Two Score and Ten: Third Marine Division's History

By Third Marine Division Association, Inc. and Turner Publishing

The illustrious history of the Third Marine Division is retold in this exceptional volume. The story begins at Camp Pendleton and follows the 3rd through New Zealand, Bougainville, Guadalcanal, Guam, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. Third marine personal stories complement the history of the division with humor, tragedy, and bravery. Medal of Honor recipients listed. Indexed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Jun 1, 1992
• ISBN: 9781618585424

Book preview

Third Marine Division’s

Two Score And Ten

History

U.S. MARINE CORPS

Two Score And Ten is dedicated to Colonel Austin P. Gattis, USMC (Ret.). A Marine of indomitable spirit, innovative ideas, and unflagging determination, who (despite ongoing and debilitating medical problems) never lost sight of the ultimate goal, thereby inspiring all who have contributed to the fruition of this project.

Col. Gattis developed the concept for this book of anecdotes and personal stories about Third Division marines... and led the task force who carried through to the book’s completion.

Copyright ©1992

Turner Publishing Company

This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced without the written consent of Turner Publishing Company.

The materials were compiled and produced using available information; Turner Publishing Company and Mark A. Thompson regret they cannot assume liability for errors or omissions.

Co-produced by Mark A. Thompson, Independent Publishing Consultant for Turner Publishing Company

Book Author: Third Marine Division Association, Inc.

Book Design: J. Robert Cudworth

Elizabeth Dennis

ISBN: 978-1-56311-089-4

Library of Congress Catalog

Card No. : 92-61187

Limited Edition

Contents of Two Score and Ten

Introduction - Drama of Two Score and Ten

Preface - Why A Two Score And Ten?

The Task Force For Two Score And Ten

Origin and History of the Caltrap Insignia

Tributes

History of Third Marine Division

World War II

Camp Pendleton

New Zealand

Bougainville

Guadalcanal

Guam

Iwo Jima

End Of World War II

’Tween Years

Vietnam

Okinawa

Persian Gulf

Medal of Honor Winners

Commanding Generals

Acknowledgments

Index

INTRODUCTION

The Drama Of Two Score And Ten

This is the story of a division formed of necessity in the early days of World War II—triumphant and gallant at Bougainville, Guam and Iwo jima.

... deactivated after World War II was over.

... reactivated during Korean hostilities,, demonstrating courage and camaraderie in a difficult Vietnam War, saddled with slow downs and a mostly non-supportive citizenry back home.

... showing continued readiness and being a formidable protective force in the Pacific during the 1970s and 1980s.

... providing several units to the Persian Gulf in 1990 and 1991, as well as being a ready backup should more trained Marines be needed.

The year 1992 marks the 50th anniversary of the 3rd Marine Division. This book is highlighted with anecdotes from the people who made up the Fighting Third and who carried its colors so gallantly. There are stories of many, many brave men which we unfortunately do not have. We would tell them if we had them.

But enjoy the book. Laugh with us. Cry with us. Reminisce with us. Marines are great story-tellers ... and their memories help to record some of our country’s great periods of history. The 3rd Marine Division Association has worked hard to keep alive the spirit and camaraderie of the Fighting Third.

We Thank You

We appreciate all of the personal anecdotes, sea stories, ideas, and photos that were sent to us for this book.

It was necessary to edit and rewrite some of these pieces to conform to our book style that was established. For example, some of the salty language was de-salted a bit—not because we didn’t want realism, but in deference to our children, grandchildren, friends and associates who we hope will be reading this book ... and might be offended. After all, most of us don’t talk now as maybe we did then anyway. Nor, could we use all of the photos that were sent, but we do appreciate the thoughtfulness in sending them.

PREFACE

Why A Two Score And Ten?

I have often said that a man who has not had some military service is missing an important element of life. The Marine Corps saw to it that I had and shared that experience way back in World War II and I have been grateful for it ever since.

Boot camp at Parris Island, SC provided our passage to manhood. We were all stripped of any vestige of baby fat, whether physical, mental or spiritual, sweated down to basic bone and sinew, and rebuilt to more nearly resemble the image of ourselves we had previously imagined.

The experience was mind-boggling for the youngster from the Bronx (who had never even been on a train until his 24 hour trip by rail to Yemasee), and to those of us who had been nurtured in environments best described as hot houses. The whole process began with a bang when a salty Marine sergeant, Sir, first greeted us as we lined up beside the train that had transported us to this other world.

Everyone who has been privileged to have worn the proud uniform of the Corps will remember his experiences with a relish. That is markedly true of the old-timers—serving under venerated Generals Hal Turnage and Blood and Guts Erskine—who survived the World War II campaigns of Bougainville, Guam, and Iwo. Nothing could be more heart-warming to us than to get together with the fellows who shared our experiences ... and retell them—sometimes with beer-injected embellishment. It was equally stimulating to listen to younger generations of Marines... of their lives on Okinawa, their struggles and close shaves in Vietnam, their lost buddies, NCO’s and officers, and often their almond-eyed companions—whose recalled beauty grew in intensity each time in the telling.

Four Years Ago...

We had just finished a fine annual reunion of the 3rd Marine Division Association in Tampa, FL in 1988 when Colonel Jerry Brown (then our association president) and I were enjoying a beer together. We were lamenting the increasing number of deaths in our ranks and the fact that way too many fine sea stories were being irretrievably lost to eternity, when Jerry said, Right! You select a committee and figure out how we can best preserve our past.

For a beginner, our efforts could contribute to the recognition of the 50th anniversary of the division which would be coming in 1992. We had a pool of some 3,000 members of the association from whom anecdotal contributions could be garnered.

It was an easy job to recruit my task force, but they were far from lolling around with nothing to do. Vince Robinson, a retired colonel, administrative assistant to the association president, was elected to be co-chairman. Cy O’Brien, to be editor, had been a long-time professional writer, a war correspondent from World War II, and an editor with a fertile imagination. Ben Byrer, a grunt from the original 9th Marines on Bougainville, one of the most respected fine artists in the States, assumed the graphics responsibilities. Bob Cudworth, busy with his writing, editing, and publishing commitments, would contribute his expertise. And, Jim Kyser, a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant from the new breed, who could furnish the needed public relations and administration, even though he was up to here in his job as Manager of the Association, agreed to join in.

