The Battle of Eniwetok, 1944

Part of America's "island hopping" strategy in the Pacific was the invasion of Eniwetok* Atoll in the Marshall Islands. That attack, known as "Operation Catchpole," began on this date in 1944. It occurred during a simultaneous operation against the Japanese naval and air base at Truk Atoll, 670 miles southwest, on the 16th-17th.

Following up on the success in the Battle of Kwajalein, the Americans set their sights on an airfield and harbor from which to launch attacks on Japanese strongholds in the Mariana Islands further north. The capture of the Eniwetok atoll would provide just what the Allies needed.

Like the other atolls in the Marshall Islands, Eniwetok was a harbor surrounded by tiny coral and sand islands. The circumference of the 30-island ring is 64 miles, with a maximum elevation of only 15 feet above sea level. Three entrances provided passage in and out of the lagoon.

Source: Stamford Historical Society, Inc.

The naval bombardment began on the February 17th. The next day, Marines landed on Engebi Island, the larger of the northern islands, taking it in only 6 hours. On the 19th, Army infantry landed on Eniwetok Island in the south. Fighting there was more difficult, and the island was not secured until the 21st. On the 22nd, Marines took neighboring Parry Island. By the following day, the remaining islands were also under American control. In total, the atoll was secured at a cost of 339 Americans killed and missing, and 2,677 Japanese.

Marine assault waves on the well-bombed Engebi Island, February 18, 1944
Source: US Military Challenge

With the capture of Eniwetok Atoll control of the Marshall Islands, which had been in Japanese hands since 1914, passed to the United States. Eniwetok immediately became a major forward operating base for the Navy and an airbase for the Marines. In June 1944, my dad, Frank Dolan, will arrive on his newly commissioned repair ship, USS Hector, to begin 3 1/2 months of repair jobs. Nearly 500 Allied ships could be seen present in the lagoon when Hector arrived.

* In 1974 the official spelling was changed to "Enewetak."

Sources: Frank L. Dolan's Service Records; The Two-Ocean War, Samuel Eliot Morison

The Battle of Truk, 1944

The Battle of Truk* ("Operation Hailstone"), fought on February 16-17, 1944, was a massive U.S. naval air and ship attack on a major part of the Japanese fleet in the South Pacific.

Truk, a South Pacific atoll in the Caroline Islands, was a significant logistical base for the Japanese fleet. The atoll was the only major Japanese airbase within range of the Marshall Islands, offering support for enemy garrisons located there and on islands throughout the central and South Pacific. Gaining Allied naval and air superiority was vital if planned operations against other enemy island defenses were to be successful.

In fact, crippling the Japanese support from Truk was essential for a successful invasion of Eniwetok, 670 miles northeast, which was occurring almost simultaneously.

Battle of Truk Atoll, February 16-18, 1944
Source: National Archives

For 2 days, the U.S. directed airstrikes, surface ship bombardments, and submarine attacks against Japanese airfields, aircraft, and shore installations on the atoll, as well as against ships in and around Truk's lagoon.

The U.S. scored a major victory at Truk. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison calls the raid one of the most successful in the war. The Americans sank numerous naval and merchant ships. They also destroyed over 250 Japanese planes. Thirty-two American planes were lost and 2 ships were damaged.

The success at Truk essentially ended it as a major threat to Allied operations in the Central Pacific. The Japanese garrison on Eniwetok was denied reinforcement and support during the invasion that began on February 18, allowing the U.S. to capture that stronghold without threat of a single enemy plane.

Battle of Truk Atoll, February 16-18, 1944
Source: National Archives

*After the war, the name was changed to "Chuuk" in most western countries, a more accurate spelling for the local name for the island.

Source: The Two-Ocean War, Samuel Eliot Morison

Reporting for duty on USS Hector

On today's date in 1943, my dad, Frank Dolan, having completed training for his newly commissioned ship, USS Hector, officially reported for duty at San Pedro, California. He will spend the remainder of the war aboard this repair vessel, first as Metalsmith First Class, then Chief Metalsmith.

