hat could be restored easily to acceptable shape.
T he story of how the museum got these paintings of anearlier, simpler Marine Corps on the eve of World War II
is typical of how we receive many significant or unusualhistorical items. The writer received a telephone call one daylast summer from a former Marine officer who said that hisfather, a retired and deceased lieutenant colonel, rescued thepaintings from the trash heap when the camp, including thebeer tent, was struck in April 1941 preparatory to the 1st Divi-sion's embarkation for the States. Our caller was told to turnover the paintings to the nearest Marine Corps activity for ship-ment to the Museum. His name was not recorded as it was ex-pected that it would be on the shipment of art. Unfortunately,when the package arrived from the recruiting station in Orlan-do, Florida the donor's name was not included. Calls to Orlan-do were unrewarding so the identity of the donor remains amystery.
In the ensuing three and one half years of war, Marine com-
9
bat artists produced over 1,000 pieces of art, few of which arein our art collection today. Lesser works were thrown away afterthe war or were returned to the artists. The best art, 500 pieces,was issued to posts and stations for decorating office and bar-racks walls. No records were kept; there was no accountability.A few of these pieces have been identified and returned to con-trol of the collection. Others have been returned from recrea-tion room walls of Marines who "liberated" them over theyears. There are many more out there waiting to be returned tothe Marine Corps.
When he called, the mystery donor said he thought theDickson beer tent paintings should go back to the Corps for theenjoyment of all, and asked if we wanted them. We certainlydid. We would like to hear from any other former Marines whohave combat art on their home walls that should be enjoyed bya wider audience. And, will the mystery donor please drop us aline so that we may properly thank him. — FBN
Grenada—In Retrospect
by LtCol A. M. "Mike" Leaky, USMCR (Ret)
pERHAPS THE AIRPORT at PortSalines was considered unfinished,however, the approach end of the
main runway seemed paved with rubberytiremarks which indicated an enormousamount of Air Force C-141B traffic inthe seven weeks since the U.S. invasionof Grenada. Our Air Force C-141Btouched down uneventfully and turnedinto the Salines terminal apron on Fri-day, December 16.
While Grenada is a lush, green, boun-tiful island, the Salines airport was asarid as the Sahara and just as hot.Another C-141B landed minutes behindus and also pulled onto the apron amidthe shimmering heat waves rising fromthe ground.
It became very obvious that the trio ofMilitary Airlift Command C-14 lB's wereloading up with the final remnants ofthe American assault forces which landedin Grenada somewhat more than a
month and a half before. Men, baggage,and equipment of many units were load-ed on board in an expeditious but order-ly manner for the flight back to theUnited States.
Air Force Police from the 375th AirSecurity Squadron welcomed me aboardand directed me to LtCol Charles Piver,the commanding officer, who wasoverseeing his unit's embarkation aboardthe C-14 lB's. LtCol Piver thrust a two-liter bottle of imported Guadeloupewater into my hands saying "Take this,it's the only water available on the air-field. You'll need it." I stuffed the bottleof "Capes-Dole" water into my camerabag and then began to photograph someof the loading activities.
LtCol Piver had arranged to jeep meto the Army compound right away,
however I told him that I wanted to coverthe departure of the final contingent of
LtCol Leaky visited Grenada from16-19 December 1983, as a civilian artist
for the Naval Internal Relations Activity,Chief of Information's Office.
the American assault forces from theisland. The jeep driver said he'd be backfor me.
As each of the C-l4lBs swallowed uptons of equipment and men, LtCol Piverassembled a small, 40-man formation tostrike the colors which had been flyingproudly since October 25. As the menformed up they proudly displayed theirhomemade guidon flag, an olive-drabpennant atop an old radio antenna takenfrom a stricken jeep. As the men salutedmeaningfully in the searing heat, OldGlory was tenderly lowered and reverent-ly packed away for the trip home. Theformation of air police marched smartly
tion aboard C-141B number 60196,which 'only weeks before' had been usedto carry home the bodies of Marines kill-ed in the Lebanon bombing.
One by one, the C-l4lBs closed thecavernous loading ramps in the rear ofeach aircraft and secured all hatches.Two of the Lockheed "Starlifters"lumbered down the runway and took offfor home with their precious cargo. LtColPiver made a final check of the apronbefore boarding the last C-141B. He wasthe very last man of the American assaultforce to leave Salines and Grenada. Just
10
and happily off to await final debarka-before ducking through the port en-trance hatch he waved a tiny Americanflag in farewell.
