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Outpost in the North Atlantic Marines in the Defense of Iceland-James A. Donovan · With Frederick The Great: A Story of the Seven Years' War

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  Speaker 1: Chapter one of Outpost in the North Atlantic Marines in
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  Speaker 1: the Defense of Iceland. This is a LibriVox recording. All
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information
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  Speaker 1: or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Outpost in
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  Speaker 1: the North Atlantic Marines in the Defense of Iceland by
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  Speaker 1: James A. Donovan. In the early spring of nineteen forty one,
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  Speaker 1: with the War in Europe a year and a half old,
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  Speaker 1: the recently formed Second Marine Division trained for what observant
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  Speaker 1: Marines expected would be an amphibious war against the Japanese
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  Speaker 1: in the Pacific. The division was then stationed at Marine
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  Speaker 1: Corps based San Diego and also at the newly opened
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  Speaker 1: Camp Elliott Field. Training for the sixth Marines and other
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  Speaker 1: Second Division regiments, second and eighth Marines Infantry, tenth Marines
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  Speaker 1: Artillery was conducted in the scrubby hills and arroyos of
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  Speaker 1: Camp Elliot, where large wooden, yellow painted navy design bearing
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  Speaker 1: housed the Marine companies and battalions at what is now
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  Speaker 1: Naval Air Station Mirror mar Some units were in nearby
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  Speaker 1: tent camps. Unit training consisted of weapons schools, drills, and
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  Speaker 1: firing of individual and crew served weapons. Small unit tactical
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  Speaker 1: exercises were run by companies, and there was a considerable
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  Speaker 1: number of long distance hikes. The Marines had virtually no
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  Speaker 1: vehicles or motorized mobility, so nearly all movement was by foot.
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  Speaker 1: There were very few battalion or larger unit field exercises.
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  Speaker 1: Night training was minimal. In April, the Six Marines landing
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  Speaker 1: teams began a series of amphibious training exercises, embarked in
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  Speaker 1: a group of recently modified freight passenger ships procured for
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  Speaker 1: the purpose. Ship to shore drills were held on San
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  Speaker 1: Clemente Island, west of San Diego, using the recently developed
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  Speaker 1: landing Craft Personnel LCP or Higgins Boat. This boat had
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  Speaker 1: no ramp in the bow, so the Marines had to
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  Speaker 1: roll over the gunnals to debark. The LCPR with a
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  Speaker 1: ramp at the bow was not widely available to Marines
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  Speaker 1: until after the landing on Guadalcanal in August nineteen forty two.
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  Speaker 1: The Six Marines received a warning order in May nineteen
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  Speaker 1: forty one for a possible move to the East coast
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  Speaker 1: to join the First Marine Division for contingency operations related
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  Speaker 1: to the war in Europe. At the time, the regiment
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  Speaker 1: was not yet up to peacetime strength, so the call
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  Speaker 1: went out to both the second and eighth Marines for volunteers,
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  Speaker 1: both officers and enlisted Marines to augment the sixth. There
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  Speaker 1: was no shortage of volunteers. Colonel Leo D. Dutch Hermley,
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  Speaker 1: a much decorated veteran of World War One, commanded the
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  Speaker 1: six Marines for its move. The regiment was to be
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  Speaker 1: reinforced by the second Battalion, tenth Marines with twelve seventy
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  Speaker 1: five millimeters pack howitzers company, a second Tank Battalion minus
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  Speaker 1: one platoon with twelve light tanks, a parachute platoon, an
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  Speaker 1: anti tank platoon, and the first Platoon Company, a second
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  Speaker 1: Service Battalion. The regiment and the reinforcing units were brought
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  Speaker 1: up to a strength of two hundred four officers and
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  Speaker 1: three thousand, eight hundred ninety one enlisted Marine and Navy
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  Speaker 1: following the arrival of fifty eight officers in five hundred
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  Speaker 1: seventy seven enlisted men from the other units of the division.
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  Speaker 1: The division ordered the reinforced Regiment to take ten units
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  Speaker 1: of fire for all weapons, gasoline, thirty days rations, and
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  Speaker 1: other supplies On thirty one May, the reinforced sixth Marines
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  Speaker 1: mounted out of San Diego with orders to report to
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  Speaker 1: the Commanding General, one Corps Provisional Fleet, Marine Force Atlantic Fleet.
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  Speaker 1: At that time, combat loading for an assault landing had
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  Speaker 1: not yet become as refined as it was to be
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  Speaker 1: later in the war. In any case, the regiment and
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  Speaker 1: its supporting units did not know where they were going
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  Speaker 1: or what their mission was to be, so the ships
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  Speaker 1: were loaded more for convenience than for combat. Higher headquarters
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  Speaker 1: kept adding items to be embarked, leading some companies to
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  Speaker 1: take everything in their camp supply sheds. Most of the
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  Speaker 1: Marines embarking with the six believed that the force would
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  Speaker 1: go to the Caribbean region, so some officers packed summer
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  Speaker 1: service uniforms, dress whites and summer in winter civilian dinner
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  Speaker 1: clothes in addition to all their winter service uniforms. One
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  Speaker 1: credible rumor was that they were going to Martinique to
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  Speaker 1: guard an impounded free French aircraft carrier against a potential
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  Speaker 1: German takeover. Still, another rumor held the Azores as the objective.
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  Speaker 1: In the early spring of nineteen forty one, the British
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  Speaker 1: had in fact expressed concern about the security of the Azores,
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  Speaker 1: which if taken by the Germans, would threaten both Portugal
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  Speaker 1: and the British supply lines into the Mediterranean Sea. British
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  Speaker 1: and American staff planners meeting in Washington had been making
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  Speaker 1: contingency plans for the growing likelihood of America's participation in
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  Speaker 1: the war. In such a case, the United States would
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  Speaker 1: relieve the British of the responsibility for the defense of Iceland,
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  Speaker 1: among other things. While the U. S Army was rapidly expanding,
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  Speaker 1: it appeared that Congressional support for the draft was wavering,
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  Speaker 1: which meant the army could not deploy units containing draftees
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  Speaker 1: over seas. By late spring nineteen forty one, Britain's back
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  Speaker 1: was against the wall. Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill asked
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  Speaker 1: President Franklin D. Roosevelt to send American troops to Iceland
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  Speaker 1: to replace the British garrison there. The President agreed provided
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  Speaker 1: the Icelanders invited an American occupation force to their island. Churchill, meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: was having difficulty in securing the invitation, and the reluctance
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  Speaker 1: of the Icelandic government to issue one. Very nearly upset
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  Speaker 1: an Anglo American time table already in process. A large
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  Speaker 1: volcanic island on the edge of the Arctic Circle, Iceland
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  Speaker 1: was strategically located for the air and naval control of
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  Speaker 1: the North Atlantic lifeline between the British Isles and North America.
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  Speaker 1: In nineteen forty one, France, having fallen Britain alone, faced
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  Speaker 1: Nazi Germany. Churchill knew that the survival of his nation
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  Speaker 1: depended upon support from the United States, and by no
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  Speaker 1: means could Iceland be allowed to fall into enemy hands.
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  Speaker 1: At the end of May, the Joint Board of the
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  Speaker 1: Army and Navy, formed after the Spanish American War to
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  Speaker 1: prepare joint war plans, approved a contingency plan to land
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  Speaker 1: some twenty eight thousand U. S. Army troops and marines
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  Speaker 1: on the Azores under Marine Major General Holland M. Smith.
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  Speaker 1: The First Marine Division would provide most of the marine component,
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  Speaker 1: but at that time the division was expanded in its
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  Speaker 1: regiments were still under strength. It was then decided to
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  Speaker 1: reinforce the division with a regiment from them the Second Division,
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  Speaker 1: and the task fell to the six Marines reinforced. The
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  Speaker 1: ships carrying the six Marines consisted of three transports aps.
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  Speaker 1: The first battalion was in the USS Fuller AP fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: the second battalion in the USS Haywood AP twelve, and
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  Speaker 1: the third battalion in the USS William P. Biddle AP
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  Speaker 1: fifteen with the regimental headquarters. Each transport's embarkation team included
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  Speaker 1: elements of the reinforcing units. There were two destroyer escorts
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  Speaker 1: and four fast destroyer transports old four stackers, stacks of
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  Speaker 1: each of two having been removed to make room for
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  Speaker 1: transporting one rifle company. The captains and executive officers of
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  Speaker 1: the transports were experienced regular Navy officers, but most of
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  Speaker 1: the remaining officers and men were recently called up reservists.
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  Speaker 1: Many of the marines on these ships had far more
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  Speaker 1: time at sea than did most of the ship's companies
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  Speaker 1: while the marine's cruise south to Panama. The war situation
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  Speaker 1: in Europe prompted President Roosevelt to reconsider his plan for
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  Speaker 1: seizing and occupying Martinique or the Azores, and to turn
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  Speaker 1: his attention to the more immediate threat to Iceland and
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  Speaker 1: the relief of British forces there. Washington planners decided to
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  Speaker 1: form a provisional marine brigade at Charleston, South Carolina, with
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  Speaker 1: the West Coast Marines as its nucleus, augmented by the
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  Speaker 1: fifth Defense Battalion from Parris Island, South Carolina. The battalion
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  Speaker 1: had been organized at Parris Island on one December nineteen
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  Speaker 1: forty with a cadre of officers and men from the
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  Speaker 1: fourth Defense Battalion. Colonel Lloyd L. Leech was the initial
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  Speaker 1: commanding officer. When ordered to Charleston in June nineteen forty one,
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  Speaker 1: the fifth Battalion was only partially trained and under equipped,
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  Speaker 1: so emergency requisitions went to US Army Anti Aircraft artillery
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  Speaker 1: commands nationwide to provide the Marine battalion some new weapons
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  Speaker 1: and equipment, which were hastily delivered at dockside. Battalian personnel
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  Speaker 1: were embarked in the USS Orizaba AP twenty four. Guns
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  Speaker 1: and cargo were loaded on the USS arcturis Ak eighteen
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  Speaker 1: and the USS hammil Ak thirty two new cargo ships.
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  Speaker 1: The Marines were deployed to Iceland because they were all
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  Speaker 1: volunteers and, unlike the drafty encumbered Army, could be ordered
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  Speaker 1: over seas. Moreover, the sixth Marines was already at sea,
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  Speaker 1: prepared for expeditionary duty. On five June, Roosevelt directed the
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  Speaker 1: Chief of Naval Operations CNO. Admiral Herald R. Stark, to
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  Speaker 1: have a Marine brigade ready to sail in fifteen days time.
