Evening star., 1943-12-19

well, comfort to the wounded and peac
as figure kneeling beside wounded
outlined against the red rays of settil
his best when men needed him most
written and is continuing to write a
glorious chapter in the history of our
country's wars.
Their value is measured in many ways.
FoXholes and mud. Guadalcanal.
Blood and heat. Shippers and bombs.
Men longing for the smile of woman.
Furlough at South Pacific port SOL
diers rushing impulsively into marriage.
Here is need for chaplain.
The men come to you for advice.
How can We stop marriages that bring
bad morale and future unhappiness?"
q worried commanding officer asked the
chaplain, Father William R. big Joe"
ONeill.
The chaplain, called Big Joe" because
he was feet in height and built in
proportion, thought a minute, and then
smilingly told the c. O. he had an idea
Early next morning the photograph Of
a beautiful movie actress appeared on
the bulletin board. She never looked
lovelier. Underneath, Chaplain ONeill
had put this note:
UNLESS the girl you want to marry Is
as good looking as this, don't see me-"
The idea worked.
This human understanding of men
has done much to make the Marine
Corps wise-crack, Don't tell your
troubles to me, boy! See the chaplain, "
one of affection rather than of cynicism.
And the chaplain who is called padre -
regardless of his religious persuasion,
knows he has arrived. He knows he
speaks the servicemans language.
These Are My Boys
A major reason for the close rela-
tionship of chaplains and men is the
eagerness with which the former share
the hardships of training and battle.
Chaplain Paul J. Redmond. preparing
to accompany his unit on an offensive
somewhere in the South Pacific, ex-
pressed the sentiments Of all chaplains
when he said, These are my boys.
They need me most out there. I'm
going with them"
On New Guinea, Chaplain Delbert
P. Jorgensen said, Il was with the men
constantly I hiked with them in the
dense. damp New Guinea jungle. slept
with them under a shelter half on the
wet ground. I have stumbled along
with them in binding rain on a slip
perry track"
ol,o ,1oi, IN, ha South %
cifc, Lennie S. Dubberly, wrote home
my troops went into action November
21. I visited the men in foxholes and
slit trenches and talked with them.
Often I would stop and talk to one
man and 1t would not be very long be-
fore we'd have a group around. The
men always thanked me for coming
around and said. should come back
whenever I could"
They Give Men Courage
Indeed, the mere presence of a chap
lain in the battle lines made the men
feel better. At Attu, Chaplain julius
S Busse went into a section lacking a
chaplain. Surprised soldiers, looking up
from their guns. greeted him. One
called out to another, Hey Jim, it's all
right now :. there's chaplain here"
In the jungle of another island fighting
front, a soldier told visiting chaplain:
"Come often, sir. Even If you don't say
a word, that cross on your collar re-
be and want to be-"
Sympathetic understanding draws no
lines of race or religion On Guadal-
canal Jewish lad, known as Little
joe proved a great fighter against the
Japs but he had broken down COM
pletely when letters sent to his wife
we're returned, Address unknown u
Father Frederic P. Gehring, a great
chaplain, wisely led Little joe out of
dangerous mental depression.
humorous example of chaplain s
influence took place on a South Pacific
island. A group occupying a foxhole
during bombing attack noticed a fig
ure risking his life dashing from one
foXhole to another. Suddenly the man,
a colored sailor, landed out of breath
in their midst.
Say buddy" one OF the men asked
him, what's the idea jumping from one
foxhole to another"
Boss" the sailor answered seriously
II can't help it. My chaplain told me
swearing is bad, and over in them there
foxholes there's a powerful lot of
swearing goin' on. So kept goin' until
hit one where there amt none"
The Chaplain's Role
. The comradery between chaplain and
man has existed since young Rev. Ben
janin Balch Of Harvard, marching out
with Capt. Edmund .Danvers' company
at Lexington in April, ITS, fought with
such ardor that he became known as
-the Fighting Parson."
The ofhce Of chaplain was made part