Posted on 03/25/2005 11:17:53 PM PST by Former Military Chick
"Blessed Be the Lord ... Who Trains My Arms for Battle" Psalm 144:1
"The safest place for me to be is in the center of God's will, and if that is in the line of fire, that is where I will be." - Fr. Tim Vakoc, Army chaplain
Washington, D.C. -- War can bring out the worst in man. The crucible of combat tests one's faith in self, in fellow man -- even faith in God. It is particularly so in this war on terror -- where at any moment a brutal, suicidal and fanatical enemy can blow himself to pieces just to kill an American. Yet on Easter Sunday in Iraq and Afghanistan, where our troops brave these dangers daily, tens of thousands of young Americans will attend Resurrection services where they will pray for their enemies. Those who lead those Easter rituals, the holiest in Christendom, are garbed in the same sun-bleached camouflage as the troops kneeling before them. We call them Chaplains. They are part of what make us "different" from our enemy -- and they are a remarkable lot.
My wife and I were married before a Navy Chaplain assigned to the Marine Base at Quantico. When I was wounded in Vietnam, it was Commander Jake Laboon, our Regimental Chaplain, who called out "take this one next," as the triage Corpsmen ran in to get another litter patient for emergency surgery. Chaplains Bob Beddingfield and Don Dulligan spent months in the field with my Marines -- braving enemy fire to minister to them. As our children were born, other chaplains baptized them in chapels around the country. To say that these "men of the cloth" were an important part of my life in the service would be an understatement. And so it is today for the young Americans I see on my trips to Southwest Asia.
The chaplains in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and offshore in the Persian Gulf -- are cut from the same bolt of "cloth" as those I recall from my days in uniform. They minister to a "flock" -- one of the youngest in the world -- full of Americans only a few months out of high school -- all of whom are scared whether they show it or not. By the time these "parishioners" return to the United States they will have confronted more suffering and death -- and had more responsibility -- than their civilian contemporaries will experience the rest of their lives. Yet, if the statistics are right, the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan have a lower incidence of "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome" than any troops in history. Thanks for that should go, in part, to the chaplains.
Two years ago this week, I was covering the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force for Fox News as they battled their way north toward Baghdad. In the aftermath of furious gunfights I saw chaplains tending the wounded, comforting friends of the fallen and encouraging the weary. On numerous occasions I've heard chaplains like Carey Cash, Frank Holley and Brian Weigelt remind young warriors that despite the horror of combat, the incredible fatigue and the terrifying sights, sounds and smells of war -- the God who made them did not intend that they descend into savagery.
After the capture of Baghdad and Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, the true nature of our opponent became evident. Iraq was flooded with foreign "jihadists" like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who encouraged brutal, inhuman atrocities in an effort to break the spirit of the Iraqi people -- and the Americans who had come to offer them the hope of freedom. The "slaughter houses" in Fallujah -- where American, Iraqi and other hostages were beheaded by masked terrorists posing for cameras -- exemplify the stark difference between "us" and "them." After a Marine-Army assault liberated the city from the terrorists who had ruled it for months, Chaplain Bill Divine told a group of Marines at a memorial service for their fallen comrades, "There is nothing more Christian than what we are doing here."
Liberal critics of military chaplains take statements like that out of a spiritual context and try to give it a secular intent. But Father Devine wasn't making a political statement -- nor one intended to enflame the passions of Islamic radicals who hate Christians and Jews. Rather, his words refer to the mission of ridding the country of those who would prevent the Iraqi people from ever enjoying their God-given freedom. Who better to give that message than a chaplain -- and who better to receive it than those who had just paid a terrible price vanquishing real evil?
Thankfully, the detractors have not yet had their day. We've had military chaplains since the Continental Congress created them on 29 July 1775 at the request of George Washington. "By God's grace" -- words Washington used more than once -- we have had great chaplains ministering to our warriors -- and setting an example -- in every war and conflict since. Often, their example reminds us of what Easter is all about.
On 1 February 1943, the U.S. Army Transport Dorchester, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Greenland. Four chaplains -- one Jewish, two Protestant and one Roman Catholic -- distributed life jackets to those unable to make it into lifeboats. When the jackets ran out, they gave their own to the next four soldiers in line. The four Chaplains were among the 672 who perished in the icy waters. Their sacrifice allowed others to live and still inspires others to better lives.
Today, Father Tim Vakoc, quoted above, slips in and out of a coma. Last May, while ministering to U.S. soldiers near Mosul, he suffered a terrible head injury when his Humvee hit an Improvised Explosive Device. Chaplain Vakoc was the first chaplain wounded in Iraq. He too was living the meaning of Easter.
Few people can put you there like Ollie can. A year or so ago, Ollie North led a Prayer Breakfast at the White House. His words nearly brought this old fart to tears. I will try and find his remarks and post them. Ollie is a true Patriot.
Mike
Good stuff. Thanks and Happy Easter! That is what it's all about don't ya know.
Ollie North's War Stories series reminds me of our price for freedom...
BTTT
Carey Cash - I think that's the guy who wrote "A Table in the Presence". It was a terrific book, and a real eye-opener. Miraculous escapes from harm, soldiers converting to Christ - it's an uplifting story. I highly recommend "A Table in the Presence".
Thanks to Ollie North for writing on the little-reported chaplains. They do important work.
Indeed they do thanks for the comment.
Thanks
Thanks for posting this. Oliver North is a breath of fresh air, we need many more like him.
Have a wonderful and safe Easter Weekend.
Happy Easter
My brother in law was on the U.S.S. New Orleans during Pearl Harbor.
Howell Forgy, aboard the U.S.S. New Orleans; during the Japanese attack, was that Chaplain. He was a Lieutenant (j.g.) on that Sunday morning in December, 1941.
Another Lieutenant who had been in charge of an ammunition line on the USS New Orleans during the attack remembered.
"I heard a voice behind me saying, Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. I turned and saw Chaplain Forgy walking toward me along the line of men. He was patting the men on the back and making that remark to cheer them and keep them going. I know it helped me a lot, too", he said.
Another Lieutenant j.g. said, the men aboard the USS New Orleans would thereafter kid Chaplain Forgy about the role he played whenever they heard the song that had been written. They also encouraged him to set the record straight as to who actually said what. According to that same Lieutenant the Chaplain would decline saying he felt "the episode should remain a legend rather than be associated with any particular person."
Author McDowell said that press reporters were eventually permitted to interview men of the U.S.S. New Orleans involved in the "ammunition" story. Chaplain Forgy's superior officers set up a meeting with some of the press and; at last, the the real story of the wonderful song and the wonderful man who had inspired it was finally confirmed.
Thank you for this thread, I met Ollie 13 years ago in Pensacola, FL. He is one of the greatest AMERICANS that I have ever have the HONOR of meeting. It is because of MEN like him that makes me proud to be an AMERICAN. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!
Thank you.
Have a peaceful Easter.
>I know there are more important issues then Ollie's thoughts
No, at the moment, I think not. Thanks for posting this.
God bless and a holy Easter to you.
bttt
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