The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: Pathfinder on August 31, 2008, 01:40:55 PM
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The Military Channel is advertising a new series called God's Soldier about a US Army (?) chaplain. Since I have been reading Gabe Suarez' Christian Warrior, the ads resonated with me, and I thought I would pass it along.
Show premieres September 10 at 8PM ET.
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Very cool. Hope I am back in OK by then so I can watch it! Thanks!
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Thanks for the heads up. I've long wondered about the difficulties faced by military clergy. It would take an extremely devout individual to provide uplifing messages and faith to those facing death and destruction head on, on a daily basis. I have a lot of respect for clergy in general, as they are doing God's work and placing others needs ahead of their own, but to do it in the military... wow! Like I stated previously, it would take a rare and special person of uncommon devotion to do that job.
Swoop
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I look forward to watching it. Thank you Pathfinder. As "political correctness" has tried to make its way into the time honored tradition of chaplaincy. I hope the show focuses on the history past and present.
In 1941, Pres. Roosevelt signed a bill authorizing the commission of nearly 10,000 chaplains. The ratio during WWII, was 1 chaplain for every 1200 soldiers.
Chaplains have been honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor, and The Distinguished Service Cross, many posthumously.
American Generals from Washington to Eisenhower issued instructions to their troops that reflected the belief that "comrades in arms are of one religion, and there are no atheists in foxholes"
"Praise the Lord, and pass the ammunition" became very popular.
In WWI, no one minded that millions of Bibles were given to soldiers of various denominations, with a message on the inside cover by Teddy Roosevelt, became later known as the Micah Mandate. "Do justice, and therefore fight valiantly, Walk humbly; walking in His steps. (Paraphrased).
In 1979, a lawsuit was filed challenging the constitutionality of military chaplaincy, it almost succeeded. More recently, a US Navy chaplain was discharged because he directly mentioned Jesus Christ. (Not PC).
Used to be, a chaplain comforting a dying soldier would recite the Lord's prayer to a Protestant, give last rites to a Catholic, or lead a Jewish soldier in the 23rd Psalm. Specific religions didn't matter, just a "spiritual person", providing comfort to those who sacrificed the most.
Sorry for the rant, I love history, and hate how the "modern" world tries to muck up a good thing.
Info came from a great little book "A Time To Stand, Restoring God to His Rightful Place in America" written by A. Citizen. 2007.
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I still have my little pocket bible I got in basic, Have to check out the show. OBTW military channel has the top 10 battle rifles of all time playing this week . We just up graded our cable and since I cant work due to the arm I have been watching alot of it. 8)
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"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9
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I still have my little pocket bible I got in basic, Have to check out the show. OBTW military channel has the top 10 battle rifles of all time playing this week . We just up graded our cable and since I cant work due to the arm I have been watching alot of it. 8)
In my hectic life, did I miss something? Did you get banged up or just wearing out?
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In my hectic life, did I miss something? Did you get banged up or just wearing out?
I got my foot caught on the bumper of my truck while standing on it looking under hood , lost balance and fell with foot hooked, onto my left arm breaking the radius where its attatched to the elbow. going to see surgeon tomorrow. wasnt even drinking ;D probably have to put a pin in ,,,really sucks.
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I got my foot caught on the bumper of my truck while standing on it looking under hood , lost balance and fell with foot hooked, onto my left arm breaking the radius where its attatched to the elbow. going to see surgeon tomorrow. wasnt even drinking ;D probably have to put a pin in ,,,really sucks.
Didn't catch if it was was your strong or weak arm. But weak handed drills at the range can be very helpful.
Sorry about the arm, hope it heals up quickly.
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weak hand, and I always shoot weak handed to keep competant , 2 more weeks in cast and if its healing properly they will leave it, if not surgery. thanks for the thought... :)
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I got my foot caught on the bumper of my truck while standing on it looking under hood , lost balance and fell with foot hooked, onto my left arm breaking the radius where its attatched to the elbow. going to see surgeon tomorrow. wasnt even drinking ;D probably have to put a pin in ,,,really sucks.
Dam :o that hurt just reading about it. Hope all goes well for you.
