Archibald Henderson,
Brevet Major
Fifth Commandant U.S. Marine Corps

The Battle of Twelve Mile Swamp

Commandant Henderson and the Florida Indian Wars
Battle of Twelve Mile Swamp (Florida) 1812
93 Officers, 2,622 enlisted
USMC Causalities: Dead-1, Wounded-8
Weapons Used: .69 Cal. Charleville Musket

A little known Marine action occurred during the War of 1812 which reflected America's desire for additional territory. On March 17, 1812, sailors and Marines assisted an irregular unit of Georgia militia in the seizing of Amelia Island at the mouth of St. Mary's River. Ostensibly, the raid was an effort to reduce smuggling.

The Army and a detachment of Marines garrisoned the island. The Georgians and an army unit began the advance on St. Augustine FL. Part of the Marine Corps mission was to provide security for the wagon train convoys which supplied the front line of the American advance.

During the summer, the American forces drew back to the line of St. John's River in East Florida and the position at Davis Creek became the "forward" position. On Sept. 2 a group of 20 Marines and volunteers departed with a re-supply train of wagons. Outside of St. John's the party was ambushed by Indians and escaped Negro slaves. The action went poorly for the wagon train and required a return to Davis Creek for reinforcements while several troops remained behind with the wagons and wounded. Soon there after, Marines located and destroyed the village which had initiated the attack.
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October 17th, 1820 saw a new chapter in Marine Corps history for on that date the “Grand Old Man” of the Marine Corps; as he was to become known, was appointed the fifth Commandant of the Corps. Archibald Henderson then a Brevet Major. He had been born in Colchester, Virginia in 1783 and entered the Marine Corps in 1806 at the age of 23. The leadership and ambition for which he was to become known was demonstrated while in command of the Marine Detachment aboard “Old Ironsides” during the War of 1812.

He attempted to recruit officers from the U.S. Military Academy but permission was denied. He then required all new officers to report to Washington Barracks for orientation, creating a consistent regiment of officer training. Officers he deemed unsuitable were dismissed. Enlisted Marines also benefited from his command with better pay and allowances for food and clothing. Sunday was made a day of rest and flogging was abolished 20 years before the Navy was to abolish it. Henderson was very aware of public relations and during a time when many sought to disband or transfer the Marine Corps into the Army or Navy (President Jackson was among those who sought to transfer the Marine Corps, but it’s said that when Jackson left the hearings Jackson left limping) he encouraged ongoing performances by the Marine Corps Band and as it’s popularity grew so did the influence of the Marine Corps in Congress. In 1845 he appointed Francis Marie Scala, the Neapolitan clarinetist as bandleader. Not until John Phillip Souse was appointed was the band to be more popular.

However it was not the performance of the Band that mattered most to the continued existence of the Corps as was their performance in battle. Under Henderson the Marines participated in two wars and 40 additional landing.

In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, and eager for land, emigrants started moving into Florida from near by states, after it came under American control in the Transcontinental Treaty with Spain. The Seminoles whose land this was retaliated by attacking these new settlements. The Army was called in; but when Army General Wiley Thompson arrested Seminole Indian Chief Osceola in 1834, the Native Americans became so enraged that a war started that was to last for the next seven years . The Army was no match for these brave and resourceful fighters. On December 28th 1835 Seminole warriors attacked 2 army companies under the command of Army Major Francis Dade during a 100 mile march from Fort Brook to Fort King, slaughtering both companies.

The Seminoles were superb tacticians and fighters and assisted by escaped slaves and the difficult terrain (The Everglades) turned this seven year war into the deadliest of all the Indian Wars fought by the United States.

Marines attached to the West India Squadron supported Army operations and helped protect settlers. After the attack on Dade’s unit Marines went ashore (from the “Constellation” and the “St. Louis”) to reinforce Fort Brooke under the command of Lt. Nathaniel Waldron who also supported Army General Winfield Scott along the Withlacoochie River. In 1836 the Creek Indians of Alabama and Georgia rebelled and Commandant Henderson offered President Jackson a regiment of Marines to serve with the Army against the Indians.

The Regiment of 400 Marines left Washington for Georgia on June 1. Henderson pinned a note to his door that read “Have gone to fight the Indians. Be back when the war is over.” Henderson’s first outpost was at Columbus, Georgia, a second Marine Battalion of 160 Marines went to Fort Mitchell in Alabama but by August these two battalions combined into a single 6-company regiment and went to Fort Brooke where the were attached to Army Major General Thomas Jessup’s Army of the South. In January 1837 Henderson was placed in command by Jessup of an Army Brigade and marched into central Florida. In that brigade was a mounted company of Marines, the so-called Horse Marines. Henderson’s first engagement was near Hatchelustee Creek. The warriors caught by surprise fled into the Big Cypress Swamp where at Hatchelustee Creek the Seminoles made their stand.