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  Speaker 1: The brigade was formed on sixteen June, the day following
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  Speaker 1: the arrival of the sixth Marines Reinforced in Charleston. The
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  Speaker 1: first Marine Brigade Provisional was formerly organized under Brigadier General
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  Speaker 1: John Marston. His new command consisted of Brigade Headquarters Platoon,
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  Speaker 1: Brigade banned sixth Marines Reinforced, second Battalion, tenth Marines, fifth
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  Speaker 1: Defense Battalion less its five inch artillery group which remained
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  Speaker 1: in the States, company, a second Tank Battalion less third
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  Speaker 1: Platoon company, a second Medical Battalion, Company c First Engineer Battalion,
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  Speaker 1: first Platoon Company, a second Service Battalion, third platoon, first
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  Speaker 1: Scout Company, and Chemical Platoon. The parachute Platoon was detached
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  Speaker 1: and reassigned to the first Marine Division, which happened also
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  Speaker 1: to be in Charleston when the six Marines arrived. General
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  Speaker 1: Marston arrived in Charleston on eighteen June with a small
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  Speaker 1: brigade headquarters staff, Admiral Stark's mission statement for the brigade
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  Speaker 1: was simple and direct, in cooperation with the British Garrison
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  Speaker 1: defend Iceland against hostile attack. The new brigade, consisting of
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  Speaker 1: four thousand, ninety five five marines, departed Charleston on twenty
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  Speaker 1: two June. The men were not unhappy to leave the hot,
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  Speaker 1: humid and noisy Navy yard. Most of the brigades's marines
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  Speaker 1: were kept busy loading ships with additional supplies and equipment
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  Speaker 1: procured in Charleston by supply officers, and such incongruous items
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  Speaker 1: as skis, ski poles and winter protective clothing purchased by
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  Speaker 1: supply officers at a local Sears Roebucks store. Added to
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  Speaker 1: the convoy at Charleston were two cargo ships and two destroyers.
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  Speaker 1: It was met outside Charleston Harbor by an impressive force
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  Speaker 1: of warships and escorts. When the entire convoy began its
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  Speaker 1: move towards the North Atlantic. It consisted of twenty five vessels,
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  Speaker 1: including two battleships, the USS New York BB thirty four
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  Speaker 1: and USS Arkansas BB thirty three, and two cruisers, USS
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  Speaker 1: Nashville CL forty three and the USS B Brooklyn, cl forty.
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  Speaker 1: While the convoy was under way, a marine wrote a
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  Speaker 1: letter home on twenty seven June. The clanging din and
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  Speaker 1: weird welders lights were left to their own confusion as
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  Speaker 1: we pulled out of the yard, headed down river past
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  Speaker 1: the little Fort Sumter, which seemed even smaller in the
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  Speaker 1: gray light of zero six hundred Sunday morning. We headed
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  Speaker 1: for the open sea and took a northern course. Then
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  Speaker 1: began the hours, which at sea stretch into days and
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  Speaker 1: repeat themselves so that one soon loses all track of
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  Speaker 1: date and time. We began to lose track of where
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  Speaker 1: we were or where we were headed. There are daily
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  Speaker 1: troop formations, weapons inspection, general quarters drills, fire drills, abandoned
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  Speaker 1: ship drills, and life vest inspection. Feeding the troops takes
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  Speaker 1: up much time. Officers eat by shifts in the wardroom.
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  Speaker 1: Food is good and plentiful. The ships did not yet
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  Speaker 1: have surface radar, and so marines were added to the
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  Speaker 1: continuous submarine watches from deck State. Frequent appearance of US
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  Speaker 1: Navy pby aircraft flying anti submarine warfare ASW patrols reassured
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  Speaker 1: the convoy in its marine passengers. The marine's letter continued.
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  Speaker 1: This morning, we were wallowing along at a couple of
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  Speaker 1: knot speed, having been in a heavy fog for about
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  Speaker 1: eight hours. The ships keep blowing their foghorns to help
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  Speaker 1: maintain location and positions. I presume we are getting well
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  Speaker 1: spread as we approach the southern tip of Newfoundland. It
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  Speaker 1: will be interesting to see our formation when the fog lifts.
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  Speaker 1: The convoy moved into Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, on the night
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  Speaker 1: of twenty seven June, leaving the fog outside. Some officers
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  Speaker 1: and men were allowed to go ashore at the small
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  Speaker 1: village of Argentia to stretch their legs and see the
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  Speaker 1: local scenery. Despite the windy, cold, wet weather, the battalions
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  Speaker 1: were able to get ashore at least one day for
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  Speaker 1: exercise and limited hikes, which helped to reduce the ill
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  Speaker 1: effect of too many hours of confinement and bunk duty
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  Speaker 1: on board the transports. During foul weather, the only Space's
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  Speaker 1: troops had were below decks in their compartments and on
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  Speaker 1: their bunks. The interlude at Newfoundland to await further orders
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  Speaker 1: continued until one July, when the government of Iceland finally
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  Speaker 1: and reluctantly invited the American occupation that Winston Churchill had
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  Speaker 1: requested and promised. End of chapter one, Chapter two of
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  Speaker 1: Outpost in the Atlantic Marines in the Defense of Iceland
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  Speaker 1: by James A. Donovan. This LibriVox recording is in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. On the night of one July, the transports
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  Speaker 1: upped anchors at twenty two hundred and slowly moved back
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  Speaker 1: out to sea, headed for Iceland. During the following day,
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  Speaker 1: the transport steamed in file behind the Arkansas and New York.
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  Speaker 1: The fog drifted over the convoy. Fog horns blew every
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  Speaker 1: few minutes, and all hands anxiously examined the ship's formation.
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  Speaker 1: When the fog cleared. One day after officers school, the
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  Speaker 1: maps of Iceland were broken out and the staffs began
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  Speaker 1: to brief the company officers on the island, its terrain,
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  Speaker 1: weather people, and what the mission would be. On five July,
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  Speaker 1: a more serious note was added when troops were ordered
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  Speaker 1: to wear life jackets at all times, for the convoy
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  Speaker 1: was entering the European war zone. Then, at twenty hundred
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  Speaker 1: one night, the destroyer on the starboard flank picked up
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  Speaker 1: a lifeboat with fourteen survivors, four Red crosswomen and ten
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  Speaker 1: Norwegian sailors of a ship torpedo two hundred miles to
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  Speaker 1: the south. On twenty four June, their ship, the Vigrid,
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  Speaker 1: a Norwegian merchant ship, had developed engine trouble, fell behind
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  Speaker 1: its convoy and was picked off by a German submarine.
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  Speaker 1: The next day, the convoy went through the flotsam and
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  Speaker 1: jetsam of the British battleship HMS Hood, which had been
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  Speaker 1: sunk by the German pocket battleship Bismarck on twenty four May.
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  Speaker 1: Items of equipment from the Hood floating alongside their ships
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  Speaker 1: brought the war to the close attention of sober marines
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  Speaker 1: lining the rails of their transports. Early in the morning
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  Speaker 1: of seven July, the Brigades convoy approached Iceland in the
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  Speaker 1: capital city of Reikievic. The sea was glassy, calm, the
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  Speaker 1: sun was well up and bright, as it did not
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  Speaker 1: set in July and northern Lands. The strong odor of
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  Speaker 1: fish floated out over the troop ships. From the port.
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  Speaker 1: A couple of the transports were able to tie up
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  Speaker 1: at the small Stone Keys, and marines lined the rails
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  Speaker 1: to examine the people and sights of their new station.
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  Speaker 1: Earlier in May, nineteen forty one, a battalion of Royal
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  Speaker 1: Marines had landed and occupied the capital city Reikievik. Ten
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  Speaker 1: days later, they were relieved by a Canadian Army brigade.
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  Speaker 1: The Canadian soon left for England and were replaced by
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  Speaker 1: British Army and Royal Air Force units. Some of the
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  Speaker 1: replacements were remnants of regiments which had been evacuated from Dunkirk.
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  Speaker 1: They were mostly Territorial Army units, which are similar to
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  Speaker 1: the US National Guard, anti aircraft artillery units. Air defense
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  Speaker 1: fighters and patrol bombers also established island defense installations. Kvail Furthur,
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  Speaker 1: a deep feord thirty five miles north of Raykievic, became
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  Speaker 1: the site of an important naval anchorage, based at an
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  Speaker 1: airfield at Keflavik, about thirty miles south of Raykievic. Was
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  Speaker 1: a mixed bag of Royal Air Force aircraft, including a
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  Speaker 1: few Hurricane fighters. It also held some patrol bombers, Hudson's
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  Speaker 1: Sunderlands and a small group of obsolescent floatplanes. Most of
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  Speaker 1: the British pilots at the field were veterans of the
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  Speaker 1: Battles of Britain and were sent to Keflavik for a
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  Speaker 1: spell of more relaxed duty. By the summer of nineteen
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  Speaker 1: forty one, the British contingent had about twenty five thousand
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  Speaker 1: troops in Iceland, including the Tyneside Scottish, the Durham Light
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  Speaker 1: Infantry and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment in the seventy
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  Speaker 1: ninth Division, as well as some Royal Artillery field batteries,
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  Speaker 1: Royal Army engineers and other detachments. In addition, five hundred
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  Speaker 1: RAF personnel and about two thousand sailors who manned in
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  Speaker 1: service the anti submarine vessels and minesweepers based at caval
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Feartherur were on the island. British soldiers Tommies and their
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: rugged battle dress uniforms, heavy black boots and garrison type caps,
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  Speaker 1: cocked over one ear, waved and yelled at the Marines.
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  Speaker 1: As the American ships tied up at the quay, a
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  Speaker 1: few British officers, also in battle dress but with peaked caps,
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: wagger sticks and gleaming leather, walked along the key, examining
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  Speaker 1: the ships and their marine passengers. British officers came on
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  Speaker 1: board to welcome the marine and in due course departed
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  Speaker 1: with some of the senior brigade staff to confer about
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  Speaker 1: landing plans, camp areas and missions. The cargo ships and
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: the fifth Defense Battalion had to unload at the keys,
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  Speaker 1: so the troop ships moved out in the harbor, from
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  Speaker 1: where they landed marine style over a rocky beach named Balbo,
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: using Higgins boats and a few tank lighters. The Marines
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  Speaker 1: coming ashore from the transports appeared to be a motley crew,
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  Speaker 1: wearing mixed uniforms and carrying odd personal baggage. Some wore
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: service caps and some wore broad brimmed campaign hats. Others
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: were in working party blue coveralls, and still others in greens.
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  Speaker 1: Some marines toted sea bags, some had rifle cleaning rods
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  Speaker 1: stuck in rifle barrels and strung with rolls of toilet paper.
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  Speaker 1: Some carried their good blouses on coat hangers hooked to
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  Speaker 1: their rifles. The British soldiers didn't know what to make
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  Speaker 1: of the spectacle, but to be safe, they saluted all
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: marines who wore peaked caps and necks ties, because that
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  Speaker 1: is what their own officers wore. One detail the British
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  Speaker 1: neglected to discuss with the Marines was the matter of
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: tides in northern latitudes, and neither the US Navy nor
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: the Marine planner seemed to be aware of the fourteen
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  Speaker 1: foot tide which almost washed the landing force back from
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  Speaker 1: its small, stony landing beach into the cold Arctic seas.