Launched November 11, 1943, and commissioned February 7, 1944. Hector is currently moored to the dock, loading stores, spare parts, and provisions. Over the next few weeks it will get underway several times carrying out shakedown operations. Degaussing and direction finder calibration, compensation of magnetic compasses, structural test firing, and speed trials were completed during this period. Hector is operating under Commander Operational Training Command, Pacific Fleet.

Frank L. Dolan, Metalsmith, First Class, January 1944

Hector will undergo final work and armament installation over the weeks ahead before sailing for Pearl Harbor on April 3rd.

USS Hector
Source: uboat.net

Sources: Frank L. Dolan's Service Records; USS Hector War Diary, February 1944;  USS Hector (AR-7) Association; USS Hector AR7-Ship's Log (WWII)

The Astonishing Dalton Revival, 1864

During its 5 months in winter quarters at Dalton, Georgia, in 1864, the Army of Tennessee began to experience a remarkable outpouring of spiritual revival. Soldiers and officers alike made professions in Jesus Christ as Savior as Christian revival spread through every regiment.

The signs of spiritual renewal began the previous winter as the army took up its quarters in Tullahoma following the Battle of Murfreesboro (see "Ministering to soldiers' spiritual needs"). Through the early months  of encampment in 1863, army chaplains, local pastors, and even soldiers and officers regularly preached to the troops. Bibles and Christian publications were freely distributed among the men. So well received was this Christian literature that calls went out to the public pleading for more. In William J. Hardee's Corps, for example, his Presbyterian chaplain, J.H. Bryson, wrote a joint letter of appeal with another Episcopal chaplain, C.T. Quintard,

We feel that we need only mention the fact that our brave soldiers are asking for the Word of Life in order to secure from a generous public the most liberal contributions. Who can withhold, when the sick and wounded who fill our hospitals ask for the word of God to cheer and sustain them during their days of affliction, their nights of weariness and suffering? We feel confident that there are many who will give neither grudgingly nor of necessity, but with cheerful hearts and liberal hands. The religious interests of our soldiers demand and must receive prompt attention from every lover of good order, civil liberty, and piety towards God.

Dalton, Georgia, 1880
Source: Georgia Archives

Thousands of appeals like this were made, and there was a tremendous response by Southern churches and individuals. Thus the seeds of the great revival to come in the west were sown in camp during the early months of the war.

Chaplains and ministers recorded many accounts of great revival throughout the armies in the east and west.¹ J. William Jones's Christ in the Camp and W.W. Bennett's, The Great Revival in the Southern Armies are two comprehensive and compelling collections of these accounts, and I'm pleased to have both in my library. Many eyewitness descriptions were made by soldiers in letters home or in published accounts provided after the war. My own great grandfather, Nathan Oakes, a private in Hardee's Corps, was a witness to these amazing events. In fact, the Confederate Veteran published a couple of his letters to the editor, one in which he wrote of a close comrade who made a profession of faith during this period at Dalton.

Sadly, overlooked by most Civil War historians is this compelling phenomenon of religious revival in the Southern armies. The Army of Tennessee at Dalton, now under the command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, was ground zero for the spiritual rebirth of thousands. Rev. W.W. Bennett noted, "The work at Dalton while the army lay there was almost without parallel. In the coldest and darkest nights of winter the rude chapels were crowded, and at the call for penitents hundreds would bow down in sorrow and tears."

That the seeds had been sown for missionary work is evident in the words of Rev. S.M. Cheery, chaplain in Bate's Brigade: "Often I am approached by the soldiers, who inquire, "Parson, is there no chance to get a Bible. I am very anxious to procure a copy, and am willing to pay any price for a pocket-Bible." We are unable to supply one-fourth of the demand for the Scriptures..."

Rev. A.D. McVoy of the 38th Alabama in Stewart's Corps, wrote on February 3rd about the spread of spiritual revival in his brigade and throughout the division.

