Lt. General Raymond S. McLain, Oklahoma Citizen Soldiers, and the 45th Infantry (The Thunderbirds)

    (PIECE of JAKE) Photo by Bell, Signal Photo Company, SC 18687. Credit NARA. 367. "MM-5-151943"

On Christmas Day 2020, the colorized photograph above appeared in my Facebook feed. I knew immediately that I was looking at something extraordinary. 

These were American soldiers fighting during World War II. 

The Thunderbird Patch

They were praying. 

The photo caption said it was Christmas Day 1943, and these soldiers were praying before Christmas dinner on the Italian front. 

After carefully looking at the photo, I realized these soldiers were not regular army soldiers. They were National Guard "citizen-soldiers."  

And they were from Oklahoma.

These men were farmers, lawyers, teachers, and businessmen back in Oklahoma. But on this day, Christmas Day 1943, south of Rome, they were fighting the Axis powers that they might "give humanity another chance." 

These soldiers were called Thunderbirds, members of the highly decorated Oklahoma National Guard and the 45th Infantry Division that helped the United States win World War II. You can see the Thunderbird patch on the left arm of the soldier that is standing just to the right of Chaplain Harvey Floyd Bell. Chaplain Bell is identified by the traditional chaplain's patch on his left arm,  a red cross on white cloth.

The Thunderbirds route to Rome

Six months before this photo was taken, the Thunderbirds had invaded the island of Sicily.  Using Sicily as their base, the Oklahoma boys stormed the Italian mainland, going ashore at the beaches of Salerno, Italy, on September 10, 1943 (see photo to the left).

The Thunderbirds then moved north, fighting their way toward Rome. It took several days to cross the Colore and Volturno rivers. After crossing the rivers, the soldiers found themselves involved in fierce battles near the Italian city of Venafro. Majestic mountains surround this picturesque Italian city. 

The fighting lasted 40 days and was known as "the days of mud, mules, and mountains." Battling the cold, the wet weather, fatigue, and the tortuous mountain trails that were too steep and winding for jeeps to pass, the Thunderbirds faced extreme peril. The Germans' fanatical resistance and the introduction of the "screaming mimis" - fierce artillery fire that issued screeching screams as it flew toward the soldiers -  it seemed impossible for the Oklahoma boys to take the town and the mountains filled with German troops.  Yet, against all odds, the Thunderbirds opened and secured a pathway to Rome.  The Oklahoma citizen-soldiers made the regular army marvel at their toughness and spirit. 

General Raymond S. McLain

The man responsible for preparing the Oklahoma National Guard to enter World War II was General Raymond Stallings McLain (b. 1890 - d. 1954). 

McLain himself served as a citizen-soldier in Oklahoma, just like the men he commanded. 

Born in Kentucky, McLain moved with his parents in 1907 to the new state of Oklahoma. He was seventeen years of age when he took a job as a clerk for an Oklahoma City abstract office. McLain also joined the newly formed Oklahoma National Guard. 

Although McLain's formal education ended in the sixth grade while in Kentucky, he never stopped learning. McLain taught himself the banking and abstract business, eventually starting his own title and abstract company in Oklahoma City in his early twenties. 

Then came World War I. 

McLain fought with distinction in Europe as a captain, commanding a machine gun company.  Upon returning to Oklahoma City after World War I, McLain went back into the title business, later merging his small company with a larger one. In 1919, at age 29, McLain became president of that merged company. He then began personally buying and selling real estate in a small suburb of Oklahoma City called Edmond. 

McLain was an excellent businessman. He was even a better soldier. McLain remained in the Oklahoma National Guard after World War I. He became an original member of the Oklahoma Thunderbirds 45th Infantry Division at its formation in 1924. For the next twelve years, he served on weekends as a citizen-soldier. In 1937, McLain attended the Special Command and General Staff Class for Guard and Reserve officers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Upon graduation, he became a Brigadier General of the Oklahoma National Guard. 

