FORTITUDINENEWSLETTER OF THE MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PROGRAM

WILLIAM BROYLES' EVENTFUL RETURN TO VIETNAM. . . ARCHIBALD HENDERSON'S LONG FORGOTFEN BOATCLOAK. . . THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE Iwo JIMA LANDING MEMORIALIZED BOTH HERE AND THERE

APPRECIATIONS OF GENERALS CUSHMAN AND WELLER.. . FLIGHT LINES: DOUGLAS SBD-5 DAUNTLESS

VOLUME XIV WINTER 1984-1985 NUMBER 3

FORTITUDINENEWSLETTER OF THE MARINE CORPS HISTORICAL PROGRAM

VOLUME XIV WINTER 1984·1985 NUMBER 3

WILLIAM BROYLES' EVENTFUL RETURN TO VIETNAM ... ARCHIBALD HENDERSON'S LONG FORGOTTEN BOAT

CLOAK ... THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE Iwo JIMA LANDING MEMORIALIZED BOTH HERE AND THERE

... ApPRECIATIONS OF GENERALS CUSHMAN AND WELLER ... FLIGHT LINES: DOUGLAS SBD-S DAUNTLESS

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A: Approved for public release; distribution isunlimited.

PCN 10401220100

F ORTITUD INEMotto of the United States Marine Corps in the 1812 era.

Winter 1984- 1985

This quarterly newsletter of the Marine Corps historical program is publishedfor the Corps and for friends of Marine Corps history in accordance with Depart-ment of the Navy Publications and Printing Regulations NAVEXOS P-35. In-dividuals and institutions desiring Fortitudine on a complimentary regular basisare invited to apply to: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S.Marine Corps (Code HDS-1), Washington, D.C. 20380.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Telephone: (202) 433-3838, 433-3840, 433-3841

DIRECI'ORBGen Edwin H. Simmons, USMC (Ret)

HISTORICAL BRANCHCcl John G. Miller, USMC

Deputy Director for History

Mr. I-lenny I. Shaw,Jr.Chief Historian

Histnes Srctitin: LtCol Cyril V. Moyher. USMCR: Maj Frank M.Barha, Jr. IJSMC; Maj G. Ross Dunham, U5MC; Mr. Jack Shnlim-son; Mr. Charles R. Smith; Dr. V. Keith Fleming, Jr.

Reference Sectson: Mr. DannyJ. Crawford; Mr. Robert V. Aquilinn;Mrs. Ann A. Ferranre; Miss Lena M. Kaljot; Mrs. Regina Strother.

Oral Hastosy Section: Mr. Benis M. Frank.

.4 rcA sues: Mrs. Joyce E. Bonnerr.

MUSEUMS BRANCHCol F. B. Nihart, USMC (Rer)Deputy Director for Museums

Mr. Charles A. WoodChief Curator

Artist-tn-ResidenceCol Charles H. Waterhouse, USMCR

Marine Ba,rachs, Sperial Projects: Mr. Richard A. Long. MaterialHistory: Mr. Kenneth L. Smith-Christmas. Exhibits: Mr. Car! M.DeVerr, Sr.; Sgr RebeccaLynnJ. Mays, USMC; Mr. Benny L. Lenon,Sr. Art: Mr.Johsr T. Dyer, Jr. PevroivalPapert: Mr.J. Michael Miller.Registrar: Mr. John H, McGarry III,

Muteums Activities, QuanrrcoLrCol Rudy T. Schivaodo, USMC

Officer-in-Charge

Administration: Capt David C. Uhley, USMC. Ordnance: Mr. An-thony W. Tornmell. Restoration: Mr. Joseph B. Payrun. Aeration:Mr. John C. Willever. Exhibits: Mr. Ronald.). Perkins. Uniforms:Mrs. Nancy F. King. Security: Sgt Miguel Sanirsncencio, USMC

SUPPORT BRANCHMaj Danny R. Smith. USMC

Head/Division Executive Officer

Administration: CWO2J. C. Owens, USMC. Security: GySgt C. W.Viar, USMC. Library: Miss Evelyn A. Englander.

Publications Production: Mr. Robert E. Srruder. Production: Mrs.Catherine A. Kerns. Graphics: Mr. William S. Hill. Typesetting:LCpI James E. Rodriguez, USMC.

Editor, FortitudineMr. Robert E. Srrudcr.

Director's Page: Back to Vietnam 3

Readers Always Write 7

Recent Books of Historical Interest 7

Acquisitions 8

Center Aids Observances of IwoJima 40th Anniversary 10

Gen Robert Cushman, 25th Commandant, Succumbs at Age 70 13

MCHF Chairman, Naval Gun Tactician, MajGen Weller Dies 15

Research Grants 16

MTU DC-7 Schedules Wider Involvement in FMF Exercises 17

New Certificates of Lineage and Honors 17

Flight Lines: Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless 18

World War II Chronology:Januai'y -March 194. 19

Foundation Sponsors Marine Band Patriotic Record 24

THE COVER

Col Charles H. Waterhouse, USMCR, is artist-in-residence at the Marine .CorpsHistorical Center. Of this sketch from his latest Iwo Jima sketchbook, made dur-ing a visit this year, he writes, "The word was passed: It was over at last. Unbeliev-ing Marines ventured into the open, inviting fire. None came. Orders to police upthe area of usable weapons, ammo, and equipment. Load some trucks and moveout. My platoon leader, Li Hammond, walks into the gorge for last-minute checksand looks. Trucks and Marines take off in cloud of dust, leaving a suddenly ter-rified Marine and his carbine surrounded by the ominous silence of countless blackand threatening holes. A pause, then dash into the filtering dust and safety."

Fortitudine ts produced in the Publications Production Section of the History and Museums Divi-sion. The text for Forlitudine is set irs 10 point and 8 point Garamond typeface. Headlines are in 18point or 24 point Garamond. The newsletter is printed on 70-pound, matte-coated paper. Printing isby offset lithography.

2

Volume XIV

HISTORYAND MUSEUMSDIVISION

No.3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORTITUDINE

This quarterly newsletter of the Marine Corps historical program is publishedfor the Corps and for friends of Marine Corps history in accordance with Depart­ment of the Navy Publications and Printing Regulations NAVEXOS P-35. In­dividuals and institutions desiring Fortitudine on a complimentary regular basisare invited to apply to: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S.Marine Corps (Code HDS-l), Washington, D.C. 20380.

No.3Winter 1984-1985

Motto ofthe United States Marine Corps in the 1812 era.