We have a large Brigade church built, in which we have been holding services for two weeks. About ten days ago we commenced a series of nightly meetings; at first more on the order of prayer-meetings, but the interest began to increase so rapidly that in three nights we found a revival springing up in our midst. Great crowds gather nightly. We find our church too small. Large numbers are seeking the Lord—forty to fifty every night. The word of God and religious services seem to be better appreciated than ever before in this brigade. Men's minds appear to dwell more on religion and the soldiers more concerned about their soul's eternal welfare... The prospect before us is very encouraging. Wickedness and vice seem restrained. Members of the Churches are becoming revived. The Spirit of the Holy One is present and felt. Good resolutions are being formed in every regiment. A number are endeavoring to fulfill their promises made to God upon the eve of and during the late battles. We are expecting and praying for great things.

And the spiritual fervor was not only evident among the soldiers. Gens. John B. Hood, Otto Strahl, and even Joseph E. Johnston himself were baptized. Gens. William Hardee and Daniel Govan were confirmed in the Episcopal Church. In fact, many other officers in Johnston's army were influential in fanning the flames of the Dalton revival. Rev. J.J. Hutchinson reported of what he witnessed:

Ten days ago Gen. Pendleton, a hero of Manassas memory, preached to the soldiers at Dalton. General Johnston and very many other officers were present. On the same day Major-General Stewart, who is an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, assisted in this brigade in the administration of the sacrament of the Lord's supper. On the same day I preached to Gen. Finley's brigade, where the General and his staff were present, and where he united audibly with our prayers.

Hutchinson's account continues with a mention of Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, who, according to author John Wesley Brinsfield, had constructed in the center of his division a platform specifically for religious services. Hutchinson also was quite impressed with Brig. Gen. Mark P. Lowrey, a Baptist minister before the war, now commanding a brigade including my great grandfather's 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment. 

Gen. Cleburne, the hero of many battle-fields, treated me with much attention and kindness—had a place prepared for preaching in the center of his division, where himself and most of his officers were present, and where I was assisted by Brigadier-General Lowry [sic], who sat in the pulpit with me and closed the services of the hour with prayer. I partook of the hospitality of Gen. L. at dinner, and spent several delightful hours in profitable religious conversation. The General is a Baptist preacher, and like the commander of the division, is a hero of many well-fought battle-fields. He takes great interest in the soldiers' religious welfare, often preaches to them, and feels that the ministry is still his high and holy calling. I wish I had the space to give you more of his interesting life's history, and to speak of this noble and pious officer as he deserves.

On another occasion, Rev. A.A. Worrell along with other ministers, including Gen. Lowrey, held a series of meetings for soldiers gathered in the camp. Lowrey preached on the text from Revelation 3:20, "Behold! I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open unto me, I will come in, and sup with him, and he with me." Worrell recalled, "The sermon was clear, pointed, strong, and persuasive; and, at its close, many came forward for prayer and instruction. How many were converted that night I do not know; but I believe there were many."

Rev. Brig. Gen. Mark Lowrey

Of this period of Christian revival in Dalton, reaching its climax in camp in April-May, but continuing throughout the entire Atlanta Campaign, Gen. Lowrey makes humble mention of his role in his autobiography:

I often preached in camp. While in camp at Dalton, Ga., in the Spring of 1864, there was a general revival of religion in the army, and I participated in it, preaching very often to my command. Within two weeks, I baptized over 50 of my own men in camp, on the march, and in the field.²

As Lowrey's words indicate, the revival didn't stop when in May the Confederates broke camp at Dalton. Bennett writes, "The constant movements of the armies in all sections of the South at this period of the war greatly interfered with the work of the revival; but the fire still burned and often on the outer lines the most delightful meetings were held in which many gave their hearts to God." 

Indeed, wrote Rev. McVoy about the battles the army fought in its retreat toward Atlanta, "The work of God is going on amid the cannon's roar, the fatiguing monotony of the trenches, and the heroic movements of the picket line. Religion is infusing a spirit of fortitude, endurance, and determination into the hearts of the soldiers that no hardship, no suffering, can undermine or break down."