Our task force agreed we would publish an anecdotal history of the 3rd Marine Division covering the full span of 50 years since being commissioned in 1942 and accept a target date of 1992 for publication. We would solicit contributions from membership of the division and any Marine or corpsman, doctor, chaplain, dog handler, UDT member, Seabee, shore party, boat coxswain, flyboy, or any other who had served in support of the division.

In the meantime our task force has been greatly enhanced by the addition of contributing editor/writers Bob Van Atta, Carroll Garnett, and Dr. Harry A. Gailey. Professor of History, San Jose University, CA; Tom Bartlett, Associate Editor, Leatherneck magazine; Nicholas Kominus, 3rd Division Information Officer in Japan; and writer and psychologist, Paul F. Colaizzi, Pennsylvania state licensed psychologist.

The task force has donated thousands of hours to this project. No chairman has ever formed a more capable or dedicated group. Also of great importance, is our fine publisher, Dave Turner, president of the Turner Publishing Company, who has published some of the finest military books of our times.

The format of our history is unique. Bare bones of history appear on some pages and that skeleton is fleshed out by vignettes, the experiences of our veterans. The anecdotes cover a gauntlet from humor through tragedy, pathos, human relations, bravery, and just plain nostalgia.

It is with great satisfaction and pride that we place in your hands Two Score and Ten, an anecdotal history of the 3rd Marine Division in celebration of the division’s 50th anniversary.

We hope you will share our enthusiasm.

Austin P. Gattis, chairman

Colonel, USMCR (Retired)

The Task Force For Two Score And Ten

Austin P. Gattis

Austin went through Parris Island in 1942 and training at New River and quartermaster training at Quantico, was selected for OCS and was graduated as a second lieutenant.

He was assigned to the 12th Marines on Guadalcanal, and participated in the Bougainville and Guam campaigns—acting as S-4 on Guam. He was released from active duty in early 1946.

Gattis was a member of several VTU’s and was executive officer and commanding officer of a VTU that published Toward The Marine Corps University, 1975—a study performed at the request of Marine Corps Commandant General Wallace Green.

He chaired the By-laws Rewriting Committee of the 3rd Marine Division Association and then served two consecutive terms as president of the Association 1969-1970 and 1970-1971.

After 32 years of active and reserve service, he was retired in 1976 as full colonel.

He has been the leading force in initiating Two Score and Ten, the anecdotal 50 year history of the 3rd Marine Division, and has chaired the writing, art, and production group.

(Photo of Austin P. Gattis was taken of a painting produced by artist Ben Byer at the completion of Colonel Gattis’ second term as president of the 3rd Marine Division Association.)

Vincent J. Robinson

Vince Robinson, co-chairman of the 50th Anniversary Book Committee, has had the job of making initial agreements with the publishing company and providing liaison to the board of directors of the association.

A native of New England, he joined the Marine Corps in mid-1942. After Parris Island and Quantico he served with the 14th Defense Battalion in New Caledonia, then joined the 3rd Marine Division on Guadalcanal immediately following the Bougainville Campaign. He served with the 12th Marines throughout the Guam and Iwo Jima campaigns.

He returned to the States in December 1945, and subsequently served with the 10th Marines at Camp Lejeune ... with a mobile training team in Tokyo in 1950 ... and later in South Korea on a reconnaissance mission. Robinson again became a member of the 12th Marines when the entire 3rd Marine Division was re-established at Camp Pendleton in 1952.

In a cross-service tour he was a supporting arms instructor at Fort Sill, OK and was later artillery advisor to the Chinese Nationalist Marine Corps, headquartered on Taiwan.

His final active duty assignment, prior to retirement, was commanding the 14th Marines, a unit that was expected to be activated as part of the 4th Marine Division during Vietnam hostilities. Civilian opportunities have kept Colonel Robinson involved in various DOD contracts and activities.

Cyril J. O’Brien

Cy O’Brien has served as editor for Two Score and Ten, writing and rewriting a multitude of anecdotes and sea stories that have come in from veterans of the 3rd Marine Division.

An early veteran of the 3rd Marine Division, Cy served in a line company of the 3rd Marines on Bougainville, and as a Marine Corps Combat Correspondent on Guam and Iwo Jima.

After discharge he was a Washington correspondent for newspapers in New Jersey, and was on the editorial staff of newspapers in New York and Pennsylvania. He recently retired as media representative of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD.

A frequent traveler overseas, he has made jaunts to Bougainville and Guam. Cy has written and edited several of the reunion journals of the 3rd Marine Division Association in past years.

He lives in Silver Spring, MD.

Benjamin J. Byrer

Ben Byrer, a native of Canton, OH, served with A Company, 9th Marines as a BAR man during the Bougainville and Guam campaigns. After discharge he quit the steel mill where he was working and entered Art School in Pittsburgh because art had always been a paramount interest.

Ben later left Art School to work for a commercial art agency and has been completely involved with art ever since. He has been Buhl Science Center’s staff artist for more than 30 years, creating moons, planets, and other worlds in panoramas for the science center’s sky shows.

A versatile artist and careful researcher, Ben’s paintings and art work of many thousand pieces have ranged widely: from railroading and industrial to shore scenes, horses, colonists and Indians, food and fashion. His realistic drawing of combat scenes and other aspects of military life in Two Score and Ten will be nostalgic for all Marines.

His artwork is on display at the Island Art Gallery in Manteo, NC and in many private collections in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia. Those people who have attended reunions of the 3rd Marine Division Association will have seen his gigantic mural about the 3rd Division on display at the annual banquets.

Ben and wife Vi live in Valencia, PA near Pittsburgh. Their daughter Lili operates Lili’s Artisan’s Showplace in Pittsburgh.

Gattis

Robinson

O’Brien

Byrer

Cudworth

Kyser

Van Atta

Garnett

J. Robert Cudworth

A native Central New Yorker, Bob Cudworth handled page layouts for Two Score and Ten.

After graduation from Syracuse University, he went to boot camp at Parris Island, then OCS at Quantico. He joined A Company, 9th Marine Regiment at Guadalcanal in January 1944, and served with A-1-9 in the Guam and Iwo Jima campaigns as a rifle platoon leader, company exec, and company commander.