Volume XIV

HISTORYAND MUSEUMSDIVISION

Telephone: (202) 433·3838. 433·3840. 433·3841

DIRECTORBGen Edwin H. Simmons. USMC (Rer)

HISTORICAL BRANCHCol John G. Miller. USMCDepury Direcror for History

Mr. Henry I. Shaw.Jr.Chief Historian

Histon'es Section: LtCol Cyril V. Moyher. USMCR: Maj Frank M.Batha. Jr .. USMC; Maj G. Ross Dunham. USMC; Mr. Jack Shu lim·son; Mr. Charles R. Smirh; Dr. V. Keirh Fleming. J1.

Reference Section: Mr. Danny J. Crawford; Mr. Roben V. Aquilina;Mrs. Ann A. Fcrramc; Miss Lena M. Kaljot; Mrs. Regina Strother.

Director's Page: Back to Vietnam 3Readers Always Write 7Recent Books of Historical Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7Acquisitions 8Center Aids Observances of IwoJima 40th Anniversary 10Gen Robert Cushman, 25th Commandant, Succumbs at Age 70 13MCHF Chairman, Naval Gun Tactician, MajGen Weller Dies 15

-Research Grants " 16MTU DC-7 Schedules Wider Involvement in FMF Exercises 17New Certificates of Lineage and Honors ~ 17Flight Lines: Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless 18World War II Chronology:January-March 1945 19Foundation Sponsors Marine Band Patriotic Record 24

Oral History Section: Mr. Benis M, Frank.

ArchivcI: Mrs. Joyce E. Bonnefr.

MUSEUMS BRANCHCol F. B. Nihart. USMC (Rcr)Deputy Director for Museums

Mr. Charles A. WoodChief Curator

Artist-in-ResidenceCol Charles H. Warcrhouse. USMCR

Afan"ne BaTTaclu, Special Projects: Mr. Richard A. Long. MalenalHistory: Mr. Kenncrh 1. Smirh·Chrisrmas. Exhibits: Mr. Carl M.DeVere, Sr.; Sgt Reb«caLynnJ. Mays, USMC; Mr. Benny L. Lenox,Sr. Art: MLJohn T. Dyer,jr. Persono/ Pt1p~rl: Mr.). Michad Miner.Registrar: Mr. JOhl1 H McGarry Ill,

THE COVERMuseums Activities. Quantico

LtCol Rudy T. Schwanda. USMCOfficer-in-Charge

Admimllration: CaP( David C. Uhley. USMC. Ordnance: Mr. An­(hony W. Tommel/. ReSloratlon: Mr. Joseph E. Paywn. Aftialiafl:Mr. John C. Willever. Exhibits: Mr. Ronald). Perkins. Uniforms:Mrs. Nancy F. King. Secun·ty: Sgt Miguel Saninocencio. USMC

SUPPORT BRANCHMaj Danny R. Smith. USMC

Head/Division Executive Officer

AdmimJtrallon: CW02 J. c. Owens. USMC. Sec.niy: GySgt C. W.Viar. USMC. Library: Miss Evelyn A. Englander.

Col Charles H. Waterhouse, USMCR, is artist-in-residence at the Marine .CorpsHistorical Center. Of this sketch from his latest Iwo Jima sketchbook, made dur­ing a visit this year, he writes, ''The word was passed: It was over at last. Unbeliev­ing Marines ventured into the open, inviting fire. None came. Orders to police upthe area of usable weapons, ammo, and equipment. Load some trucks and moveout. My platoon leader, Lt Hammond, walks into the gorge for last-minute checksand looks. Trucks and Marines take off in cloud of dust, leaving a suddenly ter­rified Marine and his carbine surrounded by the ominous silence of countless blackand threatening holes. A pause, then dash into the filtering dust and safety."

Publicaliom Production: Mr. Robert E. Struder. ProductIon: Mrs.Carh'''ne A. Kerns. GraphICS: Mr. William S. Hill. Typesetting:LCpl James E. Rodriguez, USMC.

EdilOf. FortitudineMr. Raben E. Struder.

Fortitudine is produced in the Publications Production Section of the Hisrory and Museums Divi­sion. The texl fot Fortitudine is set in 10 point and 8 point Gatamond typeface. Headlines ate in 18point Ot 24 point Gatamond. The newslettet is ptinted on 70-pound, matte-coated paper. Ptinting isby offset lithography. .

2

Director's Page

Back to Vietnam

BGen Simmons

S ome of us at the Marine CorpsHistorical Center had the rare op-

portunity on 11 December of hearing theperformance of the U.S. armed forces inVietnam critiqued from the other side.What we heard was not particularly flat-tering. The intermediary was William D.Broyles, Jr., who had just returned froma four-week solitary tour of Vietnam,North and South.

Bill had been my aide during the sum-mer of 1970 when I was the assistantdivision commander of the 1st MarineDivision. I had inherited him from mypredecessor, BGen William F. Doehler,but I couldn't have chosen better Hehad been a platoon leader for the firsthalf of his Vietnam tour with 1st Bat-talion, 26th Marines, before coming todivision headquarters on I-Jill 327 out-side Da Nang. His academic backgroundimpressed me. After graduating fromRice in 1966 with a degree in history, Billhad gone to Oxford where he studied

politics, philosophy, and economics andreceived a second B.A. and an M.A.

He left me in the fall of 1970 to teachat the Naval Academy. I had hoped thatthis experience would turn him into acareer officer, but somehow Annapolisdidn't have quite the effect on him I hadhoped it would. After teachingphilosophy there for a year, he left activeduty and returned to Texas. After work-ing in the Houston public school systemfor a time, he became a founder, main-spring, and eventual editor-in-chief ofthe highly successful Texas Monthly.About two years ago he left Texas tobecome editor of Newsweek. We got intouch again at the time of the dedicationof the Vietnam Memorial which we saw•differently.

He is now free-lancing. He called mein late November to tell me he had beenback to Vietnam and was writing an arti-cle (which will be the cover story of the

April issue) for Atlantic Monthly. Hewanted to exchange views and I invitedhim down to the Center to talk not onlywith me but with our Vietnam historywriters and one or two others. He camedown from New York, as I said earlier,on 11 December and we gathered in theconference room to hear what he had tosay.

H e told us he had gone into Vietnamon 29 September and came out on

25 October. His two weeks in the Northwere spent mostly in and around Hanoi,with side trips to the Red River delta, toNarn Dinh, target of heavy bombing,and to Ha Tuyen, a mountainous pro-vince that borders China. The rest of thetime was spent all over South Vietnam,driving from the DMZ to the delta andtalking to a lot of people. Mostly he wasaccompanied by a single escort.

Two things impressed him most vivid-

ly.