Air Force Maj Warren McLannan,pilot of 60196, saluted me from hiscockpit as the giant craft rolled onto therunway for takeoff. With four whining,roaring engines, the last C-141B climbedout into the crystal blue sky, studdedwith billowing white cumulus clouds.
T he entire airport was silent anddeserted as I stood on the Salines
taxiway with my sketch gear, camerabag, and B-4 bag, a light breeze movingalong some of the sultry air. To the rearof the half-finished terminal buildings, Icould see many rag-tag civilians pouringover the hills and down into the terminalara to scavenge anything left by thedeparting forces. I experienced thatqueasy old feeling that I hadn't felt sincemy duty days in Vietnam. I missed thesecurity of at least carrying a sidearm.
My concern was short-lived, however,as a jeep drove on t2 the airfield, drivenby SFC Manuel Jiminez, USA, with CaptAllan R. Bockrath, USA, of the UnitedStates Military Support Element(USMILSUPE) based along Grand AnseBeach near St. George's, the capital ofGrenada. As Capt Bockrath pointed out,a series of Cuban concrete pillboxes wereforklifted and placed in a zig-zag ar-rangement along the access road at theairfield entrance. "We put them thatway after Beirut," he explained.
Enroute from the airport to GrandAnse, I was electrified to see the truckand equipment compound at Frequente.Dull green Soviet trucks stood there, asthough frozen in time, with their cabstilted forward giving the impression ofkneeling in obeisance. To the rear of thecompound were large, corrugated-metal,supply-storage structures. I recognizedthem as the warehouses which storedscores of tons .of Soviet-made weaponsand ammunition prior to the invasion.
A s our jeep approached Grand AnseBeach area, we passed an Army
heliport with several UH-60 SikorskyBlackhawks standing by, along with afew OH-58 Bell observation helicopters.The heliport was located next to theGrand Anse-St. George's Medical Cam-pus and a police training barracksreputedly used to train subversives andterrorists.
I'd hardly moved my gear into someassigned quarters in the Army com-pound before LtCol Arthur Graves, com-manding officer of USMILSUPE, invitedme to sit in on the daily 1600 briefingwhere all department heads of his400-strong force reported events, pro-blems, and operations of the day. I wascourteously invited to brief my missionto Grenada, which resulted in over-whelming air and ground support duringmy ensuing stay.
Many of the second-story rooms in theconverted Grenada Beach Hotel wereroofless and burned out. Army personnellived in the balance of the undamagedrooms. Of immediate notice, all militarypersonnel carried sidearms and web gearfull of ammunition. Some of thesoldiers, obviously headed for a dip atthe barbed-wire-barricaded beach area,were in bathing suits carrying a towel,web gear, and weapon. Capt Herv Mar-tin, USA, the S-i, informed me that thepolicy in Grenada for Army was that allpersonnel would carry weapons and webgear at all times. That was enough of ahint for me. Since there were no extra
U.S. weapons available I borrowed aSoviet 9mm Makarov pistol for my ownsecurity.
Looking over the Grenada BeachHotel Army compound, I could see
the unmistakable tracks of attackingNavy A-7 light bombers where they "stit-ched" several sections of the ramblingbeach hotel. During the second day ofthe invasion, when Army Rangers werebeing airlifted in by Marine helicoptersto the beach area nearby, to rescueAmerican college students, hostileground fire came from the beach hotel.Resistance was quickly eliminated by the
pinpoint accuracy of the A-7's and thestudents were subsequently rescued,unharmed.
An Army major "grabbed me by thestacking swivel" and we drove off to theRichmond Hill Prison and the late PrimeMinister Maurice Bishop's residence. I
marvelled at the grand view of St.George's harbor from the site of theprison administration building. Mythoughts turned melancholy, however,as I viewed the lonely spot in the sportsstadium below where a Marine AH-1TCobra attack helicopter had crash-landedand burned on the day of the invasion.The major showed me devastatingdamage to the prison administrationbuilding created by Air Force AC-130Specter gunships. The prison itself wasleft undamaged, since it housed severalpolitical prisoners as well as felons andother detainees.
W hen driving up to the primeminister's residence, I was surpris-
ed at the number of armed checkpointsleading to the building itself. While Idid not go into the residence it was ob-vious that the building had housed aconsiderable amount of sophisticatedcommunications gear prior to the inva-sion. It now served as headquarters forthe increasing number of CaribbeanPeace Force (CPF) personnel. A CPFguard proudly showed me his Britishautomatic 9mm Sten gun.
SEALS (U.S. Navy special warfare team members) reconnoiter Pearls airport! Gren-ville area before dawn. Their mission was critical to planners' choice of ently means.
