[Headnote]
Variety of duty hits all time high with Marines at Henderson Hall, HQMC.
Picture Not
Shown
This
tranquil scene at the Henderson Hall main gate changes when Marines
return from their daily duty at HQMC
THE
early summer of 1943 brought and obvious change to Marine Corps
Headquarters-Women Reserves had arrived in the
Washington
area to fill vacancies and relieve men for combat duty. Living quarters
for the lady Marines were established at the newly-built post, Henderson
Hall. By the end of 1944 Headquarters had occupied two wings of the Navy
Annex in Arlington, Va., and Henderson Hall, across the street, had
become the largest all Women Marine post in the country with nearly 2000
Reservists.
Today
these wooden wartime structures are faded a bit and in need of some
repair but Henderson Hall is still the hub of activity for many of the
personnel who are closely affiliated with the sources of Corps affairs.
The post is the home of Headquarters Battalion, Headquarters Marine
Corps. and the duties of its personnel range from clerical work in the
administrative offices of Headquarters to security patrols at American
embassies in many parts of the world. Here is a unique organization in
which 20 per cent of the personnel are officers and one of every third
enlisted is a staff non-commissioned officer. A growing Women Marine
Company completes this highly efficient team which is performing the
many new duties and responsibilities of the postwar service.
The
barracks, named after former Commandant Brigadier General Archibald
Henderson, are situated on the ground which borders Arlington National
Cemetery on the west. This site, 15 minutes by bus from downtown
Washington, D. C., had been purchased from private owners and
construction work was started in the spring of 1943.
Women
Reservists lived at Henderson Hall until they were disbanded in
September, 1946. The few women who remained on active duty were given
subsistence and quarters allowances and the barracks were made available
to the men of Headquarters Battalion. Single men moved into the barracks
while the married men continued living on SQA until August, 1949, when
all allowances were discontinued. The only sub and quarters allowances
presently authorized are for women non-commissioned officers and a few
privates first class. The newly recruited women privates and PFCs live
with the Waves in their
Potomac
Park barracks in Washington.
Pictures
Not Shown
Lieutenant Colonel W. M. Platt, skipper of Headquarters Battalion,
tries a few frames on the above-par post alleys
Marines return from Headquarters to Henderson Hall on the right. Navy
Annex is in the background. At left is part of
Arlington National Cemetery
Leatherneck artist
Sam
Fisher puts the finishing touches on a cover for a future issue of the
magazine
The
compound and buildings of Henderson Hall are laid out with one large
building in the center containing the galley and mess hall, a chapel,
the beer hall, and Headquarters and Service Company's squadrooms.
Standard H-shaped barracks are built around the main building on well
landscaped ground overlooking the cemetery. Four of the six barracks are
still used for living quarters. Leatherneck Magazine and the offices of
the Eastern Pay Area occupy one of the remaining barracks; the other
building contains the transient officers' quarters, photographic
services, and the inspector general's office. The first two pay grades
live luxuriously in the former women officers' quarters.
A
multitude of duties and assignments radiate from the company offices
located in these barracks. Many of the personnel attached to the rosters
of Headquarters Battalion are never seen around the barracks. Only half
of the personnel working in Headquarters live at Henderson Hall, while
several hundred more are on detached duty, both in the States and
overseas. There are more than 500 officers living in the
Washington
area who are on the battalion roster.
Picture
Not Shown
A
few stragglers from Headquarters are bound for
noon
chow at the Henderson Hall mess. Some comraters bring lunch, others
use Headquarters pay cafeteria
Activity starts with reveille at 0545 and the work day begins at 0800
when the men pour out of the barracks to the Annex and the offices in
which they work. Others report to the Pentagon or other buildings in the
Washington area for duty. These men are joined by more than 350 married
Marines on commuted rations, the Women Marines, and hundreds of civil
service workers.
Maintenance and security of the compound and barracks are taken care of
by Headquarters and Service Company. The daily guard has 11 posts
including security watches at the Navy Annex, Main Navy and Potomac
River Annex in Washington, and at the office of the Chief of Naval
Operations in the Pentagon. Washington Area Auditors and the Eastern
Cooks and Bakers Team arc attached to this company.
The
bulk of "A" and "B" companies personnel work in the Annex. Company "A"
personnel arc administrative and work in the various offices of division
level-the divisions of Recruiting. Reserve. Public Information and Plans
and Policies. Company "B" includes the Disbursing, Quartermaster and
Supply personnel in the battalion.
Over
600 officers are on the rolls of Company "C." Nearly 100 of them are
detached to various Stateside and overseas stations while the others
work in Headquarters, the Pentagon, Main Navy and other offices in the
Washington area. The 250 women of Company "E" work in an administrative
and clerical capacity in the offices throughout Headquarters.
Members of Company "D" are found on duty from Capitol Hill to the
Pentagon. Marine chauffeurs serve Admiral Dennison. Naval Aide to the
President, Admirals Leahy and King and the Navy Secretary for Air. The
orderly-receptionists in the offices of the Secretary of Defense and the
Secretary of the Navy are Marines. Personnel from Company "D" are
assigned to duty in the Navy Annex offices of Headquarters Division of
Aviation and Headquarters Flight Section at Anacostia. Company "D" also
furnishes personnel for Leatherneck Magazine and the post garage.