Former Newsweek editor William D. Broyles, Jr., left, is welcomed to the Historical Center by BGen Simmons

3

Director's Page

Back to Vietnam

BGen Simmons

Some of us at the Marine CorpsHistorical Center had the rare op­

portunity on 11 December of hearing theperformance of the U. S. armed forces inVietnam critiqued from the other side.What we heard waS not particularly flat­tering. The intermediary was William D.Broyles, Jr., who had just returned froma four-week solitary tour of Vietnam,North and South.

Bill had been my aide during the sum­mer of 1970 when I was the assistantdivision commander of the 1st MarineDivision. I had inherited him from mypredecessor, BGen William F. Doehler,but I couldn't have chosen betteL Hehad been a platoon leader for the firsthalf of his Vietnam tour with 1st Bat­talion, 26th Marines, before coming to

division headquarters on Hill 327 out­side Da Nang. His academic backgroundimpressed me. After graduating fromRice in 1966 with a degree in histOry, Billhad gone to Oxford where he studied

politics, philosophy, and economics andreceived a second B.A. and an M.A.

He left me in the fall of 1970 to teachat the Naval Academy. I had hoped thatthis experience would turn him into acareer officer, but somehow Annapolisdidn't have quite the effect on him I hadhoped it would. After teachingphilosophy there for a year, he left activeduty and returned to Texas. After work­ing in the Houston public school systemfor a time, he became a founder, main­spring, and eventual editor-in-chief ofthe highly successful Texas Monthly.About two years ago he left Texas tobecome editor of Newsweek. We got intouch again at the time of the dedicationof the Vietnam Memorial which we saw'differently.

He is now free-lancing. He called mein late November to tell me he had beenback to Vietnam and was writing an arti­cle (which will be the cover story of the

April issue) for Atlantic Monthly. Hewanted to exchange views and I invitedhim down to the Center to talk not onlywith me but with our Vietnam historywriters and one or two others. He camedown from New York, as I said earlier,on 11 December and we gathered in theconference room to hear what he had tosay.

H e told us he had gone into Vietnamon 28 September and came out on

25 October. His twO weeks in the Northwere spent mostly in and around Hanoi,with side trips to the Red River delta, toNam Dinh, target of heavy bombing,and to Ha Tuyen, a mountainous pro­vince that borders China. The rest of thetime was spent all over South Vietnam,driving from the DMZ to the delta andtalking to a lot of people. Mostly he wasaccompanied by a single escort.

Two things impressed him most vivid·ly.

Former Newsweek editor !Pdliam D. Broyles, Jr., left, is welcomed to the Historical Center by BGen Simmons

3

The first was that once the Vietnamesepeople learned that he was an American,not a Russian, he was received with a sur-prising degree of warmth and even affec-tion.

The second thing was that almost allsigns of the war had been obliteratedfrom the landscape, whether in thestreets of Hanoi or in the countryside,North and South. He drove aroundHanoi for an hour and a half looking invain for evidence of the bombing, beforevisiting the famous Bach Mai hospitalwhich was hit by mistake in the 1972raids. The hospital has been completelyrebuilt. The staff still displays pictures ofJane Fonda to visitors. One doctor hadvivid stories to tell about the bombing:

We had to break through therubble and uncover the entranceswith our bare hands to get thewounded out. Power was out andthe storeroom where we kept ouranti-biotics and bandages wasdestroyed. It took almost twoweeks to extricate all the dead andthe smell of bodies filled thehospital.. . . But war is war. So werebuilt the hospital but the shelteris still filled with rubble and water.After the Paris agreement, Kiss-inger came here and promised usthree million dollars to rebuild thehospital, but we never got it.

Bill found that to the northerners thewar in the South had been

something far away; the air war was their

war. To them, the B-52 symbolizesAmerica's technological superiority. Themost popular exhibit iii their militarymuseum is the wreckage of a B-52 shotdown by their MIG-21s.

"Kids in the military museum," saidBill, "were looking at the pieces of thedowned B-52 like they were seeing agreat mythological beast that had beenslain."

In heavily bombed Nam Dinh, thePeople's Committee had kept carefulrecords which they brought out in foldersto read to the visiting American. Theyhad divided the air war into two periods:the Lyndon B. Johnson period and theRichard M. Nixon period. A womanopened the file on the LBJ period andread:

During this period Nam Dinh,was bombed 189 times, including82 night raids. Sixty percent of thehouses were destroyed

F lying south into Da Nang took himover some of the toughest areas of I

Corps — Go Noi Island, the Que Sons,An Hoa, and the Arizona Ter-ritory—ground over which we had flowntogether so often in 1970, and now hesaw only rice paddies, peaceful villages,little kids going to school, and boys onwater buffalo. Close into Da Nang allthe installations at Red Beach and Mar-ble Mountain were gone. All that re-mained was red earth and, when he gotto see the old sites more closely, an occa-sional bit of barbed wire.

He was struck by the incredible quiet

4

at the Da Nang airfield, once one of thebusiest in the world and now down toabout two flights a day. Where ourhelicopters and jets had wound up in anearly unbearably noisy cacaphony, thehangars stood empty in near-absolutesilence.

In Hanoi he asked General Man,editor of the The Military Daily, how theNorth Vietnamese had set out to fightthe Americans at the beginning oí thewar. Man answered:

From the beginning we conclud-ed that we could not defeat theAmerican Army by military meansalone. You were too strong. But weknew we had one great advantage.Our whole nation fought. We wereunited. You were not. That wasyour weakness and our goal was toattack that weakness however wecould.

Man said that they regarded theirforces as "seamless," from armed regularsoldier down to unarmed peasant. In aparaphrase of Ho Chi Minh, he said:

Our regular forces compared toyours were small, but everyonecould fight with whatever he had.If we had a gun, we'd take a gun; ifwe didn't have a gun, we took asword; if we didn't have a sword,we took a knife; if it wasn't a knife,it was a stick. We took whatever wehad and fought the aggressor. Youwere the aggressor. There were tensof thousands of American and

The first was that once the Vietnamesepeople learned that he was an American,not a Russian, he was received with a sur­prising degree of warmth and even affec­tion.

The second thing was that almost allsigns of the war had been obliteratedfrom the landscape, whether in thestreets of Hanoi or in the countryside,North and South. He drove aroundHanoi for an hour and a half looking invain for evidence of the bombing, beforevisiting the famous Bach Mai hospitalwhich was hit by mistake in the 1972raids. The hospital has been completelyrebuilt. The staff still displays pictures ofJane Fonda to visitors. One doctor hadvivid stories to tell about the bombing:

We had to break through therubble and uncover the entranceswith our bare hands to get thewounded out. Power was out andthe storeroom where we kept ouranti-biotics and bandages wasdestroyed. It took almost twoweeks to extricate all the dead andthe smell of bodies filled thehospital. ... But war is war. So werebuilt the hospital but the shelteris still filled with rubble and water.After the Paris agreement, Kiss­inger came here and promised usthree million dollars to rebuild thehospital, but we never got it.