No doubt in the months of conflict after Atlanta, when disappointments and the deprivations of war were at their most extreme, the comfort and hope received at Dalton helped sustain the army. The revival, which reached its apex at Dalton, made Christian believers out of at least a third of the army. The eastern army experienced a similar result. "The discipline of war was terrible to the people of the south," writes Rev. Bennett, "but in the end it was beneficial. In the midst of desolation and blood they turned their thoughts to Him who holds in his hands the destinies of nations, and out of great sufferings the patience and faith of the gospel shone forth in brightness and power." He concludes his book, published a decade after the war, by observing the spiritual and cultural effects of the Great Revival in the Confederate Armies on the Southern people:

Strange as it may seem to many readers, the call to preach the gospel of Christ came to the hearts of the men of war on the tented field; and no sooner were their carnal weapons laid aside than they buckled on the Divine armor, and, seizing the sword of the Spirit, entered the battle against the powers of darkness. In this we find one of the strongest proofs of the genuineness of the Army Revival. Truly, its fruits are still enduring. Thousands who were participants in that glorious and, to some, strange work, have passed the flood of death and are seen no more among men, but the seed they sowed in trench and camp and hospital, in the bivouac, and on the weary march, was watered from above and has borne a rich harvest. And may we not hope that the full fruition of this work is to be realized in that era of peace and good will which is even now descending upon our common country?

In so many ways, the War Between the States has no parallel in history. But particularly in its astonishing Christian revivalism and reformation is it distinguished from all other wars, at least since Cromwell's New Model Army. "Whatever may be the judgment of the world as to the principles on which the Southern people entered into the strife," writes Bennett, "it must be admitted that they brought with them a strong religious element. Their convictions of right in what they did were second only to their convictions of the truth of the Christian religion."

¹ Indeed, the wave of Christian conversion and renewal wasn't contained only within the Army of Tennessee. Lee's army in Virginia experienced a similar revival that swept through his entire army.

² Lt. Thomas J. Stokes of Cleburne's Division at Dalton, wrote home in April 1864 to his sister, Mary Gay, "General Lowry [sic] baptized about thirteen of them who were from his brigade. He is a Christian, a soldier and a zealous preacher, and his influence is great. It was truly a beautiful sight to see a general baptizing his men. He preaches for our brigade next Sabbath." The revival continued right up to the Federal attack on the Confederate stronghold at Dalton in early May. Stokes writes again on May 5, 

The great revival is going on with widening and deepening interest. Last Sabbath I saw eighty-three immersed at the creek below our brigade. Four were sprinkled at the stand before going down to the creek, and two down there, making an aggregate within this vicinity of eighty-nine, while the same proportion, I suppose, are turning to God in other parts of the army, making the grand aggregate of many hundreds. Yesterday I saw sixty-five more baptized, forty more who were to have been there failing to come because of an order to be ready to move at any moment. They belong to a more distant brigade... If we do not move before Monday, Sabbath will be a day long to be remembered—‘the water will,’ indeed, ‘be troubled.’ Should we remain three weeks longer, the glad tidings may go forth that the Army of Tennessee is the army of the Lord. But He knoweth best what is for our good, and if He sees proper can so order His providence as to keep us here. His will be done.

Sources: The Great Revival in the Southern Armies, W.W. Bennett; Christ in the Camp, J. William Jones; The Spirit Divided: Memoirs of Civil War Chaplains: The Confederacy, John Wesley Brinsfield; Confederate Veteran, Vol. 7, 1899; Mark P. Lowrey Autobiography; Life in Dixie During the War 1861-1862-1863-1864-1865, Mary A.H. Gay

                                        _______________________________________________________________________

To view my blog about my great grandfather, Nathan Oakes, and the

32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment in which he served in the Army of Tennessee,

please visit: http://32ndmississippi.blogspot.com

_______________________________________________________________________

To obey is best

Henceforth I learn, that to obey is best,
And love with fear the only God, to walk
As in his presence; ever to observe
His Providence, and on him sole depend,
Merciful over all his works, with good
Still overcoming evil, and by small
Accomplishing great things, by things deemed weak
Subverting worldly strong, and worldly wise
By simply meek: that suffering for truth's sake
Is fortitude to highest victory,
And, to the faithful, death the gate of life;
Taught this by his example, whom I now
Acknowledge my Redeemer ever blest. 

