THE DETACHMENT CHAPLAIN Dr. Bill Boyd, Chaplain Department of North Carolina Marine Corps League The office of the detachment chaplain has the potential of being the most rewarding office in the Marine Corps League. It goes far beyond the opening and closing prayers in the monthly meetings. The detachment chaplain is the spiritual backbone of the Marine Corps League. Sixty years ago the Guide Book for Marines carried a profound statement in the chapter on leadership under moral courage. Marines are not plaster saints by any means. But they serve God, Country, and Corps - in that order. The Ten Commandments are still a pretty good set of regulations, and they haven t had a change published for almost two thousand years. A Marine with the morals of an alley cat will never command the loyalty and respect of other Marines. A combat leader must also be a moral leader. The above statement captured the attention of a Marine recruit over sixty years ago and has never allowed itself to be forgotten in the years that have followed. The department chaplain recently advised a retired Marine in a local detachment to go to the community college and enroll in a course called English as a Second Language. profanity was his primary language. Sir Chaplain, we have work to do. Leadership by example is the best leadership. Emerson, in one of his essays stated, What you are speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say. When your cover reads Chaplain you have to be Chaplain. We have never forgotten a report of an incident that took place in the Atlantic Ocean during World War Two. Nine hundred and two soldiers were aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, a United States Army Transport ship, heading for Europe. Of this number were four Army First Lieutenants who were chaplains. John P. Washington was Catholic. Clark V. Poling was Reformed Church of America. Alexander D. Goode was Jewish, and George L. Fox was United Methodist. The ship was part of a convoy in the icy waters of the North Atlantic. In the pre-dawn hours of February, 1943 while most of the troops were below deck in their bunks, a torpedo struck the Dorchester in the side. Panic stricken soldiers reached the top deck, many without the precious life jackets. The four chaplains manned the life jacket lockers, handing the life preservers to the frightened soldiers. When the lockers were empty, the four chaplains took off their own life jackets and passed them to the stricken soldiers. The ship went under in less than half an hour. About two hundred and forty were able to escape with their lives. Of the well over six hundred and fifty that perished were the four chaplains. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13) In the fifty years that this chaplain has served in the ministry, (most of which was with the Navy and Marines) he has searched his soul asking if he could have done as these chaplains did. Pride tries to say he could have, but honesty replies, he doesn t know, however the thought of these deeds motivate him to do his best. (1)
Most of the detachment chaplains are not ordained ministers, however most have appeared to be devoted spiritual leaders. It is noteworthy that they have volunteered to give it a try. The detachment chaplain is most likely a member of a local church. It would be a wise move to discuss his office with his pastor. Even if the pastor has never been in the military, he will understand the spiritual matters. It will not hurt to ask. Those, who have been given the opportunity to train in seminaries should step up and assist these who have the desire to serve. It is the task of the department chaplain to equip these spiritual leaders in the Marine Corps League detachment with the knowledge and the tools to better lead their detachment to spiritual and moral highs. The primary duty of the chaplain in the detachment meetings is the various prayers. The Marine Corp League Ritual handbook has all the prayers normally needed in these meetings. The new chaplain should study them and know them by heart. He should keep the manual before him as a guard against stumbling. The Guidebook for Detachment Officers allows for the chaplain to be innovative, however the chaplain should get his feet well on the ground before he tries to fly. The first or opening prayer is the Invocation. This is an appeal to God for help and inspiration in a ceremony or service. It is the enlisting of Deity for leadership or guidance of all in the meeting. Other prayers are for specific needs such as, for new members, and for the installation of new officers. The ritual covers these very well. The depth of thought in these is excellent. The closing prayer, or the benediction, is a prayer of thanksgiving for the guidance received and for safety and protection until the next meeting. A constant question the department chaplain gets is about the proper way to close the prayers. When in doubt just say Amen. It is not good leadership, nor spiritually proper to close prayers in Marine Corps League meetings using in Jesus Name. All Marines and FMF Corpsmen are not Christians. Many excellent Marines and FMF Corpsmen are Jewish, or another mono-theistic faith. Would it be good leadership or spiritually proper for the chaplain to insult their religious belief? Are you not their chaplain too? If you were aboard a troop transport preparing to make an amphibious landing on a hostile beach, would you insult your corpsman? Pastors of many churches would argue this point, but this is the difference. The pastor preaches to and leads in prayer for a homogeneous congregation. These are members of the same faith and doctrine. When a pastor is ask to lead in prayer at a public gathering in a heterogeneous setting, he, too, should respect the beliefs of others. When this department chaplain closes a prayer, in the name of our Lord and Savior, he knows the name of his Lord and Savior. The next task for the chaplain is keeping up with the needs of the detachment members and their families. It is imperative that the chaplain maintain an up dated roster of the detachment membership. He should work closely with the detachment adjutant. The chaplain should encourage all the membership to let him know the needs of fellow members. The chaplain should be made aware of those in the hospital or ailing at home, both members and their families. An appropriate card of cheer is always well received. (2)