Picture
Not Shown
An
old timer at Henderson Halls points out one of the original barracks
which housed Women Marines daring War II
The
Casual Company from this post has the choice duty but Master Sergeant
Joseph E. Fair, first sergeant of the company since it was organized
last January, has the headaches. Slightly bald, the desk-bound top kick
claims he got that way trying to keep up with the movements of his men
who are truly living up to the Marine Corps recruiting slogan-"Travel,
adventure, and education." Presently there are more than 300 men
overseas with the State Department, 17 students finishing their third
year of guided missiles instruction at Johns Hopkins University. TQM
personnel on transports in two oceans, aides to Naval attaches in
several embassies, instructors in NROTC units at all leading
universities and colleges, and students in several service and trade
schools.
The
work week stretches into five and a half days with all companies,
including the women, carrying out a Saturday morning school and drill
schedule. Personnel are divided into port and starboard watches so that
every other weekend is free. Training schedules for both men and women
follow the master plan set up by Headquarters Marine Corps for all posts
and stations. No one is exempt and at close order drill, multi-hashmarked
master sergeants swing along in cadence with their junior Marine
brothers.
Pictures
Not Shown
Cold
suds for half a buck is popular at the Henderson Hall slopchute where
a huge TV set, a lusty juke box and snow artists make a noisy, happy
chorus
All
enlisted ranks attend bi-weekly Saturday morning schools at Henderson
Hall. Here, an instructor tells about civil disturbances
A gab-fest with a buddy on Pavuvu is arranged by MSgt. F. A. Martin
over the battalion ham radio station
Keen
interest and competition is shown in intra-mural sports on the post. The
tennis courts, bowling alleys and swimming pool are very popular.
Although Headquarters Battalion athletes compete in the Potomac River
Naval Command conference, little interest is shown in its contests. This
year the women brought the only championship to Henderson Hall by
winning the area softball playoff from the Fort Meade WACS. (A previous
playoff game was called because of roughness and darkness).
The
abundance of entertainment in the
Washington
area accommodates the great numbers of service personnel who converge on
the city nightly. Liberty hounds may choose from a stage show in a
downtown bar to the best in professional sports. Griffith Stadium, the
home of the Washington Redskins pro football team and the Washington
Senators baseball club, provides almost a year 'round schedule of
entertainment in the big-time league. Tickets for a long and varied
schedule of other sport events-collegiate, service and professional-are
available in the vicinity and in neighboring
Quantico.
Off
hours may find Marines in classes, night clubbing, or dabbling in
favorite hobbies. A number of people are enrolled in correspondence
courses and some have wedged in a course in local civilian schools.
Others prefer to relax in the post beer hall which has a large
television screen. A hobby which
grew into a full time job is the one belonging to Master Sergeant F. A.
Martin, a recent arrival from WesPac. A communications chief, he now
maintains and operates a short wave radio station-call letters
W4NTR-located in one of the buildings in Henderson Hall. Several
of the Women Marines sing in the combined chorus of the new radio
program, "Time for Defense," which is broadcast weekly by the American
Broadcasting Company from Lisner Auditorium on the campus of George
Washington University.
Pictures Not Shown
The
area championship for women's soft ball teams went to the gals from
the Headquarters Battalion. The women won in a hotly contested playoff
with WACS
At
close of swimming season at Henderson Hall pool a few die-hards hang
on to a chilly end.
During summer many Marines forego
noon
chow for a cool dip
Marines interested in American history have a field day while on duty at
Henderson Hall. In the nation's capital are the archives of the historic
documents of the United States and the surrounding countryside is a
tourist's paradise of battlefields and monuments of the Revolutionary
and Civil Wars.
During
the past year there has been a heavy turnover of personnel in
Headquarters Battalion. The rotation system has struck deeply among the
wartime plank-owners. New personnel find the duty pleasant and the food
possibly the best in the Corps.
The
married men have a problem, though. There is still a big housing
shortage in the Washington area and suitable quarters for families are
difficult to find. A married man's first few days in this area are spent
with a real estate dealer in a search for quarters. The great number of
military and civilian personnel residing in the immediate vicinity has
made it necessary for many of the Marines to solve their housing
problems temporarily by buying homes in the residential districts of
Maryland and Virginia and commuting up to 25 miles to and from work each
day.
Personnel of Henderson Hall are proud of their work and carry on in a
spirit worthy of the name of their barracks. It was the foresight and
ability of Gen. Henderson. whose tour of duty as Commandant of the Corps
extended over a period of 39 years, that first gave the Corps a national
reputation. In an efficient manner Marines today are preserving and
keeping before the world the reputation which grew on the foundation
laid a century ago by Gen. Henderson-a reputation of versatile and
faithful service.
Sidebar
Hundreds of men attached to the "Hall" are never seen on the base