HMM-261 helicopters (AH1 - T Cobras and CH-46 Sea Knights), from USS Guam,rendezvous before heading in to the landing zone just south of the Pearls airport.
A fter arriving back at the Armycompound, an Army Blackhawk
pilot invited me to fly along next day onthe daily helicopter logistics run overGrenada and nearby islands to the north.Sgt Jiminez gave me a packet of the newlightweight rations for my late meal.Eating the new rations was another of themany surprises I was to receive during mybrief stay on Grenada. After a while Irealized that if I added water to most ofthe rations, they'd go down much easier.The crackers hadn't changed much sinceVietnam, however. They were still moreuseful as targets on a skeet range.
At 0800 1 joined my pilot and copilot,and strolled over to the heliport. SP4 EricR. Measer, USA, was already climbing allover the UH-60 Blackhawk, preflightingthe aircraft. 1 was invited to man the star-board gunner's position with an M-16 ri-fle. 1 could only muse to myself thatthings had hardly changed since I flew 73missions in Vietnam as a Marinehelicopter machine gunner/combat ar-tist. I didn't realize at that time that we'daccumulate 8.5 hours of flying time thatday, "humping" supplies, chow, andpeople all over Grenada and its environs.The crew to this day swears they didn't"shanghai" me, however, I wouldn'thave known the difference by the timewe all dragged in that evening at 1830.
As we lifted off the pad, gainingaltitude as we headed north from GrandAnse Beach, I was immediately taken bythe close proximity of the areas where somany of the significant actions tookplace during the first days of the inva-sion. Having been quite thoroughly pre-briefed by participants back inWashington, Norfolk, and bases inNorth Carolina, I was quite familiar withmany of the individual, isolated aspectsof the Grenada actions. The importanceof my visit to Grenada became im-mediately apparent while studying theclose spatial relationships of the areaswhere salient actions occurred. In orderfor me to recreate the Grenada opera-tions through the medium of art, therewas absolutely no substitute for my view-ing the island and its environs first hand.
The Grenada Beach Hotel looked likea split-open honeycomb. Its top floorwas burnt out, agape. We headed northalong the beach, to the mouth of St.George's harbor, and shot over the top ofButler House, the former governmentexecutive offices, now a burned outhulk. The ridges surrounding the quainttown of St. George's fitted together likean interlocking jigsaw puzzle.
Perhaps the most revealing and bizarrescene of all was a group of emplacementsand structures atop Richmond Hill. Two
12
ancient forts (Fort Matthew and FortFrederick) occupied the north end of theridge, separated by a few hundredmeters. In between the forts had been aCuban military headquarters. Duringthe first midday of the invasion, torrentsof ground fire came up from these areas,arcing wildly around United Stateshelicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Smallarms fire poured out of the windows ofthe southernmost yellow building intriangular shaped Fort Matthew. Hiddenin the trees off the roadway passing a fewmeters below, the yellow building was aSoviet BTR-60 armored personnel car-rier, its ugly 20mm cannon pouring out-fire which may have brought down twoMarine Cobra helicopters, at the cost ofthree American lives.
A Navy A-6 Corsair had boresightedthe yellow building and planted a Mark82 bomb squarely against the side of theold stone masonry fortress, blasting theroof off the yellow building inside andperhaps disabling the BTR-60 which waslater found still hidden in the treesbelow. Later accounts of the actiondescribed the small yellow building amental hospital. Cubans had reportedlyarmed many of the inmates who hadfired out the windows at the aircraftabove.
Just to the north of St. Georges lay aflat, stadium-like area called the Queen'sRacecourse, which later became a
primary logistical area for Marines ap-propriately dubbed "LZ Racetrack." Tallgrass now obscured the marks and gashesin the turf made by heavy vehicles, tanksand amtracs. A disabled Soviet truck,cab tilted forward, sat incongruouslynear the corner of the staging area.
Offshore, in the luminous blue greencoastal waters, several U.S. Coast Guardcutters plied the seas around Grenadaand its neighboring islands north to Car-riacou, interdicting suspicious craft. Wedropped down to mast height and wavedhello to the crew of the Cape Fox on theirlonely vigil.
At each LZ along the route we alter-nately dropped off rations, supplies, andpeople. An American military policecadre was headquartered near each ofseveral Grenadan communities.
All of the MP detachments were staff-ed with rugged individuals who pro-
Gunfire killed Capt Jeb F. Seagle moments after his lifesaving rescue of pilot CaptTimothy B. Howard from their Cobra, shot down after attacking Richmond Hill.
