[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 69 (Friday, May 24, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E914-E915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


     REGARDING THE 27TH INFANTRY DIVISION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL R. McNULTY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 23, 2002

  Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, as we approach Memorial Day, I would like 
to take this opportunity to clear the air regarding an unwarranted 
blemish cast upon a unit of the New York National Guard--a unit that 
enjoys an otherwise illustrious history dating all the way back to the 
Revolutionary War.
  For 56 years, the U.S. Army's 27th Infantry Division, a unit of the 
New York National Guard, has carried this black mark--as a result of a 
thoughtless outburst with little basis in fact--by the Marine General 
commanding the Saipan Invasion in 1944. This situation was further 
compounded when Time Magazine published the General's remarks without 
seeking to corroborate their veracity.
  In July 1944, the 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Army General 
Ralph Corbett Smith, was ordered to relieve a division of Marines 
engaged in fierce fighting on the mountainous island of Saipan in the 
western Pacific.
  The combined force of National Guardsmen and Marines would be led by 
the top-ranking ground officer on Saipan, commanding the Fifth 
Amphibious Corps, Marine Lt. Gen. Holland M. ``Howlin' Mad'' Smith. 
This proved to be a questionable decision.
  The dissimilar training of the Army and Marine Corps units did not 
prepare them to achieve the expectations of Lt. Gen. Smith and he 
overreacted. Marine Lt. Gen. Holland Smith relieved Army Gen. Ralph 
Smith of his command when Lt. Gen. Smith mistakenly charged that Gen. 
Ralph Smith was incapable of motivating his troops in battle that he 
said resulted in losses to the Marines.
  Officers are relieved in wars for various reasons, and the matter 
usually remains private within the military. The Smith versus Smith 
controversy, however, spread from the remote island in the Pacific all 
the way to the American media and the Pentagon.
  Army generals in the Pacific angrily accused Lt. Gen. Holland Smith 
of bias. While the Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, did not 
believe Lt. Gen. Holland Smith's allegations, he ordered that no public 
response be made--in an effort to preserve interservice cooperation. In 
fact, Marshall was eventually able to smooth things over with his naval 
counterpart. Gen. Ralph Smith, for his part, was later exonerated by an 
Army board of inquiry and enjoyed a successful military and diplomatic 
career.
  At the time, however, the American press was quick to choose sides, 
and Time-Life allied with the Marines. Time Magazine printed an article 
that maligned the heroism and credibility of the 27th Infantry 
Division. Marine recruits were told that the Army ``wouldn't fight'' on 
Saipan. Lt. Gen. Holland Smith's version of events was repeated without 
question in numerous histories and memoirs.
  Following a complete investigation, the Lt. General's superior, 
Admiral Chester Nimitz, announced in an official memorandum that the 
27th Division had been harshly treated and much maligned. Admiral 
Nimitz concluded that there was a definite need to remove the stigma 
attached to the division, by the Navy Department in Washington, by 
publicly stating their ``continued confidence in the courage and battle 
efficiency of the 27th Division.''
  At the conclusion of his extensively researched book on the Saipan 
battle, published in 1986, historian Harry A. Gailey noted that ``the 
slurs cast upon the officers and the men of the 27th Division then and 
later by [General] H.M. Smith in his articles and books were totally 
unwarranted and unconscionable. Those who gave a part of themselves to 
gain victory in the conquest of this important island bastion deserved 
better--from their commander and their nation.''
  As more and more of the brave veterans who placed themselves in 
harm's way for America pass to their final resting places, it is not 
only appropriate but incumbent on us to correct any miscarriage of 
judgment and restore any lack of recognition which they, the men of the 
27th, truly have earned and deserve. Mr. Speaker, let us, here, in this 
chamber, take a necessary first step and salute those veterans of the 
27th Infantry Division--three of whom were posthumously awarded the 
Medal of Honor: Capt. Benjamin Salomon and Troy, New York, natives Col. 
William O'Brien and Sgt. Thomas Baker--in the glorious spirit that has 
characterized so many in our military, who did what was asked of them 
with courage and determination, without regard for their own safety, 
and asking for no special reward but the thanks of their citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, had it not been for the men and women who wear the 
uniform of the United States military through the years, we would not 
have the privilege of bragging about how we live in the freest and most 
open democracy on the face of the earth. Freedom is not free. We have 
paid a tremendous price for

[[Page E915]]

it, and I try not to let a day go by without remembering with deep 
gratitude all of those who, like my brother, Bill, made the supreme 
sacrifice; and all of those who served and were willing to put their 
lives on the line--as servicemen and women are doing right now--for all 
that we hold dear. That is why when I get up in the morning, the first 
two things I do are to thank God for my life and veterans for my way of 
life.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, and this Memorial Day, I am proud to say ``Thank 
You'' to the veterans of the 27th Infantry Division.

                          ____________________