Henderson divided his troops into three units, two of which were deployed to set up a crossfire on the opposite bank of the creek. The creek was deep and about 25 yards across. There were two felled trees across it for “bridges” Captain John Harris commanded the Horse Marines and he led the third unit across the trees at which point the Seminoles fled deeper into the swamp. Three firefights between the Indians and the Marines followed with the Seminoles falling still farther back and out of the swamp onto a stand of pines. Few Seminoles and fewer slaves were killed by Henderson but 6 Marines were killed, two outright and four later dieing of their wounds. Only a few Seminoles were captured; but this seemed to have a strong impact on the Seminoles and Seminole Chief Abraham offered to negotiate with the Americans. On 6 March 1837 the Seminoles signed a treaty and agreed to move onto reservations. Jessup and Henderson believe the war over and Henderson requested his leave to return to Washington. He left on May first with four companies of Marines, leaving two companies of Marines at Fort Brooke under Samual Miller. Henderson became the only serving Commandant to exercise tactical command in the field.

But; Henderson and Army Commander Jessup were mistaken about the Seminoles as on 2 June Osceola, leading a war party, raided the detention camp at Tampa, where 700 Seminoles were awaiting transport to reservations, and freed them. In September Chief Osceola requested a truce to meet Jessup. Jessup agreed to the meeting but ignored the truce and arrested Osceola sending him off to Fort Moultrie in South Carolina, there Osceola died in January 1838. By 1839, many Seminoles warriors had been killed or captured but there were still more that continued to raid the settlements using the Everglades as cover. [a vast many miles wide shallow river consisting of swamps, pine stands, and sawgrass that runs from north Florida to south of Miami.] The Navy began using a system of small boats and other craft, dubbed the “Mosquito Fleet”, to ferret out the Seminoles in an attempt to stop the raids. The fleet included two companies of Marines under Lt. George Terrett and later by Lt. Thomas Sloan. The Mosquito Fleet under the command of Navy Lt. John McLaughlin invaded the Everglades in January 1840 making several forays. On December 31, 1840 McLaughlin leading 150 sailors and Marines entered the Everglades from the Atlantic side and emerged on January 19th, 1841 out onto the Gulf Coast of Florida becoming the first Caucasians to cross the Everglades. In November and December 1841, and again in March of 1842, expedition’s entered the Everglades but few Indians were discovered. Each time villages, crops and canoes, when found, were destroyed. While the Marines suffered few casualties from fighting, disease and heat took their toll.

The Seminoles never surrendered, but by 1842 few warriors were left to fight and the Marines simply stopped chasing them. Henderson was promoted to Brigadier General and served 39 Years as the "Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps" dying in his sleep January 6, 1859.

Henry L. Hulbert
Marine Gunner

Born at Kingston-upon-Hull, England, January 12, 1867, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for service in the Philippine Insurrection where he served as Private, United States Marine Corps near Samoa, Philippines, on April 1, 1899. Other Navy award: Navy Cross.

Wounded in his regiment's first major engagement, at Belleau Wood on June 6, 1918, Gunner Hulbert was twice cited in official orders for acts of bravery. On one occasion, armed only with a rifle, he single-handedly attacked German machine-gun positions and, as the citation read, "left seven of the enemy dead and put the remainder to flight." The second citation commended him for continuing to lead his platoon in attacks that routed the defenders of a series of strong points despite being painfully wounded himself.

The platoon leader who was old enough to be the father of the men he led, whose stamina and endurance were the envy of men half his age, was not quite finished. A third act of heroism led him to be decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross, one of the first Marines to be so recognized.

In his official report of the monthlong fighting in Belleau Wood, Army Major General Omar L. Bundy, commanding general of the 2d Division, United States Regular, in which the 5th Marines served as part of the famed Marine Brigade, singled out Hulbert, "for his extraordinary heroism in leading attacks against enemy positions on June 6th." General Bundy concluded, "No one could have rendered more valuable service than Gunner Hulbert."

General Bundy was not alone in his praise. Captain George K. Shuler, USMC, wrote, "I should be most glad to have Gunner Hulbert under me in any capacity, and should he through good fortune be promoted over me I should be most happy to serve under his command."

Lieutenant W. T. Galliford, himself a winner of the Distinguished Service Cross, remarked, "If the Fifth Regiment goes over the top, I want to go with Mister Hulbert."

General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, personally recommended that Hulbert be directly commissioned as a Captain.

Heroism under fire at Soissons, an action in which he was again wounded, saw Gunner Hulbert cited for bravery yet again, commissioned a Second Lieutenant and immediately promoted to First Lieutenant. But the trail ahead of him was growing short. At Blanc Mont Ridge on October 4, 1918, the Second Division's bloodiest single day of the war, it ended.

Approved by the Secretary of the Navy for promotion to the grade of Captain, Henry Lewis Hulbert, up front as usual, was struck down by an unknown German machine-gunner. John W. Thomason saw him fall and noted the peaceful look upon his face. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and cited for bravery a fourth time. The French government bestowed the Croix de Guerre Order of the Army upon this "most gallant soldier."

Britannia's son, who gave his life for his adopted land, rests today in Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery. His name is among those inscribed on the Peace Cross at Bladensburg, Maryland, erected in 1919 to honor the memory of the men from Prince George's County who died in the Great War.