Following active duty he worked with newspapers in Upstate New York as a writer and editor, and a magazine editor and writer for companies and advertising agencies. He has conducted a writing and editing service in Camillus, NY for about 20 years.

James G. Kyser III

Retired Master Gunnery Sergeant James G. Kyser III is 3rd Marine Division Association Manager and has been editor of the CALTRAP and Reunion Journal since January 1988. Members who have attended reunions of the association remember him for the multitude of photos that he takes for CALTRAP.

He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1952 and completed recruit training at MCRD San Diego. During his 21 year career, he served with the 1st Marine Brigade, 1st Marine Division, and 3rd Marine Division. His duty has also taken him to MCAS, El Toro; Marine Barracks, Pearl Harbor; Marine Barracks, 8th and I, Washington, DC; Marine Corps Schools, Quantico; two tours at Headquarters Marine Corps, and with the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MCAV).

While in Vietnam he was awarded the Campaign Medal with three stars. As a Rifle Expert he has received 11 awards and seven awards as Pistol Expert.

Following his retirement in December 1973, he spent four years as public relations staff advisor with the American Petroleum Institute and was director of advertising for the Association of American Railroads in Washington for ten years.

A native of Napa, CA, he is married to the former Virginia Detweiler of Easton, PA. They have two children and reside in Dumfries, VA.

Robert B. Van Atta

Robert B. Van Atta served in the Marine Corps during both World War II (two years in Pacific) and on Reserve recall in the Korean War. He was a founder of the Parris Island newspaper, Boot, in 1943. For several months in 1945, he was acting regimental sergeant major of the 12th Marines.

A native of Pittsburgh, and graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, he is currently history editor of the Greensburg (PA) Tribune-Review after retiring in 1986 from a public relations management position with an electric utility.

He is an honorary life member of the Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association, a charter and sustaining member of the Marine Corps Historical Foundations, and has served as a trustee of the 3rd Marine Division Association Memorial Scholarship Fund since its founding in 1968.

Active in many aspects of civic, community, and educational life, he was recently awarded the Silver Good Citizenship Medal by the Sons of the American Revolution for outstanding military and community service, and inducted into the Westmoreland County (PA) Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a retired scholastic and collegiate sports official.

He has authored a number of books on regional and sports history. He and his wife, Beatrice, reside at Greensburg, PA.

Carroll M. Garnett

A Virginia native, Carroll Garnett served as a medical corpsman (PhM 1/c) for about three years with the 1st Battalion, 21st Regiment of 3rd Marine Division during the Bougainville and Guam campaigns. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with combat distinguished device, a permanent citation from the Secretary of the Navy, and the Purple Heart Medal.

In civilian life he retired as a special agent of the FBI after 26 years, having served in bureau offices in Buffalo, Boston, Washington, Omaha, and Richmond, VA.

Garnett is a long-time special feature correspondent for the Rappahannock Times, Tappahannock, VA and the current chairman of the Essex County Tricentennial Commission.

He is married to the former Cornelia Morris. They have four children, eight grandchildren and reside in Chester, VA.

Carroll has provided anecdotal stories for the World War II period as well as researching and compiling story data for the Okinawa Period in Two Score and Ten.

THE CALTRAP

Origin Of The Caltrap

... Designed By A Pharmacist’s Mate

The 3rd Marine Division Caltrap insignia—tri-shaped and three colors—has been in existence since 1943.

When the 3rd Division was stationed in New Zealand a contest was held to select a suitable shoulder insignia (shoulder patch) for the hell for leather division to carry into combat.

The late Major General C.D. Barrett, division commander, then Brigadier General Hal Turnage, and chief of staff, Colonel A.H. Noble selected the tri-shaped design from among more than 50 submitted by members of the division and affiliated units.

It had been designed by Pharmacist Mate Robert Harding Miller Jr. U.S. Navy A Company, 3rd Medical Battalion.

Even though thousands of Marines wore Caltrap shoulder patches and the scarlet, gold, and black insignia was seen in numerous locations throughout the world, a few years later no one knew who had submitted the original design.

T.O. Kelly, long-time secretary and former president of the 3rd Marine Division Association, set out to learn who had designed the insignia. After seven years of persistent searching and checking, he found in 1967 that it was former Pharmacist Mate Robert Harding Miller Jr. who had submitted the Caltrap design.

Miller, from Haleyville, AL had joined the Navy in February 1942. He trained at Camp Elliott, CA and served with the 3rd Marine Division until he returned to the United States later in 1944. He died in 1960.

The words, Fidelity, Honor, and Valor were added to the insignia later; and the association banner (standard), complete with the design and wording was presented by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association.

Probably few wearers of the Caltrap insignia were aware that the caltrap (or caltrop) was an ancient military weapon designed to slow down foot soldiers or horses. Made of two metal spikes, twisted to form four spiked points, it was designed so that when three spikes were touching the ground another would be pointing straight up.

Now, nearly 50 years later, the Caltrap (caltrop) insignia is one of the best known escutcheons in American military history.

Proud Trail Of The Caltrap

(Carroll Garnett summarizes this article from the Okinawa Marine September 16, 1983 issue which tells about the history of the Caltrap insignia).

The logo of the 3rd Marine Division is easily recognized by nearly every American resident of Okinawa. Few, however, understand the symbolism of the division insignia.

The three-pronged figure featured in the insignia is a Caltrop... now known as Caltrap. The device was an ancient military weapon consisting of an iron ball and four metal spikes. It was designed so that when three spikes were touching the ground another would be pointing straight up.

The Caltrop was used primarily to impede enemy cavalry and easily adapts to the 3rd Marine Division motto, Don’t Step on Me. On the division logo, the caltrop is viewed from ground level. Its three points and the triangular shape of the logo allude to the number three.

The scarlet and gold colors of the logo are the official colors of the United States Marine Corps. The black is for contrast.

The division logo became official on August 25, 1943. Less than three months later, Marines wearing that insignia received their baptism of fire on the Northern Solomons Island of Bougainville, Following Bougainville, the 3rd Marine Division logo was branded into the history books at the battles for Guam and Iwo jima.