Visits to the hospital should be well thought out. Visits in the morning hours often get in the way of the professionals. Try to avoid visits at meal times. Keep the visit short. Above all, don t add to the patient s illness. When visiting those of the opposite sex, the chaplain and spouse should make the visit together. If this is not possible get another officer to visit with you. We dare not open the door for criticism or scandal. The most tender and the most helpful service offered by the detachment chaplain is at the time of the death of a member. Even the most experienced of ministers find themselves feeling inadequate at such times. The demands upon him are never so great as on this occasion. The Lord said unto His disciples: Without me, ye can do nothing. (John 15:5) The detachment chaplain will, most always, serve in a supporting role in cases of the death of a member. Most often, the family s pastor will shoulder most of the load. The funeral directors are professionals. Between the pastor and the director, the chaplain will find guidance in uncharted waters. Be there, listen, and pray. Never tell the bereaved; I know how you feel. You don t know. You cannot know. Your loss of loved ones does not equate with his or her loss. Personalities, conditions, and future prospects, will be different. When using Scriptures, be sure the Scripture passage comforts. The Twenty-third Psalm is a perfect example. It should not preach, but comfort them. Help them to move toward closure. Closure is the ultimate goal in the grief process. About fifty years ago, the department chaplain, then a seminary student, was involved with the funeral of a Marine killed in action in Vietnam. Outside Springfield, Missouri, at the cemetery, the funeral director pointed out a family grave plot containing five older graves. He related the circumstances of these graves all bearing the name of Wright. Mr. Henry Wright had buried his wife, the first of the five. She died grieving the deaths of their three sons who died in Europe in the last months of World War II. Sergeant Frank Wright was killed in action on Christmas Eve, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge. Private Harold Wright died from combat wounds in a German prisoner of war camp on February three, 1945. Private Elton Wright was killed in action on April twenty-fifth. The war in Europe ended two weeks later. All three were buried in a temporary allied cemetery in Belgium. Two years after the war ended congress passed a bill to bring home the remains of those buried overseas at the request of the families. Henry Wright buried his three sons, at the same time, beside their mother. He pointed to the one empty site in the plot and remarked to the funeral director; I can go to my rest now. I have brought my boys home. They are resting beside their mother. Mr. Wright died three weeks later. He died from grief. Closure was a long time coming. It s all about closure. The most difficult thing this chaplain has ever done was to bury a young police officer on a hillside in north Georgia. Corporal James D. Boyd died from a gun shot wound in the head. Half way between Princeton, North Carolina and Gainesville, Georgia, on the way to his side, the chaplain learned that his son had just died. He could not hold his son. He could not see his son. He followed the flag draped coffin to its destination and watched as the flag was folded by the Police Honor Guard. He listened to the (3)
twenty-one gun salute and then Taps. He visited the grave site after the stone was set in place, but none of this brought closure. Later visits to the grave site do not bring closure. It has been long in coming. It is all about closure. Recently, a grieving widow spoke of her deceased Marine Corps League member over a year after her husband s death. Through failure in the procedures of filing the Notice of Death form, and the delay in change of the records at the national offices. She received the Semper Fi magazine in his name for over six months. She continued to receive mail seeking contributions from her husband. A Marine Corps League officer failed to do his duty. The widow wanted to move on. She would have liked to be able to dwell on other things. She desired closure. The Marine s family deserved closure. It is all about closure. The Department of North Carolina has provided an excellent S.O.P. on filing the Notice of Death forms. These have been provided for all detachments. Additional copies are available from your department chaplain upon request. Work is underway to improve this important task of the detachment chaplain. The best time between the death of a Marine Corps League member and the appearance of the member s name in the Taps page in the Semper Fi magazine is two months. The Notice of Death form filed at National Headquarters before the middle or the month will appear in about two months as the magazine reaches the reader by mail at the members address. About half of those deaths of members reported to the department chaplain in his first year were reported more than thirty days after the death of the member. There has been a steady improvement in this reporting, however there is still much room for improvement. In the first year for this department chaplain, fifty-one deaths of members were reported to him, in accordance with the standard operating procedure. During this same time period, thirty-one deaths of members were reported to the national office and reported in the Taps pages of Semper Fi magazine, that the department chaplain did not receive. Thirty-one members of North Carolina detachments were not honored in the Department Chaplain s Report in our quarterly meetings. On pages sixty-seven through sixty-nine of the Guidebook for Detachment Officers the duties of the detachment chaplain are defined. These duties include sending the Notice of death to the department chaplain and the national chaplain. At the bottom of the forms used to send these notices the detachment is to send the notice to the department chaplain. The department chaplain is instructed to retain the remaining bottom copy and forward the remaining copies to the national chaplain. The department chaplain routes his report through the national office membership staff, who then sends the notice to the national chaplain. Department Past Commandant, Bruce Rakfeldt and the department chaplain worked together on department s Notice of Death Form Standard Operating Procedure. This two page document clearly spells out the proper filing and mailing these important forms. While the guide book does not make the respective responsibilities clear, the S.O.P. and the directions at the bottom of the forms make it clear that the detachment chaplain is responsible for promptly and properly filling out and filing these forms. In the detachment, the chaplain and the adjutant are encouraged, under the supervision of the commandant, (4)
to be certain that all blanks are filled in and that all the data is correct and current. The detachment chaplain should have at his fingertips, the cell phone number, the current e-mail address, and the postal address of the department chaplain. These are available on line and from the department adjutant. Should the department chaplain become annoyed by your inquiries, that is his sin. He is here to serve the detachments. Sir Chaplain, There is no reason why the Department of North Carolina with its fifty-eight detachments should not be the leader in the Marine Corps League. North Carolina is home to more Marines than any other location in the world. Chaplains, by the purpose of their office, are leaders by nature. Our God is all powerful. He is not timid. If chaplains are His servants, laboring in His strength as He directs, why should a chaplain lack power or be timid? In His Name, let s reach for the top! Semper Fi: Bill Boyd Chaplain Department of North Carolina Marine Corps League