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  Speaker 1: Marines unloaded the ships by manhandling bulk cargo, equipment and
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  Speaker 1: ammunition from holds into cargo nets, which were lowered into
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  Speaker 1: the landing craft alongside the ship's large booms. The boats
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  Speaker 1: then ran the short distance to shore, where marine working
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: parties again unloaded the cargo by hand and carried it
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  Speaker 1: up onto the beach. Because the marines had few trucks,
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: they were almost completely dependent upon Royal Army Service Corps
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  Speaker 1: two ton lorries trucks to move supplies and equipment to
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  Speaker 1: destinations inland. It all went slowly, and within hours the
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  Speaker 1: tide began to overtake the unloading. The sea came in
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  Speaker 1: and inundated the beaches and marine supplies. Soon cardboard containers
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  Speaker 1: of rations, wool, shirts, equipment, and supplies were awash or
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  Speaker 1: drifting out into the stream. It took a few days
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  Speaker 1: to salvage and dry out some of the gear. Regimental
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: supplies and equipment coming into Balbo Beach became mixed and
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  Speaker 1: piled up in great confusion. The value of the few
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  Speaker 1: tank lighters was apparent, and the need for a ramp
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: at the bow of the lcp's was also evident. Motorized
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: material handling, equipment, palletized cargo, and weather proof packing were
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: in the future. Despite problems with the tide and the
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: narrow beach, the unloading proceeded around the clock. In four days,
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: the Marines man handled and moved fifteen hundred tons of
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: supplies and equipment from the three transports over the beach
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: and into lorries into the battalion's assigned camps, some as
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: far away as fifteen miles. The question of command relation
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: had surfaced early in the top level discussions. The British
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: desired that the brigade be placed under their direct command
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: because they had the major force and its commander was
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: senior to General Marston, but Admiral Stark, the chief of
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: Naval Operations, had reservations about attaching the Marines to the
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: army of a nation at war while the US was
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: still ostensibly neutral. Subsequently, General Marston's orders read that he
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: would coordinate his operations with the defense operations of the
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: British by the method of mutual cooperation while reporting directly
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: to the CNO. When British Major General Henry O. Curtis
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: suggested that the Marines were the British Force's seventy ninth
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: Division polar Bear shoulder patch, General Marston accepted. For the Marines,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: the mutual cooperation directive was working to the entire satisfaction
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: of the British Commander and the brigade. The British complied
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: with our requests and we complied with Theirs. It was
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: as simple as that our reception by the British has
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: been splendid. General Marston reported to the Major General Commandant
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: on eleven July. They the British have placed at our
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: disposal all of their equipment and have rationed us for
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: ten days to cover the period of disembarkation. The Marine
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Brigade would wear the seventy ninth Division's polar Bear shoulder
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: patch with considerable pride. The seventy ninth Division's commander, General Curtis,
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: became popular with the Marines of all ranks by a
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: display of simple leadership and genuine interest in marine activities,
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: including trying his hand in their softball games. A special
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: board of officers established by the brigade shortly after its
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: arrival estimated the Germans had varied capabilities to threaten the
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: security of Iceland. They could attempt an amphibious or airborne attack,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: they could bomb Allied forces and installations, or they could
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: conduct some limited raids from the sea. However, the planning
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: Board judge that as long as the British home Fleet
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: maintained superiority in the seas north of Scotland in areas
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: east of Iceland, the Germans would be unable to support
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: any sizeable or prolonged defensive against the Iceland base. The
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: Marine Brigade's mission was twofold. The British Division Commander designated
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: the sixth Marines reinforced as a mobile force for use
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: at any point along the winding coastal road leading from
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: Reikievik to the naval base at Kavail Fuirthur. The fifth
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: Defense Battalion served as an air defense unit with the
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: mission of protecting the city, the harbor and the airfield
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: from German attack. Brigade headquarters was established in the same
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: camp where the sixth Marines headquarters was located Camp Lumley
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: near Reikievik. Further up the road, the first battalion occupied
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: two adjacent camps, Victoria Park and Camp MacArthur, about ten
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: miles from Reikievic. The camps were near the Varma River,
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: which was unique because its waters were hot, with a
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: temperature of about ninety degrees. It was fed from hot
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: springs nearby and afforded the Marines a warm swimming hole.
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: The second battalion was located at Camp Boulder Shaggy, near
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: the regimental headquarters. This was an attractive camp in a
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: rocky valley with a stream feeding into a nearby river
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: stocked with salmon. The Icelanders maintained strict fishing rights, but
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: the Marines were constantly tempted to cast a line. In
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: late September, the third battalion was moved to Camp Broaderholt,
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: which was on a wet, rugged rocky peninsula located near
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: the entrance of Kvail firthur the long deep Naval Base Fjord.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: The Naval Base Anchorage was a key feature of the
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: iceland defense area. It was located some forty five miles
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: up the jagged coast from Reikievic. And was surrounded by
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: bleak high mountains, with no civilian houses nearby. The entrance
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: to the Fiord was closed by a submarine net and
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: gate tended by a small British naval vessel. The route
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: leading north to the fjord consisted of a desolate one
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: way gravel road with frequent turnouts for passing. Boggy tundra
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: ran along the roadside for some stretches. One side of
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: the road was flanked by water, on the other side
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: by steep mountain slopes. The British, worried about parachute attacks,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: had prepared roadblocks at selected locations along the road with
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: fortified strong points. Small garrisons had orders to hold out
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: against any attack until reserves could arrive. When the Third
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Battalion assumed this mission, it posted a rifle platoon in
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: a few huts at the Key Sarbear Pass. A reinforced
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: rifle company was also sent to the town of a
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: Cranes on the north side of the entrance to the Fiord.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: End of chapter two, Chapter three of Outpost in the
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: North Atlantic Marines in the Defense of Iceland by James A. Donovan.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Camp Broughterholt
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: was a small unfinished camp recently vacated by the British
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: at Broaderholt and the outpost. There was no electricity and
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: no plumbing, only open air heads and mud. The officers
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: mess consisted of an Icelandic cowbarn made partially livable by
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: a British officer, a theater designer in civilian life, who
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: painted the barnes walls with scenes of an English village pub.
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: With a large mess table and an adequate galley. It
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: became a center of officer life in the camp. Upon
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: landing and offloading its equipment, the fifth Defense Battalion immediately
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: coordinated with the British Command and was integrated with the
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: British Defense forces around the port and airfield. The battalion
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: command post was established at Camp Ontario and then moved
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: to Camp Hilton in September. Within a week of landing,
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: the battalion was training, establishing gun positions, and performing camp
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: routines and maintenance. In addition to its three batteries of
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: three inch anti aircraft artillery and a battery of thirty
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: six fifty caliber heavy water cooled anti aircraft machine guns,
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: the fifth operated a number of search lights and three
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: SCR two sixty eight type radar sets, which were most
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: secret and closely guarded. These were the first radars employed
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: by US Marines in the field. No one was allowed
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: near the large, rotating bedspring like units and they remained
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: too secret to even discuss. With a strength of about
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: nine hundred fifty officers and enlisted marines, the battalion was
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: widely dispersed among a number of camps at their battery positions,
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: covering a considerable area. Battery personnel were located in some
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: ten small Nissen hut camps in the Reykivic Port and
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: Airfield defense sector. The batteries supplied camp construction working parties
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: which erected many of the Nissen huts and other camp
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: and gun installations. Such construction projects continued until the battalion
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: was redeployed back to the States. During its time in Iceland,
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: the Defense Battalion performed routine gun watches and training. With
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: conditions of bitter cold, high winds, and extreme dampness. The
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: maintenance of gun positions and standing at continuous gun watches
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: became demanding tasks. The British Army camps taken over by
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: the Marines had been purposely laid out in haphazard arrangements
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: of the huts so that enemy air reconnaissance could not
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: identify company or platoon areas. This complicated biliting arrangements for
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: the Marine units. For Marines had been accustomed to uniform
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: neat and military camp designs, but in combat zones they
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: would learn to live in huts and tents dispersed in
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: tactical groupings. British units moving out left a few officers
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: and other ranks in each camp to assist the Marines
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: in getting settled. The British troops enjoyed American rations so
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: much that it was difficult to persuade them after a
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: few days that their assistance was no longer needed. The
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: British veterans were properly concerned about the German capability of
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: mounting air and parachute attacks. Iceland was well within range
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: of German forces occupying Norway, and during the late summer
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: months of long daylight, the Germans sent lone reconnaissance planes
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: high over the island on photo missions, usually before Reville
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: on Sundays. When the Germans flew over, warning sirens, bells,
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: gongs and whistles went off. Foggy Marines milled around, half
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: dressed as they donned helmets, gas masks and their clothes
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: and took up their arms. British anti aircraft artillery fired
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: a few rounds, but usually the Nazi planes were long gone.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: Because of the US was not yet at war, the
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: American flag was not flown over any Marine camps, purportedly
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: to keep the Germans from identifying them as such. However,
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: some Marines manned thirty caliber anti aircraft machine gun positions
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: and acted as though an invasion was impending. Building their
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: own camps and preparing for winter became priority missions. In addition,
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: the Marines had to ready housing and facilities for the U.
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: S Army troops who were expected to arrive any day.
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: The marine's defense mission and the extended area of tactical
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: responsibility resulted in the battalions moving into the key strongpoints
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: and field fortifications already started or developed by the British.
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: Most of these trenches and weapons positions, along with extensive
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: barbed wire obstacles, were within short marching distance of the
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: marines camps and so could be occupied fairly quickly. The
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: rifle platoons and weapons squads worked on the positions to
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: strengthen and improve them them. Barbed wire was extended, tactical
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: phone lines were installed, and range cards prepared for crew
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: served weapons, but none of these chores took very long,
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: as the defense plans were relatively simple. The brigade devoted
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: most of its time to housekeeping once it had fulfilled
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: its tactical responsibilities. Most Marines enjoyed their new friends in
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: the British Army because of their colorful language, good humor,
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: and seemingly natural affinity for soldiering in the field. These
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: troops were polite, disciplined, and exuded regimental pride in a spree.
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: Their military mannerisms rubbed off on many Marines, who found
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: themselves bashing their heels together and swinging their arms in
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: proper British style. Probably most infectious was the British practice
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: of singing ryebald pub ditties. The Marines and the British
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: also found some amusement in the one sport they seemed
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: to have in common, boxing matches. The finals of the
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: Anglo American boxing tournament were held in the town hall
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: of Reikievic, kindly loaned by Reikievik civic leaders. General Curtis
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: and his senior officer sat on one side of the ring,
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: while General Marston and his Marine officers sat on the
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: opposite side. The British adjutant announced that the Marine band
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: would play the Star Spangled Banner. All hands stood at
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: attention as the band played. Then the adjutant announced that
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: the band would play God Save the King. Nothing happened
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: as the Marine musicians searched frantically for their sheet music. Finally,
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: a mortified band leader whispered, play my country tis of
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: thee slowly. In August, the first elements of US Army
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: units arrived in Iceland, and Brigade Marines were assigned to
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: unload their ships. The arrival of the American soldiers was
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: welcome because the British forces were planning to return to
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: England for deployment to the fighting in Africa. The Marine
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: dan is also expected to be replaced by the army units.
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: The first small army contingents to arrive on six August
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: was a Curtis Warhawk P forty Air Defense Fighter Squadron
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: and an engineer battalion. Upon their arrival, the P forties
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: were assigned to fly air patrols, which generally kept the
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: Germans away. These two units initially reported to General Marston
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: until a senior Army command group arrived later in September
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: to meet the date of the Army's arrival and build
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: facilities for the incoming units. The Marines had to make
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: a maximum effort before deploying to Iceland. The Army's new
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: fifth Infantry Division and supporting units slated for duty overseas
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: had to reorganize by transferring out draftees and transferring in
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: individual regular Army personnel from units all over the States.