But the story of Henry Lewis Hulbert did not end with his death in France. On June 28, 1919, Victoria C. Hulbert, the widow of this inspirational Marine, christened the destroyer USS Henry L. Hulbert (DD-342) when it was launched at Norfolk, Virginia. Commissioned and put into service in 1920, Hulbert served continually on the Asiatic Station until 1929 when she returned to American waters, remaining there until she was decommissioned in 1934. Recalled to service in 1940, Hulbert was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and on December 7, 1941, was moored at Berth D-3, Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, territory of Hawaii. While Hulbert's whaleboats rescued seamen from stricken ships along Battleship Row, her .50-caliber antiaircraft battery brought down a Japanese torpedo bomber and damaged two others. The ship continued to serve in the Central and North Pacific until she was taken to Philadelphia and decommissioned for the last time in November 1945. In 1946, USS Henry L. Hulbert was stricken from the Navy List and sold for scrap.

In the cold, drizzling pre-dawn dark of Oct. 4, 1918, the 5th Marines passed through the ranks of its brothers in the 6th Marines to continue the attack against the key German strong point of Blanc Mont Ridge in the Champagne country of France. It was a gloomy, brooding place, littered with the wreckage of the previous day's fighting, American, French and German dead all intermingled. A tall Texas Marine in Major George Hamilton's 1st Battalion, Lieutenant John W. Thomason, thought it an evil place, made for calamities. Private Elton Mackin, one of Hamilton's battalion runners--the most dangerous job a Marine could have--remembered that the battalion went into action that day at T/O strength of slightly more than 1,000.

The Germans resisted furiously, desperate to prevent the collapse of their entire front. If Blanc Mont Ridge fell, the dominant feature of the entire region would be lost, and the Meuse River crossing would be wide open to the Americans. With Blanc Mont Ridge gone, the bastion of the Hindenburg Line would be irretrievably ruptured. The shell-ravaged white chalk slopes of the ridge became the scene of some of the most savage fighting of the war. For more than a week Marines fought with rifles, bayonets, hand grenades, knives and bare fists, prying tenacious German infantry from a maze of trenches and bunkers with names like the Essen Trench, the Kriemhilde Stellung and the Essen Hook.

When it was finally over, when all objectives had been secured, the 134 remaining members of 1st Bn, 5th Marines filed wearily down from the torn and blasted ridge. Among those they left behind was an unlikely 51-year-old platoon leader, a man whose courage and leadership were an inspiration to all who knew him. Yet, for all that, he was a man whose life had been spent erasing a dark secret of shame and disgrace. His story began years before.

He was born Henry Lewis Hulbert on January 12, 1867, in Kingston-Upon-Hull, Yorkshire, England. The first child of a prosperous merchant family, he was joined by a brother and three sisters. None of the children of Henry Ernest Hulbert and Frances (Gamble) Hulbert knew the want and deprivation that was the lot of so many children born into the industrial cities of the mid-19th century. Theirs was a childhood, if not of luxury, then certainly of abundance, an abundance that included a far better than average education.

For young Henry this meant matriculation at the prestigious and exclusive Felsted School in Essex, a school that traces its origins to 1564. At the age of 13, already showing signs of the tall, rangy, handsome young man he would become, Henry Lewis Hulbert found himself immersed in the demanding rigors of a classical education in mathematics, science, Latin, Greek and English literature. There was a purpose to all of this, for even at an early age the young Yorkshireman had determined upon a career in Britain's Colonial Civil Service. In 1884, not yet 18 years old, Henry Lewis Hulbert received his first appointment-clerk and storekeeper-in the Civil Service of the Malay State of Perak, today a part of the country of Malaysia.

The drive for excellence that was to mark the rest of his life manifested itself with superior performance that soon caught the eyes of his supervisors. Among those impressed was Robert Douglas Hewett, state auditor for Perak and right-hand man of the British Resident (governor) Frank Sweattenham. Soon young Hulbert was exercising authority and responsibility far beyond his years and exercising it exceedingly well. His records show such diverse assignments as Inspector of Public Works in Krian, District Engineer for Kuala Kangsar, Harbor Master for the port of Matang and District Magistrate for Kinta District.

He also acquired a sweetheart, Anne Rose Hewett, his mentor's sister, who had been born in Bombay, India. In June of 1888, with the approval and best wishes of the influential Hewett family, the two were married. A year later the young couple welcomed the arrival of a daughter, Sydney. It was, to all appearances, a perfect family.

Henry Lewis Hulbert's career was taking off. His own exceptional abilities and his marriage into a powerful family guaranteed his eventual rise to the top. Admired and respected by his peers and favored by his superiors, he was a man marked for success. Then, in the early summer of 1897, everything crashed down around him. Henry Lewis Hulbert had fallen deeply in love with his wife's younger sister, visiting from England. It had begun secretly two years earlier during a previous visit. Drawn irresistibly toward each other, they had become lovers. Then they were discovered, and the fury of the Hewett family descended like an executioner's axe.

The sister-in-law was immediately put aboard a ship bound for England, only to die tragically in a shipwreck during a storm on the homeward voyage. For Henry Lewis Hulbert there was banishment. He was sent packing with scarcely more than the clothes on his back, told to leave the Malay States and never return. A discreet and very quiet divorce followed.