B ill found that to the northerners thewar in the South had been

something far away; the air war was their

war. To them, the B-52 symbolizesAmerica's technological superiority. Themost popular exhibit in their militarymuseum is the wreckage of a B-52 shotdown by their MIG·21s.

"Kids in the military museum," saidBill, "were looking at the pieces of thedowned B-52 like they were seeing agreat mythological beast that had beenslain."

In heavily bombed Nam Dinh, thePeople's Committee had kept carefulrecords which they brought out in foldersto read to the visiting American. Theyhad divided the air war into two periods:the Lyndon B. Johnson period and theRichard M. Nixon period. A womanopened the file on the LBJ period andread:

During this period Nam Dinh,was bombed 189 times, including82 night raids. Sixty percent of thehouses were destroyed . . .

F lying south into Da Nang took himover some of the toughest areas of I

Corps - Go Noi Island, the Que Sons,An Hoa, and rhe Arizona Ter­ritory-ground over which we had flowntogether so often in 1970, and now hesaw only rice paddies, peaceful villages,little kids going to school, and boys onwater buffalo. Close into Da Nang allthe installarions at Red Beach and Mar­ble Mountain were gone. All that re­mained was red earth and, when he gotto see the old sites more closely, an occa­sional bit of barbed wire.

He was struck by the incredible quiet

4

at the Da Nang airfield, once one of thebusiest in the world and now down toabout tWO flights a day. Where ourhelicopters and jets had wound up in anearly unbearably noisy cacaphony, thehangars stood empty in near-absolutesilence.

In Hanoi he asked General Man,editor of the The Military Datly, how theNorth Vietnamese had set out to fightthe Americans at the beginning of thewar. Man answered:

From the beginning we conclud­ed that we could not defeat theAmerican Army by military meansalone. You were too strong. But weknew we had one great advantage.Our whole nation fought. We wereunited. You were not. That wasyour weakness and our goal was to

attack that weakness however wecould.

Man said that they regarded theirforces as "seamless," from armed regularsoldier down ro unarmed peasant. In aparaphrase of Ho Chi Minh, he said:

Our regular forces compared toyours were small, but everyonecould fight with whatever he had.If we had a gun, we'd take a gun; ifwe didn't have a gun, we took asword; if we didn't have a sword,we wok a knife; if it wasn't a knife,it was a stick. We took whatever wehad and fought the aggressor. Youwere the aggressor. There were tensof thousands of American and

puppet troops there when weseldom had more than one regi-ment of the regular forces. Whycouldn't you defeat us? Because wehad tens of thousands ofothers — scouts, spies, politicalcadre.

He asked Bill how many troops theAmericans would have needed to attackDa Nang airbase and destroy the aircraftthere.

"The way you fought," said Man,answering his own question, "You wouldneed several divisions. We did it withprecisely 30 men. It was a new kind ofwar we invented, and it was possible onlybecause we had the support of the peo-ple."

Bill next talked with Colonel Bui Tin,who had been at Dien Bien Phu in

1954, had gone down the Ho Chi Minhtrail in 1963, and had received General"Big" Minh's surrender at the Presiden-tial Palace in 1975. He told Bill that theAmericans had shown three basicweaknesses:

—The first was our one-yearrotation policy. No sooner did asoldier begin to learn the countrythan he was sent home.

—The second was our trying towin the hearts and minds of peoplewhile at the same time trying tokill them with bombs.

—The third was our choice of anally. Ninety percent of the puppetgovernment was corrupt; the re-

maining ten percent was notenough.

Bill also met with General Hoang,who is now the chief historian of theVietnamese Army. During the U.S. Ar-my's first big battle, Ia Diang (which (heVietnamese call Plei Me), Hoang hadbeen aide-de-camp to the North Viet-namese commander (a different GeneralMan). The U.S. Army viewed Ia Drangas a great victory, one that introduced anew type of air assault warfare that prov-ed effective against NVA regular forces.How did the North Vietnamese view it?Hoang had this to say:

When you sent the 1st Cavalryto attack us at Plei Me, it gave usheadaches trying to figure out whatto do. General Man and I wouldstay awake in our shelter trying tofigure out how to fight you. Wewere very close to the front andseveral times the American troopscame very near us. With yourhelicopters you could strike deepinto our rear without warning.That was very effective. We had toorganize our rear to make it as

prepared to fight as our frontlinetroops.

Aware that we considered Ia Drang agreat success, the North Vietnamesewatched our confidence in our firepowerand helicopter mobility grow steadily in-to a fire support base mentality. Theycould count on our offensive operationsnever going beyond the artillery fan.General Hoang remembered with relish:

5

Our mobility was only our feet,so we had to lure your troops intoareas where their helicopters andartillery would be of no use. Andwe tried to turn those advantages[against you] to make you sodependent on them that youwould never develop the ability tomeet us on our own terms, on foot,lightly armed, in the jungle. Youseldom knew where we were, andyou seldom had a clear goal foryour operations. So your great ad-vantages ended up being wastedand you spent so much of yourfirepower on empty jungle.

Or as Bui Tin put it:

We learned to build specialshelters; how to decoy artillery andairplanes; how to tie you to yourfire bases and your helicopters, sothat they worked against you. Wewere at home in the jungle and youwanted only to get back to yourbases to shower and get a letterfrom home.

A nother general with whom Billtalked was General Tuan who had

commanded the 2d Viet Cong Division,afrequent adversary of the Marines. Inaddition to staying outside our artilleryfan, said Tuari, the NVA and VC couldalso neutralize our great advantage infirepower by fighting at very closeranges, a tactic they called "grabbingthem, by the belt" and which he il-lustrated by grabbing Bill by the belt. [It

puppet troops there when weseldom had more than one regi­ment of the regular forces. Whycouldn't you defeat us? Because wehad tens of thousands ofothers - scouts, spies, politicalcadre.

He asked Bill how many troops theAmericans would have needed to attackDa Nang airbase and destroy the aircraftthere.

"The way you fought," said Man,answering his own question, "You wouldneed several divisions. We did it withprecisely 30 men. It was a new kind ofwar we invented, and it was possible onlybecause we had the support of the peo­ple."

