Arnold Resnicoff Arnold E . Resnicoff ( born 1946 ) is an American Conservative rabbi who served as a military officer and military chaplain . He served in Vietnam and Europe before attending rabbinical school . He then served as a U . S . Navy Chaplain for almost 25 years . He promoted the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and delivered the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication . In 1984 the President of the United States spoke on his eyewitness account of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing . After retiring from the military he was National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee and served as Special Assistant ( for Values and Vision ) to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force , serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General . Resnicoff holds several degrees , including an honorary doctorate . His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal , the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service , and the Chapel of Four Chaplains Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion . Life and works . Early military career . Resnicoff ' s father , a World War II Navy veteran , encouraged Resnicoff to serve with the military as one way for the family to " pay its dues " to America . He served as an enlisted man in the Naval Reserves during High School , then after graduation from NROTC at Dartmouth College served in the rivers of Vietnam ( and a short time in Cambodia as well , when his ship became the first U . S commissioned vessel to cross the border ) as part of " Operation Game Warden , " the operation aimed at keeping the rivers free from Viet Cong , and then with Naval Intelligence in Europe before leaving the Navy to attend rabbinical school . Military chaplaincy . Following ordination from JTS in 1976 , Resnicoff returned to the Navy as a chaplain , serving in many locations in the United States and overseas . From 1992 - 1994 , Resnicoff served as Command Chaplain for Recruit Training Command ( " RTC " ) , Orlando , Florida , where he was part of the team headed by Captain Kathleen Bruyere that integrated men and women into basic training for the first time , and created a new chaplain message for the recruits : " Chapel helps you make it through Boot Camp ; Faith helps you make it through life . " Vietnam Veterans Memorial . Resnicoff was part of a group of Vietnam veteran s , led by Jan Scruggs , that worked to create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial , in Washington , D . C . . Scruggs was an Army corporal with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade who had been wounded on the battlefield in Vietnam . On Nov 13 , 1982 , Resnicoff delivered the closing prayer at the official dedication of " The Wall . " Beirut Barracks bombing . On October 23 , 1983 , while a chaplain for the United States Sixth Fleet , Resnicoff was present in Beirut , Lebanon , during the suicide truck bomb attack that took the lives of 241 American military personnel , and wounded scores more . He had arrived on Friday , Oct 21 , to lead a Memorial Service for SGT Allen Soifert , a Jewish American Marine killed by sniper fire . Transportation had been offered to return him to the Sixth Fleet flagship in Gaeta , Italy , on Saturday , but Resnicoff said he could not travel on Shabbat , the Jewish Sabbath , and would remain in Beirut with the Marines until the following day , when the first truck bomb attack occurred at 6 : 20AM on Sunday , Oct 23 , demolishing the Marine barracks . Four days after the attack , the White House team that visited Beirut , led by Vice President of the United States , George H . W . Bush , asked for a report on the attack and its aftermath — and on April 13 , 1984 , President Ronald Reagan read that report as his keynote address to the Rev . Jerry Falwell ' s " Baptist Fundamentalism ' 84 " convention , in Washington , DC . During the delivery of the speech , President Reagan was interrupted by a small group of protestors , armed with pre - printed banners , chanting , " Bread , not bombs . " Reagan , at the height of his powers as " the great communicator , " deftly handles the situation , at one point commenting , " Wouldn ' t it be nice if a little bit of that Marine spirit would rub off , and they would listen [ to the chaplain ' s words ] about brotherly love ? " " Camouflage kippa " ( skullcap ) . During the rescue efforts following the bombing , a Catholic Chaplain tore off a piece of his Marine camouflage uniform to make a skullcap ( " kippah " ) for Resnicoff , after Resnicoff used his to wipe the blood from a wounded Marine ' s face . This widely reported story , recounted in President Reagan ' s 1984 speech , was entered into the Congressional Record . The story was credited with helping the passage of the " religious