Where does a man go when he flees disgrace and shame? For Henry Lewis Hulbert it was Skagway, jumping off point for Chilkoot Pass and the Klondike gold fields. The venture didn't pan out. By the following spring he had wandered to San Francisco. With war with Spain looming, Henry Lewis Hulbert enlisted in the Marine Corps on March 28, 1898, a 31-year-old private with a ruined life behind him and skimpy prospects before him. It is unlikely that he thought of it in such dramatic terms, but the moment he had spent his life waiting for had arrived. The exiled magistrate and the United States Marine Corps were made for each other.

Boot camp at Mare Island, Calif., was followed by assignment to the Marine Guard, USS Philadelphia (C-4) and the beginning of a remarkable record as a United States Marine. Barely more than a year after his enlistment, on April 1, 1899, during a combined British-American expedition in Samoa, Henry Lewis Hulbert was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism. When the landing force of British and American Marines and seamen was ambushed by a numerically superior rebel force, Private Hulbert, despite being wounded himself, conducted a one-man delaying action that enabled the landing force to withdraw to a defensible position covered by the guns of the warships offshore. Under fire from three sides, he stood his ground, refusing to withdraw until the main body had established a new defensive perimeter. Single-handedly he held off the attackers, while at the same time he protected two mortally wounded officers, Lieutenant Monaghan, USN and Lt Freeman, RN. In his official report of the action, Lt Constantine M. Perkins, commander of Philadelphia's Marine Guard, wrote of Pvt Hulbert: "His conduct throughout was worthy of all honor and praise."

When he left USS Philadelphia in 1902, Hulbert wore the chevrons of a sergeant. The years that followed saw his steady rise through the enlisted ranks. Serving in a succession of billets ashore and afloat that were representative of the era, he never missed an award of the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and never fired less than Expert Rifleman in his regular service rifle requalification. His conduct and proficiency marks were uniformly the highest that could be awarded, and his service records contain numerous commendations by reporting seniors. He was also gaining a reputation as a totally dependable noncommissioned officer, whose advice was sought by seniors and subordinates alike. A congenial and friendly man, whose knowledge and experience covered an array of subjects, and who delighted in good company and good conversation, he was described by a fellow Marine as having "the bearing and manners of a fine gentleman and the complete and all-embracing courtesy of an earlier generation." Yet even those who knew him best never heard him speak of his life before joining the Marine Corps.

By 1917 Hulbert had attained the grade of sergeant major, the Marine Corps' senior NCO of that grade, and he served on the personal staff of Major General Commandant George Barnett. He also had remarried, and he and his wife, Victoria, had settled into a modest house in Riverdale, Md., eventually to be joined by an infant daughter, Leila Lilian Hulbert. It was also in 1917, shortly before America's entry into World War I, that Hulbert appeared before an examining board to determine his fitness for appointment to the newly established grade of Marine gunner. On March 24, 1917, with the enthusiastic recommendation of the president of the examining board, Brigadier General John A. Lejeune, Henry Lewis Hulbert became the first Marine ever to wear the bursting bomb grade insignia of a Marine gunner.

Considered too old for combat at the age of 50, Gunner Hulbert nonetheless pressed to be among those sent to France. He could have remained safe and secure in his position in the office of the Major General Commandant, returning home each evening to his wife and daughter. Who would have expected a man of his years to go off to war? He did, and that was what was important. There was a war, and the old war horse could not sit idly by while other Marines fought it. Finally winning the approval of Gen Barnett, with whom he had a long and close association, Hulbert, again the Marine Corps' senior officer of his grade, sailed for France aboard the old transport Chaumont with the 5th Marines in July 1917.

In France they tried to give him a safe job out of the way at regimental headquarters, but they could not keep him there. At every opportunity--and he created plenty of opportunities--he found his way up to the front lines and indulged himself in a bit of free-lance fighting. Finally, the powers that be gave in to the inevitable. Gunner Hulbert, 51 years old, was assigned as a platoon leader with the 66th Company (later C Co), 1st Bn, 5th Marines. It did not take the enemy long to learn he was there.

Wounded in his regiment's first major engagement, at Belleau Wood on June 6, 1918, Gunner Hulbert was twice cited in official orders for acts of bravery. On one occasion, armed only with a rifle, he single-handedly attacked German machine-gun positions and, as the citation read, "left seven of the enemy dead and put the remainder to flight." The second citation commended him for continuing to lead his platoon in attacks that routed the defenders of a series of strong points despite being painfully wounded himself.

The platoon leader who was old enough to be the father of the men he led, whose stamina and endurance were the envy of men half his age, was not quite finished. A third act of heroism led him to be decorated with the distinguished Service Cross, one of the first Marines to be so recognized. In his official report of the monthlong fighting in Belleau Wood, Army MajGen Omar L. Bundy, commanding general of the 2d Division, United States Regular, in which the 5th Marines served as part of the famed Marine Brigade, singled out Hulbert, "for his extraordinary heroism in leading attacks against enemy positions on June 6th." MajGen Bundy concluded, "No one could have rendered more valuable service than Gunner Hulbert."

Gen Bundy was not alone in his praise. Captain George K. Shuler, USMC wrote, "I should be most glad to have Gunner Hulbert under me in any capacity, and should he through good fortune be promoted over me I should be most happy to serve under his command." Lt W. T. Galliford, himself a winner of the Distinguished Service Cross, remarked, "If the Fifth Regiment goes over the top, I want to go with Mister Hulbert." Gen John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, personally recommended that Hulbert be directly commissioned as a captain.