B ill next talked with Colonel Bui Tin,who had been at Dien Bien Phu in

1954, had gone down the Ho Chi Minhtrail in 1963, and had received General"Big" Minh's surrender at the Presiden­tial Palace in 1975. He told Bill that theAmericans had shown three basicweaknesses:

- The first was our one-yearrotation policy. No sooner did asoldier begin to learn the countrythan he was sent home.

- The second was our trying towin the hearts and minds of peoplewhile at the same time trying tokill them with bombs.

- The third was our choice of anally. Ninety percent of the puppetgovernment was corrupt; the re-

mammg ten percent was notenough.

Bill also met with General Hoang,who is now the chief historian of theVietnamese Army. During the U.S. Ar­my's first big battle, Ia Drang (which theVietnamese call Plei Me), Hoang hadbeen aide-de-camp to the North Viet­namese commander (a different GeneralMan). The U.S. Army viewed la Drangas a great victory, one that introduced anew type of air assault warfare that prov­ed effective against NVA regular forces.How did the North Vietnamese view it?Hoang had this to say:

When you sent the 1st' Cavalryto attack us at Plei Me, it gave usheadaches trying to figure out whatto do. General Man and I wouldstay awake in our shelter trying tofigure our how to fight you. Wewere very close to the front andseveral times the American troopscame very near us. With yourhelicopters you could strike deepinto our rear without warning.That was very effective. We had toorganize our rear to make it asprepared to fight as our frontlinetroops.

Aware that we considered la Drang agreat success, the North Vietnamesewatched our confidence in our firepowerand helicopter mobility grow steadily in­to a fire support base mentality. Theycould count on our offensive operationsnever going beyond the artillery fan.General Hoang remembered with relish:

5

Our mobility was only our feet,so we had to lure your troops intoareas where their helicopters andartillery would be of no use. Andwe tried to turn those advantages[against you1 to make you sodependent on them that youwould never develop the ability to

meet us on our own terms, on foot,lightly armed, in the jungle. Youseldom knew where we were, andyou seldom had a clear goal for

. your operations. So your great ad­vantages ended up being wastedand you spent so much of yourfirepower on empty jungle.

Or as Bui Tin put it:

We learned to build specialshelters; how to decoy artillery andairplanes; how to tie you to yourfire bases and your helicopters, sothat they worked against you. Wewere at home in the jungle and youwanted only to get back to yourbases to shower and get a letterfrom home.

A nother general with whom Billtalked was General Tuan who h3,d

commanded the 2d Viet Cong Division,a' frequent adversary of the Marines. Inaddition to staying outside our artilleryfan, said Tuan, the NVA and VC couldalso neutralize our great advantage infirepower by fighting at very closeranges, a tactic they called "grabbingthem by the belt" and which he il­lustrated by grabbing Bill by the belt. [It

show that you could not defeat usas you had planned. Of course, wesuffered great losses, but the losseswere acceptable to the success.

Bui Tin also shrugged off their losses:

Most of Bill's questions concerningMIAs and POWs were shrugged

off. The matter of recovering the remainsof American servicemen did, however,gain him an interesting comment from aVietnamese official:

Peter Braestrup, editor of the WoodrowWilson Quarterly, was among the groupof 14 expert questioners at the interview.

is a tactic that every Marine who was evercaught in a baited helicopter landingzone will remember.] Tuan also said:

By the fall of 1967 . . . we con-cluded that you'd done your best,but that you'd still not reversed thebalance of force on the battlefield.The strategic position had notchanged. So we decided to carryout one decisive battle, to force theissue.

We had hundreds of thousandskilled. We would have sacrificedone to two million more, ifnecessary.

Bill asked a number of persons toidentify the worst period of the war.General Tuan's answer was particularlystriking:

After let 1968, the early years ofVietnamization — particularly 1969and 1970—were very difficult forus. The fighting was very fierce.We were often hungry. I was adivision commander L2d Viet CongDivision] and I went hungry fordays. We had no rice to eat. It wasvery, very bad. We realized that wehad to hang on during this terribleperiod until the expected reactionin America took its course, andAmerican troops were pulled out.Then our final victory was assured,even though it might be years incoming.

Look, put yourself in our place.You've been to all thesecemeteries. Every village has a

cemetery. Now, we lost hundredsof thousands of men in the war.But all of our fighters are buried inthe South, away. from their homevillages. They are not in thosegraves in their village cemeteries.We don't know where the graves ofhalf of them are. How can we goout and tell our people to find thebodies of Americans when theycan't find the bodies of their ownSons and fathers? How can we tellthem that it's more important tolook for Americans?

The last word should probably go toGeneral Tuan:

We did not have to beat you theway the Allies beat the Nazis. Ourgoal was only for you to withdrawso we could settle our affairs. Thatwas our goal and we achieved it.

What followed, of course, was the1968 Tet offensive of which the attackagainst Khe Sanh formed a part. WasKhe Sanh a main objective or a diver-sion? It is a question we have longdebated. General Man had this to say:

Westmoreland thought KheSanh was Dien Bien Phu. DienBien Phu was a strategic battle forus. We mobilized everything for it.We at last had a chance to have afavorable balance of forces againstthe French. We never had that atKhe Sanh. The situation would notallow it. We wanted to bring yourforces away from the cities to decoythem tothe frontier [to enable us]to prepare for our great let offen-sive.

Of the Tet offensive, Man said:

We mounted the offensive to

6

Persons Attending the William Broyles Discussion

BGen Edwin H. Simmons, Director of Marine Corps History and MuseumsCol John G. Miller, Deputy Director for Marine Corps HistoryMr. Henry I. Shaw,Jr., Chief HistorianMr. Benis M. Frank, Head, Oral History SectionMr. Jack Shulimson, Senior Vietnam HistorianLtCol Wayne A. Babb, Vietnam Historical WriterMaj Frank M. Batha, Vietnam Aviation Historical WriterMaj George R. Dunham, Vietnam Historical WriterDr. V. Keith Fleming, Vietnam HistorianMr. Charles R. Smith, Vietnam Historian

Dr. Jeffrey J. Clarke, Vietnam Historian, U.S. Army Center of MilitaryHistoryDr. Wayne W. Thompson, Vietnam Historian, Office of Air Force HistoryMr. Bernard F. Cavalcante, Reference Specialist, Naval Historical CenterMr. Peter Braestrup, Editor, U'7oodrow Wilson Quarterly

Copies of the full transcript of the discussion with Mr. William D.Broyles, as transcribed and edited by ColJohn G. Miller, are available on re-quest.