World War II ended while the division was preparing to invade mainland Japan. In December 1945, the 3rd Marine Division was deactivated on Guam. Since first leaving the country in 1942 to this date, the 3rd Marine Division has not returned to the United States.

Due to the escalating events in Korea seven years later, the 3rd Marine Division was reactivated and sent, with its logo, to Japan to support the 1st Marine Division in the defense of the Far East.

Okinawa has been home for the 3rd Marine Division since the initial division units left the Korean area of operations and began arriving here in mid-1955.

The division logo was bloodied again as members of the 3rd Marine Division became the first American combat troops committed to the Republic of Vietnam in 1965. Forward elements of the division made the first amphibious landing at Da Nang, Vietnam on March 8, of that year.

During the conflict in Southeast Asia, Marines bearing the 3rd Marine Division insignia conducted more than 120 combat operations and the division earned the distinction of having the longest tour of continuous combat service of any similar unit in the history of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Today the 3rd Marine Division logo is known throughout the Far East as the division undergoes continuous training in the Western Pacific as part of America’s Force in Readiness.

Wherever members of the 3rd Marine Division serve, their logo becomes easily recognizable. With a knowledge of what the insignia represents, the presence of 3rd Marine Division Marines also becomes more understandable. Okinawa Marine, September 16, 1983

Don’t Step On Me

TRIBUTE TO THE THIRD

A Message From Commandant Mundy

As we begin commemorating the 50th anniversary of the battles and campaigns of World War II, it is only fitting that the illustrious history of the 3d Marine Division be re-told. The story of the Division’s service at Bougainville... Guam...Iwo Jima... and in Vietnam... and of its unit’s service in Beirut and Kuwait is a distinguished one.

The 3d Marine Division holds a special place in the hearts of all Marines. It represents a crossroads of sorts...where through the years, as so often happens, the old Corps and the new Corps come together to write new chapters in our proud history. It began when the Division was first activated in September of 1942 and its infantry regiments were built around cadres of officers and NCOs from the 1st and 2d Marine Divisions. That special and unique relationship continues today as units rotate from the United States to Okinawa for service with the Division.

This monograph adds to the Corps rich and treasured heritage of service to our Nation. There is no finer tribute than to be remembered by one’s comrades. Marines of the past, present, and future are well-served by this history.

C.E. Mundy, Jr.

General, U.S. Marine Corps

30th Commandant

A Message From Commandant Gray

Marines everywhere join me in extending warm greetings to all those who have had the privilege of serving our Corps and Country as a member of the 3rd Marine Division. From its activation on September 16, 1942, the 3rd Marine Division’s commitment to excellence has ensured that our Corps has remained America’s premier force-in-readiness.

The Marine Corps has maintained its reputation as the world’s finest for more than 215 years by meeting adversity on familiar and foreign ground with relentless mettle; perpetuating discipline, loyalty and professionalism.

Today the 3rd Marine Division can proudly add Operation Desert Storm to a legacy of valor that has included such historic chapters in Marine Corps history as Bougainville, Guam, Iwo Jima, the Vietnam War, and the rescue of the crew of the SS Mayaguez.

Along with coalition forces, more than 90,000 Marines serving with I Marine Expeditionary Force, including units of the 3rd Marine Division, pounded and defeated the Iraqi army of Saddam Hussein and liberated the country of Kuwait. As always, Marines fought on the land, at sea and in the air.

Where future hostilities will occur is never certain. What is certain is that the 3rd Marine Division remains ever ready to carry out its mission upon which the very security of the American people depends. We can rest easy knowing they continue to maintain the spirit of the triad-valor, honor and fidelity.

To each of you I extend my sincere appreciation for your continued loyal support. Many things change in this world, but the affection and respect of Marines for their Corps is constant. May it always be so.

A.M. Gray

General, U.S. Marine Corps

29th Commandant

During whose watch this history was begun.

Heroes Of Our Times

... says Bob Hope

A group could get no finer tribute from a public figure than one from Bob Hope, because he was right where the action was, time and time again. This letter, which he sent to Austin Gattis, tells how he loved and respected the Marines,

Following his letter are some of his appearances where he and his USO troupe entertained troops, with 3rd Marine Division personnel likely to have seen and enjoyed, his shows.

Dear Colonel Gattis,

It’s nice to hear from you and also to read about the 3rd Marine Division. They’ve been in the Far East, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, also in the Gulf War.

Well, there’s no way you could have missed me because I did shows in all those wars. I have stories that are something else.

For instance, in 1944 I was on a little island called Benetka in the South Pacific. A Marine came up to me and said, I’m from the First Marine Division and we’re over here on an island called Pavuvu, 15,000 of us. We’ve been training for six months and never had a show. If you would come over and visit us, it would be a great asset.

So I said, What are you training for and he said, We’re going to invade Peleliu.

I said, Well, how do we get there?

He said, We have no airport, so you have to land on the road in a Piper Cub. So, there were eight of us in the unit and we all got in a Piper Cub and flew over to Pavuvu. We looked down and there were 15,000 Marines and everytime we flew over the road they would cheer. We landed, and did a show for them just before they invaded Peleliu.

Not less than eight months later, I was asked to go up and dedicate an amphitheater at the Oak Knoll Hospital in Oakland, CA, which I did.

After the dedication, the doctor asked me if I could go in and visit in some of the wards, and I said, Absolutely. The first ward I walked into a man stuck his hand out and said, Pavuvu.

I said, You’re kidding. This whole ward? And he said, All of us. I shook hands with everybody, and I got to the back where there was a single room and they were fanning a Marine who had just come out of an operation, to get some air to him. He opened his eyes and said, Bob, when did you get here? It was all I could stand. I had to walk out of that room.

About 1956, I was in Pyongyang, the North Korean Capitol. Les Brown and the band, Carolyn Maxwell and I found out that the Marines were going to be in Wonsan, North Korea. So I called headquarters and asked if I could go over there. They said, yes, you can go over there at 1100 hours on a certain date. So we got on our plane, landed there at 1100, and there was no one around, except this one guy in a jeep who took us over to the hangar.

We stood there about 15 minutes, when General Walt, Admiral Strugel, and about 10 of these VIPs walked up and shook my hand, and asked when had we got there? I said, we’d been there about 20 minutes.