General McLain was appointed Chief of Staff of the 45th National Guard Division (Thunderbirds). In the years preceding World War II, McLain drilled the troops meticulously. He demanded that all his subordinate officers train their men knowing they might soon be in a very real war.

There could be no shortcuts and no compromise in training. McClain is the reason the citizen-soldiers of Oklahoma became such excellent fighting men. 

When World War II began, the Thunderbirds were ready. They fought with honor and discipline through the end of the war, eventually freeing the inmates at Dachau Concentration Camp. 

Normandy, where Gen. McLain distinguished himself as commander of the 90th Infantry Division

McLain himself fought with distinction at Sicily, in Italy, and on the beaches of Normandy. The Army needed his leadership. During the Battle of Normandy in August 1944, McLain briefly took command of the 90th Infantry Division, a division that had numerous command problems and was in need of a strong commander. He quickly transformed the 90th into a first-class fighting formation, just as he had done with the Oklahoma Thunderbirds. McLain led the 90th across France in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine, leading them to victory in numerous battles along the Western Front. 

In October 1944, McLain assumed command of the XIX Corps and remained the commander of the XIX Corps for the rest of the war. General Raymond Stallings McLain was the only National Guardsman to command a corps during World War II combat. McClain was the first guardsman to be given a battlefield promotion of two stars, and the first citizen soldier to command an army corps in battle since Dan Sickles raised a corps in New York and led it to Gettysburg. McLain's XIX Corps defeated the Germans at Julich, improbably conquering the 600-year-old German fortress that the Allied forces deemed near impregnable. General Dwight D. Eisenhower credited the Allied victory at Julich to General McLain's aggressive tactics.

Maj. Gen. McLain, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lt. Gen. William Simpson at Julich Fortress, Nov. 1944

 

"General McLain in his person, elevated and gave great distinction to the term ‘citizen soldier, ” said General George C. Marshall in 1949.

 

Tulsa McLain High School

The Oklahoma Hall of Fame inducted Raymond S. McLain in its class of 1945. McLain Magnet High School for Science and Technology in Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as Tulsa McClain High School, took its name in honor of General McLain. 

Fort Leavenworth inducted Raymond McLain into its Hall of Fame. To this day, General McClain remains the only National Guardsman so honored by Fort Leavenworth.

The prestigious LIEUTENANT GENERAL RAYMOND S. McLAIN MEDAL was established in 1999 and is awarded annually to a serving or former member of the United States National Guard who has contributed most to the advancement of the goal of the Association of the United States Army, the goal of a seamless and component-integrated U.S. Army.

For McLain's distinguished service in the war, he was appointed a brigadier general in the Regular Army. Later, he became the comptroller of the United States Army and was appointed the army's first statutory comptroller general. At the time of his death in 1954, he served on President Dwight D. Eisenhower's National Security Training Commission.

Raymond Stallings McLain died at Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, D.C., on December 14, 1954, at 64.

Lieutenant General McLain's ribbon bar:

Lieutenant General McLain's decorations include Distinguished Service Cross with Oak leaf Cluster (Sicily, 1943 and France, 1944), the Army Distinguished Service Medal with Oak leaf Cluster (France, 1944 and Germany, 1945), Silver Star (Italy, 1943), Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Oak leaf Cluster (Italy, 1944 and Germany, 1945), Mexican Border Service Medal, World War I Victory Medal with two battle clasps, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver and three bronze service stars and Arrowhead device, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, French Croix de Guerre 1939–1945, Grand officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau with swords, Commander of the Order of Leopold II and Belgian Croix de Guerre.

AND NOW THE REST OF THE STORY...

