One Day On Tarawa It All Made Sense

By Doug Graves © 2007

Originally published in Semper Fi Magazine, Jan-Feb 2008 issue

“One day on Tarawa it all made sense,” said General Alfred M. Gray, recounting the words of a former battalion commander, speaking of his former doubts about the value of the annual observance that Marines at every post and station around the world hold in such high regard.
The guest of honor at the 232nd Marine Corps Birthday Ball in Seoul was recalling the words of then Lieutenant Colonel Mike Ryan speaking at a Marine Corps Birthday remembrance in 1953. Gray was a young lieutenant and a company commander in Korea with 1st Battalion, 7th Marines at the end of the Korean War. At Tarawa, then Major Ryan had been awarded the Navy Cross in one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the Marines.
“We do three things at our Marine Corps birthday,” said General Gray, retired 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, dressed in his trademark formal camouflage dinner jacket, “We remember our dead and our traditions--we remember our comrades who have made great sacrifice; that’s very, very important for all of our Marines to do that. We get together and have some camaraderie . . . and tighten up the bonds that, we think, make Marines special. And the third thing and most important part of the Marine Corps Birthday Ball is that--all you Marines who are here tonight--that you dedicate yourselves again to the future and to do the very best you can for the greatest nation on earth.”
General Gray went on to acknowledge the Korean guests and recalled their great sacrifices during the Korean War. He expressed his faith in the U S - ROK friendship as a “bond that will never be broken. That bond tells you something. It says that we can get together when there is conflict.”
Referring to the current war on terrorism, his voice resolute and his bearing every inch a battle leader, he said, “We can get together and we can prevail. We will prevail!”
The General concluded his remarks urging his Marines to “Take care of your selves, take care of each other and, as we say in the nation’s corps of Marines, ‘Semper Fidelis!’”
At every table men came to their feet in a thunderous and raucous applause giving good evidence that this old Commandant still commands the respect, admiration and, perhaps, even the love of his fellow Marines.
General and Mrs. Gray had arrived in Korea just a couple days before. They had a full week of obligations ahead of them.
As they flew into Korea the rugged Deokjeok Islands off the west coast of Korea were their first glimpse of the Land of the Morning Calm as the KAL flight began its descent into Incheon International Airport. Late morning sunlight slanted in, back lighting the fog-shrouded islands and giving the scene a golden yellow glow appropriate for the Yellow Sea below.
Light fog obscured shorelines but still revealed the flat, calm bay where, in 1950, a great naval armada was poised to strike one of history’s great strategic victories.
Gray was a private in 1950, having been just sworn in at New York City by Medal of Honor holder Major Louis H. Wilson. He had begun an illustrious career that would elevate him to the commandancy of the Marine Corps. Gray, like Wilson, would one day also be known as a “warrior commandant”.
General Gray and his wife, Jan Gray, were guests of the Korean Veteran’s Association and of the commanding general of the Marine Corps Forces in Korea. They had been invited as part of the KVA’s Re-visit Korea program. Since 1975 the program has been bringing veterans of the 21 nations who won what the KVA proudly calls the “Forgotten Victory.”
General Gray holds many post-retirement positions on corporate and academic boards but he is proud to be the Honorary National Commandant of the Marine Corps League. “I am the first commandant to hold that post since General Lejuene,” he said, referring to the Marine Corps’ legendary 13th commandant, Major General John A. Lejeune.
“I’m proud to be a part of the Marine Corps League,” he said in a conversation in the KAL lounge at Dulles International Airport prior to his flight to Korea. “They do fantastic work supporting [Marine] wounded all around the country. They personify the idea of ‘once a Marine, always a Marine.’ They provide tremendous support to wounded Marines with their Semper Fi Fund.”
On his first day in Korea General Gray had lunch with the Marines at the Navy Club at Yongson Army Garrison. There, the former commandant seemed to be in his most comfortable element—with fellow Marines
Major General Frank Panter, head of Marine Forces, Korea, invited General Gray to join him at an intelligence briefing and a Korea update at his headquarters.
After the briefing, the Marines around the conference table enjoyed talking with General Gray. They listened with rapt attention as the former commandant delivered what could have been a post graduate course in the art of being a Marine. Amphibious operations: “We come from the sea—other people come over the sea.” Expeditionary warfare: “Expeditionary warfare means light enough to get there, heavy enough to win.” On building alliances: “You’ve got to be with them and share their hardships.” Reflecting on being one of the service chiefs: “Only one is a ‘commandant’—the Commandant commands the Marine Corps--the others have titles like ‘chief of staff.’”
“What are some of the things you are most proud of?” asked Colonel Douglas Fegenbush, the Deputy Commander for Marine Forces, Korea.
“One of the things we tried to do was turn the Marine Corps loose; to show that we could do more. There has been a greatly increased understanding of the capabilities of Marine generals in the last 20 years.”
“And,” General Gray said, “I wanted a Marine Corps University.” In keeping with his interest in the professional military education of officers, staff non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers, he had established the ‘Commandant’s Reading List,’ an extensive list of books that every Marine leader is expected to read.
By the next morning the Alexandria, Virginia-based Military Historical Tours group had arrived in Seoul with a strong contingent of Marine Corps League members. They joined General Gray and staffers from the United Nations Command for breakfast and for a current assessment of the political and military situation in Korea. Then as the weather rapidly deteriorated, they boarded buses and drove to Panmunjom in the DMZ.
