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NOVEMBER 28. 1942
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
NINE
Chaplain McGuire Declares He
Did not “Pass the Ammunition
y>
(Bv N\ C. W. C. News Service)
NEW YORK.—One “legend'’ of
the present World War—a legend
from which has sprung one'of the
most popular songs growing out of
the conflict—was destroyed when
Father William A. McGuire, vet
eran Navy chaplain, definitely dis
avowed a report that he had man
ned a gun during the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor. Captain
McGuire made his disavowal at an
interview in the office of the Most
Rev. John F. O'Hara, C. S. C.,
Military Delegate, and pointed out
that he is too old a hand at the
game to violate the prescriptions
of the Geneva Convention by man
ning a gun.
Also, Captain McGuire said he
had no recollection of having said,
“Praise the Lord and pass the
ammunition.”
“I don’t like to see our nation
in the position of boasting that
one of our chaplains has violated
the Geneva Convention,” Bishop
O'Hara said. “For a chaplain
to man a gun to fire on the enemy
would be just as much a violation
of the Geneva Convention as would
be the arming of a hospital ship.
Whatever immunity is attached to
the chaplain's position would be
lost if he fired on the enemy.”
Father McGuire who on Decem
ber 7 was standing on the landing
of the Officers’ Club at Pearl Har
bor, “with my yeoman carrying my
Mass kit,” when the attack got un
der way, reached a destroyer and
then made his way to the flagship.
“I was trying to fulfill my duties
as a chaplain in accordance with
Navy regulations and international
custom,” he said. “On the deck
of the ward room I found many
wounde.d men. I ministered to
them. I spoke to them and did all
I could as a Catholic priest to help
them. From time to time I would
go to the quarterdeck seeking a
chance to help the personnel. I
heard confessions and tried to set
an example to the young men
whom I saw there.”
“It is the Navy chaplain's duty
to encourage all the men at all
their jobs,” Lt. Com. R. A. Brown,
U.S.N., who was in charge of the
interview, said.
The attention focussed upon
Fr. McGuire by the song, “Praise
the Lord and Pass the Ammuni
tion”, has given a dangerously
false impression which caused
Father McGuire “dismay, annoy
ance and chagrin” when he arrived
here on temporary ‘duty.
“The report that I manned * a
gun in the heat of battle at Pearl
Harbor is absolutely false,” Fath
er McGuire said. “As to the re
port that J said ‘Praise the Lord
and pass the ammunition’, I have
no recollection of using these
words. ... It is the duty of every
chaplain to give encouragement to
men under fire and it is probably
true I used, some such phrase as
‘God help us’ in the thick of it.”
Father McGuire “certainly
would hate to destroy” an Amer
ican legend, but aside from the
“truth of the matter”, there is a
more serious angle involved. “I
am not taking this personally,” he
said, “I am thinking of my pals.”
As Bishop O’Hara reminded re
porters, there are 56 Catholic
chaplains alone who are listed as
missing and presumed to be pris
oners of the enemy.
Another matter that has caused
Father McGuire some embarrass
ment is the “gift of prophecy” gra
tuitously bestowed upon him. In
his sermon the Sunday before the
attack on Pearl Harbor, the Chap
lain dwelt on the idea of sudden
attack. “I said,” he recalled, “ ‘You
men have got to be on the job;
you have got to be tough.’ Now
they accuse me of being a prophet.
It is my duty at all times to keep
the morale of the men high.”
When it came time to evacuate
the wounded during the Pearl Har
bor battle, Father McGuire was
given charge of a motor whale
boat which made several trips to
and from shore until “we were
driven onto the beach by flaming
oil on the water.” “We waded
ashore and went to the Marine
Corps Barracks where we assisted
in bringing men in from the beach
and arranging for transportation
for wounded men and taking care
of the wounded in mess halls
hastily converted into hospitals,”
he added. For similar work among
the wounded from a sinking ship
off the coast of France during the
first World War, Father McGuire
wears the Navy Cross.
