Ministers of War: The amazing chaplaincy of the U.S. military

National Review, March 10, 2003 by Rod Dreher

This bond of brotherhood forged in extreme hardship is intensely strong. There is only one word for it: love. You can hear it in the voices of chaplains who have ministered in combat zones. When Chaplain Inghilterra talks about America's soldiers as "the hope and glory of our nation," it's not patriotic cant. He was present during Desert Storm when an Iraqi Scud missile killed "28 of my kids," and he immediately went to work. "One kid was holding on to me. Basically he was gone, he wasn't going to survive. He was just holding on to me. For this kid, I represented the presence of God. I consoled him, I anointed him, I prayed for him."

The old chaplain's voice cracks. "I've seen about 75 kids on the threshold of eternity. That keeps me motivated, because I'm concerned about eternal life. These are our best kids. Freedom is taken for granted in this country, but they are the ones who make it possible for us to have freedom. They are our very best. They willingly offer themselves as a sacrifice for the rest of us. To me, being willing to sacrifice is at the heart of what it means to be a soldier."

And, he could have said but did not, a chaplain.