Robert McLain had an eye for real estate. While scouring far north Oklahoma City in the late 1920s, about three miles south of downtown Edmond, Oklahoma, McLain spotted an ideal property to buy for himself and a group of six investors, all fellow officers in the Oklahoma National Guard. McLain described the large property as "a beautiful piece of wooded high ground." General McLain would build for himself a "two-story log cabin" near Eastern Avenue, calling his home Tree Tops. McLain, his wife, son, and daughters all lived at Tree Tops during the 1930s. The family remained behind at Tree Tops when General McLain went to Europe to fight during World War II. 

Tree Tops - The Home of Raymond McLain - Hand-painted for a Mrs. Akright Christmas Card

According to the official biography of General McClain, written by Raymond's daughter, Dr. Betty McLain Belvin, Tree Tops House played a vital role in the formation of McLain's leadership skills and ultimate success on the battlefield during World War II. Betty Belvin writes:

"McLain would study military problems long into the night at Tree Tops, at first by gaslight and then by windmill-generated electric light. He talked over historic battles with his friends (the other officers who owned homes at Reveille Retreat), knowing full well that rumors of genocide and of madman Adolf Hitler's theats in Mein Kampf would have to be reckoned with." 

Tree Tops was McLain's dream home, reminding him of his roots in Kentucky. But after World War II, when the Army asked General McLain to serve as the United States Army's comptroller with the rank of Brigadier General in the Regular Army, McLain decided to sell his log home and move to Washington D.C.  The McLain family sold Tree Tops to the Akright family. 

Though seven Oklahoma National Guard officers built their homes in the wooded area the men called Reveille Retreat, I will highlight only two more.

Raymond McClain's son, Ray Jr., became fast friends with oilman Baird Markham's son, Baird Jr. The elder Markham had been promoted to Brigadier General of the Oklahoma National Guard in 1923. General Baird's son and General McClain's son would often play together in the Reveille Retreat woods. 

The McClain and Markham houses were joined by many footpaths through the woods. In 1937, at age 21, Baird Markham Jr. would make national headlines after he was kidnapped for ransom while out examining an oil lease for his father near Ada, Oklahoma. Baird Jr. was kidnapped by Charles Chapman and Pete Traxel, two men at the top of America's Most Wanted list, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Markham Kidnapping, as well as the Charles Urschel kidnapping, were instrumental in saving J. Edgar Hoover from being fired as FBI Director by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Col. Bolend, Chief Surgeon, 45th Infantry

Another home, just northwest of McLain's Tree Tops log house, was built by Colonel Rex Bolend. Col. Bolend, a private practice physician (urologist), served as the Chief Surgeon for the 45th Infantry. Bolend built a log home similar to the two-story Tree Tops house that McClain had built. 

Rex Bolend called his home at Reveille Retreat the Dormar House. The name came from the first three initials of Colonel Bolend's daughter Dorothy and the first three initials of his wife Martha.  Colonel Bolend, General McLain, and General Markham, were close friends, as were the other four officers who built a total of seven homes in Reveille Retreat. All of them were outstanding soldiers for the United States. The road that connected Tree Tops with Dormar House and the other officer's homes was appropriately called Reveille Road.

The elegant and peaceful log homes built in the beautiful woods north of Oklahoma City, about three miles south of downtown Edmond and just east of Eastern Road, are a tribute to a much simpler time in the life of America.  

In 1950, Colonel Rex Bolend sold Dormar House to my grandfather Frederick Tinsley Donne Cherry and my grandmother Virginia (Salyer) Cherry. My grandfather, a former All-Big 6 tight end for the University of Oklahoma, scored the first touchdown in the newly opened Cotton Bowl when Oklahoma played Texas in the fall of 1930. More importantly, my grandfather joined the Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) while at the University of Oklahoma, and he drilled under all the Colonels and Generals who built their homes in Reveille Retreat. Fred T. Cherry joined other Oklahoma National Guardsmen in fighting the Germans during World War II. My grandfather drove a jeep with John 3:16 emblazoned on the side, and fought with other 45th Infantrymen (The Thunderbirds) from Oklahoma in the southern portion of the Battle of the Bulge. 