He said, You’re kidding, we just made the landing. As we were flying in, I saw all these boats and I thought, Boy, they’re coming in to see the show. We didn’t know they were making a landing, or I never would have landed that plane ahead of them.

I was overseas since 1941, so you know I’ve played for a lot of Marines, and they’re the greatest audience yet.

Anyway, I’ve received the Marines’ highest honor, and it was one of the great moments of my life to be decorated by these marvelous, valiant ... I call them, heroes of our time.

Regards,

Bob Hope

Postscript From Gattis:

The Bob Hope USO Tour Highlights is a tremendously impressive list. From it I have excerpted those occasions where troops from the 3rd Marine Division were most probably present. This may help you in your recollecting.

Late 60s-Hope, along with Raquel Welch and Ann Margret, toured battle-scarred Vietnam. His USO stops included the USS Ranger, the USS New Jersey, and the USS John F. Kennedy.

1972-Hope’s last overseas Christmas Tour (until 1983) included a side-splitting lampoon of the Navy. Hope and Redd Foxx played two seamen. The dialogue went like this: REDD: I got it all planned. I’m gonna cash in on everything they taught me in the Navy. HOPE: How? REDD: I’m gonna open a chain of washrooms.

December 1957-Honolulu, Okinawa, Korea, Tokyo, Kwajalein, Wake Island, Guam. His troupe included: Jayne Mansfield, Erin O’Brien, Carol Jarvis, Jerry Colonna, Hedda Hopper, Mickey Hargitay. Arthur Duncan, Les Brown.

1962-Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Taiwan, Philippines, Guam. Troupe included: Lana Turner, Janis Paige, Anita Bryant, Jerry Colonna, Amedee Chabot (Miss USA), Peter Leeds, Les Brown and band.

1964-Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Guam, Korea. Troupe included: Jill St. John, Janis Paige, Anita Bryant, Anna Marie Alberghetti, Jerry Colonna, John Bubbles, Anne Sidney (Miss World), Peter Leeds, Les Brown and band.

1965-Vietnam, Thailand, Guam. Troupe included: Les Brown, Diana Lynn Batts (Miss Virginia), Joey Heatherton, the Nicholls Bros., Peter Leeds, Anita Bryant, Jerry Colonna, Carroll Baker, Kaye Stevens.

1966-South Vietnam, Thailand, Guam. Troupe included: Phyllis Diller, Joey Heatherton, Vic Damone, Anita Bryant, Diana Shelton, The Korean Kittens, Les Brown, Reita Faria (Miss World).

1967-Vietnam, Thailand, USS Ranger and Coral Sea, Philippine Islands, Guam, Midway. Troupe included: Raquel Welch, Barbara McNair, Elaine Dunn, Madeleine Hartog-Bel, Phil Crosby, Earl Wilson, Les Brown.

1969-Berlin, Italy, Turkey, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Guam. Troupe included: Neil Armstrong, Connie Stevens, Romy Schneider, The Golddiggers, Teresa Graves, Suzanne Charny, Eve Reuber-Staier, Les Brown, Hector and Ted Pierro.

1970-England, Germany, Crete, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Alaska. Troupe included: Ursula Andress, Johnny Bench, Lola Falana, Gloria Loring, Jennifer Hosten, Bobbi Martin, The Golddiggers, The Dingalings.

1971-Hawaii, Wake, Okinawa, Thailand, Vietnam, Spain, Citmo. Troupe included: Jim Nabors, Sunday’s Child, Vida Blue, Charley Pride, Jill St. John, Jan Daly, Suzanne Charny, Brucene Smith, The Hollywood Deb Stars, The Blue Streaks, Rear Admiral Alan B. Shepard, Don Ho, and Les Brown.

1972-The Aleutians, Japan, Thailand, The Island of Diego Garcia, South Vietnam, Guam. Troupe included: Dolores Hope, Redd Foxx, Lola Falana, Redy Carcenas, Belinda Green (Miss World), Fran Jeffries, 12 American Beauties, and Ingeborg Sorensen (Miss Norway).

I Admire Them Very Much

When the USO asked us to visit the troops in Saudi Arabia we immediately said yes. We had no idea where we would be going, and they wouldn’t tell us, for security reasons, so we signed on for a mystery week in the desert. First stop on the mystery tour was a 15 minute meeting with General Schwarzkopf. He said the only reason he joined the Army was because of the soldiers, and their welfare was his primary concern, and that was why we were there. Some of them had been in the desert for 60 days and could do with a visit from someone other than a general. He was a man you had to believe.

We visited the Marines on the front lines. It was like Mad Max. The engineers had dug compartments for each truck out of the sand. The mess area was under netting, the cots were under netting, the headquarters tent with the field telephone was under netting, and there was a map of the desert squared off with string in the sand. We were so close to the Iraqi army we could have dropped in for tea. Apart from the flies, the scorpions, and the camel hours between eleven and three when even the camels lie down, what the Marines liked least were the sand vipers. They called them Mr. No-Shoulders. Going back to the helicopter I had a lump in my throat all the way. It was their faces. As the troops gathered around Steve, I talked to the men near me. One of them had left his bride in Hawaii on three hours notice. He asked me to call Ronda and tell her he loved her. Davis was a single parent and asked me to call his son Mike and tell him his dad was O.K. It always ended with each man stepping up to get his picture taken with his arm around my shoulders. And each one said, without fail, My wife will kill me!

When the troops thanked us for coming, we fell that we didn’t deserve it. We were there to thank them. I abhor violence. I’m not happy they were there. But as men and women I admire them very much.

Red, White And Blue Achievement

Thanksgiving 1990 will always be special to me. Thanks to an invitation from President Bush, I was able to spend Thanksgiving Day with our Desert Storm troops in the Persian Gulf. No doubt about it, sharing turkey dinner on the sands of Saudi Arabia with the finest fighting men and women on earth is something I will never forget.

We spent time with every branch of the service and it was easy to see what they all had in common: professionalism, patriotism and pride. Despite the tough conditions and the prospects of combat, morale was sky high a tribute to their training and leadership.

Of course, the Marines were there—standing tall on the frontlines, as usual. Once the ground war started, Saddam Hussein and his over-matched army got a real taste of Marine fury. It was something the Iraqis will never forget.