apparel amendment " allowing military personnel to wear head coverings for religious reasons ( an amendment that had failed to pass in the House of Representatives for two years prior to the recounting of this story ) . This story was also quoted by some military leaders who had previously opposed the uniform policy change , but now supported it , including the Commandant and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps . This amendment reportedly laid the groundwork for the directive ( later , changed to a Department of Defense Instruction ) that established wide - ranging changes to official military policies and procedures for the " Accommodation of Religious Practices Within the Military Services " . Days of Remembrance of the Victims of Holocaust . In 1984 , Resnicoff ' s efforts to convince the United States Department of Defense to participate in the national annual program for the Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust were successful . In 1984 , the first official year of military involvement , Resnicoff coordinated a meeting between Rabbi Seymour Siegel , Executive Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council , and Vice Admiral Edward Martin , Commander , United States Sixth Fleet , and then conducted the first shipboard Holocaust Days of Remembrance Ceremony , on board , the Sixth Fleet Flagship . Gay and lesbian rights . Resnicoff worked to support the rights of men and women of all sexual orientations , as well as those of all faiths . His work has been recognized by long - time advocates of LGBT rights , including his work at the Naval War College as far back as the early 1990s . He was later chosen by the White House to deliver the prayer at the Presidential signing ceremony for the repeal of the military " Don ' t Ask , Don ' t Tell " policy . United States European Command . From 1997 to 2000 , Resnicoff was the first Jewish Chaplain to serve at the level of Command Chaplain for a Unified Combatant Command , serving as chaplain for the United States European Command ( USEUCOM ) , under the leadership of General Wesley Clark . He served as a principal advisor to General Clark and the USEUCOM staff on matters of religion , ethics , and morals ; coordinated religious support for more than 100 , 000 U . S . military personnel and families of all military branches and all faiths ; and served as liaison to the chaplaincies of other nations throughout the USEUCOM area of responsibility ( AOR ) , leading and coordinating three International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference s in Europe , where he introduced a new vision of the potential role of chaplains as liaisons to religious leaders , and of religion as a force for peace and conflict resolution , and for reconciliation after the battles . During the time of American involvement in Bosnia and Kosovo , he worked with U . S . and NATO troops , civilian relief workers , political and military leaders , religious representatives , and refugees , and represented the military in the first conference of religious seminary students from Kosovo , Bosnia , Albania , and Macedonia ; and led a delegation representing the four official religions of Bosnia — Catholic , Eastern Orthodox , Muslim , and Jewish — on an historic visit to the U . S . Sixth Fleet and Israel . In 1983 , Resnicoff held the first interfaith service ( and first service jointly attended by men and women ) held at the Western Wall since it came under Israel ' s control , conducted under the supervision of the Israel Ministry of Religious Affairs , as part of a special welcome for the U . S . Sixth Fleet . He helped establish the Haifa , Israel , USO and a center for Sixth Fleet personnel on leave in Jerusalem ; led the first official visit to Israel by the United States Army , Navy , and Air Force Chiefs of Chaplains , as well as the first visit by officers and crew of the aircraft carrier , , to Israel ' s John F . Kennedy Memorial and Peace Forest . 1986 US - USSR Reagan - Gorbachev meetings in Iceland . In 1986 , Resnicoff was sent to Iceland to lead Yom Kippur ( Day of Atonement ) services during the historic Reagan - Gorbachev pre - summit meetings . The symbolism of Resnicoff ' s participation in this initiative made an impression on many Americans . Senator Claiborne Pell ( D - RI ) entered the text of the October 8 , 1986 , " Providence Journal " article , " Navy Rabbi To Join Iceland Team : Russian immigrant ' s grandson picked to lead staff services , " in the October 9 , 1986 , Senate Congressional Record . Special presentations and conferences . Rabbi Resnicoff has lectured on pluralism , religious freedom , and ethics and values , at many civilian and military forums , including the Northeastern Political Science Association ; the International Society for Military Ethics ( ISME ) ; the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute ; the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre in Clementsport , Nova Scotia and the Begin - Sadat Center for Strategic Studies , in Israel ' s Bar Ilan University . He was the first chaplain to brief the Joint Chiefs of Staff and worldwide Unified Combatant Command commanders , at a Washington , DC , CINC ' s Conference , where he addressed issues of core values and quality of life . In 1996 , he crafted and led the first Conference on Ethics and Leadership for the staff of the Camp David Presidential Retreat . He was the only military chaplain to attend the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual leaders , was one of 100 religious leaders at the Sep 11 , 1988 , White House discussion with then President Bill Clinton on the way religion might combat violence in American schools , and represented the U . S . military at the 1999 Seventh World Assembly of the World Conference of Religions for Peace , in Amman , Jordan . Resnicoff ' s February 2006 presentation on religion , the military , and church - and - state issues , presented at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs ( SIPA ) was broadcast multiple times on C - SPAN . He presented an updated version of this talk — " Faith and Foxholes : Religion in the Military " — in May 2010 at the Library of Congress ( LOC ) . In the same month , the LOC Veterans History Project conducted a two - hour video oral history of Resnicoff for their permanent historical archives . Views . Spiritual force protection . Resnicoff is frequently quoted on the impact of war and violence on the human spirit , including the distinction he makes between " outrage " , a feeling we must value , because it is part of being human ( and we must fight against the danger that war and violence can numb us against it ) , and " rage " , where emotions take over , we lose our moral compass , and we become vulnerable to manipulation by others who want us to lose our way . While working for General Wesley K . Clark at the U . S . European Command , Resnicoff worked to expand the concept of force protection to include " Spiritual Force Protection " : protecting military personnel not only against physical danger , but against threats to their humanity , as well . The book , " Stoic Warriors : The Ancient Philosophy Behind the Military Mind " quotes his position that " We don ' t want our people just to come home physically ; we want them to come back as close to the human beings they were before they went in . " Expanded role of military chaplains in peace and reconciliation initiatives . Resnicoff believes chaplains have a role to play in the area of engagement : building ties and strengthening relationships with civilian religious leaders . He believes that " NATO chaplains should have a greater role in supporting Allied troops with personal moral conflicts , and in reducing misunderstandings about foreign religious beliefs . . . it is important to move fast and establish regional cooperative programs in such potential hot spots as Eastern Europe and South Africa " so that we are ahead of the power curve before another Kosovo explodes . " " Awards and honors . Resnicoff has received numerous military awards , including the Defense Superior Service Medal , the Legion of Merit , four Meritorious Service Medals , the Joint Service Commendation Medal , and two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal s ( one with the Combat V , for Valor ) . For his service with the Air Force following retirement from the military , he was awarded the United States Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service , the highest award that the Air Force can present to a civilian . Other special awards include The President ' s Honor Graduate Award , Naval War College ; International Community Service Award , " Moment Magazine " ; The Rabbi Louis Paris Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion , Chapel of Four Chaplains ; and the Commandant ' s Award , Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute ( DEOMI ) , Patrick Air Force Base , Florida . In May 2013 Resnicoff was awarded the annual Daniel Webster Award for Distinguished Public Service , by the Dartmouth Club of Washington , D . C . In 1994 , the Chaplain Arnold E . Resnicoff Scholarship Fund was established in his honor at The Jewish Theological Seminary ( with the first donation made by the family of a young Jewish sailor he had helped while serving as the senior chaplain for the Navy ' s Recruit Training Command , Orlando , Florida ) , to help rabbinical students who agree to serve at least one assignment as military chaplains , following ordination . Resnicoff ' s work with interfaith affairs has been recognized in many ways , including the dedication of the 1990 book , " Teaching for Christian Hearts , Souls & Minds . "