Ok, Sean, you made me bawl in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. It was a sad cry, for the loss of the chaplains to humanity, but at the same time a happy cry because that pastor was completely correct, no one on that wall is dead. On a side note, we held a farewell party for our parish priest last Sunday afternoon. He's from Nigeria, and has trained in the U.S. Army Reserves. He was called up to active duty at a base in Arizona to serve the troops there as their chaplain. He has the most beautiful heart-warming smile, which we will greatly miss, but he is serving the country of which he plans to become a citizen. A very good man! He is following God's call.
What a special story my dear friend and blessings to all chaplains for serving our military in there special time of need they may be gone but never forgotten 🙏
Well that one kicked me right in the gut! I have failed to remember the chaplains but I won’t anymore! I have been to the wall. It is an emotional experience and that chaplain placing those flowers, he really knows what faith means🙏 I had friends who fought in Vietnam. Some came back and some didn’t. God bless all our servicemen and their families 💕
Sean, going to the wall is one of the most emotional moments for me. I lost classmates from pilot training and men from my fighter squadron. I weep and choke up to the point that I can’t speak. Young men, some older fathers and all someone’s son or brother. Why did I survive and live a long life while they perished. There is never an answer, just sadness.
You are telling their story…..and it hurts, but needs to be told. I cry with you. Thank you, Jack, for your service…..I’m sorry for your heartache. Prayers ……
Jack! I have met many Vietnam war Vets ! I tell them all “thank you for your service! “ one vet told me the saddest story. There were 500 men that started the war in their platoon , or regiment… by the end of the war only 20 men made it home… it’s those 480 men and so many others who died in that war that you can speak for and tell their stories!
I had friends that went to Vietnam. One stepped on a mine and lost both legs. He told me he thought he was going to die. He heard someone yelling for the Champlain and he thought he was dying. The Champlain held his hand and kept telling him he was going to be fine. Days later he woke up and the Champlain told him he was headed home. I asked him if he ever found out who he was and he told me no. He did tell me with all the yelling going on he had a calm voice.
I retired after a career as an Army Chaplain (tour in Baghdad in ’05) I spent two assignments as the Family Life Chaplain at Fort Bragg (Now Fort Liberty), North Carolina, at the Watters Center for Family Life, named and dedicated to Chaplain Charles Watters, Medal of Honor, KIA, Vietnam. Thank you for the writing.
The Wall. I have been there several times. There's something about it that nearly pulls your heart right out of your chest. The enormity of the lives lost resonates when you contemplate the length of that black expanse, full of the names of men and women who fought and died in the service of our country.
Very special meeting this chaplain at the Vietnam Memorial Wall, and what a wonderful reminder of the hope of heaven, the place Jesus said he was going to prepare for us!
A sobering walk along the Vietnam Wall shared info I was unaware of, chaplains serving weaponless. This sacrifice overwhelms me, as all of those soldiers who were engaged in war. Your heart aches. My prayers are for those families and friends for each name mentioned. My deepest gratitude for those who pay their personal respect, for those who share their stories and for all who continue to serve our country!
Wow. That is one smart priest you ran into, SD. I know someone out there can remember the quote about how we're not truly dead until our name is forgotten. And of course, there's the "eternal reward" kind of "not dead" to which many of us aspire. I agree with Angelena Golden's invocation of scripture here - "greater love has no man than this...that he lay down his life for his friends."
A Catholic priest by his actions, simple and kindly actions, aimed only at providing comfort gave me the inspiration 50 years later to convert to Catholicism and I have striven to live up to that inspiration since.
The great Commission, found in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, and Luke 24:26-47. This was where Jesus commanded His disciples to preach the gospel to the whole world (including war-torn Vietnam).
Welcome to Christianity, Elgin…and the Catholic Faith✝️. May God continue to keep His loving hand on you🙏
One of my favorite runs when I lived in DC started by the fish market, down to TJeff, over to the mall at the Washington Monument, up the left side to visit the Korean war memorial, up the steps to Lincoln, down the steps to the wall, and then on to the WWII memorial. Early in the morning, I often saw a bump of crown royal left at the wall. One of thousands of stories of the wall. Thank you for sharing yours.
For those of us who fought in that War two constants are with us daily. For those whose names are on the Wall, including my Brother-in-Law, “ their lives have not ended, just changed” in the Biblical sense. For those Families they left behind their names will always be remembered etched not in black granite but our hearts.
For who do not know for every one of those 58 thousand names a Chaplain escorted the Family Notification Officer to each and every door.
They are the ones that witnessed in real time the shock wave of grief and loss that took place at each Notification that their loved one was not coming Home and offer solace and comfort to the grief stricken Family. I was part of one of those Families.
Chaplains arm themselves only with the love of God and, to Warriors, will always be considered a special breed; loved and revered.
My dad, my son, and I visited the wall several years ago. We looked up my uncle’s best friend. I was probably about my son’s age when it happened. The kid had an argument with his dad. It might’ve been over signing up, might’ve been over something else. In any case, it was a stormy departure. Off he went to the recruiter’s office, basic training, then shipped out for Vietnam. He was killed on his third day there. Just 18 years old. His daddy never had a chance to say another word to him. 58,000 more stories of homecomings that were not quite as they were expected to be.
That poor Dad had to carry a very heavy burden for the rest of his life. So very sad. Another casualty of the war that should never have been…a broken heart💔.
Ok, Sean, you made me bawl in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. It was a sad cry, for the loss of the chaplains to humanity, but at the same time a happy cry because that pastor was completely correct, no one on that wall is dead. On a side note, we held a farewell party for our parish priest last Sunday afternoon. He's from Nigeria, and has trained in the U.S. Army Reserves. He was called up to active duty at a base in Arizona to serve the troops there as their chaplain. He has the most beautiful heart-warming smile, which we will greatly miss, but he is serving the country of which he plans to become a citizen. A very good man! He is following God's call.