Paradise Lost, John Milton

The Battle of Kwajalein, 1944

While my dad, Frank Dolan, completed his training in San Diego for duty on the new repair ship, USS Hector, the war against Japan continued in the Pacific. In November of 1943, the U.S. and its Allies drove Japanese occupiers from Makin and Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands. The Americans' next objective was the Marshall Island chain. The Battle of Kwajalein, the opening of Marshall Islands Campaign, was fought from January 29 to February 3, 1944.

A small group of 29 atolls and 5 islands in the Northern Pacific settled by ancient Micronesian peoples, the Marshalls were under Japan's control into the Second World War. The islands, located about 2,900 miles east of Japan, formed a key part of the Empire's outer perimeter defense. The location of the islands also made them offensively strategic for the Japanese Navy.

By this point in the war, the Japanese were withdrawing from advanced positions in the Pacific, choosing to defend their nation closer to home. Their strategy for the island chain was to use its defense as a delay action while establishing a new defensive perimeter closer to Japan. They fortified garrisons on the eastern and southern perimeter islands, which were most exposed to attack by the Americans.

The American plan for taking the Marshall Islands, known as "Operation Flintlock," called for hopping over the fortified outer islands and directly attacking Kwajalein, the world's largest coral atoll, and center of Japanese control over the islands.

Source: World War II Database

U.S. aircraft carriers began their air offensive against Kwajalein on today's date in 1944. On January 31, U.S. Marines landed on Majuro Atoll and took it without any casualties, preparing it as a forward base for the full invasion. After overwhelming air and naval bombardment, Kwajalein was stormed by Marines and Army troops on February 1, and declared secured on the 7th, with a loss of only 372 Marines and soldiers killed. In contrast, the Japanese death toll was 7,800. On February 12th, Marines landed on Arno Atoll and began a series of mopping-up operations in the remaining minor atolls of the Marshall Islands.

The capture of Kwajalein allowed the Navy high command to step up its operations in the Marshalls and invade the important Eniwetok Atoll on February 17, 1944. In early April, Dad will sail with the Hector on its maiden voyage to Hawaii. By June, Hector will be repairing ships at the new forward naval base at Eniwetok.

Sources: Frank L. Dolan's Service Records; The Two-Ocean War, Samuel Eliot Morison; World War II Database; 

Reporting to the Naval Repair Base in San Diego

On today's date in 1943, my dad, Frank Dolan, reported to Industrial Command on the U.S. Naval Repair Base in San Diego, California. He will undergo several weeks of training for service on the Navy's newest repair ship, USS Hector.

Providentially, San Diego was also his hometown. Born and raised on a small ranch and dairy farm in Sunnyside, about 20 miles east of the base, Dad will enjoy spending time with his family and childhood friends.

Dad on leave, December 1943

Dolan Brothers Ed, Frank, Elwin, and Brother-in-Law Willie Howel
December 1943

Sources: Frank L. Dolan's Service Records and his personal narrative

Remembering Pearl Harbor | A sailor's first-hand account

My dad, Frank L. Dolan, was an 18-year old U.S. Navy Sailor aboard the auxiliary repair ship USS Vestal during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 72 years ago on today's date in 1941. I am reprinting the original post about his experience on that fateful day.

                        ________________________________________________________

My dad was a weldor on the Vestal, which was tied alongside the battleship USS Arizona, when the surprise Japanese attack came.* He remembered the events that unfolded at Pearl Harbor on this date in 1941 like this...