Peter Braestrup, editor of the WoodrowWilson Quarterly, was among the groupof14 expert questioners at the interview.

is a tactic that every Marine who was evercaught in a baited helicopter landingzone will remember.) Tuan also said:

By the fall of 1967 ... we con­cluded that you'd done your best,but that you'd still not reversed thebalance of force on the battlefield.The strategic position had notchanged. So we decided t9 carryout one decisive battle, to force theIssue.

show that you could not defeat usas you had planned. Of course, wesuffered great losses, but the losseswere acceptable to the success.

Bui Tin also shrugged off their losses:

We had hundreds of thousandskilled. We would have sacrificedone to two million more, ifnecessary.

Bill asked a number of persons toidentify the worst period of the war.General Tuan's answer was particularlystriking:

After Tet 1968, the early years ofVietnamization - particularly 1969and 1970 - were very difficult forus. The fighting was very fierce.We were often hungry. I was adivision commander [2d Viet CongDivision) and I went hungry fordays. We had no rice to eat. It wasvery, very bad. We realized that wehad to hang on during this terribleperiod until the expected reactionin America took its course, andAmerican troops were pulled out.Then our final victory was assured,even though it might be years incommg.

M OSt of Bill's questions concerningMIAs and POWs were shrugged

off. The matter of recovering the remainsof American servicemen did, however,gain him an interesting comment from aVietnamese official:

Look, put yourself in our place.You've been to all thesecemeteries. Every village has acemetery. Now, we lost hundredsof thousands of men in the war.But all of our fighters are buried inthe South, away. from' their homevillages. They are not in thosegraves in their village cemeteries.We don't know where the graves ofhalf of them are. How can we goout and tell our people to find thebodies of Americans when theycan't find the bodies of their ownsons and fathers? How can we tellthem that it's more important to

look for Americans?

The last word should probably go toGeneral Tuan:

We did not have to beat you theway the Allies beat the Nazis. Ourgoal was only for you to withdrawso we could settle our affairs. Thatwas our goal and we achieved it.

What followed, of course, was the1968 Tet offensive of which the attackagainst Khe Sanh formed a part. WasKhe Sanh a main objective or a diver­sion? It is a question we have longdebated. General Man had this to say:

Westmoreland thought KheSanh was Dien Bien Phu. DienBien Phu was a strategic battle for

·us. We mobilized everything for it.We at last had a chance to have afavorable balance of forces againstthe French. We never had that atKhe Sanh. The situation would notallow it. We wanted to bring yourforces away from the cities to decoythefTl tQ. the fromier [to enable us)to prepare for our great Tetoffen­slve.

Of the Tetoffensive, Man said:

We mounted the offensive to

Persons Attending the William Broyles Discussion

BGen Edwin H. Simmons, Director of Marine Corps History and MuseumsCol John G. Miller, Deputy Director for Marine Corps HistoryMr. Henry I. Shaw, Jr., Chief HistorianMr. Benis M. Frank, Head, Oral History SectionMr. Jack Shulimson, Senior Vietnam HistorianitCol Wayne A. Babb, Vietnam Historical WriterMaj Frank M. Batha, Vietnam Aviation Historical WriterMaj George R. Dunham, Vietnam Historical WriterDr. ·V. Keith Fleming, Vietnam HistorianMr. Charles R. Smith, Vietnam Historian

De. Jeffrey J. Clarke, Vietnam Historian, U.S. Army Center of MiliraryHistoryDr. Wayne W. Thompson, Vietnam Historian, Office of Air Force HisroryMr. Bernard F. CavaIcante, Reference Specialisr, Naval Historical CenterMr. Perer Braesrrup, Editor, Woodrow Wzlson Quarterly

Copies of the full transcript of the discussion with Me. William D.Broyles, as transcribed and edited by Col John G. Miller, are available on re­quest.

6

ReadersAlwaysWriteNO 1,000-POUNDERS ON F4Fs

Your page on the F4F-4 [Fortitudine,Fall 1984] brought back memories.My acquaintance with these airplanesbegan in 1945 at NATTC, Norman,Oklahoma (the AMM School, Class"A"), where we had both FM-is andFM-2s as learning aids. From thestudents' point of view, these were chief-ly memorable for the miserable Breezecartridge starter, a diabolical device ofwhich the blow-out disc (the safetyfeature) had to be disabled . . in orderfor the gas pressure to be retained suffi-ciently to turn the engine over on a coldmorning . . . which is to say, to make itwork you had to make it unsafe. Tounload a hangfire was to bet your hand(as a number of one-armed sailors couldconfirm).

Under "Technical Data" ... the figurefor rate-of-climb looki like a calculationfrom a "Time-to-Climb" table (like 6minutes to 10,000 ft), which for a loadedF4F-4 (especially with those bloody-awful tanks) is probably about right.My only quibble here is that initial climbrate is not the same as altitude dividedby time-to-climb.

My BIG question-mark, though, is

reserved for those "Two 1000-lb bombs"• . . . The little-bitty rack was sized for a60-gallon drop-tank and was (as I recall)limited to 400 lbs suspended. I nevermounted the tanks, but I did leave theracks on because they were useful fordispensing such goodies as life-rafts.But 2000 ibs? No way!

John M. VerdiColonel, USMCR (Ret)

Northport, Alabama

EDITOR'S NOTE: Col Verdi is nghtonboth counts. We did not wish to use aninitial rate of climb for our data,therefore the F4F-4's rate of climb wasdetermined from calculations using theaircraft's time to climb from sea level to20,000 feet at normal power. The ar-maments load should have shown two100-pound vice two 1,000-poundbombs.

FROMA VALUED READERIt has been a source of great pleasure

to thumb through [Fortitudine] and readmany of the articles and commentswhich stirred memories of my longassociation with our distinguishedMarines.

The issue just received telling of shipsnamed for some of our Medal of HonorMarines [Fall 1984] is priceless to me.

Mrs. Arthur BlakeneyWashington, D.C.

EDITORS NOTE: The writer, JaneBlakeney, was for more than 30 years astaff member and head of the Decora-tions and Medals Branch at HeadquartersMarine Corps. Mrs. Blakeney is theauthor of Heroes of the U.S. MarineCorps, 1861-1955, an authoritativereference work published in 1957 fromnotes and files compiled since 1924, andone which is still in daily use at theHistorical Center.

1ST DIV VETS' VIEWS ASKEDAs some of your readers know, my first

book, Battle for Hue: Tet 1968 (PresidioPress, 1983), was based on interviewswith 35 Vietnam veterans. For my secondbook, l.had the opportunity to interview90 Viet vets m presently starting athird proposed book on Vietnam, I hopeto chronicle the activities of the 1st

Marine Division and Americal Divisionin the Arizona Valley-Que Son Moun-tains-Hiep Duc Valley area, from 7

June-7 September 1969. . . . Units in-volved included . . . 1/5, 2/5, 1/7, and2/7; 1st Reconnaissance Battalion; 1st

Marine Aircraft Wing.I would greatly appreciate hearing

from any vets of these operations as soonas possible, so we can arrange an inter-view . . . . Call or write: Keith WilliamNolan, 220 Kingsville Court, WebsterGroves, Missouri 63119; (314) 961-7577.

