Fifties Frogs Magazine Sept. 2010

Vol. 16 No. 3 September, 2010

FIFTIES FROG MAGAZINE

Publication Policy: Fifties Frogs Magazine is, beginning in 2010, available only in electronic format. Users are encouraged to make hard copies for easier reading and permanency. This online version is free. Libraries and other institutions are welcome to download the issues as they are published. Add our website url to your favorites.

Frequency of publication may vary from time to time but the magazine will be published at least annually.

Our website: http://www.navyfrogmen.com/fiftiesfrogs/

Send responses and material to the editor at:

doncmarler@gmail.com

Don C. Marler

11250 Cude Cemetery Rd.

Willis, Texas 77318

936 856 1609

EDITORIAL

Don C. Marler

Wyoming was the site of the Fifties Frogs Muster this year and Lee and Priscilla Hughs were the gracious hosts. The staff of the Riverton Holiday Inn was exceptional and very receptive to our group. The local paper ran an account of the reunion.

Wyoming is a fairly large state geographically and only has approximately 500,000 residents—perfect. This year the countryside was exceptionally green and beautiful. Since most non-geographical attractions required long distance driving we took advantage of the local sites and then spent more than the usual amount of time in relaxed enjoyment of visiting with old friends.

Several old hands were missing due to illness, health issues, accidents, the economy and sundry other reasons.

Frank and Marti Anderson will host the next muster in the third week of September 2011, at Ignacio Colorado. Watch for further information on this event.

Photos of this years muster are posted as the last section of this issue. Don’t forget to view them.

FROGS CROSSING THE BAR

LTJG WALTER E. PEASE, Class 2 Coronado

Walter E. Pease, LTJG passed away in June, 2010. He was in Training Class 2, Coronado; graduation date 10/23/51, service number 249255. His nephew, James M. Pease, relates that though Walter was proud of his UDT service he almost never spoke of it. The family knows little about his service experiences. Anyone who remembers him is urged to contact James at jpenergy@sbcglobal.net.

HENRY JACKSON “JAKE” RHINEBOLT, Class 13 Little Creek, UDT 21, UDT 22

Jake Rhinebolt died on June 19, 2010 apparently due to his pacemaker failing. Erasmo "Doc" Riojas, who notified us, received word almost immediately from Jake's wife Jean. He and Doc talked on the phone the night before his death.

IN MEMORY OF A FINE OFFICER, COMMANDER DONALD GAITHER

ed. the text in the above image is difficult to read so it is printed here for better viewing;

Donald Gaither, Cannelburg, IN- Commander Donald Gaither, 65, died at Good Samaritan Hospital at 8:05 a.m. Sunday, (September 1983). The funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the GS Chapel with Pastor Richard Herdenstein officiating. Burial will be in Bethany Cemetery. The American Legion and VFW will accord military honors at graveside. The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of donations to the Cancer Society. Friends may call after 4 p,.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. He was born June 6, 1918 in Daviess County to George and Mary Barber Gaither. He married Bertha Fuhrman March 23, 1943 and she survives. Gaither enlisted in the Navy on Dec. 7, 1937 and served in World War II aboard submarines. He was awarded the Silver Star for repairing main engines of a damaged ship during war patrol. He received the Distinguished Unit Citation for participation in the rescue of High Commissioner Sayer, wife and members of Army General staff from the Philippines before the battle Corregidor. He served in the Korean conflict in underwater demolition. Other metals received were the Submarine Combat Insignia with stars for eight successful war patrols, commendation ribbon, American Defense Service, American Area Campaign, Asiatic Pacific Campaign (three stars), World War II Victory, Philippine Defense, Navy Occupation ribbon, Navy Unit commendation ribbon, China service, Korean service, Good Conduct, Letter of Commendation, United Nations Defense and National Defense Service. He retired from the Navy July 1, 1945 and reitred from Crane in 1976 as Conventional Weapons Manager. He was a member of the American Legion, Odan Masonic Lodge No. 203, Hadi Shrine of Evansville and Scottish Rite, Evansville. He was a member of the St. John's Lutheran Church in Loogootee. He leaves his wife and two daughers, Jill Hnasen, Indianapolis, and Mrs. John (Asa) Eaton, Bloomfield, and one son, Paul Donald Gaither, Cannelburg; four grandchildren, and one brother, Bill Gaither, city. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Alva and Ray.