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: Army units arriving in Iceland were well supplied with the
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: latest clothing and equipment, and the Marine saw and soon
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: acquired some of this. On Saturday, sixteen August, the Iceland
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: Base Command was visited by Prime Minister Churchill on his
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: way home from a meeting with President Roosevelt at Argentia
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: Bay in Newfoundland, where they had forged the Atlantic Charter.
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: The British and US Marine forces put on a grand
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: review and parade, which consisted of several miles of troops
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: with platoons in line, stretched along a major road under
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: a bright sky. Mister Churchill, with his cane and cigar,
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: walked the entire line, and everyone claimed Churchill looked him
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: in the eye. When Churchill passed along the ranks of
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: the Six Marines, he stopped to speak to some of
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: the older men wearing campaign ribbons. One senior Marine staff
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: sergeant of German descent had grouped earlier about parading for
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: the British Prime Minister. But when Churchill stopped and asked him,
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: you're an old soldier, aren't you, The marine reported, I'm
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: an old Marine. Churchill then said, well, an old sea soldier.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: Is that a good term? The sergeant replied, yes, sir,
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: we like to regard ourselves as sea soldiers. Churchill asked
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: him if he would shake hands with another old soldier.
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: Mister Churchill went over that marine and all others he
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: spoke to that day. Then mister Churchill mounted a small
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: reviewing stand with the official party, including the senior Marines,
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: General Marston and Colonel Hermley, and the march pass stepped off,
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: led by the Brigade Marine Band and the six Marines.
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: The parade was relatively long and the smartly turned out
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: troops were impressive. For many Marines. A stirring highlight was
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: the skirling of the bagpipes and the beat of the
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: drums of the Tyneside Scottish Pipe Band. The Marine's hymn
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: was played loud and clear by the Marine Brigade band
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: as the Leathernecks gave Churchill their best. Churchill was later
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: quoted as saying the Marines hymn so impressed and moved
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: him that it stayed in his mind long afterwards. End
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: of chapter three Chapter four of Outposts in the North
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: Atlantic Marines in the Defense of Iceland by James A. Donovan.
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Shortly after
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: they arrived, the Marines commenced the activities that were to
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: take up most of their time in Iceland. They repaired
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: and expanded their camps. The reasons given for the Marines
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: having to devote their efforts to building camps for other
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: than their own use were First, somebody had to construct
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: camps to accommodate the expected arrival and build up of
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: US Army forces, and neither Icelandic labor nor British troops
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: were available to do so. Second, it became apparent that
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: the Marines were not going to leave soon, so they
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: had to work on improving their own camps in preparation
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: for the coming winter. They constructed new camps, setting up
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: dozens of the British Nissan huts. They built and maintained roads,
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: constructed defense installations, and functioned repeatedly as stevedores at the
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: Reikivic docks, but putting up Nissan huts seemed to be
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: their never ending task. Some officers in the regiment described
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: themselves as a labor regiment. Battalions given the mission of
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: constructing additional Niss and hut camps, sent platoon sized working
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: parties to selected sites, and, with the technical supervision of
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: a few Royal engineer and CEOs, turned to and demonstrated
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: American speed and industry. Sixteen hour workdays were not unusual,
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: and numerous additional camps were constructed in a matter of weeks.
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: The Marines quickly learned how to assemble the prefabricated huts
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: after a few halting starts. As the niss and huts
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: were being constructed, the Marines were told to bank sod
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: three to four feet high around the foundations and to
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: tie down the tin roofs with strands of barbed wire.
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: This seemed to be foolish and excessive precautions until months
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: later when the winter gale winds commenced to blow huts
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: shuddered and shook, and a few had their ends blown out. Eventually,
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: the Marines even built camps for the army engineers, which
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: was considered an ironic and amusing twist of duties by
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: the Marines. Construction crews became quite proud of their skill
• 39:20
  Speaker 1: and speed in assembling the huts. The first battalion desire
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: to show General Marston how fast they could put the
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: huts together. He showed up at dawn one day with
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: his camera to take pictures showing daily progress. He planned
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: a few pictures each day he should have taken them
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: hour by hour. By nine o'clock pm, the crews were
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: completing roofs, doors and windows, and installing stoves. The crews
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: completed sixteen huts in a day, a not unusual performance.
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: Marines did their own laundering with soap brushes and buckets,
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: which were issued to them. The long summer days were
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: warm enough to dry long hung outside, except during Iceland's
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: frequent rain showers. In the winter, with the short days,
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: in bad weather and freezing winds, drying close outdoors became
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: impossible as a solution to the problem. Many camps provided
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: nissing drying huts with laundry lines and continuous heat from
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: burning stoves. Most officers did their own laundry and hung
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: the wash in their sleeping quarters. On twenty two September
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: nineteen forty one, President Roosevelt ordered the Marine Brigade to
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: report for duty under Major General Charles H. Bonesteel US Army.
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: The newly designated commanding General Iceland based command historic prejudices
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: and differences of methods and discipline, and Major General Commandant
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: Thomas Holcombe's memory of service in France, where the fourth
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: Marine Brigade served under the Army, prompted him to protest
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: this new arrangement to the Chief of Naval Operations. But
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: command relations were changing worldwide, and the Iceland Marines were
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: directed to carry out their orders. The law provided that
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: marines could be ordered by the President to detach duty
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: with the U. S Army. When this occurred, the detached
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: marine organizations became an operational part of the Army. They
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: were then subject to the Articles of War and were
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: no longer governed by the Articles for the government of
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: the Navy. The Marines had to convert to the Army courts,
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: martial and legal systems, which tended to conflict with traditional
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: Marine Corps disciplinary procedures. The brigade did not relish the
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: new arrangement. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: directed the Marines to adapt to the Army's administrative system
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: as well. General Bonesteel made a point of expressing the
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: Army's gratitude for the Marine's splendid assistance in the preparation
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: of the various camp sites in numerous other ways prior
• 41:53
  Speaker 1: to and during our arrival in Iceland. The amount of
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: hard and extended labour involved is fully read, recognized, and
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: deeply appreciated. By late September, marine leaders saw problems arising
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: from a combination of short, dark days, bad weather, and
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: troops bored and confined to quarters. One lieutenant wrote to
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: his mother suggesting that the ladies in her church might
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: be interested in sending the troops some playing cards, board games, dice, checkers,
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: and similar items. Within weeks, the lieutenant was overwhelmed with
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: the requested games and supplies, plus large parcels of cookies
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: and candy. In October, as the days grew shorter, it
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: rained temperatures dropped and the wind blew incessantly. The ability
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: to accomplish any meaningful field, tactical or weapons training lessened.
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: As the weather deteriorated. Many units were still busy improving
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: their camp facilities and preparing for a wet, muddy winter.
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: Officers spent hours censoring their men's mail, and the men
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: spent hours writing letters. Most junior officers had time consuming
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: extra duties, and the troops were assigned to seemingly unending
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: working parties. Tactical plans, trenches and placements, wire obstacles, and
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: defense range cards for sectors of responsibility had all been
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: prepared during the early embalmy weeks of the fall. When
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: the weather permitted, the Marines played baseball and otherwise tried
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: to keep in good physical condition by long distance hikes
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: and some cross country runs on the grassy fields with
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: their strange hummocks, rocks, and pools of mud. Marines who
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: fell in the muck amused their comrades, who needed all
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: the laughs they could get. The brigade held no field
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: maneuvers or large staff exercises until Major General bone Steel arrived.
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: He attempted to conduct some field exercises with the brigade
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: units located near Reikievic and the air base. The third
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: Battalion was too far away at Broader Hope Peninsula to
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: participate and was just about completely immobile by lack of
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: any wheeled transfer. Some Joint Army Marine Command Post exercises
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: were conducted for the staffs. When the weather and darkness
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: began to restrict field training, some units of the brigade
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: initiated schooling for both officers and enlisted marines. The first Battalion,
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver P. Smith, who was well
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: schooled himself and a graduate of Frances Eccol de Guerre Superiere,
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: held officer schools on military subjects. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel William A. Wharton,
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: commander of the second Battalion, was interested in establishing literacy
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: classes and everything from simple arithmetic to calculus. Lieutenant William C. Chamberlain,
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College who had
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: been working in his spare time on his doctorate degree
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: at the University of Iceland, was made headmaster of the
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: battalion schools, which employed officer and NCO teachers. Eventually more
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: than one one hundred and twenty five Marines attended classes
• 45:02
  Speaker 1: in a variety of basic subjects. It helped to keep
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: young minds busy when they had very little else to
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: occupy their spare time. Before it had become too dark
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: during the days, there had been a fair amount of
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: range firing of crew served weapons machine guns and mortars,
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: but field exercises were just no longer feasible now. During
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: their deployment to Iceland, the firing batteries of the second Battalion,
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: tenth Marines had been attached in support of the three
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: infantry battalions of the six Marines and initially were located
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: adjacent to the infantry camps. In the late fall, the
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: batteries were returned to their parent battalion control and relocated
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: at a new camp, Camp Tiensen. This move was made
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: to facilitate artillery technical training and permit more efficient field firing,
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: planning and execution by the battalion. In the ever darker
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: winter weeks, almost all military training came to a standstill.
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: Close order drill in the morning by moonlight was just
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: not effective. Rifles barrels had to be inspected indoors by
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: lamplight reflected from the thumbnail placed in the chamber. Some
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: weapons drills were held in the huts. Much time was
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: dedicated to ensuring the health and comfort of the marines
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: without losing sight of the defense mission. It wasn't easy.
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: The wind blew constantly with gusts of seventy two one
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: hundred miles per hour, and the marines settled down to
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: whatever training they could conduct in their quarters. A traditional
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: pastime which always kept marines busy was to maintain personal
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: gear with spit and polish. The M nineteen oh three
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: Springfield rifle had a wooden stock made of carefully selected walnut.
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: It took a beautiful polish when linseed oil was rubbed
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: into the wood by the marine's palm. His rifle was
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: his personal weapon, constantly inspected and handled with care and pride.
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: The other habitual marine practice was to shine the issue
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: chocolate brown colored high top leather shoes to a high class.
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: Dealing with their own and their marine sheer boredom became
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: a real problem for both junior and senior commanders. Mail call,
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: though the letters and packages often arrived late in battered
• 47:17
  Speaker 1: and tattered condition, very often wet, was a highlight in
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: a day's schedule. Enlisted Marines were issued two free cans
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: of beer per day from the post exchange, an event
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: which also broke the monotony. As always, card games for
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: high stakes were a popular pastime. Most of the gamblers
• 47:37
  Speaker 1: pay rode the books as there was no place to
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: spend it. Because there was little to read, one company
• 47:44
  Speaker 1: commander often took a book to his men's huts and
• 47:47
  Speaker 1: read to them as they and their salty and grizzled
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: nco sat at his feet and listened with rapt attention.
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: Some nights he sneaked in a bottle of whiskey for
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: the men. They described these visits as the skipper's mail call.
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: End of chapter four, Chapter five of Outpost in the
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: North Atlantic Marines in the Defense of Iceland by James A. Donovan.
