Thank you, Father Marceaux, for your service to our military. May you rest in peace! You are a priest forever in the Order of Melchizedech.
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Posted on 09/25/2008 2:58:21 PM PDT by xzins
Army chaplain who had served in Kuwait dies at Walter Reed
Chaplain (Col.) Sidney J. Marceaux
An Army chaplain who ministered to troops for decades died earlier this month after being medically evacuated from Kuwait to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Pentagon announced late Tuesday.
Chaplain (Col.) Sidney J. Marceaux, a Catholic priest, died Sept. 14 at Walter Reed "from a noncombat related illness," according to a news release. He had been serving at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, before being transferred to the Warrior Transition Brigade at Walter Reed, officials said.
A memorial service was held Wednesday in Kuwait, a spokeswoman for U.S. Army Central said.
According to the Web site CatholicMil.Org, "during what was to be his final tour in Kuwait, the 69-year-old priest took sick and was sent to Walter Reed, where he died peacefully in his sleep."
The site quoted another Army chaplain in Iraq, who knew Marceaux, as saying, "It can accurately be said that he died with his boots on. He will truly be missed."
In an August 2007 interview with Stars and Stripes, Marceaux — who was then serving in the Benelux — said, "I loved dropping in on a FOB [forward operating base] where there were just a few guys, armed, tired, dirty and waiting for you."
"If something happens to them," he added, "they want to be reconciled with their creator."
Marceaux was raised in the rice fields of southwest Louisiana, and the Pentagon listed Beaumont, Texas, as his hometown in its news release. He had been set for retirement at the end of 2007, but because of a shortage of Catholic priests in the Army, requested one more active-duty tour.
The assignment that lured him back was ministering to troops in combat.
"I was able to exercise my priesthood in a way I couldn’t in a diocese," Marceaux told Stripes. "I was able to help them face death daily. They knew they had to go out and they knew they may not come back."
Marceaux joined the Army at age 17. As a member of the Texas National Guard from 1955 to 1963, he served as a rifleman, truck driver and radio operator.
He left the Army, finished college and taught social studies at a public high school. Then, in the mid-1970s, a weekend training stint that was part of his seminary studies brought him back to military service. That training was attending to wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Lord Jesus,
May all our chaplains be muddy boot chaplains. Don't clean their boots when they pass through those gates, Lord. Just send them back as angels to serve on the battlefield. They're already dressed to roll out.
Amen.
Prayers up, and may he rest in peace.
A true servant of God and our troops.
May angels carry Chaplain Marceaux unto his rest.
Rest In Peace, Chaplain Marceaux
ping
RIP
We should pray for ourselves, he is no longer in need of prayers other than those that thank the Lord for allowing this fine man to minister to soldiers and Marines.
Thank you, Father Marceaux, for your service to our military. May you rest in peace! You are a priest forever in the Order of Melchizedech.
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As you certainly know, the value of chaplains cannot be measured.
Godspeed Father Marceaux!
They are a light on a hill...
God bless another Chappy.
That last sentence is really interesting. It seems that it was at Walter Reed that he got the calling to become a Chaplain? Then he truly came full circle.
God bless the Chaplain corps.
You and your brethren certainly are and you enjoy the undying gratitude of all patriotic Americans, there is no telling how many lives you've touched by your comfort and spiritual counsel.
Nothing like a battlefield to help us put all differences in perspective, Wagglebee. I can affirm to you that they were so low in priority that they almost didn’t exist.
All of us need mercy, and maybe chaplains more than most, because of what we overlook. But when sanity is insane and insanity is sane, men make decisions that would haunt their souls if someone weren’t there telling them about the merciful God who sent His Son, Jesus.
They wouldn’t have accused the Apostle Paul of saying “go ahead and sin so that grace might abound” if Paul hadn’t been out talking about forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness. No one needs to hear about forgiveness like a soldier on a battlefield.
That’s probably why the Lord used soldiers so often.
I can't even imagine the anguish that so many servicemen have felt. The war on terror is certainly different, but in past wars I'm sure many had to struggle with the truth that the enemy they were actually facing (i.e. the opposing servicemen) were scared and innocent kids, just like them.
Rest In Peace...
My son goes silent when the discussion turns to insurgents hiding among women and children. He’ll say “the rule changed at the end of my tour that you couldn’t fire back.”
And that tormented him as much as the rule that said you could fire.
I know that this caused anguish for a lot of Vietnam vets.
RIP, Catholic soldier.
Gone to his sweet reward!
Thank you for serving, Chaplain Fr. Marceaux.
**Chaplain (Col.) Sidney J. Marceaux, a Catholic priest, **
Prayers for Chaplin Marceaux and his surviving family members.
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MEL’s -PASSION- sparked by -WE WERE SOLDIERS-
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Ping!
Here’s an article about him from July of this year.
Excellent article. Thanks.
God Bless the Chaplains.
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea.
Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
FReeper philly-d-kidder, contractor, is at that camp in Kuwait and sent this.
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