Keith William NolanWebster Groves, Missouri

Recent Books of Historical InterestSome recent books of professional in-

terest to Marines, available from localbookstores and libraries, have been add-ed to the library of the Marine CorpsHistorical Center. Among them are:

Bantam War Books Series. Reprintsand reissues in paperback of selectedvolumes covering World War Ii. A newtitle is published every month with ap-proximately 24 titles in print at any onetime. Titles thus far in the series includeRobert Sherrod's Tawara, D.A. Burgett'sAs Eagles Screamed, and C.A.Lockwood's Sink 'Em All. Many titles areprinted in specially illustrated editions.Most titles $2.95 to $3.95.

The Banana W'ars,' An Inner History ofAmerican Empire, 1900-1934. Lester D.Langley. University Press of Kentucky.

251 pp., 1983. This work coversAmerican diplomatic and military in-volvement in the Caribbean from 1898until 1934, when the last Marines leftHaiti. $26.00

June 1944. H. P. Willmott. BlandfordPress. 224 pp., 1984. The author hasprovided a record and intepretation ofthe war in Europe and the Far East dur-ing the course of a single month. June1944 sets the events in context providingboth an account and an analysis of eventsin relation to the political decisions thatpreceded them and the repercussionsthat followed them. The book has threeparts: first, the northwest Europe andMediterranean theaters; second, eventson the Eastern front; third, the Asianmainland and the western Pacific. In his

7

analysis, the author states that the im-portance of this month lies in the factthat its combined events ushered in thefinal phase of World War II. Also hebelieves the month was witness to a newinternational system based on therealities of Soviet and American power.$16.95.

The Glory of the Solomons. Edwin P.Hoyt. Stein and Day. 348 pp.' 1983.The story of the World War II SouthPacific campaign for the Solomon Islandsincluding New Georgia, Kula Gulf,Vella Lavella, Bougainville, New Britain,the Green Islands, and the Battle ofBismarck Sea. This was written by theauthor of Guadalcanal,' The Battle ofLeyte Gulf Blue Skies and Blood: theBattle of Coral Sea. $19.95

ReadersAlwaysWriteNO 1,OOO-POUNDERS ON F4Fs

Your page on. the F4F-4 [Fortitudine,Fall 19841 brought back memories....My acquaintance with these airplanesbegan in 1945 at NATTC, Norman,Oklahoma (the AMM S~hool, Class"A"), where we had both FM-ls andFM-2s as learning aids. From thestudents' point of view, these were chief­ly memorable· for the miserable Breezecartridge starter, a diabolical device ofwhich the blow-out disc (the safetyfeature) had to be disabled . . . in orderfor the gas pressure to be retained suffi­ciently to turn the engine over on a coldmorning ... which is to say: to make itwork you had to make it unsafe. Tounload a hangfire was to bet your. hand(as a number of one-armed sailors couldconfirm).

Under "Tech.nical Data" ... the figurefor rate-of-c1imb looks like a calculationfrom a "Time-to-Climb" table (like 6minutes to 10,000 ft), which for a loadedF4F-4 (especially with those bloody­awful tanks) is probably about right....My only quibble here is that initial climbrate is not the same as altitude dividedby time-to-c1imb.

My BIG question-mark, though, isreserved for those "Two lOOO-lb bombs".... The little-bitty rack was sized for a60-gallon drop-tank and was (as I recall)limited to 400 lbs suspended. I nevermounted the tanks, but I did leave theracks on because they were useful fordispensing such goodies as life-rafts....But 1000 Ibs? No way!

John M. VerdiColonel, USMCR (Ret)

Northport, Alabama

EDITOR'S NOTE: Col Verdi is right onboth counts. We did not wish to use aninitial rate of climb for our data,therefore the F4F-4's rate of climb wasdetermined from calculations using theaircraft's time to climb from sea level to20,000 feet at normal power. The ar­maments load should have shown twolOO-pound vice two 1, OOO-poundbombs.

FROM A VALUED READERIt has been a source of great pleasure

to thumb through [Fortitudine) and readmany of the articles and commentswhich stirred memories of my longassociation with our distinguishedMarines.

The issue just received telling of shipsnamed for some of our Medal of HonorMarines [Fall 1984) is priceless to me.

Mrs. Arthur BlakeneyWashington, D.C.

EDITOR 'S NOTE: The wn'ter, janeBlakeney, was for more than 30 years astaff member and head of the Decora­tions and Medals Branch at HeadquartersMarine Corps. Mrs. Blakeney is theauthor of Heroes of the U. S. MarineCorps, 1861-1955, an authoritativereference work published in 1957 fromnotes andfiles compiled since 1924, andone which is stilt in datly use at theHistorical Center.

1ST DIVVETS' VIEWS ASKEDAs some of your readers know, my first

book, Battle for Hue: Tet 1968 (PresidioPress, 1983), was based .on interviewswith 35 Vietnam veterans. For my secondbook, Ihad the opportunity to interview90 Viet vets .... I'm presently starting athird proposed book on Vietnam. I hopeto chronicle the activities of the 1stMarine Division and Americal Divisionin the Arizona Valley-Que Son Moun­tains-Hiep Due Valley area, from 7June-7 September 1969.... Units in­volved included . . . 1/5, 2/5, 1/7, and2/7; 1st Reconnaissance Battalion; 1stMarine Aircraft Wing....

I would greatly appreciate hearingfrom any vets of these operations as soonas possible, so we can arrange an inter­view .... Call or write: Keith WilliamNolan, 220 Kingsville Court, WebsterGroves, Missouri 63119; (314) 961-7577.

Keith William NolanWebster Groves, Missouri

Recent Books of Historical InterestSome recent books of professional in­

terest to Marines, available from localbookstores and libraries, have been add­ed to the library of the Marine CorpsHistorical Center. Among them are:

Bantam War Books Series. Reprintsand reissues in paperback of selectedvolumes covering World War II. A newtitle is published every month with ap­proximately 24 titles in prior at anyonetime. Titles thus far in the series includeRobert Sherrod's Tawara, D.A. Burgett'sAs Eagles Screamed, and C.A.Lockwood's Sink 'Em All. Many titles areprinted in specially illustrated editions.Most titles $2.95 to $3.95.

The Banana Wars; An Inner History ofAmerican Empire, 1900-1934. Lester D.Langley. University Press of Kentucky.

