“Chaplains assigned to those units found themselves spending far more time comforting the wounded and praying for the fallen—and trying to evade capture— than they did in ministering to the living.” – Mark W. Johnson, Ph.D. Branch Historian, U.S. Army Chaplain Corps in “Under Fire: Army Chaplains in Korea, 1950”
The lead image of a recent column by a fellow contributor is of a U.S. postage stamp, “Those Immortal Chaplains,” honoring four U.S. military chaplains who, after their ship was hit by a German torpedo and began to sink in the icy North Atlantic, gave their life jackets to other soldiers and went down with the U.S.S. Dorchester.
A few Memorial days ago, I honored these brave military men of God — along with other fallen heroes — in an all-too-brief way:
The German torpedo that sank the U.S.S. Dorchester plying the icy waters of the North Atlantic in February 1943 didn’t know or care that among its 672 casualties there would be four U.S. military chaplains (all U.S. Army lieutenants): a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi and two Protestant ministers. After giving their life jackets away to other soldiers, “the four chaplains” were last seen standing on the deck of the sinking ship, arms linked and praying together.
That one paragraph really does not justice to the heroism, devotion, dedication and true love for the soldiers entrusted to them for spiritual guidance displayed by these military chaplains.
I did not even mention their names.
They were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed.
They could have been of any faith.
In an article describing in much more detail the selfless actions of these four magnificent men, the author paints the scene of utter chaos, panic and despair and how “through the pandemonium…four Army chaplains brought hope in despair and light in darkness…”
One of the survivors, John Ladd, who saw the chaplains’ selfless acts, says, “It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven.”
The article’s author agrees:
Ladd’s response is understandable. The altruistic action of the four chaplains constitutes one of the purest spiritual and ethical acts a person can make. When giving their life jackets, Rabbi Goode did not call out for a Jew; Father Washington did not call out for a Catholic; nor did the Reverends Fox and Poling call out for a Protestant. They simply gave their life jackets to the next man in line.
In the conclusion to “The Saga of the Four Chaplains” we read, “Of the 902 men aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, 672 died, leaving 230 survivors. When the news reached American shores, the nation was stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy and heroic conduct of the four chaplains.”
This happened during World War II, the night of Feb. 2, 1943.
Fast forward to 1950 and the Korean War and to the selflessness and love for his fellow soldiers — regardless of religion, or no religion at all — by a young military chaplain who, in the words of president Obama, was “An American soldier who didn’t fire a gun, but who wielded the mightiest weapon of all, the love for his brothers, so pure, that he was willing to die so they might live.”
The President used those words when, on April 11, 2013, he posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest honor for valor in combat, to an Army chaplain, Capt. Emil J. Kapaun.
President Barack Obama awards the Medal of Honor to Army Chaplain (Capt.) Emil Kapaun, accepted posthumously by his nephew, Ray, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, April 11, 2013.
The story of Father Kapaun’s courage, selflessness and compassion that earned him such high honor is probably best described by some of the words used by the President during the ceremony:
“When commanders ordered an evacuation, he chose to stay and tend to their wounds,” Obama said. “When the enemy broke through and there was combat hand to hand, he carried on, comforting the injured and the dying, offering them some measure of peace before they left this Earth. When enemy forces bore down, it seemed like the end.
“Father Kapaun spotted a wounded Chinese officer. He pleaded with [him] and convinced him to call out to his fellow Chinese,” the president continued. “The shooting stopped, and they negotiated a safe surrender, saving those American lives.
“Then as Father Kapaun was being led away, he saw another American, wounded, unable to walk, lying in a ditch, defenseless,” Obama added. “An enemy soldier was standing over him, rifle aimed at his head ready to shoot. Father Kapaun pushed the enemy soldier aside. And then as the enemy soldier watched, stunned, Father Kapaun carried that wounded American away.