And America will never forget the sacrifice of each and every one of its Desert Storm heroes and their courageous families back home.

I am proud to help salute the legendary 3rd Marine Division on its 50th anniversary. From the beaches of Iwo lima, to the airfields of Da Nang, the 3rd Division has carried on the proud tradition of the United States Marines. Although not fully deployed to the Persian Gulf, many of the 3rd’s units were augmenting to the 1st and 2nd Divisions.

No doubt about it, for the 3rd Marine Division, it is a 50 year record of red, white and blue achievement. Congratulations.

Senator Bob Dole

The 3rd Marine Division

by Edwin P. Hoyt

In all its exploits of which I am aware the 3rd Marine Division has conducted itself in the finest tradition of the U.S. Marine Corps, always under the most trying of circumstances.

I have written at some length about the 3rd Marine Division in books that deal with Bougainville and Guam. In the former, the fighting around Empress Augusta Bay was formidable, for they faced some of Japan’s crack troops who had the advantage of knowing the terrain, and a leader, Colonel Hamanoue, who was determined to win a victory.

He did not, because of the bravery and fortitude of the men of the 3rd Marine Division.

In the slippery volcanic sands of Iwo lima the men of the 3rd Marine Division again covered themselves and the Marine Corps with distinction.

They did not get into the Korean War as a division, but they were in Japan and ready.

And then came the Vietnam War and the 3rd Marine Division was the first American fighting unit to be employed.

Da Nang Air Base, Quang Nam province, and then Quang Tri, and Thua Tien. Even Americans who know virtually nothing about the Vietnam War know the name of Khe Sanh and some have heard of the Rockpile.

The 3rd Marines, the 4th Marines, the 9th Marines, the 12th Marines, and the 26th Marines all left their mark on the division’s grand record. (The 26th, of course, was attached from the 5th Marine Division.)

Vietnam—29 Medals of Honor for one division (and the 26th Marines). Need any more he said?

But more was said, the 3rd Marine Division, evacuated when the American administration decided to wind down the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, was brought back again to manage the evacuation of Pnom Penh and Da Nang and Saigon in those strange days of 1975, and later to rescue the stranded Mayaguez.

As Marine divisions go, the 3rd Marines is a baby outfit, but a look at the record shows them standing right up three with the finest of the corps.

Edwin P. Hoyt, among the most popular writers on the Pacific War and Japan, is the author of numerous books on the European war including the dramatic portrayal of the legendary battles between the HMS Hood and the Bismarck. This article was written especially for the history of the 3rd Marine Division

HISTORY

Third Marine Division

Two Score and Ten

This drawing by Ben Byrer, representing action on Iwo Jima, is one of several he has produced for Two Score And Ten to graphically portray the action and life during 50 years of 3rd Division Marines.

Two Score and Ten

Training at Camp Pendleton for Action in the Pacific

CAMP PENDLETON

A Story Told To Me Some 50 Years Ago

A United States Naval Surface Air exercise is said to have taken place in 1930 or 1931. At that time there was considerable discussion as to the efficacy of air as a military component. Old line admirals thought that air could never effectively challenge sea supremacy.

Younger air admirals were almost willing to bet that surface fleets could be obliterated by weapons delivered by planes, and that a far greater part of the naval budget should be directed toward development of that great potential. The war games exercise was designed to determine the most plausible winner of the argument.

Naval Air was based in southern California. COMSOPAC was at Pearl Harbor and the United States Pacific fleet was based there too.

It was a given fact that any military exercise in the Pacific area would be closely monitored by Japanese agents, and it was assumed that these agents abounded in Hawaii, if not along the west coast of the States at the same time. Additionally, representatives from the other branches of United States military were invited to observe the exercise, i.e. the Army and the Marines.

It turns out that the NAVLEX was short-lived. Right after the whistle blew for the games to begin, Naval Air made a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on a Sunday morning, catching the bulk of the Pacific fleet moored in the harbor and, on paper, rendered the fleet destroyed.

The critique made as much noise as did the fighting. The more senior admirals cried foul and said, It could never happen! The air admirals, naturally, remained unconvinced but had to downplay their rubuttals to their seniors.

The Japanese agents reported the entire exercise to the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy in Tokyo, and due notice was taken as to the outcome of the opposing American forces.

The United States Marine observers, lieutenant colonels, reported to their assigned billets in Research and Development Center, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia. To them, the paper defeat of the Navy surface fleet by air was plausible, and they took it on themselves to rationalize the possibility of a World War II starting in just that manner in the Pacific ... and what courses of action would be available to United States forces to overcome the catastrophe. The study scenario, centered around the most probable national response and the overall strategy, with particular emphasis on the role of the Marine Corps.

There emerged the concept of amphibious operations, from island to island, gradually closer to the Japanese homeland, with, finally, an assault on Japan itself to bring the conflict to a successful conclusion.

Almost no one outside of the Corps recognized the visibility of the study. The Corps numbered a scant 17,000 officers and men, and their budget could allow little beyond paper studies. But, the Corps and the country could be thankful for that groundwork when fact overcame fiction on December 7, 1941. Austin Gattis, Washington DC

Who Remembers ... The Mail Guards

Major Wilbert F. Morris brings to memory the long-ago Old Corps duty of mail guards which harkens back to President Warren G. Harding and the protect the mail orders of none other than Major General John A. Lejeune, then (1921) Commandant. Then Secretary of Postmaster General, he had made it clear: When our men go in as guards over the mail, that mail must be delivered or there must be a Marine dead at the post of duty. Among those who served in mail guards, Major Alexander Vandegrift, Captain Clifton Cates and Lieutenant Evans Carlson. Major Morris, United States Marine Corps (Retired) of Watsonville, California, a member of the mail guards in 1926, served with the 12th Marines in World War II.

Nippon On The Move And The Need For A 3rd Marine Division

Japan had expanded in lightning thrusts across the Pacific and even threatened Australia. Herarmies—experienced, able and superbly equipped—easily disposed of most opposition, even to undoing defenders sometimes thrice the number of Japan’s assault forces. At the time, her pilots, and the Mitsubishi Zero made the deadliest team in the world, and amateurs of Western airmen.

