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Page Contents:
Back to Page Contents Introduction
Most combat veterans believe the statement, "There are no atheists in foxholes," was true during the
Korean War. The Korean War Educator opened this page of study on the KWE on February 25, 2007.
To provide information, photos, or suggestions for the page, e-mail
Lynnita or send to Lynnita Brown, 111 E. Houghton St.,
Tuscola, IL 61953.
Back to Page Contents Chaplains in Korea
[KWE Note: To learn about the U.S. Navy's Chaplain Corps in the Korean War, we recommend the book, "The
History of the Chaplain Corps, United States Navy, Volume Six - During the Korean War 27 June 1950-27 June
1954.] Under Fire: Army Chaplains in Korea, 1950
[The following article was authored by Mark W. Johnson, U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, on April 9, 2013.]
WASHINGTON (April 9, 2013) -- The start of hostilities in Korea during June 1950 caught most American
officials off guard, and those in charge of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps were no exception.
For the previous five years, America's military focus had been on divesting itself of the huge force that
had been employed during World War Two. There were 8,141 Army chaplains on active duty as that war ended in
1945; by the end of 1947, only a little more than 1,100 remained. Nearly 500 of those transferred to the
recently-established U.S. Air Force in 1949. On the eve of the North Korean attack on South Korea, there
were 706 active duty Army chaplains, with more in the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve.
With war again a reality in 1950, the Army had to rapidly expand. Having just gone through the painful
process of involuntarily releasing chaplains from active duty and forcing them into reserve status, the
Chaplain Corps now had to reverse the process and recall reserve chaplains to active duty. Chaplain
authorizations would more than double in the coming years, topping out at 1,618 in 1953.
Even though numerous chaplains entered the active force through reserve component mobilizations,
individual recalls, and an intense recruiting effort, the number of chaplains serving never matched what was
authorized. Many veterans of World War Two were understandably reluctant to volunteer for combat duty again,
and popular support for the war would wane during its final years as the conflict devolved into a stalemate.
While America mobilized in 1950, America's Army went to war. The first American ground forces to deploy
to Korea were the divisions that had been stationed in Japan as occupation forces following World War Two.
In trying to stem the tide that was the North Korean invasion of South Korea, many hastily-deployed American
units found themselves in desperate situations; it often came down to more of a battle for survival than it
was an attempt to inflict harm on the enemy. Chaplains assigned to those units found themselves spending far
more time comforting the wounded and praying for the fallen--and trying to evade capture--than they did in
ministering to the living.
The first chaplain to serve in Korea deployed there with the initial American ground force to enter the
conflict: Task Force Smith, an under strength battalion of the 24th Infantry Division's 21st Infantry
Regiment. The battalion's chaplain, Carl R. Hudson, had been looking forward to a routine tour of garrison
duty in Japan upon his assignment to the unit a few weeks beforehand. Chaplain Hudson and the rest of the
task force's 540 soldiers had little time to do anything after settling into a defense position just north
of the town of Osan during the early morning hours of July 5, 1950.
A large force of North Korean tanks and infantry attacked just a few hours later. By early afternoon the
task force was completely overrun, its survivors scattered. Chaplain Hudson, along with the battalion's
surgeon and a large group of walking wounded, spent most of the following night and day making their way
southward to the safety of the nearest American unit.
Other chaplains of the 24th Infantry Division had experiences similar to that of Hudson during that
difficult month of July 1950, narrowly escaping as one American position after another fell before the North
Korean advance. All survived, with the exception of Chaplain Herman G. Felhoelter of the 19th Infantry
Regiment.
With his battalion falling back as the American position along the Kum River collapsed, Felhoelter
volunteered to remain behind with a group of critically wounded men. A North Korean patrol came upon the
group and executed the prostrate soldiers and their praying chaplain. Felhoelter was the first of twelve
chaplains to die in action or as a prisoner during the Korean War. The second also perished in July 1950,
when Chaplain Byron D. Lee of the 35th Infantry Regiment (25th Infantry Division) was mortally wounded
during an attack from an enemy aircraft.
Amazingly enough, no chaplains were captured during those confusing initial months of the Korean War
despite all the American setbacks. That would change within a few months, however. After the front
stabilized at the Pusan Perimeter and then the Inchon Invasion changed the strategic focus of the war,
during the final months of 1950 American units and other forces of the United Nations command no longer
retreated but instead advanced deep into North Korean territory. China entered the war in October 1950, when
American and South Korean troops approached the Yalu River, the border between Korea and China.
The first major American-Chinese clash took place near the town of Unsan during the first week of
November, when a powerful Chinese attack overwhelmed the 1st Cavalry Division's 8th Cavalry Regiment. The
regiment's battered 1st and 2d battalions managed to withdraw, but the 3d battalion was surrounded and
largely annihilated. The 3d battalion's chaplain, Emil J. Kapaun, was captured.