Sunday was "holiday routine"… a no-work day. The officers and men would ‘sleep-in,’ but not me. I was eager to get my ratings. So, after morning chow, I went to the foc’sle… which was an upper deck in the forward part of the ship, to do my studying… Noise! A loud noise! A loud, booming noise came! Then came the roar of airplanes. I looked over the starboard (right) side of the ship and saw planes—many planes. Some were overhead, but many were just a few feet above the water. They were launching what I thought were “dummy” torpedoes. "Neat, real neat!" I thought. But when the first one exploded against a battleship’s side, I thought some dumb American pilot dropped a real live torpedo by accident.

Japanese aerial photo of the attack 

Even as torpedoes were exploding on impact against the sides of the battleships, I told myself there must be some mistake. The planes were so close we could easily see the pilots. Then the red ball designation of the Japanese on the sides of the planes came into view. Immediately I was off the foc’csle down the port passageway aft on the main deck and onto the starboard side to watch. Again, I was not really believing what I was witnessing. More torpedo planes, and then came the dive bombers. I had no battle station as at this time we were at peace with Japan, and had only one 3-inch anti-aircraft gun, and a couple of Thompson machine guns on board. Our 5-inch broadside guns were for use against surface craft.

My next move was to head for the weld shop. To get there I had to go down a ladder through the carpenter shop and then amidships to the weld shop. No sooner had I got down the ladder when a bomb came through the carpenter shop hitting the ladder I had just come down. There were numerous casualties in the carpenter shop. One shipmate was decapitated. Immediately, I went to the weld shop. Half of the men there had been sleeping or were just awakening and were asking, "What was up?" The other men and I told them the Japs were here. I looked toward the small hatch opening that I had just come through to get to our shop. "Ski," a shipmate, had just come into the shop looking very pale and wobbly. We grabbed him and laid him on a cot, face-down, as we discovered that both cheeks of his backside were torn off and hardly any flesh remained. This was the result of the bomb that had come through the carpenter shop. In the meantime, another bomb hit the forward part of our ship on the starboard side near where I had been studying a few minutes earlier.

USS Arizona

Dad recalled that at about the time the second bomb hit the forward part of the Vestal, on the starboard side near where he had been studying a few minutes earlier, was when the Arizona exploded. While he was below decks at that moment, he did not then know what had happened, although it was a “shaking experience” for him. “When the Arizona blew up and was broken in two, my first thought from below deck was that our acetylene and oxygen cylinders, which were topside and near the great explosion, had blown up. Soon afterward, we learned that it was the Arizona. And, later on, with all of the burned survivors, we knew for sure what had happened.”

Amazingly, of the 400 men on the Vestal, only 6 were lost, although many were seriously injured. Among the many deeds of brave men, the Vestal’s captain, Cassin Young, received the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions that day. On the other hand, the losses to the Arizona were horrific. More than 1,100 Sailors and Marines still lie entombed within its sunken hull. Over 50 Sailors lie within the submerged Utah.

Dad recounted his experience of this “date which will live in infamy” in his narrative, Pearl Harbor: As I Remember.

* A profound experience from my childhood was to personally meet Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, the Japanese commander who led the first attack wave on Pearl Harbor, and who immortalized the words, Tora, Tora, Tora. When I was about 10, my dad insisted that I go with him to a Youth for Christ meeting in San Diego, where this remarkable man and former enemy of the United States was speaking. Years after the Pearl Harbor attack, Fuchida became a Christian in a remarkable conversion to the Christian faith. I wrote about the experience in the post, Meeting God's Samurai.

Tomorrow is Pearl Harbor Day

Tomorrow is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, which is observed every December 7th to commemorate those who died in the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on that date in 1941. By Congressional law and Presidential Proclamation, flags may be flown at half-staff in remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice on that "date which will live in infamy."

Thanksgiving Grace

A Grace 

You say grace before meals.
All right.
But I say grace before the play and the opera,
And grace before the concert and the pantomime,
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting,
Swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen in the ink. 

Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton: Collected Poetry, Pt. 1