Memorial Day! 2011

During World War II, in the Atlantic Ocean, on February 3, 1943, aboard the sinking troop transport ship, Dorchester, four courageous men - a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi and two Protestant ministers - gave their life jackets to others and went down with the ship.

The priest’s name was Washington; the rabbi’s was Goode; and the two Protestants’ were Fox and Poling. I have never discovered the names of the young soldiers, who received those four life jackets. But the names of those four clergy are worth remembering. The sacrifices of these brave men deserve to be remembered this Memorial Day, just as the sacrifices of our soldiers in harms way today need remembering. The esprit de corps of the Four Chaplains and their understanding of service is an example for all of us. It transcends differences of opinion, and encourages us in times of danger, to band together in the same sense of common purpose which those four brave souls did sixty-two years ago.
As a line officer and then as a military Chaplain, it was my pleasure to serve with many men and women of the cloth. There were numerous times and situations, when I was a Chaplain, that several of us would be in deep discussion about the welfare of the troops under our care. Those discussion usually included members from almost every faith and denomination. Yet, there was Seldom any discord over theology. Instead, as every Pastor is charged to do, we focused on the care of our flocks. The troops come first. The same focus is demanded of the nations that send young men to fight for freedom.

When I was a Command Chaplain my staff included; a Catholic priest, a female Reformed Jewish rabbi, a Church of Christ minister, a Methodist pastor, and a Baptist preacher. Needless to say, our basic religious perspectives made for an unusual arrangement.

I, the leader by appointment and rank, was Presbyterian. So our groups always represented many points of the theological spectrum in God's family. Most every member of my staff represented perspectives that in its rawest form and theory believed only their "kind" was the family of God.

But all of my staff members believed in the two basic commandments of God: Love God above all things and love your neighbor. In best way we knew how, we accept each other and respected each others beliefs. In our great nation we have many perspectives of what responsible freedom and duty mean, but we should come together behind the young men and women on missions of freedom, and respect them for what they are doing. And on Memorial Day respect the young men, who came before this generation, and remember to thank God for their dedication and courage.

My staff’s motto was "Service to God and people are above self-interest." We, in a manner of speaking, gave our life jackets of faith to the troops and stood together in our service to them. We believed this is what God truly intended. As we citizens must now do for our troops. Lay aside our theological differences (which lately translates into political differences) and stand behind them while they serve our nations leaders.
Those experiences of ecumenical cooperation when serving the troops left a mighty impression on my heart. We were able to accomplish so much more than we would have separately. Plus it gave a united front on service and yet we never left our individual theological stances.

This Memorial Day, in remembrance of the Four Chaplains, won't you join me and thank those who give their life jackets, so we might live in freedom? Let’s make the word United in The United States of America a word to remember and be united behind our troops, just as those chaplains were so long ago in the cause of freedom.