Heroism under fire at Soissons, an action in which he was again wounded, saw Gunner Hulbert cited for bravery yet again, commissioned a second lieutenant and immediately promoted to first lieutenant. But the trail ahead of him was growing short. At Blanc Mont Ridge on Oct. 4, 1918, the Second Division's bloodiest single day of the war, it ended.

Approved by the Secretary of the Navy for promotion to the grade of captain, Henry Lewis Hulbert, up front as usual, was struck down by an unknown German machine-gunner. John W. Thomason saw him fall and noted the peaceful look upon his face. He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and cited for bravery a fourth time. The French government bestowed the Croix de Guerre Order of the Army upon this "most gallant soldier." Britannia's son, who gave his life for his adopted land, rests today in Virginia's Arlington National Cemetery. His name is among those inscribed on the Peace Cross at Bladensburg, Md., erected in 1919 to honor the memory of the men from Prince George's County who died in the Great War.

But the story of Henry Lewis Hulbert did not end with his death in France. On June 28, 1919, Victoria C. Hulbert, the widow of this inspirational Marine, christened the destroyer USS Henry L. Hulbert (DD-342) when it was launched at Norfolk, Va. Commissioned and put into service in 1920, Hulbert served continually on the Asiatic Station until 1929 when she returned to American waters, remaining there until she was decommissioned in 1934. Recalled to service in 1940, Hulbert was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and on Dec. 7, 1941, was moored at Berth D-3, Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor, territory of Hawaii. While Hulbert's whaleboats rescued seamen from stricken ships along Battleship Row, her .50-caliber antiaircraft battery brought down a Japanese torpedo bomber and damaged two others. The ship continued to serve in the Central and North Pacific until she was taken to Philadelphia and decommissioned for the last time in November 1945. In 1946, USS Henry L. Hulbert was stricken from the Navy List and sold for scrap.

Saved from the scrap heap was the ship's bell. For more than 50 years that bell, along with others of its kind, mementos of long-gone ships of the line, collected dust in a warehouse at the Washington Navy Yard. Then, in July of 1998, thanks to the efforts of the Medal of Honor Society, the ship's bell of USS Henry L. Hulbert was rededicated at The Basic School's Infantry Officer Course at Quantico, Va. On the quarterdeck of Mitchell Hall, along with the decorations won by her ship's namesake, the bell stands as a reminder of the exemplary qualities of a magnificent Marine. What better inspiration for officers about to assume one of the Marine Corps' most demanding duties-infantry platoon leader-than a man whose dedication to duty and devotion to the Marine Corps continue to serve as an example years after his death on the battlefield?

Did Henry Lewis Hulbert find redemption? Did he regain his lost honor? You be the judge.

Author's note: Special thanks for assistance in the preparation of this article are due to Mary C. Leitch of Immingham, Lincolnshire, England. Without her detailed and exhaustive research efforts, nothing would be known of the early life of Henry Lewis Hulbert. From all Marines, a hearty "Well done!"

CITATION:

HULBERT, Henry Lewis

Private, U.S. Marine Corps

G.O. Navy Department, No. 55

July 19, 1901

For distinguished conduct in the presence of the enemy at Samoa, Philippine Islands, 1 April 1899.

He died on October 4, 1918 and was buried in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery.
Story by Major Allan C. Bevilacqua, USMC (Ret)

Christmas Truce of 1914

"SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT”
During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all of human history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy, man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever.

All of a sudden, German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles, outside of their trenches. Then, they began to sing songs. Across the way, in the “no man’s land” between them, came songs from the British and French troops. Incredibly, many of the Germans, who had worked in England before the war, were able to speak good enough English to propose a “Christmas” truce.

The British and French troops, all along the miles of trenches, accepted. In a few places, allied troops fired at the Germans as they climbed out of their trenches. But the Germans were persistent and Christmas would be celebrated even under the threat of impending death.

According to Stanley Weintraub, who wrote about this event in his book, Silent Night, “signboards arose up and down the trenches in a variety of shapes. They were usually in English, or - from the Germans - in fractured English. Rightly, the Germans assumed that the other side could not read traditional gothic lettering, and that few English understood spoken German. ‘YOU NO FIGHT, WE NO FIGHT’ was the most frequently employed German message. Some British units improvised ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ banners and waited for a response. More placards on both sides popped up.”

A spontaneous truce resulted. Soldiers left their trenches, meeting in the middle to shake hands. The first order of business was to bury the dead who had been previously unreachable because of the conflict.

Then, they exchanged gifts. Chocolate cake, cognac, postcards, newspapers, tobacco. In a few places, along the trenches, soldiers exchanged rifles for soccer balls and began to play games.

It didn’t last forever. In fact, some of the generals didn’t like it at all and commanded their troops to resume shooting at each other. After all, they were in a war. Soldiers eventually did resume shooting at each other. But only after, in a number of cases, a few days of wasting rounds of ammunition shooting at stars in the sky instead of soldiers in the opposing army across the field.