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. With the
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: advancing cold weather and snow, each battalion formed an ad
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: hoc ski patrol, with a potential mission of rescuing crews
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: of downed aircraft or to find persons lost in the
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: rugged country. The patrol consisted of an officer and a
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: few men, mostly from New England, who claimed to be
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: experienced skiers. Their chief problem was that they had no
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: supply of proper ski boots or bindings or wax. The
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: skis purchased in Charleston were simple wooden ones with a
• 48:52
  Speaker 1: toattrap only, and the polls provided were basic beginners bamboo sticks.
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: The snow was never deep enough around marine camps for
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: good skiing, and fortunately there were no emergencies calling for
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: a ski patrol rescue. As noted earlier, a major difficulty
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: facing marine units in remote outpost camps was the shortage
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: of transportation. Marine infantry battalions had no motor transport of
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: their own, neither jeeps nor trucks, prime movers nor weapons carriers.
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: The second Battalion, tenth Marines had small one ton truck
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: prime movers for its seventy five millimeters pack howitzers. The
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: brigade had a motor transport platoon with some old two
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: ton trucks. The Defense Battalion had a few vehicles, but
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: there were no general purpose, staff, command or utility vehicles
• 49:42
  Speaker 1: in the brigade. Only the generosity of the US and
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: British armies, which loaned the Marines a small number of trucks,
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: enabled them to meet the most basic logistic requirements. The
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: British had also loaned the Marines a few of their
• 49:56
  Speaker 1: small staff or reconnaissance vehicles, which were little more than
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: four or cylinder sport cars painted olive drab. The Army
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: generously provided the brigade with some jeeps and three quarter
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: ton trucks, and made their two and a half ton
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: trucks available to transport marine working parties and for logistics support.
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: Lack of motor transport was a continuing problem for the
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: brigade for most of its time in Iceland. With the
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: dearth of motor vehicles and material handling equipment, the Marines
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: continued to move by foot and to use their backs
• 50:28
  Speaker 1: to handle supplies. One benefit was that most enlisted ranks
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: kept physically fit, despite the lack of a formal physical
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: fitness program. Recreation for Marines in the city and vicinity
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: of Reykvic was very limited. The few existing restaurants were small,
• 50:46
  Speaker 1: barely able to serve both the local citizens and a
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: few British and American troops. There were only two small
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: movie theaters and the hotel Borg, the largest and best
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: in town, which were the centers of the Icelanders as
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: social life. The Borg attracted the Allied officers to its dances,
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: but was out of bounds to enlisted troops. Single girls
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: frequented the hotel to dance with the officers and even
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: to establish some promising friendships. The staff non commissioned officers
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: had a favorite restaurant, and the lower ranks may do
• 51:19
  Speaker 1: with what facilities were left, which weren't much. Travel was
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: so difficult that many Marines decided that going to town
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: wasn't worth the effort required. The Marines had brought with
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: them a few musical instruments, such as guitars. As time passed,
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: the Red Cross provided additional recreational equipment, radios and record players.
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: As the troops were forced to depend upon their own resources,
• 51:45
  Speaker 1: they soon produced several clever and amusing shows. Movies for
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: the Marines weren't available until September. The brigade had brought
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: no projection equipment with its expeditionary combat gear. One projector
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: passed around the battalions of the brigade, which then used
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: living huts or mess buildings for shows once or twice
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: a week until they could finally build recreation huts. Eventually,
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: some of the camps were able to construct recreation huts
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: for movie shows. Where the small beer ration could be
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: dispersed and in which a small post exchange could be
• 52:20
  Speaker 1: set up. Previously, a truck would visit the camps periodically
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: with a selection of post exchange items such as smoking, washing,
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: and shaving supplies. During the winter months, the recreation buildings
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: served to provide space for small libraries, barber service, amateur shows, classrooms,
• 52:40
  Speaker 1: and religious services. The battalion camp galleys were primitive at
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: best and tested the skills of the cooks and frequently
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: the stomachs of the marines, but at least the rations
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: were usually freshly prepared and warm. World War II combat
• 52:56
  Speaker 1: rations had not yet appeared. Rations were never allowed or fancy,
• 53:00
  Speaker 1: but were healthy. Inadequate Meals were made with frozen, dried
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: and tin foods prepared on old Marine Corps World War
• 53:08
  Speaker 1: One vintage kerosene burning trailer mounted buzzacott stoves. Beans, frozen fowl, salmon,
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: mashed potatoes, corned beef, stew, canned fruits, powdered milk, coffee,
• 53:22
  Speaker 1: and some baked goods were typical items on the menu.
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: Officers were charged fifty cents per day for rations. The
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: menu was repeated every ten days. There were no field
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: combat rations troops eight from their World War One mess
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: kits two pans with a handle and steel spoon, knife
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: and fork. Each man washed his own mess kit in
• 53:44
  Speaker 1: gi cans holding boiling soapy water, followed by a dip
• 53:48
  Speaker 1: in boiling clean water. Nobody suffered, but it was an
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: antiquated system. With the arrival of the Army, the Marines
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: changed from Navy rations to the Army menu, which included
• 53:59
  Speaker 1: experimental field rations consisting largely of spam, sausage, and dehydrated items.
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: The Navy had been supplying in an acceptable variety of
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: canned and dried foods, but the new Army rations weren't
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: very popular with most Marines. There was no refrigeration, no
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: running water in the galleys, and no good way to
• 54:20
  Speaker 1: heat water until the Army brought in number five coal
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: ranges and immersion heaters to heat water to boiling for
• 54:27
  Speaker 1: washing the men's mes g ear. Prior to this, water
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: had been heated on the cooking ranges. The messholls had
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: rough wooden benches and tables, and both the galleys and
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: mess halls were pungent with the odor of mutton and
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: codfish obtained from local sources. Mess men described today's menu
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: as mutton, lamb, sheep, or ram. Local milk and cheese
• 54:51
  Speaker 1: products were prohibited because it was reported that many of
• 54:54
  Speaker 1: Iceland's cows were tubercular. The Marines were issued a highly
• 54:58
  Speaker 1: concentrated chocolate can bar as a combat ration, to be
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: consumed in case the Germans attacked and other rations were
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: not available. One gunnery sergeant dubbed this ration the last
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: chance Goodie Bar. Communications in the brigade were primitive even
• 55:14
  Speaker 1: by the standards of World War II. The primary means
• 55:18
  Speaker 1: of tactical and administrative communications were the landlines and sound
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: powered telephones, which tied together companies, battalions, regiment and brigade.
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: Battalion and higher headquarters had radio equipment that could be
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: broken down into man pack loads and were powered by
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: hand cranked generators. Eventually, gasoline power generator units provided electricity
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: for radios as well as camp lighting. World news and
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: information of events at home came mostly from naval channels
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: and personal mail, which took two to four weeks to
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: arrive via destroyers. A brigade weekly newspaper, The Arctic Marine,
• 55:57
  Speaker 1: provided some world news, Americans, sports news, some local news items,
• 56:02
  Speaker 1: and marine humor end of chapter five, Chapter six of
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: Outpost in the North Atlantic Marines in the Defense of
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: Iceland by James A. Donovan. This LibriVox recording is in
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: the public domain. As the winter days passed and no
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: movement orders had been published, the Marines began to face
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: the possibility of an indefinite stay in Iceland. They had
• 56:34
  Speaker 1: no way of knowing that in November, powers in Washington
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: had decided to begin redeploying them early in nineteen forty two,
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: when more Army troops were scheduled to arrive in Iceland.
• 56:46
  Speaker 1: The brigade would then return to the United States on
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: the Army transports which brought the soldiers. When words spread
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: up the pending move home, griping about the dark, dull
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: life in the barren camps declined and the days became
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: more bare. The prospect of returning to Marine Corps command
• 57:03
  Speaker 1: was also heartening. During the weeks leading up to seven
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: December and the entry of America into the war, the
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: Marines had no real morale problems outside the boredom already
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: described and an inability to wander far from their camps.
• 57:18
  Speaker 1: After seven December, attitudes, motivation, and interests focused upon the
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: Pacific War and the fate of Marine friends attacked and
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: captured by the Japanese at Wake Island, Guam, China, and
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: the Philippines. The outbreak of the Pacific War didn't change
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: the conditions under which the Marines existed in Iceland, as
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: they were already in a war theater and on war alert.
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: There had been rumors of the Marines going elsewhere than
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: home when the army arrived, but no firm plans had
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: been prepared, at least on the brigade level. After seven December.
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: The Marine's great fear was that they would be left
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: in Iceland. There were no more complaints by troops about
• 57:58
  Speaker 1: Iceland hardships. They just wanted to get to the Pacific.
• 58:02
  Speaker 1: Christmas nineteen forty one was a relatively good day for
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: the Marines. They enjoyed a proper holiday meal of turkey,
• 58:10
  Speaker 1: baked ham, and the other traditional elements of a Christmas dinner,
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: plus free beer and cigars. The Navy had provided a
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: number of small trees for the mess halls, and all
• 58:20
  Speaker 1: hands turned to in efforts to do some appropriate decorations.
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: The first really heavy snowfall blanketed the draft camps to
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: provide a proper white Christmas. Some fortunate marines who had
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: made friends with Icelandic families were invited to their homes
• 58:35
  Speaker 1: for the evening. Marine officers and some British officers enjoyed
• 58:40
  Speaker 1: traditional family celebrations, to which they were able to contribute
• 58:43
  Speaker 1: some gin, nuts, fruit, candy, and items not easy for
• 58:47
  Speaker 1: the Icelanders to obtain. These hospitable families shared their children, food, songs,
• 58:53
  Speaker 1: and goodwill with the soldiers and marines occupying their country.
• 58:58
  Speaker 1: It was a memorable and merry day for all. By January,
• 59:02
  Speaker 1: the wind was blowing so hard and so constantly. Many
• 59:05
  Speaker 1: camps had to install hand lines from the huts to
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: the heads and mess buildings to help keep all marines
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: from being blown and sliding off the pass into the mud.
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: Major David M. Shupe wrote his wife on twenty January
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: nineteen forty two. Well, we had a couple days ago
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: one of those windstorms for which this place is noted,
• 59:26
  Speaker 1: And in spite of the huts that are built and
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: bank to take it, a number had the ends sucked out,
• 59:31
  Speaker 1: others just pressed together, and some mess halls of Icelandic
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: concrete construction were laid low. I saw men rolled along
• 59:39
  Speaker 1: the ground. I moved all out of my hut that
• 59:42
  Speaker 1: was loose, and locked the safes and field desks and hoped.
• 59:46
  Speaker 1: The wind was eighty miles per hour all day, with
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: intermittent gusts reaching velocities of one hundred and twenty miles
• 59:52
  Speaker 1: per hour. In January nineteen forty two, the brigade received
• 59:56
  Speaker 1: orders to begin moving home. The redeployment was to be
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 1: executed by battalions. First to leave was the third Battalion,
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 1: scheduled to depart on thirty one January. The battalion quickly
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: turned its camps over to army units and embarked, but
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 1: not until it had set up the army's metal bunks
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 1: and made up their beds as ordered by Iceland based command.
