Semper Fi

Normally it can be said of the U.S. marines in peacetime that their whines have tender gripes. But there was nothing normal last week about the bitter feelings of the members of the ready-for-action Fleet Marine Force and their wives and children stationed in and around Japan-except for the profound hope that the imminent arrival of Marine Commandant Randolph McCall Pate would bring relief from their painful problem. The problem: on prodding from Washington, Force headquarters had turned on the pressure to get marines to send home all dependents who had come to Japan on long-term visas, i.e., some 500 wives and children.

For those marines who had ignored the pressure, there were threats of severe "disciplinary action": one high-ranking marine officer received a fitness report with unsatisfactory marks for "judgment and loyalty"; others were similarly threatened. One wife was told by a major that it would be better for her husband's career if she left. Some reluctant officers were summarily transferred to Okinawa, where the U.S. can control entry of dependents. Reported one marine wife: "The morale of the Corps has sunk to the lowest level I've seen in my 13 years."

The day after a shipload of dependents departed for the U.S., Commandant Pate stepped off his plane in Tokyo, his wife on his arm. In one hand he held a statement which in effect proved that he stood firmly on both sides of the question. "I must make it plain," he announced, "that I realize that neither I nor any other military man has the authority to order dependents to return to the U.S. I have the right however ... to expect that [marines] will loyally do their utmost to carry out my announced policy."

Two days later 71 marine wives and children set sail from Yokohama aboard another Navy transport. On the dock, a G.I. band played I Love You Truly and the Marine Corps Hymn. From the upper decks, the wives waved, blew kisses, wept. As the ship got ready to sail, the passengers suddenly unfurled paper signs: "Pate's Paupers," "Love, Cherish and Be Transferred," "Un-American," "Shanghaied." The most cutting of all was a sign emblazoned with the abbreviation of the Marine slogan, "Semper Fi"; next to it was a picture of what Americans in ordure-treasuring Asia called a "honey bucket."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.