For a few precious moments there was peace on earth good will toward men. All because the focus was on Christmas. Happens every time. There’s something about Christmas that changes people. It happened over 2000 years ago in a little town called Bethlehem. It’s been happening over and over again down through the years of time.

This Christmas, Lord willing, it will happen again in Iraq and Afghanistan. But we know it will not happen. However, it is my hopes that the Lord will keep the American troops safe.

World War II

Pacific (Asia)
1. U. S. ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR II
a. The United States was literally blasted into WWII by the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Throughout U. S. history there has never been a naval disaster to compare with the losses inflicted by the Japanese aerial attack on the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Before the war was declared on Japan, Marines were already on duty halfway around the world. China, the Philippines, the Hawaiian Islands, Guam and Midway were just some of the places where U. S. Marines were already stationed.

b. It all began on a quiet calm Sunday morning, 0755, 7 December 1941, when the Japanese launched a surprise aerial attack on our Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

c. From the time the first bomb fell at Ewa Field until the last bomb exploded, two hours later, America's losses would be as follows: the Japanese had destroyed five battleships, three cruisers, three destroyers, and about 400 planes. American casualties were 2,117 dead, 1,272 wounded and 960 missing.

d. The three aircraft carriers in the Pacific Fleet, the USS Enterprise, Lexington and Saratoga were not in Pearl Harbor. The Enterprise steamed some 200 miles west of Hawaii, having ferried Marine Fighter Squadron 211's planes to Wake Island. Lexington was on her way to Midway Island to deliver Marine Scout Bomb Squadron 231's planes. Upon hearing the news about the attack it's Captain turned her around and headed back for Pearl Harbor. The Saratoga was in San Diego during this time.

e. The next day, 8 December 1941, the United States of America declared war on the island of Japan.

2. DEFENSIVE ENGAGEMENTS

a. Guam
(1) The island of Guam was attacked within hours of the Pearl harbor attack. Guam was defended by a small group of naval personnel, civilians, and 153 Marines. The heaviest weapons on Guam were .30 caliber machine guns.

(2) For two days the Americans held the island against heavy Japanese bombardments, followed by an attack of approximately 6,000 Japanese. The battle rage on, but against a numerically overwhelming force. Guam would become the first American outpost to fall on 10 December 1941.

b. Wake
(1) The Japanese then attacked Wake Island and it's 447 Marines on 11 December. The first day of the Japanese air strike destroyed two thirds of the Marine aircraft and nearly all of the vital supplies. The Japanese returned to finish the operation three days later. Twelve Japanese ships, including a landing force, came prepared to take Wake Island.

(2) However, when the smoke cleared, two enemy ships were sunk, seven more were seriously damaged and six hundred Japanese were dead, all at the cost of four Marines and one one plane. Even more significant that the losses on the Japanese that day, was the fact that, for the first time a Japanese amphibious attack had been defeated. The Japanese sent daily aircraft strikes against the island until 23 December 1941, when they returned to Wake Island with more elements of their Navy and a landing force of over 1,500 men.

(3) That day, Wake Island fell to the Japanese. But the enemy paid dearly; 4 ships were sunk, 11 damaged, 21 planes destroyed, and almost 1,000 Japanese soldiers were killed.

c. The Philippines
(1) On 8 December, the U. S. Army and Filipinos were preparing to defend Bataan and Corregidor under the command of General DOuglas MacArthur's command. The 4th Marines were transferred from Shanghai to General MacArthur's' command. They were quickly given the mission of defending Corregidor.

(2) Meanwhile one of the largest and most powerful invasion forces that the Japanese had ever assembled were preparing to invade the Philippines. Under the Japanese force, Bataan fell on 9 April 1942. 75,000 Americans and Filipinos including 105 Marines went on the infamous Bataan death march.

(3) The entire Japanese invasion force then turned to Corregidor. After days of Japanese bombing raids and naval gunfire a Japanese amphibious assault was launched against the 4th Marines holding Corregidor. The Marines met the assault with determination and resistance. At one point the Japanese commander thought he had failed in the assault. The situation on Corregidor was getting worse.

(4) Finally, on 6 May 1942, Major General Wainwright, U. S. Army, surrendered all forces in the Philippines. Colonel S. O. Howard, Commanding Officer of the 4th Marines, ordered the National and Regimental Colors burned rather than see them captured.

d. Midway
(1) June 1942 marked the turning point of the war as the Japanese were handed a severe defeat in the battle of Midway. The main reason that allied forces were victorious was that prior to this battle allied intelligence had broken the secret Japanese communication codes. This aided allied command to anticipate movement and location of enemy ships.

(2) Marine Major Lofton R. Henderson led the first wave of striking aircraft from Midway. Only half of the planes made it back to Midway after scoring no hits. Major Henderson was shot down and killed in the engagement. At the same time that the Marines were attacking the Japanese navy, their own bombers were attacking Midway. The Japanese thinking that they destroyed the bulk of the American defenses were planning another air attack against the island, however, they would never get off the decks of their carriers. The American war planes dove out of the skies completely surprising the Japanese and began to decimate the Japanese fleet.