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 1: The marine short sheeted most of the bunks as a
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: farewell gesture to the soldiers. The advanced echelon of army
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: officers arrived in a cold, hauling snowstorm and proceeded to slip,
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: slide and fall on the icy roads. The Thundering Third
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: departed in a hurry and left the soldiers to their
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: new misery. The small convoy of a couple of cargo
• 1:00:41
  Speaker 1: vessels and a troop ship with the third Battalion took
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: a far northerly route off the coast of Greenland in
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 1: order to avoid German submarines, which were becoming increasingly active
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 1: in the North Atlantic. The escort consisted of a light
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 1: cruiser and a few destroyers. The weather was very heavy,
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: with green water breaking away over all the weather decks.
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: Gun crews on decks had to be secured from their stations.
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: Ice formed all over the ships, and most of the
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 1: marines took to their bunks seasick. After a week of
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: rough sailing, the convoy pulled into the Brooklyn Navy Yard
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 1: and the troops rapidly debarked. Marines from eastern states were
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: to go on fifteen days leave, while those from states
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 1: west of the Mississippi would take a troop train to
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 1: San Diego, where they would begin their leave. The battalion
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 1: was to reassemble at Camp Elliott in early March. A
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: large number of Marines scattered into Manhattan, dressed in fur
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: caps and green winter overcoats with polar bear shoulder patches,
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 1: and the six Marines forger the shoulder cord representing the
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 1: Crodaguera award of the sixth in World War One and
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: a rolling seamen's gate from the rough Sea passage. They
• 1:01:51
  Speaker 1: were the first units to return from the European theater
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: of operations and received a warm welcome from New Yorkers
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 1: wherever they went. During February, the Army Infantry Battalion, which
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 1: had replaced the third Battalion at Broaderholt, was ordered to
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 1: move back into the Reekievic area where the tenth Infantry
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: Regiment was concentrating its units. So the first Battalion, reorganized
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 1: as a provisional battalion, went to a considerable effort to
• 1:02:18
  Speaker 1: move troops and equipment in horrible weather back out to
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 1: the unattractive camp. A few weeks later, they returned an
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 1: embarked for the States. The first and second Battalions, with
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: attachments from other Brigade units, began to mount out for
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 1: the return home on eight March nineteen forty two. The
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 1: weather was cold, wet, and windy, making the movement to
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: the docks miserable and hazardous, but loading went on around
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 1: the clock as all hands were ready and eager to
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: get going. The Brigade headquarters and first Battalion six Marines
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 1: and its attached units were the last of the Brigade
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 1: to depart Iceland. Their ships sailed from Reykievic at zero
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 1: eight hundred on nine March, then delayed for three days
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 1: up the caval fear the Fjord, waiting for the ships
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 1: coming from Ireland to gather and form up the convoy
• 1:03:08
  Speaker 1: for the trip home. The North Atlantic is on its
• 1:03:11
  Speaker 1: worst behavior during the late winter months, so each of
• 1:03:15
  Speaker 1: the battalions experienced the same rough seas, cold temperatures and
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: icing as the convoy constantly changed its heading to avoid
• 1:03:22
  Speaker 1: submarines while en route to New York Harbor and the
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 1: welcome sight of the Statue of Liberty. On eight March
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 1: nineteen forty two, General Marston had moved his command posts
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 1: from on shore to the transport USS McAuley, and the
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 1: Marine Brigade returned to its place within the Naval establishment.
• 1:03:40
  Speaker 1: So ended a unique phase of World War II wherein
• 1:03:43
  Speaker 1: a marine unit was detached for service with the Army
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 1: by order of the President. The brigade headquarters landed at
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 1: New York on twenty five March, at which time the
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: Brigade was disbanded with the rest of the first Marine
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: Brigade Provisional. The fifth Defense Battalion was relieved by Army units.
• 1:04:01
  Speaker 1: In March, the sixty first Coast Artillery took over marine
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: positions and guns, and the battalion embark for New York
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: and the US Army Transport Burenkan. By July of nineteen
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 1: forty two, most of the battalion was en route to
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: the South Pacific, New Zealand, Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Fanafuti Elis Islands.
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 1: The six Marines and the Artillery Battalion of the tenth
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 1: Marines rejoined the Second Division at Camp Elliot in California,
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 1: as did other supporting units. How much strategic value the
• 1:04:34
  Speaker 1: marine deployment had remains a question. It did not actually
• 1:04:38
  Speaker 1: relieve many British troops. The German threat became minimal because
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 1: the Nazis were already over committed in Russia and North Africa.
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 1: The deployment tied up numbers of experienced officers and men
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: in Iceland when they were sorely needed in California. The
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 1: end of March nineteen forty two saw all Iceland Marines
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 1: except those on Lee, back in California, where they provided
• 1:05:02
  Speaker 1: trained cadres for numerous newly formed units, raiders, defense battalions,
• 1:05:08
  Speaker 1: artillery and the ninth Marines of the new third Marine Division.
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 1: By the end of nineteen forty two, some of these
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 1: Marines were battling the Japanese on Guadalcanal in the South Pacific.
• 1:05:19
  Speaker 1: Other Iceland Marines went on to serve with distinction in
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: the other major amphibious assaults of the Pacific War. The
• 1:05:26
  Speaker 1: Marines in the brigade were benefited by a unique experience
• 1:05:30
  Speaker 1: of field service, which added to the record and character
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 1: of the Corps. Their tour in Iceland gave validity to
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 1: the first line of the second verse of the Marine's
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 1: hymn in the Snows of far off Northern Lands end
• 1:05:44
  Speaker 1: of chapter six, sidebars, Part one of Outpost in the
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 1: North Atlantic Marines in the Defense of Iceland by James A. Donovan.
• 1:05:59
  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Activation of
• 1:06:04
  Speaker 1: the Second Marine Division. Major General Clayton B. Vogel, its
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 1: first commander, activated the second Marine Division Fleet Marine Force FMF,
• 1:06:16
  Speaker 1: at a parade in review at the Marine Corps based
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 1: San Diego, California, during a sunny Saturday afternoon of one
• 1:06:23
  Speaker 1: February nineteen forty one. The division consisted of the second, sixth,
• 1:06:28
  Speaker 1: and eighth Marines, infantry regiments, the tenth Marines, an artillery regiment, Engineer, medical,
• 1:06:35
  Speaker 1: service and tank battalions, and Transport, signal, chemical, and anti
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 1: aircraft machine gun companies. For the parade. Battalions were formed
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 1: in battalion masses according to the new nineteen thirty nine
• 1:06:49
  Speaker 1: Infantry Drill regulations. The front ranks were twelve files abreast.
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 1: The parade uniform consisted of the steel helmet of the
• 1:06:58
  Speaker 1: style worn in World War One, a cotton khaki shirt
• 1:07:02
  Speaker 1: and field scarf tie, winter service green trousers wrapped tightly
• 1:07:07
  Speaker 1: into tan blancoed leggings, and polished chocolate brown colored shoes.
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 1: Officers wore green breeches and polished boots. Weapons and equipment
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 1: were essentially the same as the Marines had in the
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 1: First World War twenty three years earlier. The M nineteen
• 1:07:24
  Speaker 1: oh three rifle and bayonet, the Browning automatic rifle bar,
• 1:07:29
  Speaker 1: the forty five caliber M nineteen eleven pistol, cartridge, belt,
• 1:07:33
  Speaker 1: and combat pack. Web Equipment was scrubbed and blancoed to
• 1:07:38
  Speaker 1: a light tan shade. Metal parts were painted dull black,
• 1:07:42
  Speaker 1: and leather items spit shined at dark brown. Each battalion
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 1: had eighty one millimeter mortars. This simple and dependable weapon,
• 1:07:51
  Speaker 1: with a range of more than three thousand yards, was
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 1: an upgrade of the Stokes mortars fired in World War One.
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: Battalions had twelve thirty caliber water cooled Browning machine guns
• 1:08:03
  Speaker 1: M nineteen seventeen A one plus twelve spares. This accurate,
• 1:08:09
  Speaker 1: belt fed gun was mounted upon a heavy steel tripod.
• 1:08:13
  Speaker 1: The Marines had small, two wheeled coal carts, each pulled
• 1:08:17
  Speaker 1: by two men to transport these guns, as well as mortars.
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 1: In nineteen forty one, the machine guns were all in
• 1:08:24
  Speaker 1: the battalion machine gun company. The mortar platoon was assigned
• 1:08:29
  Speaker 1: to the headquarters company. The headquarters and service company of
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 1: each regiment had an anti tank platoon with six of
• 1:08:36
  Speaker 1: the new thirty seven millimeters anti tank guns. During the
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 1: winter of nineteen forty to nineteen forty one, the second
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 1: division's three direct support artillery battalions were in the tenth Marines.
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 1: Each direct support battalion had three four gun batteries. The
• 1:08:53
  Speaker 1: howitzers could be broken down into man portable parts for
• 1:08:56
  Speaker 1: beach landings or operations in mountainous terrain, or even packed
• 1:09:01
  Speaker 1: on the backs of mules. The artillery had one ton
• 1:09:05
  Speaker 1: trucks as prime movers to tow the howitzers, but they
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 1: also had ropes and harnesses for the Marines to put
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 1: on and pull the howitzers from the beach inland to
• 1:09:14
  Speaker 1: firing positions if necessary, before the trucks were landed. That
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 1: was the old Corps cannon cocker's mobility life. In the
• 1:09:24
  Speaker 1: pre war Marine Corps, it was the practice to hold
• 1:09:29
  Speaker 1: Friday afternoon regimental parades and reviews at the San Diego
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 1: Marine Corps Base, followed by liberty for the troops and
• 1:09:37
  Speaker 1: tea at the officers Club. The regiments and support battalions
• 1:09:41
  Speaker 1: rotated back and forth between the new Camp Elliot, twelve
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 1: miles to the north of San Diego and the base
• 1:09:47
  Speaker 1: every three months. On Saturday nights, the club had dinner
• 1:09:51
  Speaker 1: and dancing to a band playing some of the great
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 1: music of the nineteen thirties. Officers wore suits and ties,
• 1:09:59
  Speaker 1: women wore doctail dresses, hats and gloves. There was no
• 1:10:03
  Speaker 1: shortage of attractive Navy and Marine Corps daughters. For the bachelors.
• 1:10:08
  Speaker 1: Social habits were generally well mannered. An officer who didn't
• 1:10:12
  Speaker 1: behave himself socially quickly found himself in official trouble in
• 1:10:17
  Speaker 1: the years prior to nineteen forty. In war mobilization, most
• 1:10:21
  Speaker 1: of the Marine Corps was unmarried. In the regular Corps,
• 1:10:25
  Speaker 1: second lieutenants were not permitted to marry during their first
• 1:10:28
  Speaker 1: two years of duty. The lower ranking enlisted men could
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 1: not afford to be married. There were no family allowances
• 1:10:35
  Speaker 1: for any but senior ranking staff NCOs and sergeants with
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 1: seven or more years of service. Most sergeants were bachelors
• 1:10:44
  Speaker 1: who lived in the barracks with their men. With the
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 1: mobilization of reserves, many married Marines of all ranks came
• 1:10:51
  Speaker 1: on duty. Lieutenant General Leo D. Hermley Lieutenant General Leo D.
