Sky pilots
Subtitle: the Yankee Division chaplains in World War I
By: Michael E. Shay
Series: American military experience series; American military experience series
Publisher: University of Missouri Press
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Columbia, Mo
Language: eng
Number of pages: 216
ISBN-13: 9780826220318
Subjects: World War, 1914-1918; United States. Army. Division, 26th; United States; Chaplains; United States. Army. Chaplain Corps; Veterans; United States. Army. Infantry Regiment, 103rd. Battalion, 1st; Military chaplains; Campaigns; Soldiers; Biography
Other titles: Yankee Division chaplains in World War I
Description: Pilots is the first comprehensive look at the role of the Army chaplaincy at the divisional level.In August 1917, the U.S. 26th "Yankee" Division was formally activated for service in World War I. When the soldiers arrived in France, they were accompanied by more than three dozen volunteer chaplains. These clergymen experienced all the horrors of war, shared all the privations of the common soldier, and earned the love and affection of their "boys." Two died, several were gassed or wounded, and many were decorated by France and the United States for their heroism, yet their stories have been lost to history. Through extensive research in published and archival sources, as well as firsthand materials obtained from the families of several chaplains, Michael E. Shay brings to life the story of these valiant men---a story of courage in the face of the horrors of war and of extreme devotion to the men they served. Just as important, Sky Pilots follows the chaplains home and on to their subsequent careers. For many, their war experiences shaped their ministries, particularly in the area of ecumenism and the Social Gospel. Others left the ministry altogether. To fill in the chaplains' stories, Shay also examines the evolution of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, the education of the newly appointed chaplains, and the birth of the Yankee Division.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-212) and index.