Once arrived at Camp Bonifas, the rain reinforced the fog, restricting vision in every direction to a few hundred yards.
The tour group moved to Observation Post Dora which in good weather offers a panoramic view of the DMZ near Panmunjom. But today there was little to see as the rain and fog combined to limit observation to the huge 3-dimensional map table in the lecture hall. After a briefing the veterans went to pay homage to their fallen comrades at the grey, stone U. S. War Memorial at Imjingak.
As the crowd of veterans formed a semi-circle in front of the memorial, General Gray said, in a clear voice, “Can we have a moment of silence.” Then as the National Anthem started to play, he and his fellow veterans, many of them Marines, stood at attention, their hands over their hearts, remembering their comrades, some of whom had fallen within sight of the memorial.
General Gray, who had fought in the “Outpost Wars,” disregarding the steady rain and refusing an offered umbrella, then laid a ceremonial wreath at the memorial.
“It was quite touching,” said Gerald Ravino, a veteran flame tank commander who had also fought in the “Outpost Wars,” the struggle for tactical advantage that raged while peace talks were being held in Panmunjom. “I lost it a little bit when I found the names of some of the guys that I went to boot camp with on the memorial,” said Gerald Ravino. Ravino, a member of the Marine Corps League and co-author of a book about flame tank actions at the DMZ, was himself injured here.
That evening the Korean War veterans in the group were themselves honored by the KVA at a reception and banquet. They received something that, for the most part, never happened when they came home from the Korean War--be genuinely recognized and thanked for their service in liberating South Korea.
“My dear comrades-in-arms,” said retired Major General Seh Jik Park. “When war threatened you came and sacrificed. On behalf of the Korean people, thank you for your dedication. You deserve the noble title of ‘Ambassador for Peace’.
“You won the war. You will be in the hearts of the Korean people forever. We will do our best to repay our debt to you.”
General Gray addressed the American and the Korean war veterans. “You taught the Communists a valuable lesson,” he said. Then General Gray and 33 other veterans of the Korean War were invited to the dais and awarded a medal commemorating their service over 50 years ago.
“It was humbling,” said Raymond Miller, a Marine from Hutchinson, Kansas. “It gave me goose bumps.” Miller was speaking of the medal ceremony and his experiences since returning to Korea. “The whole trip has been heart warming. It is amazing what they have done.” Later, Miller and his wife, Dena, were shopping in Itaewon when a Korean seamstress asked him when he had last been in Korea. Miller, who had made the landing at Incheon as a BAR man with Able Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, told the woman that he had come in 1950. “She hugged me and bowed. She said, ‘Thank you.’”
The following day, November 10, the veterans went to Dongjak-gu in Seoul to visit the National Cemetery. There they honored the Korean patriots who died in the service of their country.
General Gray, as senior officer present, took the lead. From the great, blue tile-roofed gate building, he led the veterans up the broad avenue flanked by Republic of Korea military honor guards. For almost 200 yards, in measured step, they marched up to the shrine where a memorial wreath waited. There, amid the strains of the Korean National Anthem and under a blue sky, prayers were offered for those interred in the hallowed grounds. The General advanced the wreath to its place of honor. Before starting on this journey he had said, “I want to show my respect to the South Koreans.” Mission accomplished.
The Marine Corps League members and other veterans boarded their buses and headed toward Incheon Harbor and the Incheon Landing Operations Hall.
At the museum a collection of photographs, dioramas, weapons and uniforms told the story of that dramatic day and night of September 15, 1950.
Luther Leguire of Lake City, Florida paused beside a fully restored and painted amtrac where he recalled coming ashore in the first wave with 1st Marines as an infantryman. Ten days later Leguire gained national recognition when he was photographed in the act of replacing a North Korean flag flying over the U. S. Consulate with an American flag. By November 7th he was wounded by a bullet through his knee.
The following day at the Korean War Memorial in Seoul, the largest memorial of its kind in the world, brought Marine Corps League members Dick Oxnam and John Camara face to face with their past. Oxnam had been a first lieutenant platoon commander of 2nd Recon Platoon, Reconnaissance Company near the MLR (Main Line of Resistance—now known as the DMZ) and John Camara had been one of his squad leaders. “First Platoon was assigned to get live prisoners,” said Camara.
It was 2000 [hours] on February 27, 1953 when the platoon crossed the MLR. But First Platoon walked into the kill zone of some Chinese machine guns and was cut up badly in the initial burst, then pinned down.
“The bright moonlight reflecting of the snow made it almost as bright as daylight,” said Oxnam, his voice full of emotion.
“Second Lieutenant [later Major General and Medal of Honor recipient] Jim Day and I took our platoons out to help get First Platoon back in. “Gunnery Sergeant Joe Errgang and two others were missing. Enemy fire was intense and we were exposing ourselves to more casualties. We searched for them until 1400 [the next day] but never found them.”
“Corporal Jerry Day was my radio man. He was killed [during that operation] when a mortar round dropped into our fox hole,” said Oxnam.
Oxnam found the names he was looking for. They were two of the thousands honored in the long Korean War Memorial hallway.
“ERRGANG, JOSEPH R.”
“DAY, GERALD”
Oxnam looked at the names for a while, his fingers running slowly over the raised letters. Then the two comrades-in-arms slowly walked out of the hall of heroes.
The veterans wrapped up their visit to the Land of Morning Calm, peaceful now. But before they left Korea, a group of young school children on a field trip saw Oxnam and his wife on the street. A teacher asked if he was a Marine, and then she explained to the kids that Oxnam was, indeed, a Marine.
“The school children broke ranks and ran up to us, hugging us,” Oxnam said. “They said ‘Thank you, sir, for saving our country.’”