Chaplains of the
36th Infantry Division
by
Chaplain (Colonel) Herbert E. MacCombie
Division Chaplain
Winter In Cape Cod
In the matter of the Chaplain’s Fund
we were very fortunate in having the co-operation of the Division staff
officers. When I was with the 43rd Division at Camp Blanding,
we were never able to share in the profits of the Post Exchange. However,
when I came to the 36th Division, I shared this problem with Colonel Steen
and Lieutenant Colonel Steele. They went to the meeting of the Exchange
Council and secured money for us from the PX profits for the first time in
the history of that camp.
Many other officers were generous in
their gifts to our work. When we were at Camp Edwards (Cape Cod, Mass) we
were faced with some special problems. Many of the men brought their
wives from Texas to Massachusetts. We arrived there in the summer. Some
of the men rented summer cottages on Cape Cod. These houses were fine in
the summer, but when the cold weather came they were really
uninhabitable. That winter was the coldest and snowiest I have ever known
on the Cape. I have had a home on the Cape for 30 years. Some of the
wives were taken sick. Some needed hospital care. At that time the army
made no provision in the base hospital for dependents. Many of the men
came to me in distress.
At that time Lieutenant Colonel H.
Miller Ainsworth came to me. He put at my disposal unlimited funds to
care for men in distress. He made only one condition. No one was to know
where the money came from. As I spent money I reported only the Case
Number and the amount spent. He never asked for names. He always
reimbursed me in full. I suppose some of the men thought I was a
millionaire. It was his money and I have never before revealed his
generosity. Now that he is dead, I think it is only fair to report what
really happened.
At Christmas time in 1942 Division
Headquarters held a party for the children. Mrs. Walker and I went to
Boston to secure the gifts. She was a great lady who tried to do
everything possible to ease the burdens of the families of the men of her
division.
At this time Chaplain Dan Laning
built in the Division Headquarters Chapel one of the most beautiful
crèches I have ever seen. However, he got in trouble with one of the unit
commanders. He was a fine organist and he liked to practice. Sometimes
he had to practice at night – as late as ten o’clock. The unit commander
threatened to have him court-martialed.
It took some effort to cool him
down. I wrote to the Chief of Chaplains direct, recommending that Chaplain
Laning be made a Division Chaplain. He was transferred. We lost a good
chaplain, but the XV Corps secured an efficient Division Chaplain.
During this period orders were
issued that all men who could be spared from guard and fatigue details
should be granted leave for Christmas and New Years. In one of our units
the Jewish men came forward and volunteered to do all the fatigue and
guard details in order that all Christians could go home for the holidays.
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Copyright 2001
by Mary MacCombie Fietsam
Printed by Permission |