The 1950 Chinese counteroffensive generated heavy casualties on both sides. Within a month of Kapaun's
capture, three more chaplains also became prisoners of war: Kenneth C. Hyslop (19th Infantry Regiment),
Wayne H. Burdue (2d Engineer Battalion, 2d Infantry Division), and Lawrence F. Brunnert (32d Infantry
Regiment, 7th Infantry Division). Two other chaplains were killed during those weeks: Samuel R. Simpson
(38th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division) and James W. Conner (31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry
Division). The fate of the four captured chaplains was unknown until the release of surviving American
prisoners in 1953. Sadly, none of the four chaplain POWs survived their incarcerations.
For the opening battles of the Korean War, as with most wars, those who are already in uniform at the
start of the conflict bore the burden of the opening battles. The eight chaplains lost in 1950 were all
members of the pre-war Chaplain Corps. Six were veterans of World War Two. Burdue, Lee, and Simpson had
served continuously since the 1940s without a break in service. Hyslop, Kapaun, and Felhoelter also served
in World War Two, but were released from active duty in 1946. Within two years, however, they decided to
continue their service to God and country; all three volunteered for recall to active duty in 1948. Conner
and Brunnert joined the others in the pre-war era, being commissioned in 1948 and 1949 respectively.
None of these eight veteran chaplains knew what the year 1950 would bring, but all rose to the challenges
that came with ministering to Soldiers under fire. Only a few received public recognition for the actions
that ultimately cost them their lives: Conner was awarded the Silver Star, Felhoelter the Distinguished
Service Cross, and Kapaun received numerous awards.
Kapaun will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama, April 11, 2013, at the
White House.
All eight earned the undying thanks and gratitude of the Soldiers they served -- the only award for which
any of them would have asked.
Back to Page Contents Rev. Billy Graham in Korea
The Rev. Billy Graham traveled to Korea in December of 1952 to meet with missionaries, chaplains,
officers, pastors, and soldiers during the Christmas holiday season. Publicity about this famous
evangelist’s ministry in Korea was published in the form of a book entitled, I Saw Your Sons at War: The
Korean Diary of Billy Graham. It was published in 1953 by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,
Minneapolis, Minnesota. For more information about Reverend Graham's Korean diary, visit
I Saw Your Sons at War on the KWE.
Back to Page Contents Christian Music
For information about Christian music produced specifically about the Korean War, click on the KWE links
below.
Church Services in Korea
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
[KWE Note: The following news story from Church News, November 22, 1952, Salt Lake City, Utah, was sent to
the KWE by viewer Ralph Zobell.] Off the line to Church - LDS boys in Korea attend
conference
By Chaplain Lawrence R. Rast SEOUL, KOREA--Approximately 300 LDS soldiers on duty on the
front line positions on the battle line in Korea attended special conferences last month arranged by LDS
chaplains stationed in that area. Men from front line and rear echelon units were granted time out by their
officers to attend the special meetings. Sessions held in Pusan and Kunsan were presided over by Chaplain
(1st Lt.) Ross L. Covington, Logan, Utah, who then traveled to Chunchon and Seoul to be in attendance at
meetings with the men held there. The latter meetings were conducted by Chaplain (1st Lt.) Lawrence R. Rast,
Salt Lake City.
At 10 o’clock on Sept. 9, 109 servicemen gathered at the Fifth Air Force Chapel at Seoul, Korea, and blended
their voices in that mighty song, “We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet.” There were many tear-filled eyes and
pounding hearts as the rafters reverberated. Many expressed gratitude for a chance to sing our LDS songs once
again. The testimony meeting was conducted by Chaplain Covington. The following participated in the
services: Lt. Blaine E. Olson, Idaho Falls, Ida.; DeLynn Labrum, Meadow, Utah; Bob Gerstner, Vancouver,
British Columbia; Lt. Ross K. Naylor, Logan, Utah; Ralph D. Erickson, Marion C. Wood and Wayne Bruening. A
short talk was given by the new Seoul group leader, Elder Wesley C. Wood and the remainder of the time was
turned over to testimony bearing. The afternoon session was conducted by Chaplain Rast, Major Floyd G.
Hatch of Salt Lake City offered the invocation. At the two sessions at Chunchon and Seoul there were
present: Two High Priests, 19 Seventies, 124 Elders, 2 Teachers, 5 Deacons, 10 with no Priesthood and 10
visitors. Approximately 35 of these two groups were returned missionaries and 44 of the Seoul group had been
through the Temple. From the Priesthood count it can be seen that a definite influence for the good has
penetrated all units and branches of the Armed Forces of our country. From the testimonies borne, it is
evident that the “leaven that leaveneth the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9) is at work through the example set
by these men. Special attention should be given to the following men for helping the conference in Seoul
to be a success: Capt. Ned M. Vowles, chorister; Pfc. Lewis W. McAllister, organist; Norris G. Johanson who
arranged for billeting and meals at the Fifth Air Force Base; Wesley D. Scow, the Seoul group leader and his
counselors. |