• 1:10:59
  Speaker 1: Hermas who died in January nineteen seventy six, was born
• 1:11:03
  Speaker 1: in Hastings, Nebraska, in eighteen ninety and was graduated from
• 1:11:07
  Speaker 1: the University of California in nineteen seventeen with Bachelor of
• 1:11:12
  Speaker 1: Arts and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees. He reported for active
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: duty as a Marine second lieutenant in August nineteen seventeen
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 1: and sailed for France in February nineteen eighteen with the
• 1:11:23
  Speaker 1: six Marine Regiment. He participated with the regiment in all
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 1: of its major battles in France, and for his service
• 1:11:31
  Speaker 1: he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal,
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 1: the Silver Star with an oak leaf cluster in lieu
• 1:11:38
  Speaker 1: of a second silver Star, and the French croadi Guerre
• 1:11:41
  Speaker 1: with palm and diploma. He also was awarded the French
• 1:11:45
  Speaker 1: Legion of Honor and the rank of Chevalier, and was
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 1: cited twice in the General Orders of the Second Division
• 1:11:51
  Speaker 1: American Expeditionary Forces. For five years after his return to
• 1:11:56
  Speaker 1: the United States, he served as a legal officer at
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 1: Marine Bay Barrick's Mare Island and in the office of
• 1:12:02
  Speaker 1: the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. During the inter
• 1:12:06
  Speaker 1: war period, he had duty in the States as well
• 1:12:08
  Speaker 1: as overseas. As commander of the Six Marines, he took
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 1: his regiment to Charleston, South Carolina, where it became the
• 1:12:16
  Speaker 1: nucleus of the first Marine Brigade Provisional in June nineteen
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: forty one, when it sailed for Iceland. Upon his return
• 1:12:24
  Speaker 1: to Camp Elliot, California, in March nineteen forty two, Colonel
• 1:12:28
  Speaker 1: Hermiley became chief of Staff of the second Marine Division
• 1:12:31
  Speaker 1: and traveled with it when it was assigned to duty
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: in the Pacific. Upon promotion to Brigadier General General Hermiley
• 1:12:38
  Speaker 1: became Assistant Division Commander ad C of the second and
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 1: as such participated with it in the Assault of Tarwa.
• 1:12:47
  Speaker 1: He returned to the West Coast to become ADC of
• 1:12:50
  Speaker 1: the fifth Marine Division and landed with it in the
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 1: invasion of Ebu Jima in February nineteen forty five. For
• 1:12:57
  Speaker 1: his exploits, he received the Navy Cross. He was both
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 1: Deputy Island Commander and Island Commander of Guam nineteen forty
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: five to nineteen forty six, and assumed command of the
• 1:13:08
  Speaker 1: Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego in nineteen forty six,
• 1:13:12
  Speaker 1: where he remained until his retirement in nineteen forty nine
• 1:13:15
  Speaker 1: after more than thirty two years of active service. For
• 1:13:19
  Speaker 1: having been specially commended for his performance of duty and combat,
• 1:13:23
  Speaker 1: he was advanced to the rank of Lieutenant general on
• 1:13:25
  Speaker 1: the retired list. He was a professor of law at
• 1:13:29
  Speaker 1: the University of San Diego for many years following retirement.
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 1: Uniforms and equipment as the Marine Corps expanded with the
• 1:13:39
  Speaker 1: mobilization of the reserves, the Marines dress blue uniforms were
• 1:13:43
  Speaker 1: relegated to closets. Newly joined reservists were not required to
• 1:13:48
  Speaker 1: have dress uniforms, although many did. Winter service greens were
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 1: the formal dress, as well as the cold weather field uniform.
• 1:13:56
  Speaker 1: As worn in World War One. This uniform included the
• 1:14:00
  Speaker 1: peaked barracks cap and the still popular garrison or overseas cap.
• 1:14:06
  Speaker 1: The blouse was worn with khaki cotton shirt and matching
• 1:14:09
  Speaker 1: field scarf tie. A brass battle pin held the pointed
• 1:14:14
  Speaker 1: shirt collars in place. Most enlisted marines washed, starched, and
• 1:14:20
  Speaker 1: ironed their own khaki clothing. Trousers were in the same
• 1:14:24
  Speaker 1: green wool cursing material as the blouse, and for officers
• 1:14:28
  Speaker 1: of fine quality, twenty ounce elastique material was standard. Officers
• 1:14:33
  Speaker 1: also wore tailored riding breeches with leather putties or riding boots,
• 1:14:38
  Speaker 1: and they had fine cordovan leather sam brown belts with
• 1:14:41
  Speaker 1: brass buckles. The enlisted men wore a wide cordovan leather
• 1:14:46
  Speaker 1: Peter Bain belt with heavy buckle. Enlisted men's trousers had
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 1: no rear pockets. Enlisted Marines were issued high top laced shoes.
• 1:14:57
  Speaker 1: They took a fine spit shine, but their soles were
• 1:15:00
  Speaker 1: were too thin for field service, so many Marines had
• 1:15:03
  Speaker 1: them double sold. Each marine had two pair, one for
• 1:15:07
  Speaker 1: field use and one for dress wear. The regulation overcoat
• 1:15:11
  Speaker 1: was heavy green wool, similar to the issue uniform, double
• 1:15:15
  Speaker 1: breasted and fitted. The officer's overcoat was custom tailored, fitted,
• 1:15:21
  Speaker 1: and usually in a heavy beaver or elastique material. All
• 1:15:25
  Speaker 1: uniform buttons were dark bronze. Other than for duty in
• 1:15:29
  Speaker 1: North China, these winter service uniforms generally had been replaced
• 1:15:34
  Speaker 1: for field service by cotton khaki shirts and trousers of
• 1:15:37
  Speaker 1: a kind which had been worn for some forty years
• 1:15:40
  Speaker 1: on Caribbean and Banana War duties in Central America. For
• 1:15:44
  Speaker 1: field training and combat duty, enlisted men added the high
• 1:15:48
  Speaker 1: tan canvas lace leggings, as worn in World War One
• 1:15:52
  Speaker 1: and long before in the China and the Philippines campaigns.
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 1: At the turn of the century, the most popular typical
• 1:15:59
  Speaker 1: and colorful item, however, was the olive drab felt field
• 1:16:03
  Speaker 1: or campaign hat with wide brim and peak top. It
• 1:16:08
  Speaker 1: was the pride of all real salty Marines of the period.
• 1:16:12
  Speaker 1: Its ancestry went back to the frontier US cavalry In
• 1:16:15
  Speaker 1: the late nineteenth century, Marines and the fleet. Marine Force
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: battalions wore this hat with a special jaunty flare, and
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 1: the Corps emblem on the front was often greenish from
• 1:16:26
  Speaker 1: the salt water sprayed on it during landing exercises. None
• 1:16:30
  Speaker 1: of this uniform clothing was designed for, or especially suitable
• 1:16:34
  Speaker 1: for a wet, cold climate such as that of Iceland.
• 1:16:38
  Speaker 1: Another item of clothing worn during this period was the
• 1:16:41
  Speaker 1: one piece dark blue denim coverall to save the more
• 1:16:45
  Speaker 1: expensive winter service greens and summer service khakis. The coveralls
• 1:16:49
  Speaker 1: were worn on working parties, for range firing, details by prisoners,
• 1:16:54
  Speaker 1: and for dirty field training. These coveralls were the ancestors
• 1:16:58
  Speaker 1: of the wartime dusty green color cotton herringbone twill utilities,
• 1:17:03
  Speaker 1: which became the Pacific Marin's combat uniform. The Marines who
• 1:17:07
  Speaker 1: went to Iceland had both the blue coveralls and the
• 1:17:10
  Speaker 1: new one piece green herringbone coveralls for dirty or fatigue duty.
• 1:17:17
  Speaker 1: End of sidebars, Part one, sidebars, Part two of Outpost
• 1:17:27
  Speaker 1: in the North Atlantic Marines in the Defense of Iceland
• 1:17:30
  Speaker 1: by James A. Donovan. This LibriVox recording is in the
• 1:17:34
  Speaker 1: public domain. Iceland Iceland is slightly smaller than the state
• 1:17:40
  Speaker 1: of Kentucky, and features mountains, glaciers, volcanoes, geysers, hot springs,
• 1:17:46
  Speaker 1: and lava beds. The southern coastal areas enjoy a temperate
• 1:17:50
  Speaker 1: climate because the Gulf Stream passes close enough to modify
• 1:17:54
  Speaker 1: the normal weather of the Arctic Circle, which touches the
• 1:17:57
  Speaker 1: northern coast. In nineteen forty the island had limited coastal
• 1:18:02
  Speaker 1: roads crossed by many rapidly flowing glacial streams. Coastal areas
• 1:18:07
  Speaker 1: had grassy fields suitable for sheep and pony pasturage, and tundra,
• 1:18:12
  Speaker 1: a terrain completely devoid of bushes or trees. The population
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 1: in nineteen forty one numbered one hundred twenty thousand. Fishing
• 1:18:21
  Speaker 1: in the cold waters around Iceland was the nation's major industry.
• 1:18:26
  Speaker 1: Along the twenty three hundred miles of jagged coastline, there
• 1:18:29
  Speaker 1: were a number of small fishing villages reached only by sea,
• 1:18:33
  Speaker 1: as there was no road network around the island beyond
• 1:18:36
  Speaker 1: the area of Reikiavik, the capitol, and Maine City. At
• 1:18:41
  Speaker 1: the outbreak of the war, Iceland enjoyed the status of
• 1:18:44
  Speaker 1: autonomous parliamentary monarchy, sharing the Danish royal family with Denmark.
• 1:18:50
  Speaker 1: When the Nazis overran Denmark. In April nineteen forty, the
• 1:18:53
  Speaker 1: Icelandic Parliament voted to take over the executive power of
• 1:18:57
  Speaker 1: the Danish king and to assume control of fort affairs.
• 1:19:01
  Speaker 1: The strategic island became an independent republic, but was wholly defenseless.
• 1:19:07
  Speaker 1: This state of affairs gave rise to considerable concern by
• 1:19:10
  Speaker 1: leaders in London and Washington, a concern not shared to
• 1:19:14
  Speaker 1: any degree by the insular minded Icelanders. The majority of
• 1:19:18
  Speaker 1: Icelandic citizens accepted the American occupation as a necessary evil.