After the war, my father used his petroleum engineering degree to take a job in the oil fields of East Texas. That's where he met my grandmother. Soon, my father decided to give up "the oil business" and become an evangelist. His friendship with the ROTC officers at Reveille Retreat, and his notoriety as an Oklahoma football and track star, probably helped secure the purchase of Colonel Rex Bolend's home for this young, but growing Cherry family. 

My mother, Mary Cherry (Burleson), was a young girl when she and her siblings moved into what they came to call "Cherry Hollow." She and her brothers and sisters have fond memories of walking down Reveille Road (see the modern Google map below), fishing in the man-made muddy lake at the bottom of Tree Tops, and exploring the creeks, woods, and hills of the Reveille Retreat. 

My mother first met my father, Paul Burleson, when he visited my grandfather Fred Cherry one afternoon in late 1957 at the Dormar House.  Fred Cherry had become an evangelist after his Oklahoma football days and short oilfield career. My father was a young music evangelist scheduled to lead music at one of Fred Cherry's evangelistic revivals. Paul Burleson walked into Dormar House  to talk with Fred Cherry about the evangelistic meeting and met Fred's daughter, Mary Cherry, on Christmas Day 1957. Two nights later, December 27, 1957, my mother came to hear her father preach and her future husband lead the music. Their relationship began at Dormar House.

A red rose by the long gravel drive that leads down to Cherry Hollow in Edmond, Oklahoma.

I have many memories of spending holidays with my maternal Cherry family at the house. I remember repairing a fence with my grandfather Fred Cherry, one of my clearest memories of spending time with him as a boy. My grandparents are now gone, and my uncle, Fred Cherry, now lives at Dormar House, the place we now call Cherry Hollow. Fred has turned the property into a one-of-a-kind country showpiece. 

The wooded Reveille Retreat area is no longer in "the middle of nowhere." In 1957, Oklahoma Christian University built its campus a half-mile north of Cherry Hollow. Modern subdivisions now surround the old Dormar House, but the oak and blackjack trees remain so thick, and the driveways so long, once you arrive in the woods, it still feels like you are in the middle of the woods. It must be close to the same feeling that General McLain, General, Markham, Colonel Bolend, and the other National Guard officers felt when they built and lived in their homes nearly a century ago. All of these men of Reveille Retreat played a significant role in the Allied Forces winning World War II.

Of the seven homes that the officers of the Oklahoma National Guard built at Reveille Retreat during the late 1920s and early 1930s, only Dormar House remains (now Fred Cherry's home). General McClain's home, purchased by the Akright family, burned to the ground in a fire caused by a floor furnace during Thanksgiving Week, 1975. General Raymond S. McLain, the original purchaser of the property he and his friends called Reveille Retreat, died of leukemia at Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C. on December 14, 1954. To this day, Raymond McLain remains the most decorated National Guard officer in the history of the American military.

Dormar House, now maintained with exquisite country beauty by Fred Cherry, the author's uncle.

A back bedroom on the second floor of Dormar House (now called Cherry Hollow)

One of the advantages of knowing history is the ability to have one's soul anchored by the past and built for hope in the future. Reveille Retreat in Edmond and the old Dormar House (our Cherry Hollow), does both for me. 

The Burlesons eating dinner at Cherry Hollow on Labor Day, 2020

As 2020 comes to a close and we begin another year, I am grateful for God's grace in being a Christian, an Oklahoman, an American, a historian, and someone who never takes for granted the people of our past, the special moments of our present, and the marvelous hope for a bright future because our God is good and gracious all the time.

I leave you with a memorable violin solo played for us on the second floor of the Dormar House by Fred Cherry as we ate dinner there on Labor Day 2020. As you listen to Fred Cherry play, say a prayer for all the men and women serving in the United States Armed Forces. As I listen, I'll give thanks to God for all those who've risked their lives that Americans might be able to live in a country of peace and liberty. Thank you, General McLain, General Markham, Colonel Bolend, and all the other Oklahoma National Guard officers  (Thunderbirds) who built your homes at Reveille Retreat. Thank you for defeating the Nazis during World War II that we might enjoy a peaceful, family dinner at the place you once called home.  