NAVY FROGMEN OPERATE WITH MARINES

IN KOREA

Phil Carrico

Tiz Morrison on the left – sorry, I cannot remember names of the other two guys.

When the Communist jumped off in Korea there was already a squad of men from Underwater Demolition Team 3 (Frogmen) in Japan, they had been sent from their base in Coronado, California in the Spring of 1950 to do some work for the occupation forces there.

With our occupation forces in Korea being anything but combat ready and the South Korean Army still ill-equipped – they were totally ineffective at slowing down the onslaught.

MacArthur began looking for a way to slow the Commie advance until he could get reinforcements to the area. That squad of Frogmen was in the right place at the right time. They had not been trained for inland commando tactics--they were “Blow” boys. They knew explosives and that’s what was needed to slow the Communist advance.

This 10 man squad of Frogmen began going in at night behind enemy lines and blowing bridges and tunnels on both highway and train routes. The squad worked alone in pulling the first inland demolition raids in Korea. The first full team of Frogmen to arrive in the war zone was Team 1. They joined us and together we began blowing transportation routes all along the coasts of Korea behind the front lines.

We found very quickly that with each man carrying two 60-pound packs of TNT from the rubber boats to the target, we could not defend ourselves. So we initiated the idea of a Security Boat, a ten-man squad of armed troops who would go in ahead of the powder boats and set up a parameter around the objective. When the parameter was set they would signal the powder boats and they would come inside the parameter.

The first time we used this method we used a squad of U.S. Marines, the majority of whom were straight from boot camp and had seen no combat. Most were poor swimmers who had little experience in ocean swimming.

The objective on this raid was a highway bridge close to the coast. The powder boats held up outside the breaker line and the security boat went in. They hit the beach and began sitting up the parameter; then all hell broke lose. The Communist opened up with 3 locked in machine guns – spraying the area and hitting some of the powder boats before the guys could bail out. All the Frogs had experienced this before and knew what to do – they all carried fins on their belts. On hitting the water they put the fins on and began swimming out to be picked up by the LCPR boat that had towed us from the ship.

Meanwhile, on the beach, the Marines hit the sand and crawled into a dry creek bed. With the few weapons that still worked (sand had gotten into most of the weapons and they would not fire) – they would fire a few rounds out each side of the creek bed to keep from being enveloped.

The Frogs had all been picked up, and on the way back to the ship we could still hear the firing on the beach. We thought it was the Commies shooting at each other in the darkness.

Upon reaching the ship we realized the Marine were still on the beach. We sent one rubber boat back in to make a run between the breaker line and the beach looking for the Marines. A four man crew was in the boat led by the legendary, Tiz Morrison.

Meanwhile on the beach the Sergeant, who was wounded, was trying to get the troops to take off their brogans, crawl to the water and start swimming out. Most of the guys were more afraid of the black ocean than the Commies and were having second thoughts. Finally two guys who were fair swimmers decided to try it. They crawled to the water’s edge and started swimming out into the darkness. Being totally inexperienced in how to silhouette objects from the water - they were lucky, they ran smack into the rubber boat manned by Tiz and his crew.

The two Marines guided the boat back to the dry creek bed and with all the Marines hanging onto the boat were pulled out to safety. When all were back aboard and the ship was pulling away – we could still hear firing on the beach. The hope was that the bastards killed each other.

Postscript:
On future raids we used many diverse troops for security, at times “Limey” Commandos, South Koreans and, of course, U.S. Marines. After a while as our Team filled out and we had more people, we used our own people for security. Also, each security boat contained two Frogs who were knifemen. They would swim in ahead of the boat, creep on the beach and silence any posted guard without drawing fire. In this instance the guards were dug in on the high ground and were never seen by the knifemen.

READERS' COMMENTS

Another great job on our "Electrical Baby" the 5o's Frogs Magazine. I thought Swedensky's rendition of Frog's "Raid Behind the Lines" was fantastic...The fact that he got so many of the guy's names in was a plus and can't ya just see the tears on Crosby's face as the brassiere floated down.