One Family Constitutes
Congregation of New
South Carolina Parish
Pastor of St. Leo’s
Winston-Salem
(By N. C. W. C. News Service)
CLEMSON, S. C.—The dedica
tion of a new Catholic mission
church in a rural community near
Fairplay, S. C., calls attention to
the fact that every member of the
congregation belongs to the'sarrie
family.
The church was dedicated by the
Most Rev. Emmet M. Walsh, Bi
shop of Charleston, and is under
the direction of the Rev. James J.
Devery, C. S. P., of the St. An
drew’s Church Paulist community
in Clemson, of which the Rev.
Maurice Fitzgerald. C. S. P., is su
perior.
The mission near Fairplay serves
40 members of the Hornick fam
ily. Mr. and Mrs. Louis Hornick,
accompanied by their five small
sons, came from Czechoslovakia
35 years ago and settled on a farm
near Fairplay. Through the years,
priests visited them occasionally
and said Mass, helping them to
keep the faith. Eventually, four
of the five sons settled near the
old homestead, tilled the land and
reared their families.
Now the descendants of the
Louis Hornicks mainly make up
the congregation. The few other
parishioners are descendants of
the Fouseck family, which is re
lated to the Hornicks by the fact
that Louis Hornick's sister married
the first Fouseck to settle in this
area. Thus all are direct descend
ants of Louis Hornick’s father.
Mrs. Hornick. popularly known
as “Grandma” Hornick, is still liv
ing, and although she cannot yet
speak a word of English her eyes
light up when she speaks through
an interpreter about the new
church.
Class of Thirty-Five
Confirmed at St. Leo’s,
Winston-Salem, N. C.
(The famed Mine Creek Mission
of St. William, near Ward, S. C.,
where the Rev. George Dietz is
pastor, is another parish of the
Diocese of Charleston which has
its congregation only members of
one family, every member of St.
William’s parish being descend
ants of Mr. and Mrs. William
Rodgers, who became converts
generations ago through the ex
ample of Jerry Donovan who came
to South Carolina nearly a hun
dred years ago to work as a stone
mason on the church which was
then being erected in Edgefield.—
Ed.) *
Best Wishes
HOTEL 3NZEND0RF
Winston-Salem, N. C.
★
FATHER BEGLEY
The Rev. Michael J. Begley, pas
tor of St. Leo’s Church, Winston-
Salemn, North Carolina.
Catholic Women’s Club
Meets in Charleston
(Special to The Bulletin) 1
CHARLESTON, S. C.—The No
vember meeting of the Catholic
Women’s Club was held on No
vember 16, at the MacArthur
House, 'with Miss Alice Moran,
vice-president, presiding in the
absence of the president, Mrs.
Walter Murphy.
The meeting was preceded by a
supper, which was arranged for by
Miss Anne Riley, chairman of the
program committee.
Reports on the recent conven
tion of the Diocesan Council of
the N. C. C. W. were made by
Miss Helen Eisernardt and Miss
Margaret Cade. Miss Maybelle
Meitzler, Miss Sadie O’Brien, and
Mrs. James Furlong volunteered
to make arrangements for a dance
for service men which will be
given at the Cathedral hall on
December 11. It was voted to
hold the annual Christmas party at
the home of Mrs. Jennings Can-
then and will include: Mrs. Frank
Thomson, Mrs. Gerald Carter, Mrs.
George J. Jenkins, Mrs. Thomas
Mageean, Miss Cecile Rice, Miss
Jeannette Lowry, Mrs. Roy Maugh,
Mrs. George Durban, Mrs. Roy
Meevers, Mrs. Edwin Owen and
Miss Cade.
(Special to The Bulletin)
WINSTON-SALEM, N. C.—On
All Saints’ Day, the Most Rev.
Eugene- J. McGuinness, D. D.,
Bishop of Raleigh, administered
the Sacrament of Confirmation to
the largest class in the history of
St. Leo’s parish The class,
which was composed of twenty-
eight children, and seven adult
converts, received Holy Com
munion at a Mass celebrated by
Bishop McGuinness.