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I am the blessed 41 year old son of a U.S. Marine who spent about a year and a half in Korea, 1st Marine Division, Mortar Company. Only years later, as a result of researching on my own, (I came to know that he would only speak about his experience of war with his fellow Marines), I came to understand why, in the middle of the night, when I was young boy in the 1970s, years after the war, I would hear my mom and dad walking down the hallway toward the living room. You see, one time, curious as a kid can be, I silently followed them, and peering around the corner, I saw my dad "rocking back and forth" in the chair, his arms crossed tightly across his chest, my mother at his side. All she said was : "It's O.K. Todd. Dad's alright. He's just having a little trouble sleeping tonight." It would not be the last time I heard them make that walk in the middle of the night to the living room. I came to know, after finding the old article from our town newspaper, tucked away in the big Bible that was forever on my parents dresser, that he was in a "hellish incident" and had received a Purple Heart, among other ribbons, medals, and honors "along the way". Again, he would never talk about the war, or his "honors" with me and my sister, but now I understand why. He is my hero, and as a result of his sacrifice, I could not bring myself to USE the incredible education that he made such a sacrifice to afford me, simply to selfishly serve my own little self. He sacrificed "his dreams" by signing up for service as a Marine, and then somehow managed to send me to Catholic school, from elementary school, through the best Catholic High School on Long Island, and all the way through Providence College, also Catholic, (and all on a "telephone man's" salary.) Five years after graduating college, I left my "temporary life" as a Banker/Financier, and decided that I too had to sacrifice like my dad did, though not in exactly the same way. I entered the seminary, and after six more years of study, and loads of prayer, was ordained a Catholic Priest in 2002, and now also serve as a volunteer firefighter and as the department's Chaplain. It is my "Thank You" to God, for giving me a veteran and hero as a father, and a "Thank You" to ALL OF YOU, who allow me to "do what I do" as a priest in this great country, without the threat of being "murdered/martyred" simply for BEING a priest; in MANY countries this is not the case. I love ALL of you, veterans, for what you have done, and are still doing. It is an honor, albeit a sad one, to preside at your wake services and funerals. I post this all, "with a Father's Love".
"God's SOLDIER" will, I pray, be made into a DVD when the series is done, our poor parish cannot afford anything past the most basic cable. Now that I think of it, maybe I'll go to my Dad's, and watch it at their place, with him and Mom.
For those so moved, I recommend the book "The Grunt Padre": The Service and Sacrifice of Father Vincent Robert Capodanno, Vietnam 1965-1967.
"The Grunt Padre"'s "Cause for Canonization", (being declared a "Saint" by the Catholic Church), is proceeding as follows: On May 19, 2002, Capodanno's Cause for Canonization was officially opened, and so he is now referred to as a "Servant of God". In May of 2004 the Initial Documentation was submitted to The Congregation for the Causes of Saints with "CatholicMil" acting as Petitioner and Father Daniel Mode named Postulator. On May 21, 2006 a "Public Decree of Servant of God" was issued by the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. The statement was made by Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien in Washington D.C.
"The Grunt Padre's" story in short:
(In December 1965, Father Capodanno received his commission as a lieutenant in the Navy Chaplain Corps. He was assigned to the First Marine Division in Vietnam in April 1966. Background: "At 4:30 am, September 4, 1967, during Operation Swift in the Thang Binh District of the Que-Son Valley, elements of the 1st Battalion 5th Marines encountered a large North Vietnamese unit of approximately 2500 men near the village of Dong Son. The outnumbered and disorganized Company D was in need of reinforcements. By 9:14 am, twenty-six Marines were confirmed dead and another company of Marines was committed to the battle. At 9:25 am, the commander of 1st Battalion 5th Marine requested further reinforcements.
Father Capodanno went among the wounded and dying, giving last rites and taking care of his Marines. Wounded once in the face and having his hand almost severed, he went to help a wounded corpsman only yards from an enemy machinegun and was killed. His body was recovered and interred in his family's plot in Saint Peters Cemetery, West New Brighton, Staten Island, New York.
On December 27, 1968, then Secretary of the Navy Paul Ignatius notified the Capodanno family that Lieutenant Capodanno would posthumously be awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of his selfless sacrifice. The official ceremony was held January 7, 1969.)