Phil Carrico:

Ahoy shipmates: This story is absolutely true in every colorful description. Swedensky's recollection of minute-to-minute detail is astonishing for his age. I had completely forgotten all of this until I read his account of this dangerous fearless mission when it all came back to me. Marchinko, hero of Navy SEA adventures, has an unexpected rival in Swedensky's rendition of old Frogman laying it all on the line simply doing what they do best. I am really impressed that Swedensky and Wesley Keith (God rest "West's" soul) were picked to send the signals back to the ship that everything came together in one big blast without a hitch.

Let's hear more of these kinds of stories now that the 50 year statue of limitation on Frogman "secret" ops has expired.

Still chucklin' in Baton Rouge.

"Flags" Berry

Robert----for bravery above and beyond the happy hour command awards to you and your brave compatriots, the meritorious swizzle stick medal garnished by a kelp leaf and cherry. signed co Renowestpac Gerry Myers

I am honored to accept this award with a humbling feeling of gratitude. Under ordinary circumstances, I could not accept this recognition without giving credit to those who made it all possible. For their contribution and Swedensky's magnificent gift of long-term memory, I give my thanks to the group composition regarding the traditional team spirit of all for one and one for all.

"Flags" ~Berry

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

The next muster of Fifties Frogs will be in Ignacio, Colorado in the 3^rd week of September 2011. Frank and Marti Anderson will be the hosts.

Several articles are in the works for future Fifties Frogs Magazine publication. Mack Boynton has agreed for us to publish an interesting history of WWII Frog operations he has in his possession. Look for it in a series beginning with the next publication.

CAP AND JACKET PATCH STRICTLY FOR 50’S FROGS

DECRIPTION; The patches are threaded monogram in 3 colors. The cap patch is 3.2 inches and the jacket patch is 8.6 inches.

Team number on the patch will appear as per your request.

The patch was designed by Phil Carrico and produced by a local monogram shop.

COST; cap patch 6.00 dollars – jacket patch 30.00 dollars. Please understand, these prices include the patch only – not the cap or jacket.

SEND ORDERS TO;

Phil Carrico

PO Box 531

Daisetta, Tx 77533

Be sure to add: Your correct mailing address, the number of either patch desired. The team number you want on the patch – and a check for the amount of your order plus a couple of bucks for mailing. Make check payable to Phil Carrico.

This design was made up in ’94 and a number of old Team 3 guys have been wearing them since then. Others have indicated an interest but wanted their own Team number attached, on finding that changing the Team Number is no problem, we have decided to make them available.

Be aware yours truly is making no profit from this op – it’s purely a service and I’m happy to do it…

(Scroll down for pictures)

Another idea – have the jacket patch mounted and hang it on your War Wall…

Phil, Joanne and Hal Mingus showing off the caps in ’09…

Phil (wearing the patch) and old college buddy, Bob Shelton, touring San Diego Zoo in ’09.

The apes thought the patch was great…

Fifties Frogs Reunion 2010 in Riverton, Wyoming

hosted by Lee and Priscilla Hughs

(to view larger verion of photographs click on each one)


Fifties Frogs attendees - 2010	Fifties Frogs and their ladies	Fifties Frogs at dinner & auction

Clarence "Slim" Lueb	Lee "Punchy" and Priscilla Hughs	Joe and Pat Hutchins

Don and Sybil Marler	Bill "Skosh" and Estelle Taylor	Ron and Judy Ethridge

Mack and Sharon Boynton	Marti, Franklin, and Gisela Anderson	Ferman Sims and Marie Calentine

Gisela Anderson, Gerry and Joy Meyers	D. Marler, L. Hughs, Clark, F. Sims	Judy, Joy, Sharon, Marti visit local cemetery

Sacajawea's gravesite in Wyoming on the Wind River Reservation	Mack & Sharon Boynton with Franklin Anderson	Sybil and Don Marler w/ Judy Ethridge

Lee Hughs and Ferman Sims	the group tours rugged Wyoming	Joy & Gerry Meyers with Lee Hughs

A big thanks to Marie Calentine, Gisela Anderson, Marti Anderson, and Sharon Boynton for the wonderful reunion photographs!