The Rising Sun was over resource-rich Java and Sumatra and Japan’s Hideki Tojo had only to turn the spigot to tap the bubbling reserves of oil and rubber up and down the fat Dutch East Indies. In Tokyo, there was euphoria. The Europeans were out of the Orient and their centuries-long colonialism would now give way to the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Worse, the intentions, resources and energies of the West were being husbanded for the eventual onslaught on Nazi fortress Europe. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, and the Chiefs of Staff viewed the defeat of Adloph Hitler the principal goat with rescue of the Pacific decidedly in abeyance .

Into this world of woe was born the 3rd Marine Division on September 16, 1942 at Camp Elliott, California. It was almost to the day when Field Marshal Eric Rommel (though virtually out of fuel) was holding back all drives of the British Eighth Army, on the same day of a big new German thrust on Stalingrad, and very near the first discussion of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British War Minister Winston Churchill of the terrible new weapon that could be made by splitting atoms.

It was also a month when men who would otherwise return to school were enlisting. Enlistments in the United States Marine Corps doubted in the eight months from January through October, 1942. In Pittsburgh at West View Danceland, zoot suiters were stomping out the lively bars of Harry James, Glenn Miller, One-O’Clock-Jump or In The Mood. They’d be doing the same things at Tops out on Route #101, San Diego, all in unknowing preparation for the drill cadences that would command their steps at Parris Island or San Diego recruit centers.

Many enfolded into the 3rd Division which would in little more than a year be emerging from a jungle battleground, older than their fathers with heads full of strange sounding names like Tassaforanga, Koromokina or Torokina.

Ready For Combat

The 3rd was a division composed in a hurry. Regiments, units, contingents consigned to the 3rd Division were oceans apart. They would be put together as a physical and numerical whole, nine months after inception, far far away on foreign soil in Auckland, New Zealand, near Wacky-Racky (Waiaraka) Park, and Whangarei.

It was there in June, 1943, that Commanding Officer Major General Charles Dodson Barrett, declared the feisty 3rd Marine Division ready for combat. Softspoken, unassuming, General Barrett had heard his first fire in the Meuse-Argonne offensive.

With its clean bill of health, the new division spent July (1943) and part of August as bits and pieces snuggled down in the plush comforts of such passenger liners as George Clymer, American Legion. Hunter Liggett—bound for a remote coconut grove near Tetere Beach on Guadalcanal.

It was not far from the beached Japanese troop ship Kinugawa Maru and right on the cruise route of Washing Machine Charlie, the Japanese airplane that did cause concern but did little harm.

Submerged in everybody’s war problems from Stalin to Haile Selassie, Admiral Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, always had his heart with the Navy in the Pacific. Well he could sympathize with the often-times vexatious General Douglas MacArthur, Allied Supreme Commander in the Southwest Pacific, who told how Filipinos watched smoke pillars from their burning villages hold up the sky, while United States interests were directed first and foremost to Britain and Russia.

The policy and plan of the United States was to remain defensive in the Pacific, although Admiral King strained with anxiety to get the Pacific offensive underway. But then came the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942). A stand-off, it still blunted Japan’s ambitions on Australia and created uncertainties where only confidence and arrogance had stood before. With the Japanese debacle at Midway (June 1942), and loss of four carriers, circumstances opened the way for increased offensives in the Pacific. The Joint Chiefs of Staff agreed to grind through the Solomons, New Guinea, New Britain and the Admiralties.

Such a thrust would open the way for General MacArthur, with, of course, naval ground and airpower to strike through New Guinea and to his beloved Philippines. As Admiral King saw it, the ambitious amphibious war would isolate the great Japanese bastion of Rabaul and leave the Gilberts, Marshalls and the Marianas up for grabs. Wiih a foothold in the Marianas, American airpower would be posed for the Japanese jugular, the home islands. Any military man or woman in Japan knew that.

Amphibious ... Is The Key

In fact, the extended amphibious plan was already well in motion when in that cool California September the 3rd Marine Division was initiated. By then, the First Marine Division, certainly not having all its way, was on Guadalcanal well over a month and with improved air support was prepared to stay there.

Gathered into the 3rd was the salty old 12th Marines, spit’n polished in the old 3rd Brigade by the redoubtable Phila-delphian Smedley D. Butler. Included was the 3rd Regiment with ribbons from the Dominican Republic where it chased bandits. It was already at work under instructions of Admiral King to garrison Samoa and discourage any Japanese intentions there.

The Ninth, also with vintage, was first activated in World War I and sent to the Caribbean to protect American interests, particularly the critical wartime sugar sources. Its first CO on reactivation was Lemuel C. Shepherd who would be USMC Commandant.

The 21st was a war baby, born, activated July 14, 1942, filled with boots from PI, buttressed by a handful of lean long salts from the Sixth Marines with traditions back to Belleau Wood.

The Nineteenth was different: engineers, seabees, bankers, welders, piledrivers, surveyors, some of the old 25th Naval Construction Battalion from Port Hueneme, California. This outfit came with rubber bridges, dark rooms, needles, cranes, bulldozers, dynamite, refrigeration and places to stow beer. Without them no island would be worth the keeping.

As for readiness and amphibious war, the Pacific offensive could not have come at a more opportune time (if war is ever opportune) for the United States Marine Corps.

Since 1933 when the Marines withdrew from Nicaragua, leaders in the Corps had been refining the art and tactics of amphibious warfare. Charles Dodson Barrett, to command the 3rd Division, was one such pioneer.

Jeter A. Isely and Philip A. Crowl in the Quantico officer candidate text (the United States Marines in Amphibious Warfare, Princeton University Press) make clear the Marines nor any other fighting unit was fully prepared for landing operations on hostile shores ... but ... a detailed doctrine of amphibious warfare had indeed evolved, tested, improved, and found to be sound in its main principles. The remaining test was the ultimate battle.

Amphibious warfare represented the turning point in the history of the United States Marine Corps, explains Major General Carey A. Randall (Ret.), Jackson, Mississippi, decorated in all three 3rd Marine Division campaigns, and executive officer to Secretary of Defense (1951)...and when Admiral William F. Halsey, Commander, South Pacific Area, and General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief, South West Pacific, agreed to storm the beaches, there was no one more prepared than the United States Marines.