251 pp., 1983. This work coversAmerican diplomatic and military in­volvement in the Caribbean from 1898until 1934, when the last Marines leftHaiti. $26.00

june 1944. H. P. Willmott. BlandfordPress. 224 pp., 1984. The author hasprovided a record and intepretation ofthe war in Europe and the Far East dur­ing the course of a single month. june1944 sets the events in context providingboth an account and an analysis of eventsin relation to the political decisions thatpreceded them and the repercussionsthat followed them. The book has threeparts: first, the northwest Europe andMediterranean theaters; second, eventson the Eastern front; third, the Asianmainland and the western Pacific. In his .

7

analysis, the author states that the im­portance of this month lies in the factthat its combined events ushered in thefinal phase of World War II. Also hebelieves the month was witness to a newinternational system based on therealities of Soviet and American power.$16.95.

The Glory of the Solomons. Edwin P.Hoyt. Stein and Day. 348 pp., 1983.The story of the World War II SouthPacific campaign for the Solomon Islandsincluding New Georgia, Kula Gulf,Vella Lavella, Bougainville, New Britain,the Green Islands, and the Battle ofBismarck Sea. This was written by theauthor of Guadalcanal; The Battle ofLeyte Gulf; Blue Skies and Blood: theBattle of Coral Sea. $19.95

Acquisitions

P residential inaugurations are affairsplanned with the meticulous detail

of military operations. One aspect thatcannot be preplanned, as recently seen,is that of Inauguration Day weather.

Such was the case with the Inaugura-tion of President William Henry Har-rison, the ninth President of the UnitedStates. Inauguration Day, 4 March 1841,was cold and windswept. The President,delivering his inaugural address withoutbenefit of a hat, developed a cold. In thefirst frantic weeks of his administration,the cold would develop into pneumonia,leading to his untimely death within amonth.

After a ceremony held in the EastRoom of the White House the lead-linedcoffin was held in Washington awaitingthe return of spring in order that thebody could be removed to its finalresting place. This would be at North

Bend, Ohio, at the Harrison familyhome.

In preparation of moving thedeceased, Secretary of the Navy

George E. Badger ordered Col Cmdt Ar-chibald Henderson to "detail a guard ofmen to be placed in charge of a commis-sioned officer of Marines for the purposeof accompanying the remains of the latePresident to the City of CincinnatiHenderson responded the next day, 26June 1841, ". . Being personally ac-quainted with some of the committee,and under the supposition that an officerof respectable grade and age would beappropriate for the duty, I have thoughtit advisable to proceed myself to this ser-vice.,,

Thus, Col Cmdt Henderson, leading adetail of eight enlisted Marines, beganthe journey to Cincinnati, and on toNorth Bend for the interment. Thefuneral services took place on Wednes-day, 7 July of that year.

Near Williamstown, Virginia (flowWest Virginia), lived the brother and

nephew of Col Comdt Henderson. Fami-ly legend has it that he visited thesehomes only once. The only trip that farwest that Henderson is known to havetaken was as commander of the funeralescort. It is thus surmised that some ob-jects which were owned by Hendersonnow in possession of the decendants,were left there during this historicjourney.

T he present family home, calledHenderson Hall, proudly maintain-

ed a blue boat cloak and a sea chest ofthe Marine Corps' fifth commandant.During a recent visit to the original, two-story brick home, Curator Richard Longwas given the blue boat cloak as a perma-nent donation to the collection of theMarine Corps Museum.

The cloak is made of a finely wovenblue cloth, with a standing collar,shoulder-length cape, and a lining ofheavy green wool. The Museum'scuratorial staff, in consultation withclothing historians from around thecountry, have identified the garment as

The 19th century boat cloak donated to the Museum is in goodshape considering its age, and professional conservation work isscheduled to stabilize its condition. Both the blue cloth body

8

of the cloak and its heavy green wool lining have faded fromchemical reactions of the dyes used The standing collar andshoulder-length cape were features of garments of the period.

Acquisitions

Presidential inaugurations are affairsplanned with the meticulous detail

of military operations. One aspect thatcannot be preplanned, as recently seen,is that of Inauguration Day weather.

Such was the case with the Inaugura­tion of President William Henry Har­rison, the ninth President of the UnitedStates. Inauguration Day, 4 March 1841,was cold and windswept. The President,delivering his inaugural address withoutbenefit of a hat, developed a cold. In thefirst frantic weeks of his administration,the cold would develop into pneumonia,leading to his untimely death within amonth.

After a ceremony held in the EastRoom of the White House the lead-linedcoffin was held in Washington awaitingthe return of spring in order that thebody could be removed to its finalresting place. This would be at North

Bend, Ohio, at the Harrison familyhome.

I n preparation of mOVIng thedeceased, Secretary of the Navy

George E. Badger ordered Col Cmdt Ar­chibald Henderson to "detail a guard ofmen co be placed in charge of a commis­sioned officer of Marines for the purposeof accompanying the remains of the latePresident to the City of Cincinnati...."Henderson responded the next day, 26June 1841, "... Being personally ac­quainted with some of the committee,and under the supposition that an officerof respectable grade and age would beappropriate for the duty, I have thoughtit advisable to proceed myself to this ser­vice."

Thus, Col Cmdt Henderson, leading adetail of eight enlisted Marines, beganthe journey to Cincinnati, and on toNorth Bend for the interment. Thefuneral services took place on Wednes­day, 7 July of that year.

Near Williamstown, Virginia (nowWest Virginia), lived the brother and

nephew of Col Comdt Henderson. Fami­ly legend has it that he visited thesehomes only once. The only trip that farwest that Henderson is known to havetaken was as commander of the funeralescort. It is thus surmised that some ob­jects which were owned by Hendersonnow in possession of the decendants,were left there during this historicjourney.

T he present family home, calledHenderson Hall, proudly maintain­

ed a blue boat cloak and a sea chest ofthe Marine Corps' fifth commandant.During a recent visit to the original, twO­story brick home, Curator Richard Longwas given the blue boat cloak as a perma­nent donation to the collection of theMarine Corps Museum.

The cloak is made of a finely wovenblue cloth, with a standing collar,shoulder-length cape, and a lining ofheavy green wool. The Museum'scuratorial staff, in consultation withclothing historians from around thecountry, have identified the garment as

The 19th century boat cloak donated to the Museum is in goodshape considering its age, andprofessional conservation work isscheduled to stabzlize its condition. Both the blue cloth body

8

of the cloak and its heavy green wool lining have faded fromchemical reactions of the dyes used. The standing collar andshoulder-length cape were features ofgarments ofthe pen·od.