(3) In this epic sea engagement, the Japanese lost 4 aircraft carriers, 2 large cruisers, and the bulk of their aircraft including their experienced pilots. This battle demonstrated that fighter bombers, and attack aircraft from carriers properly utilized, could defeat a superior surface force.

3. OFFENSIVE ENGAGEMENTS (THE ISLAND HOPPING CAMPAIGN)
a. The term "island hopping campaign" describes the strategy used by Marines to make 63 amphibious landings during WWII. The Marines' mission tasked them to literally dig the enemy out of their fighting holes, caves, bunkers and pillboxes. Teamwork, discipline, pride, esprit de corps, and in many cases, sheer guts won these battles. Not once did we fail to take an objective.

(1) Guadalcanal
(a) On 7 August 1942, the first Marine offensive battle began. The First Marine Division made an amphibious landing at Guadalcanal, code named "Cactus". What followed was to be some of the longest and most bitter fighting in WWII for the Marines.

(b) For almost six months, we fought not only the Japanese ground forces but also attacks by air and sea. We were to fight through steaming jungles and over mountainous terrain. One of the first objectives was the airfield on the southern end of Guadalcanal.

(c) Two days after the initial assault, the airfield at Guadalcanal was captured and named Henderson Field after Major Lofton R. Henderson who was killed in the battle of Midway. After the first three days of American occupation of guadalcanal the U. S. Navy left the ill equipped Marines on the island, fearing the Japanese Navy would launch an attack on them. On 20 August units of the First Marine Aircraft Wing arrived on the island with 19 fighters and 12 dive bombers. The pilots would operate from Henderson Field and be known as the "Cactus Air Field." The First Marine Division now had direct air support. Under the cover of darkness, the Japanese would land thousands of reinforcements, who would fanatically come screaming out of the jungle at the Marines positions; these attacks would be known as Banzai attacks.

(d) By February of 1943, the Marines had full control of Guadalcanal and could not concentrate on the offensive in the Pacific. Lt.Col. Lewis B. (Chesty) Puller of 1st Battalion, 7th Marines won his third Navy Cross. He was also the only officer in the battalion to have previous combat experience.

(e) Sgt. John Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against Japanese forces on Guadalcanal. Sgt. Basilone on October 24th and 25th replaced a gun crew/emplacement during intense enemy fire and continually worked up and down the line to keep all of his guns firing. Later during the engagement, with his gun crews running out of much needed shells, Sgt. Basilone would cross the enemy line and retrieve the ammunition under continuous enemy fire. Sgt. Basilone's actions alone contributed to the virtual annihilation of a Japanese Regiment. Sgt. Basilone would later lose his life fighting with the Marines on the island of Iwo Jima. (MCCS .02.02d)

(2) Tarawa
(a) The island of Betio belonged to a group of islands called Tarawa from which the battle took its name. The islands consisted of low-lying coral formations surrounded by reefs nearly 1,000 yards in width. Japanese labor and ingenuity had converted the island into a fortress. It was strongly fortified and heavily garrisoned. Consider this: there were over 4,800 Japanese on Tarawa manning 32 large coastal artillery pieces, 106 machine guns, and 14 tanks.

(b) On 20 November, 1943 the 2nd Marine Division attacked Tarawa. The majority of the landing craft were stopped by the reefs surrounding the island. The assault troops waded to the shore, some 500 yard's distance, in the face of murderous machine gun and mortar fire. Despite this intense hail of fire, individual Marines stubbornly made their way ashore and gained a toehold on the beach. By nightfall,one regiment had established a perimeter on the beach, and its situation was, at best, doubtful.

(c) The next morning brought reinforcements from units unable to land the previous day and produced the thrust needed to drive the enemy from their positions. After three days of combat, Tarawa was in the hands of the 2nd Marine Division whose casualties totaled 1,100 dead and 2,300 wounded. The Japanese boasted that it would take a million men a hundred years to take Tarawa. It took the Marines just 76 hours. Only 17 Japanese surrendered; the rest fought to the death.

(d) The victory at Tarawa was costly but not without purpose. The United States Marine Corps learned two important lessons from the Battle for Tarawa. The first important lesson concerned the Higgins Boats that the Marine Corps developed back in the 1930's. The Higgins Boat, the original amphibious landing craft would get stuck on the low-lying coral reefs or Tarawa because of the unpredictable tides costing us many Marine lives.

(e) The 2nd Marine Division had brought along an experimental amphibious landing craft called the Amphibious Tractor (AMTRAC). Amtracs were tractor vehicles capable of riding over coral reefs and making it to shore. There were only 93 AMTRACs, and that was not enough to transport all the Marines to shore as quickly as they were needed. After the Battle for Tarawa the United States Marine Corps adopted the exclusive use of the Amphibious Tractor. The second important lesson was the fact that the Battle of Tarawa proved once and for all the soundness and validity of the Marine Corps' amphibious assault doctrine.

(3) Rabaul
(a) General Douglas MacArthur wanted to occupy Cape Gloucester on the western end of New Britain's Island, 350 jungle miles from Rabaul, to protect his flank as he moved up along New Guinea's coast. On 26 December 1943, the 1st Marine Division began their assault.