Happy New Year to all my family and friends! 

20 Questions for a Pastor Who Doesn't Wear a Mask Unless He's Sick or Around Sick People

That pastor is me. If you don't know me, you can read about me here. These 20 questions are all good. I've been asked them during the last six months. I thought I'd summarize my answers to give some encouragement to those who think like I.

1. Why don't you wear a mask? 

In short, I believe wearing a mask when I am healthy is an unwise act scientifically and socially. However, were I sick and had to go to the pharmacy or store for medicine,  I would wear a mask to help mitigate the spread of my 'dis-ease.' 

2. But what if every other healthy person is wearing a mask?

I don't try to change people. We have a man who wears a dress, women's jewelry, painted nails, and pantyhose when he attends the church I pastor. I don't force him to dress like a man, nor will I dress like a woman to make him feel more comfortable. I do not force anyone to take off their mask, nor will I wear a mask to make people feel more comfortable.

3. Can't you spread Covid-19 without having symptoms?

The Great Barrington Declaration and leading epidemiologists believe "there is no scientific evidence that symptom-free people without cough or fever spread the Corona disease."

4. But if so many people are infected with Covid-19 unknowingly, shouldn't everyone wear a mask?

One of the fundamental rules in infectiology is the necessity to differentiate between “infection” (invasion and multiplication of an agent in the host) and “infectious disease” (infection with ensuing illness). If you have Covid-19 and have no symptoms, you are not sick, and you are not infectious. 

5. But if an unmasked infected person 'coughs' for the FIRST time, can't Covid-19 spread?

Yes. But the science seems clear. Masks do not prevent the spread of coronaviruses. Covid-19 and other coronaviruses (there are many) are spread even when masks are worn. Washing hands, practicing good hygiene, staying home when sick are the best ways to mitigate the spread.

6. But since nursing homes and hospitals require masks, shouldn't everyone else wear a mask?

Even with full Personal Protection Equipment, complete isolation from the public, and strict sanitization, the vulnerable and elderly still get Covid-19 in nursing homes and hospitals. Extreme mitigation efforts rightfully take place in these facilities to stop the spread of Covid-19, but people still get infected.  That's the nature of a pandemic. But for your information, the spread of coronaviruses occurs often in hospitals and nursing homes with influenza and colds, just like Covid-19. The vulnerable are susceptible to coronaviruses, and targeted restrictions to help mitigate the spread in nursing homes and hospitals are appropriate. The best thing we can do for the elderly and vulnerable is to never enter a care-center with a cough or fever or without washing our hands. 

7. But wouldn't Jesus wear a mask in public if there was even a small chance it would help others?

No. I do not believe Jesus would wear a mask because I believe He would know masking healthy people would do more damage than good. However, I do not fault you for your belief that Jesus would wear a mask because you believe He would know that doing so would be for the good of others. We both agree that Jesus would think of others. We are also both thinking of others though we act differently. We just disagree over whether it is "good" for others when healthy people wear masks. We both want to do the good and the right thing. Let's agree to disagree. 

8. But what 'damage' could possibly exist by demanding healthy people mask?

Outside of potential damage to one's personal health, covering the faces of the healthy brings social damage. The face is a place of grace. A smile lightens the day. Being around people with faces covered is like drawing the shades on a sunny day. More importantly, once healthy people acquiesce to government mandates to cover their faces, then governments further encroach on civil liberties by locking people in their homes, restricting travel, shuttering churches and schools, and demanding vaccinations and tracking mechanisms. Social conformity is the mother of socialism and communism. Liberty is the mother of America. 

8. But what if the government decides to mandate (by law) that a healthy person must wear a mask at all times?

I will break the law. 