Assisting in the administration
of Confirmation and at the Mass
were the Rev. John A. Brown, of
Pinehurst, Diocesan master of
ceremonies; the Rev. Ronald
Scott, O. F. M.. pastpr of St.
Benedict the Moor Church, W’ins-
ton-Salem, and the Rev. Michael
J. Begley, pastor of St. Leo's
Church.
Following the Mass, Bishop Mc
Guinness was guest of honor at a
luncheon tendered by Santa Maria
Council, Knights of Columbus, at
the Robert E. Lee Hotel.
Atlanta Parish Guild
Sponsors Spaghetti Supper
(Special to The Bulletin)
ATLANTA, Ga.—The annual
spagetti supper of the Sacred Heart
Chapel Guild was held on Novem
ber 17 in the auditorium of the
Sacred Heart parochial school.
Mrs. S. Duncan Peeples, presi
dent of the guild, and committees
headed by Mrs. R. W. Bowling, Mrs.
Edward Mugford, Mrs. E. D. Trotti,
Mrs. John Meartz, Mrs. J. E.
Leamy, Mrs. T. G. Ware, Mrs. C.
A. Zeidler, Mrs. Harris Hurst, Mrs.
R. I. Blahnik, Mrs. J. Albert Snit-
zer, Mrs. A. J. Kurcheburg, Mrs. R.
J. Raymond, Mrs. W. A. Tadlock,
Mrs. John J. McGee and Mrs. E J
Fechtel. <
Husbands of members of the
guild were given a stag dinner re
cently, and this group was in
charge of the entertainment in the
armory of the Marist College fol
lowing the spagetti dinner.
Belgium Jesuit Refugee
Lectures in Georgia
(Special to The Bulletin)
STATESBORO; Ga—The Rev.
Victor J. Dossogne, S. J., who
escaped from the Nazis in Bel
gium, and who is now a professor
at Loyola University of the South,
New Orleans, spoke in Statesboro
on November 23, to the students
and faculty of the Georgia State
Teachers’ College at a general as
sembly to tvhich the public was
invited and also at the luncheon
meeting of the Rotary Club.
At the time of the outbreak of
the war, Father Dossogne was a
professor at the University of Na
mur. He was arrested in the south
of France after the surrender of
the French army and barely
escaped being shot as a suspected
parachutist. Later he made his
way to Spain, from where he was
able to obtain passage to this
country.
The Belgian priest left States
boro for Macon, where he is sche
duled to speak at St Joseph's
auditorium and also before the
Lions Club.
Father Dossogne will deliver
two lectures in Atlanta on Novem
ber 30, addressing the Atlanta Ro
tary Club at its luncheon meeting
at the Ansley Hotel, and speaking
at the Municipal Auditorium in
the evening to members of the
Civilian Defense organization of
Atlanta. Father Dossogne will be
introduced to his Atlanta audi
ences by Robert Troutman.
WEEK-DAY MASS PLEDGES
AT SUMMERVILLE CHURCH
SUMMERVILLE, S. C.—The Rev.
James A. McElroy, pastor of St.
John’s Church here, is receiving,
from the members of his parish,
pledges to attend at least one
week-day Mass every week for
one year, and to offer the atten
dance at the Holy Sacrifice as a
petition for Divine Protection and
safe return of those serving in the
Army, Navy, Marine Corps and
other of the nation’s armed
forces. The number of Mass
Pledge Cards received by Father
McElroy has been most gratifying.
IT BELONGS IN
YOUR ICEBOX
AT HOME
You enjoy Ice-cold Coca-Cola every place
else; why not at home, too. The whole
family will welcome its pure refreshment.
Get a few bottle3 or a case (24 bottles) from
. your favorite dealer.
WINSTON COCA-COLA
BOTTLING COMPANY
Dedicated in September, 1041, the Colored Mission of St. Benedict
(he Moor. Winston-Salem, North Carolina, contains in one structure
the church, the rectory, and the parish hall. The Rev. Ronald Scott,
O. F. M., is the pastor, and the Rev. Francis A. Gorham, O. F. M., as-
sistanL ’
Winston-Salem Colored Mission