(b) On 2 January 1944, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines were stopped by repeated enemy attacks. Maj.Gen. Rupertus sent Lt.Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, the 7th Marines executive officer, to get 3rd Battalion moving. As the Marines set out to find Aogir Ridge where intelligence knew the Japanese were entrenched, 3rd Battalion and two others ran straight into enemy fire and were stopped dead.

(c) The commander and executive officer of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines were both wounded; this is when Lt. Col. Puller took charge. Aogiri Ridge was taken after much bloodshed and determination.

(d) The total casualties were 310 dead and 1,083 wounded. For his leadership and stern determination Lt. Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller won his fourth Navy Cross.

(4) Iwo Jima
(a) Next stop, Iwo Jima. It was necessary to secure Iwo Jima in order to provide a clear flight path for America's B-29 bombers flying from the Marianas to Japan. Iwo Jima would also be used as an emergency landing strip for B-29's returning from bombing runs over Japan. The Japanese had spent almost 20 years preparing the defense of this island. The barren, rugged terrain was defended by 23,000 Japanese. THere were some 1,500 caves and pillboxes. Many of these had reinforced walls as thick as ten feet.

(b) The island was bombed for months in preparation of a possible attack. The Navy pounded the island for 3 days and nights prior to the landing. One the morning of 19 February 1945, the men of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions landed on Iwo Jima with the 3rd Marine Division held in reserve. The 30,000 Marines attacked against light resistance and rapidly occupied an area less than one half a square mile. It was at this time that the Japanese defenders came out of their caves to fire their machine guns, mortars and artillery. It was impossible for them to miss the Marines who were massed on the beach. The Marines suffered 2,500 casualties on the first day!

Despite the death and suffering around them, they pressed forward to the base of Mt. Suribachi. A platoon of the 28th Marine was tasked with clearing the summit. One of the Marines preset had carried the Stars and Stripes with him during this bloody fight and decided there was o better place to raise it than the summit of Mt. Suribachi. The moment was photographed by Lou Lowery a photographer for Leatherneck. The Japanese were the first to see the raising of the flag. They quickly mounted a counter assault and a terrible battle ensued. It was also photographed by Lou Lowery. The Secretary of the Navy, James V. Forrestal, watched the flag raising and the subsequent fire fight and said to Lt. Gen Smith, "The raising of the flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years..."

(c) Marines on the island could barely see the flag and sailors on the ships couldn't see the flag without binoculars. It was decided later that a larger flag would be raised in its place. Joe Rosenthal from the Associated Press tailed the second squad up the hill in order to photograph this occasion and go down in history for photographing the most famous picture of all time. Three of the six Americans photographed would later join the almost 6,000 Americans who would die on Iwo Island. The total Marine casualties at Iwo Jima would be 26,000; more than one for each Japanese defender KIA. Fewer than 200 Japanese would become prisoners and the rest of the defenders fought to the death.

Because of all the acts of courage and bravery, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz said, "Among the Americans who served on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue." Eighty Marines would earn the Medal of Honor during WWII; twenty-two of them on the volcanic ash of Iwo Jima, the final testament to the heroism of the MArines who served there.

(5) Okinawa, the Last Offensive
(a) The final great land offensive of the Pacific area was the invasion of Okinawa by the combined force of the Marine Corps and three Army Division which made up the 10th Army. The Marine Corps was represented by the First and Sixth Marine Divisions landing on the western beaches of Okinawa, with the Second Marine Division held in reserve. Defending this mighty fortress were 117,000 Japanese.

(b) As the battle progressed, it became quite evident that the Japanese were prepared to fight until the last man. As the invasion was launched, nearly 1900 Kamikaze planes were sent against our fleet. The purpose of the Kamikaze was to crash their planes in the American ships disabling them at the cost on of plane and one barely trained pilot. Thirty-six American ships were sent to the bottom and an additional 368 more were damaged as a result of these attacks, However, on 21 June 1945, after three months of fighting, Japanese resistance ended. The successful conquest of the island of Okinawa enabled our ships, planes and submarines to tighten the blockade around Japan's home islands.

(c) The next step was to offer the Japanese the chance to surrender, unconditionally, without invasion or atomic destruction.

(d) On 26 July 1945, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Republic of China issued the Potsdam Resolution. It promised that the Japanese people would not be enslaved, but insisted that Japan be disarmed, occupied, and it's war-making power be destroyed. Two days later, Prime Minister Suzuki announced that Japan would continue to fight.

(e) Events rushed ahead. On 6 August 1945, the B-29 "Enola Gay" rose from North Field, Tinian, and at 0815 exploded its single atomic bomb over the city of Nagasaki, killing 70,000 instantly. On 9 August, a second atomic bomb swallowed Nagasaki in a mushroom shaped cloud, killing 40,000. The death and destruction were widespread and complete.

(f) On 10 August 1945, Japan asked for peace on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, with the sole condition that the Emperor retain his throne. Three days of discussion followed; and the, President Truman announced that the Emperor could stay, subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers. On 14 August 1945, Emperor Hirohito made the decision to surrender. At 0615 on August 15, 1945 Fleet Admiral Nimitz ordered all offensive operations against Japan stopped at once. The war was over.

(g) The dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan signaled the end of World War II. Now the task of disbanding the great American military machine was at hand.