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Fire Priest, Welcome and thank you for sharing your experience in such detail. My grandfather was a WWII Navy Veteran, he enlisted at 17, after Pearl Harbor, as many midwestern young men did.
He also re-enlisted and went to Korea. He never discussed the things he endured, witnessed, suffered, or experienced, until the week prior to his death. I wondered as a kid why he never ate Oriental food, or drove a foreign car, but I found out at his life's end, and don't hold that against him.
I spent those quiet days and nights with him not wanting to sound "nagging" but wanting to try to learn from a "hero" of mine as well.
He gave me his Mauser rifle, and an old .410 bolt action, his Bluejackets Manual, Purple Heart, Honorable Discharge docs. and an amazing set of experiences most people will never know unless they have "been there". My Dad, never really wanted to know, but I did, and am thankful for his patience and understanding. He was a truly amazing man, and it sounds like your father was as well.
I am the third with his name, and my son is the fourth.
Your work to carry on the Chaplaincy is truly admired and respected by myself, and here on this forum. This is a special place on the World Wide Web, with many members who do not fit the mold of an Internet "Forum". If you have viewed other threads and posts, the standard is higher here. Yes, we debate, inform, share firearm opinions and knowledge, jab, rib, and even use the occasional passionate use of profanity, usually with asterisk's,. ( if we get to rowdy, The One Who Must Be Obeyed i.e Marshal'ette, gets us back in line mui pronto.)
Hopefully, the show "God's Soldier" will be on DVD, usually they are.
Please tell your Dad that there are those that thank and admire him for his service, and yours as well.
"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."
General MacArthur
Thank you again for your post and welcome to a great forum.
Tom W.
P.S. Do you shoot at all? I was just curious as how you found this forum.
Take Care.
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Welcome FirePriest, great story, most hero's are reluctant to talk about the situation that put them in a position to do whatever they did. I worked with an old "devil dog" for a few years he was in a sniper platoon in Nam. not the kind of sniper the TV glorifies, I knew he had been in some tuff spots and one day we were talking and he told me how he won his silver star, I bet he hadn't spoke of it for many years, he really never spoke of his service., Its an honor to be in the company of men like this, and even to be on a forum with these men and woman is very humbling to me. You never know who you are talking to or typing to. my prayer is that they can be at peace with themselves .
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Saw it , wow, I cant say the feelings I had . I still cant.
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That will be a good one to watch. Thanks, Pathfinder.
Cripes, 2HOW, that must be some truck to climb up on. Hope the wing heals right. Say, Are you from around Sewanee? Married a pretty girl from there. Bro-in-Law "farms" in Winchester. He just rides his MF to the Co-op and shoots the breeze all day.
Mac.
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Saw it , wow, I cant say the feelings I had . I still cant.
Hope the arm is getting better 2HOW, my brother-in law was cleaning gutters last week and fell, landed wrong, and "rolled" his ankle the "other way", plus landed on a good portion of his cheek and face. :P
Caught an interesting vid on the "Boot Camp" for chaplains, they have been and are an invaluable member of our Armed Service.
http://armychaplaincy.com/2008/08/31/military-channel-to-air-special-about-army-chaplains-in-combat/
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Now, this is weird. I was going to respond to Fire Priest (Thank you BTW for telling us about your Dad - I never knew much about what my Dad did flying B-17s either, he would not talk with us about anything that happened).
Anyhow, there is not one word about God's Soldier on The Military Channel's website - not a single one. I even did a search, usually they hype the heck out of these. I thought it was supposed to be a series, so I don't know if the website is just behind (unlikely) or some other reason. It is also not on the lineup tomorrow night.
Wonder what's up?
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Saw it , wow, I cant say the feelings I had . I still cant.
+100
A BIG welcome, Fire Priest!!!!!!!!
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That will be a good one to watch. Thanks, Pathfinder.
Cripes, 2HOW, that must be some truck to climb up on. Hope the wing heals right. Say, Are you from around Sewanee? Married a pretty girl from there. Bro-in-Law "farms" in Winchester. He just rides his MF to the Co-op and shoots the breeze all day.
Mac.
Im east of knoxville ,near Rogersville. Getting xray thur morn to see how it is. cast is making me crazy. :P