What a special story my dear friend and blessings to all chaplains for serving our military in there special time of need they may be gone but never forgotten 🙏
Well that one kicked me right in the gut! I have failed to remember the chaplains but I won’t anymore! I have been to the wall. It is an emotional experience and that chaplain placing those flowers, he really knows what faith means🙏 I had friends who fought in Vietnam. Some came back and some didn’t. God bless all our servicemen and their families 💕
All Gave Some, and Some Gave All
❤️🤍💙🇺🇸💙🤍❤️
May God Bless Each and Every One
Sean, going to the wall is one of the most emotional moments for me. I lost classmates from pilot training and men from my fighter squadron. I weep and choke up to the point that I can’t speak. Young men, some older fathers and all someone’s son or brother. Why did I survive and live a long life while they perished. There is never an answer, just sadness.
You are telling their story…..and it hurts, but needs to be told. I cry with you. Thank you, Jack, for your service…..I’m sorry for your heartache. Prayers ……
Jack! I have met many Vietnam war Vets ! I tell them all “thank you for your service! “ one vet told me the saddest story. There were 500 men that started the war in their platoon , or regiment… by the end of the war only 20 men made it home… it’s those 480 men and so many others who died in that war that you can speak for and tell their stories!
Jack, that's the way war is. Thank you for your service
Jack, it is a tragedy. There's nothing glorious about war.
You live to share the stories of the fallen!
I had friends that went to Vietnam. One stepped on a mine and lost both legs. He told me he thought he was going to die. He heard someone yelling for the Champlain and he thought he was dying. The Champlain held his hand and kept telling him he was going to be fine. Days later he woke up and the Champlain told him he was headed home. I asked him if he ever found out who he was and he told me no. He did tell me with all the yelling going on he had a calm voice.
I've prayed at the Wall and thought about the words...greater love hath no man.
I retired after a career as an Army Chaplain (tour in Baghdad in ’05) I spent two assignments as the Family Life Chaplain at Fort Bragg (Now Fort Liberty), North Carolina, at the Watters Center for Family Life, named and dedicated to Chaplain Charles Watters, Medal of Honor, KIA, Vietnam. Thank you for the writing.
Thank you for your service to our troops & our Father from the bottom of my heart.
The Wall. I have been there several times. There's something about it that nearly pulls your heart right out of your chest. The enormity of the lives lost resonates when you contemplate the length of that black expanse, full of the names of men and women who fought and died in the service of our country.
I am profoundly grateful. God bless America!
My Generation, there on The Wall. Keep their names alive, please. And say their names out loud.
I agree!
Very special meeting this chaplain at the Vietnam Memorial Wall, and what a wonderful reminder of the hope of heaven, the place Jesus said he was going to prepare for us!
A sobering walk along the Vietnam Wall shared info I was unaware of, chaplains serving weaponless. This sacrifice overwhelms me, as all of those soldiers who were engaged in war. Your heart aches. My prayers are for those families and friends for each name mentioned. My deepest gratitude for those who pay their personal respect, for those who share their stories and for all who continue to serve our country!
Wow. That is one smart priest you ran into, SD. I know someone out there can remember the quote about how we're not truly dead until our name is forgotten. And of course, there's the "eternal reward" kind of "not dead" to which many of us aspire. I agree with Angelena Golden's invocation of scripture here - "greater love has no man than this...that he lay down his life for his friends."
A Catholic priest by his actions, simple and kindly actions, aimed only at providing comfort gave me the inspiration 50 years later to convert to Catholicism and I have striven to live up to that inspiration since.
The great Commission, found in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, and Luke 24:26-47. This was where Jesus commanded His disciples to preach the gospel to the whole world (including war-torn Vietnam).
Welcome to Christianity, Elgin…and the Catholic Faith✝️. May God continue to keep His loving hand on you🙏
One of my favorite runs when I lived in DC started by the fish market, down to TJeff, over to the mall at the Washington Monument, up the left side to visit the Korean war memorial, up the steps to Lincoln, down the steps to the wall, and then on to the WWII memorial. Early in the morning, I often saw a bump of crown royal left at the wall. One of thousands of stories of the wall. Thank you for sharing yours.
For those of us who fought in that War two constants are with us daily. For those whose names are on the Wall, including my Brother-in-Law, “ their lives have not ended, just changed” in the Biblical sense. For those Families they left behind their names will always be remembered etched not in black granite but our hearts.
For who do not know for every one of those 58 thousand names a Chaplain escorted the Family Notification Officer to each and every door.
They are the ones that witnessed in real time the shock wave of grief and loss that took place at each Notification that their loved one was not coming Home and offer solace and comfort to the grief stricken Family. I was part of one of those Families.
Chaplains arm themselves only with the love of God and, to Warriors, will always be considered a special breed; loved and revered.
Peter ~ heartfelt Thanks dear man.
God Bless You ~
My dad, my son, and I visited the wall several years ago. We looked up my uncle’s best friend. I was probably about my son’s age when it happened. The kid had an argument with his dad. It might’ve been over signing up, might’ve been over something else. In any case, it was a stormy departure. Off he went to the recruiter’s office, basic training, then shipped out for Vietnam. He was killed on his third day there. Just 18 years old. His daddy never had a chance to say another word to him. 58,000 more stories of homecomings that were not quite as they were expected to be.
That poor Dad had to carry a very heavy burden for the rest of his life. So very sad. Another casualty of the war that should never have been…a broken heart💔.
🙏🏼