“He carried that wounded soldier for four miles on the death march and when Father Kapaun grew tired, he’d help the wounded Soldier hop on one leg,” the president added. “When other prisoners stumbled, he picked them up. When they wanted to quit, knowing stragglers would be shot, he begged them to keep walking.”
The president then went on to describe how Kapaun cared for the soldiers in a Prisoner of War camp right up until the time of his death.
Fast-forward once more to the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and to 2014
As with any profession and even with the military chaplaincy, one can always find a horror story or two.
For example, an Army soldier who was allegedly raped in 2007 by another service member testified before Congress last year that when she sought help from a military chaplain, the chaplain allegedly told her that the alleged rape was “God’s will” and was intended to get her attention so that she would go back to church.
In discussing this case, positive psychology coach Lisa Cypers Kamen points out that this soldier’s case “is just that: one case” and that her chaplain’s conduct shouldn’t be taken as representative of the approximately 3,000 chaplains on active duty in the military. Cypers Kamen emphasizes the counseling roles military chaplains play for the troops especially in cases of trauma, whether sexual or as a result of a battlefield injury, and she is confident that “chaplains have the ability to exceed their religious role to serve as a critical resource for our troops as the trauma that causes PTSD is occurring.”
Of the more than 3,000 military chaplains, “the vast majority are Christian, a few are Jews or Muslims, and one is a Buddhist. A Hindu, possibly even a Wiccan may join their ranks soon,” said the New York Times in April 2011.
While Defense Department statistics (in 2011) showed that Christians represent 70 percent of all active-duty troops, in the military chaplain corps “about 90 percent of the 3,045 active duty chaplains are Christians, most of them Protestants,” again according to the Times.
Considering that “about 9,400 of the nation’s 1.4 million active-duty military personnel identify themselves as atheists or agnostics” — atheist leaders say the numbers of atheists and agnostics is higher — it is understandable that atheists and secular humanists would want to have their own in the military chaplaincy to give voice to the “population of nonbelievers in the military.”
Sounds fair enough, but as one reader said, we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just as religion should not be pushed down the throat of nonbelievers, those who do believe should have every opportunity to practice their faith whether at a chapel “stateside” or in a foxhole in Afghanistan.
While it is beyond belief that one of our military chaplains, of whatever denomination, would bend over a dying soldier in the battlefield and tell the soldier that his salvation depends on the soldier’s religion — or upon his instant conversion — I would like to believe that to a dying soldier, the religion of the chaplain comforting him or her during the soldier’s last moments on this earth would not be that important. But I could be wrong.
As to the cost of the military chaplaincy, according to my rough calculations, yes, we could fire all 3,000+ chaplains and with the money saved we could add at least one magnificent F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to our inventory every year.
On a personal note, in my 20 years of military service I have never felt like religion was being pushed down my throat. On the other hand, especially during my young military days, when far away from home and down in the dumps, I remember finding solace, sympathy and good counseling at “the chaplain’s office.” And you know what, I don’t even remember the chaplain’s religion — nor remember it mattering at the time.
The U.S. Army Chaplain Corps is a profession of religious and spiritual Soldiers and leaders who build the spiritual and moral resiliency of the Army family now and for the future. Chaplains, with the support of Chaplain Assistants, provide religious and emotional support to America’s Army while assisting commanders in ensuring the right of free exercise of religion for all Soldiers.
Since July 29, 1775, approximately 25,000 Army Chaplains have served as religious and spiritual leaders for 25 million Soldiers and their Families. From military installations to deployed combat units and from service schools to military hospitals, Army Chaplains and Chaplain Assistants have performed their ministries in the most religiously diverse organization in the world. Always present with their Soldiers in war and in peace, Army Chaplains have served in more than 270 major wars and combat engagements. Nearly 300 Army Chaplains have laid down their lives in battle. Six have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Currently, over 2,900 Chaplains are serving the Total Army representing over 130 different religious organizations.
Lead image courtesy Military Chaplains Association
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.