Don’t Always Listen To Old-Timers

I enlisted in the Marines before WWII, and after six months was stationed at the Naval prison in Philadelphia. I had enlisted from the Pittsburgh area, and there was another fellow from Pittsburgh, on base. He owned a car; can you imagine having a car on $21 a month? Of course, he was still a private after being in the Marines for quite a while. I should have known we’d get in trouble.

One bad winter night he asked me if I’d go into town with him. I didn’t know what he was going for, but I went along on the trip. He finally said, I want to get a pint of whiskey.

I said, You can’t drink on duty. But him being in for a couple of years, I thought he knew what he was doing. We stopped at the liquor store, just around the corner from the place he parked the car. A lady in the store said, Are you fellows going back to the Navy Yard?

When we said yes, she said Would you take me back to the yard because the busses aren’t running any more?

We said, Yes, we would. It turned out, she was the wife of a major on the base. When we reached the gate, the guard saluted us through without question. Evidently, he recognized the major’s wife.

When we got back to our post, the private said, Have a drink. Well, I don’t drink much, and there was another fellow at our post ... we all had a little taste ... and as you know, that’s a no-no on duty.

An Optimist ... And Generous

Captain Philip C. Ferguson, recalls Conrad Fowler, was one of those unusual patriots in WWII who resigned his seat in Congress from Oklahoma to take a commission as captain in the Marines.

A rancher and banker from Woodward, OK, he eschewed a desk job and went to Scout and Snipers School, joined the 9th Marines, and once borrowed several thousand dollars to provide emergency loans so unpaid Marines could have money for liberty.

Fergie was always an optimist and took everything in stride. Word came that he had been shot up on New Georgia while with a Raider battalion. He was up front telling a corporal in a big booming voice where to put his machine guns. The Japs opened up on him and he was seriously wounded.

He sought duty and obligation from the establishment, and active duty for himself on the front lines. We cannot but respect him for that ... Conrad M. Fowler, Lannett, AL

Somehow the major found out about the drinking on duty. Next thing we knew, the sergeant called us in. Someone told about our unauthorized trip to town, and we were in real trouble.

When you’re on duty at the brig, you already have one foot in the brig and the other on a banana peel. The result was, we got three days with bread and water, with a little salt on the third day. This was all before WWII, and the private got a summary court martial.

In those days, anyone doing much time in the brig ended up in Philadelphia. Every day we marched 100 prisoners out into the yard. We even had men from two German U-boats ... they had come right up to the main gate and turned themselves in. We put them in rooms with high windows so they couldn’t see out, then in a week or so they were transferred out.

When we marched the prisoners to the mess hall, it was three floors down. One day a sailor broke away and jumped over the rail, and fell to his death with a broken neck. Couldn’t take prison, I suppose. We also had a prison break that year of 1940-41. We found the escapees quickly. They were hiding in lumber piles, which were stacked at the yard because of all the building that was going on in the area. Guard duty was easy duty, compared to the war.

When we were stationed in New Caledonia during WWII, we had a lot of lamb to eat, three times a day. I’d have the duty of taking the platoon to chow. On passing the other platoon returning from chow, we’d say How was chow, boys? They would answer, It wasn’t baaaaaaaaad. John Habay, Boca Raton, FL

Train From New River

We boarded a long train, the front occupied by black troops, perhaps slated for stevedore duty somewhere. The back half, all white, was designated a replacement battalion.

In the middle of the train there were two dining cars and on the tail a bedroom/roomette car for the officers. Other than that one car for us, all the cars were day coaches. This was in 1943. The Marine Corps, except for the stevedore units and maybe a few other special duty assignments, was lily white. There was simply no thought of integration.

... Our company had only lieutenant officers and I know you must have heard the old adage that seniority among lieutenants is like virginity among whores. Well, it wasn’t that bad for us as one was a first lieutenant. He was named company commander and the rest of us bowed to his superior rank. Must admit that what decisions we faced were decided most democratically. We’d all find out shortly that that’s not exactly the way the corps was run, though.

... Sometimes it seemed like we were traveling north, sometimes south, but generally it must have been west because eight days later we pulled into San Diego station, disembarked, formed up and marched through a tile-lined passenger tunnel singing the Marines’ hymn at the top of our lungs ... Our morale definitely received a shot in the butt. We were through with that train ordeal.

We shared relief at saying good riddance to that train. The odor of dirty bodies and filthier clothes so permeated all the coaches I doubt any amount of scrubbing or Lysol could ever obliterate.

... How we survived those eight days and nights? The diners threw most of the meals at us... I mean threw. The front half, blacks, being fed in the first diner and the back half in the second. Those boys had to wolf down their rations, too, to make room for the next seating.

Often the train stopped for long periods ... and when we knew it would be long enough ... we broke out the troops along the siding for some organized grab-ass the Marine term for physical training ... We (officers) got regular sack time in roomettes and could manage to shave and wash to a degree. But, heaven help the boys. They seldom saw water, let alone had enough to more than wet their faces. They tried desperately to get comfortable and get some sleep, assuming grotesque positions on the seats, on the deck and the aisles and even in the overhead luggage racks ... We wished for a clothespin for the nose as we passed through that train.

San Diego ... home of the brave ...

Officers had foot lockers they could lay uniforms out flat. For the men, things were different. They each had a seabag, period. Our boys had to don their greens if they were to get any liberty and pass the MPs at the front gate.

Austin Gattis explains how rolling them properly in the seabag didn’t work ... didn’t hold the creases, not enough to pass gate inspection. The post tailor said he could press 56 greens in a month. Gattis bundled up the greens took them to an off base tailor and the greens got proper creases.

Now there is an absolute regulation in the corps that an officer can have no financial dealings with an enlisted man ... what so ever! Infringement: punishable by firing squad ... But screw the regulations ... maybe nobody would catch me.

Gattis was able to draw three months pay ... delve it out to the troops for at least one good liberty now that they had pressed greens ...

Someday, I want the money back! Understood? He got back every cent.

Sharpshooters ... On Land Or Sea

Somewhere in the Pacific ... with 21st Replacement Battalion ...en route to Guadalcanal and New