9. But Jesus told us to "obey the government in all things"?

No, He did not. In fact, Jesus "broke the law" of the land to feed His disciples on the Sabbath. If a government's actions are unjust, it is incumbent upon the people to violate the law. In the history of America, one generation's lawbreakers are the next generation's heroes. Moral people break the law for the higher good.

10. But how is wearing a mask unjust?

You misunderstand. A person freely choosing to wear a mask is not an unjust act. It's a mandatory law that requires healthy people to wear a mask that is unjust. It is forced compliance on a matter that violates the conscience. It's like the government forcing me to say 2 + 2 = 5, even if I don't believe it. 

11. But what if a business owner requires a mask to enter his shop?

I will politely put on a mask if I need something in his store, or I will politely leave. I believe it is the business owner's right in a free enterprise system to demand that a mask be worn in his shop, and I will not oppose the owner but might decide to shop elsewhere. Cakes and masks have much in common.

12. So you never wear a mask if you are not sick?

There are a few exceptions. If I must go into a hospital, a nursing home, or minister to a family where that family requests to wear a mask because they have vulnerable people in their home, then I will wear a mask if requested. 

13. Do you believe the pandemic is real?

Yes. However, Covid-19 is not nearly as deadly as previous worldwide pandemics. SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) barely meets the classical standards of a pandemic.

14. Have you lost friends because of your stance?

Yes, but I will always be a friend to them, even if they de-friend me. I "sometimes offend but am never offended." Meaning, I don't expect people to think, act, or live like I, but I recognize that some people base friendship on their expected conformity of those they choose to befriend. I understand and accept their decision to no longer be my friend. I will always have a spirit of friendship for them.

15. Would you ever change your position on wearing a mask in public?

Sure. If science persuaded me that covering the mouths and noses of healthy people kept people from getting sick. I am not persuaded by science.

16. But don't you care what other people think of you?

I care more about people and what's best for them. And right now, I believe it's best that they see a pastor who is uninterested in being popular, unconcerned about being accepted, and only concentrating on living by a principle of doing what is best for others, even in the face of opposition. Refusing to wear a mask when I am healthy is what I believe to be best for society. I'm thinking of others.

17. But people think you are selfish, don't they?

Some do. I don't blame them. They believe that they are wearing a mask for "the good of others." But they either don't take the time to see that I think I am not wearing a mask for "the good of others," or they disagree with me and wish to force me to be like them. If I believed for one moment that putting on a mask when I am healthy would save ONE life or would bring "greater social good," then I would wear a mask. I do not believe that to be true. However, I'm uninterested in forcing others to see it my way. I accept and encourage people to be free to do what they believe is best and to not judge the motives of those who think, act, and live differently than they think, act, or live.  I am also unfazed by others who wish to force me to see it their way. I change when I am persuaded by science and the common good.

18. But could you not wear a mask so others would not be so angry?

No. I would be living a lie and would be violating my conscience. The Bible calls me to not be concerned about pleasing men. Anger is never the problem; it is only the surface symptom of a greater underlying and unseen issue. I believe I'm dealing with bigger issues. 

19. How do you lead your church to worship in public gatherings?

We tell people if they have a cough, fever, or other symptoms to stay home. We provide online services. We also encourage people to wash their hands and provide hand wash at every entrance. For those comfortable wearing a mask, we provide masks if they don't have one. We've added additional services to provide comfortable spacing for people to sit. But we don't force anything. We encourage people to respect other people and their boundaries, not to judge people for why they are doing what they are doing, and not to force your views on others. Our motto is: "Feel Free. Stay Safe. Love Loud."

20. Do you believe any good can come from this 2020 pandemic?

Yes. I believe that people are awakened to the truth that they are not in control of their lives as they once thought.  The LORD is. Trust in the LORD and lean not to your own understanding of what is happening. God has a way of bringing proud people low so that He might exalt humble people who trust in Him.