• 1:19:23
  Speaker 1: They didn't care much for the British, but were well
• 1:19:26
  Speaker 1: aware of the German threat. There was a pro German
• 1:19:29
  Speaker 1: element among the populace because before the war, German engineers
• 1:19:33
  Speaker 1: had built Iceland's roads and had piped in hot water
• 1:19:37
  Speaker 1: from the geysers to heat greenhouses in the city. As
• 1:19:40
  Speaker 1: a result, there were some anti foreign feelings, especially among
• 1:19:45
  Speaker 1: youth groups. Many of the Icelanders spoke English. They were
• 1:19:49
  Speaker 1: a well educated and literate people with a pure and
• 1:19:52
  Speaker 1: ancient Viking language, and the world's oldest representative government. Major
• 1:19:58
  Speaker 1: General John Marston. Major General John Marston, who died in
• 1:20:04
  Speaker 1: November nineteen fifty seven, was born on three August eighteen
• 1:20:07
  Speaker 1: eighty four in Pennsylvania, and was commissioned a Marine second
• 1:20:11
  Speaker 1: lieutenant in June nineteen o eight. After five months training
• 1:20:15
  Speaker 1: at the School of Application at Annapolis, he began a
• 1:20:18
  Speaker 1: period of barracks and seagoing duty. This culminated an assignment
• 1:20:23
  Speaker 1: to the First Advance Base Regiment, which landed at and
• 1:20:26
  Speaker 1: occupied Veracruz, Mexico, in January nineteen fourteen. In nineteen fifteen,
• 1:20:32
  Speaker 1: then first Lieutenant Marston was assigned to the Haitian Constabulary
• 1:20:36
  Speaker 1: in operations against the Bandit Caicos in northern Haiti. After
• 1:20:41
  Speaker 1: three years in Haiti, he served at the Naval Academy
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 1: and at Quantico until another overseas assignment, this time to
• 1:20:48
  Speaker 1: the American Legation in Managua, Nicaragua, where he remained from
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 1: nineteen twenty two to nineteen twenty four. Following a number
• 1:20:57
  Speaker 1: of assignments in the Quantico Washington area, including a brief
• 1:21:00
  Speaker 1: tour again in Nicaragua as a member of the US
• 1:21:03
  Speaker 1: Electoral Mission, in nineteen thirty five, Colonel Marston was transferred
• 1:21:08
  Speaker 1: to the American Embassy Peiping. There he commanded the Marine
• 1:21:12
  Speaker 1: Detachment nineteen thirty seven to nineteen thirty eight and was
• 1:21:16
  Speaker 1: senior Commander of Marine Forces in North China nineteen thirty
• 1:21:19
  Speaker 1: eight to nineteen thirty nine. Brigadier General Marston became commander
• 1:21:24
  Speaker 1: of the first Marine Brigade Provisional in June nineteen forty
• 1:21:27
  Speaker 1: one and took it to Iceland. Upon return to the
• 1:21:31
  Speaker 1: United States in April nineteen forty two, he was promoted
• 1:21:34
  Speaker 1: to major general and given command of the second Marine Division,
• 1:21:37
  Speaker 1: moving with it to New Zealand. He returned to the
• 1:21:40
  Speaker 1: States in August nineteen forty two and was appointed commander
• 1:21:43
  Speaker 1: of the Department of the Pacific, with headquarters in San Francisco,
• 1:21:48
  Speaker 1: in April nineteen forty four. He was named Commanding General
• 1:21:52
  Speaker 1: Campbell June and served in that position until nineteen forty six,
• 1:21:56
  Speaker 1: when he retired to Lexington, Virginia. Polar Bear patch. When
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 1: British Major General Henry O. Curtis, commander of the British
• 1:22:06
  Speaker 1: Force's seventy ninth Division, suggested that the First Brigade were
• 1:22:10
  Speaker 1: the seventy ninth Polar Bear shoulder patch, General Marston agreed.
• 1:22:16
  Speaker 1: It was worn on each shoulder and was a distinctive
• 1:22:19
  Speaker 1: insignia the brigade took back when it returned to California
• 1:22:22
  Speaker 1: in nineteen forty two relations with the British. British officers
• 1:22:29
  Speaker 1: frequently asked Marine officers to be guests for supper in
• 1:22:32
  Speaker 1: their mess The traditional mess night routine was usually followed.
• 1:22:38
  Speaker 1: At the time, it was new to most marines, but
• 1:22:41
  Speaker 1: in the year since World War II, many marine officers'
• 1:22:44
  Speaker 1: messes have learned to enjoy a similar practice in Iceland.
• 1:22:49
  Speaker 1: After sufficient drinks at the bar, the officers were piped,
• 1:22:53
  Speaker 1: fightd or drummed to the dining table. They wore formal
• 1:22:57
  Speaker 1: or semi formal dress and were seated at a long
• 1:23:00
  Speaker 1: table according to rank, with the senior ranking host and
• 1:23:03
  Speaker 1: his senior guest at the head. The mess vice president
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 1: sat at the foot. A good meal of several courses
• 1:23:10
  Speaker 1: was served. Then port wine was passed around in a decanter,
• 1:23:14
  Speaker 1: and all stood for toasts, proposed and drunk to the
• 1:23:17
  Speaker 1: King and then to President Roosevelt. The host usually made
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 1: a few kind remarks about the Marines, and the senior
• 1:23:24
  Speaker 1: marine would respond. If any cigars were available, they were
• 1:23:28
  Speaker 1: passed around. Then all hands would retreat to the bar
• 1:23:32
  Speaker 1: for songs, jokes, darts, gambling, and perhaps a bit of
• 1:23:36
  Speaker 1: rough house. It was all very civilized and traditional, typically British.
• 1:23:42
  Speaker 1: The British were a happy influence on the Marines, who
• 1:23:44
  Speaker 1: picked up much of their allies amusing vernacular, traditional army
• 1:23:48
  Speaker 1: songs and ability to find simple pleasures on foreign duty.
• 1:23:53
  Speaker 1: The British Army had been serving in hardship places worldwide
• 1:23:57
  Speaker 1: for several centuries. They knew how to make the best
• 1:24:00
  Speaker 1: of it. Iceland marines sang British Army songs at marine
• 1:24:04
  Speaker 1: club bars for years afterwards. Nissen huts. The Nissen hut
• 1:24:11
  Speaker 1: was fairly simple to assemble. The ends of each hut
• 1:24:14
  Speaker 1: were made in three wooden sections, constructed so that they
• 1:24:17
  Speaker 1: could be assembled in a few minutes. The deck consisted
• 1:24:21
  Speaker 1: of wooden panels resting upon a frame of two by fours,
• 1:24:25
  Speaker 1: while the roof and sides were made of corrugated metal.
• 1:24:29
  Speaker 1: Two layers of metal were used on the lower sides
• 1:24:31
  Speaker 1: in a single layer above the roof, and the whole
• 1:24:34
  Speaker 1: supported by curved eyebeam steel ribs. The interior was lined
• 1:24:39
  Speaker 1: with sheets of insulation board. Each hut was issued with
• 1:24:43
  Speaker 1: a complete kit of tools and hardware. The only on
• 1:24:47
  Speaker 1: site fabrication was production of the concrete or lava block
• 1:24:50
  Speaker 1: foundation piles. A crew of six or more men could
• 1:24:54
  Speaker 1: erect a hut in a few hours, and teams specializing
• 1:24:57
  Speaker 1: in various parts were even faster. The Quantcet Hut of
• 1:25:01
  Speaker 1: the Pacific War was the more deluxe and larger American
• 1:25:05
  Speaker 1: offspring of the Nissen Hut. Living in the Nissen Huts
• 1:25:08
  Speaker 1: was basic and simple for all ranks. The tin roofed
• 1:25:12
  Speaker 1: buildings had a few small windows and doors, with wind
• 1:25:15
  Speaker 1: baffled vestibules at one end or on one side. Insulation
• 1:25:20
  Speaker 1: board lined the interiors. The huts had bare wooden decks,
• 1:25:25
  Speaker 1: and the outside foundation was banked with dirt and sod.
• 1:25:29
  Speaker 1: Interior lighting was furnished by kerosene lanterns, until eventually all
• 1:25:33
  Speaker 1: camps had gasoline generators, which provided electricity to light the
• 1:25:37
  Speaker 1: few bulbs in each hut. Heat was provided by small
• 1:25:41
  Speaker 1: British coke and coal stoves until later when the U.
• 1:25:44
  Speaker 1: S Army brought some larger, potbellied stoves to Iceland. At
• 1:25:48
  Speaker 1: no time was it ever warm enough to dispense with
• 1:25:51
  Speaker 1: the stoves. They provided heat for wash water and to
• 1:25:54
  Speaker 1: help dry clothing strung on lines. Each camp had its
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 1: supply pile of large coal filled bags. Wooden kindeling for
• 1:26:04
  Speaker 1: firing stoves was at a premium because there was no
• 1:26:07
  Speaker 1: natural source of wood in Iceland. All boxes and shipping
• 1:26:11
  Speaker 1: crates were carefully saved and hoarded for fire making. There
• 1:26:15
  Speaker 1: were about twenty four men assigned to a hut. They
• 1:26:18
  Speaker 1: had wooden canvas folding cots, a thin cotton mattress pad,
• 1:26:23
  Speaker 1: mattress cover, and two woolen blankets. The primary furniture was
• 1:26:28
  Speaker 1: wooden boxes collected by all ranks for toilet gear and
• 1:26:31
  Speaker 1: bunk side storage. There was nothing to sit on except
• 1:26:34
  Speaker 1: the cots and a few folding canvas chairs, which accompanied
• 1:26:38
  Speaker 1: company and battalion field desks. Clothing for Iceland, the Marines
• 1:26:45
  Speaker 1: were issued items of special winter clothing, some good twenty
• 1:26:48
  Speaker 1: year old stocks of mustard colored wool shirts which were
• 1:26:51
  Speaker 1: used in Banana War campaigns, woolen underwear, heavy wool socks,
• 1:26:57
  Speaker 1: rubber galoshes, some short sheepskin canvas coats from Sears Roebucking Company,
• 1:27:03
  Speaker 1: and foul weather gear, black rubber or canvas coats and
• 1:27:07
  Speaker 1: pants from civilian sources. Some officers and men obtained fine
• 1:27:12
  Speaker 1: olive drab parkas with alpaca linings from the Army for
• 1:27:16
  Speaker 1: working parties and training. The feltfield had and the one
• 1:27:19
  Speaker 1: piece blue denim or olive herringbone utility uniform were frequently worn.
• 1:27:25
  Speaker 1: Sweatshirts gave an added layer of warmth, but the field
• 1:27:28
  Speaker 1: combat clothing issued marines for service in Iceland was far
• 1:27:31
  Speaker 1: from satisfactory. The result was that marines in the field
• 1:27:36
  Speaker 1: or on the continuous working parties did not look military.
• 1:27:39
  Speaker 1: The Marine Corps had no winter field service combat uniform
• 1:27:43
  Speaker 1: other than its winter service greens, including the overcoat in
• 1:27:46
  Speaker 1: the same heavy wool worn since World War One, but
• 1:27:49
  Speaker 1: tailored for appearance rather than field service. Marine officers in
• 1:27:54
  Speaker 1: Iceland fared a bit better as they had access to
• 1:27:56
  Speaker 1: British Officers stores where they could buy fine quality trends
• 1:28:00
  Speaker 1: officers boots, woolf shirts, wool socks and other items. The
• 1:28:06
  Speaker 1: one distinctive item of Marine Corps uniform issue, which was
• 1:28:09
  Speaker 1: also the most popular, was the fur cap with the
• 1:28:12
  Speaker 1: emblem on the front. The cap had a green crown
• 1:28:15
  Speaker 1: in thick brown fur trim and ear flaps. It had
• 1:28:19
  Speaker 1: a North China Duty Marine ancestry end of sidebars, part
• 1:28:24
  Speaker 1: two end of outpost. In the North Atlantic Marines in
• 1:28:29
  Speaker 1: the defense of Iceland by James A. Donovan, Red by
• 1:28:34
  Speaker 1: Aaron Bennett,