Curtana: Sword of Mercy 1.1 (Fall 2009)

Curtana † Sword of Mercy A Journal for the Study of the Military Chaplaincy Volume 1 Issue 1 (Fall 2009) Curtana: Sword of Mercy is published quarterly by Scriptorium Novum Press, LLC The New Scriptorium Seabeck, Washington † Table of Contents † Fore Words An Introduction to the First Issue 3 Articles Whence Cometh Curtana? 5 by Robert C. Stroud After the Trauma the Battle Begins 7 by Nigel W.D. Mumford Easter Sunrise on a Beach in Vietnam 11 by Marshall L. Hoffman Bringing All Guns to Bear 13 by Richard E. Brunk, Jr. The Utility of Chaplains in the Armed Forces 18 by Eric Rozario A Time to Embrace: “Tug, You’re It 22 by Jeffrey L. Neuberger Prayers that Hurt 25 by Arnold E. Resnicoff A Valley of Bones 37 by Robert C. Stroud Editorials Modeling Church—State Separation 43 by Charles P. McGathy Our Commitment to Church and State 47 by J. Geddes Curtana † Sword of Mercy is published quarterly by Scriptorium Novum Press, LLC. ISSN 2150-5853. The purpose of the journal is to provide an independent forum for the preservation of military chaplaincy history and the discussion of issues of interest to those who care about military chaplaincy. Submissions and letters to the editor are welcome. Submissions are best preceded by an electronic query. The editorial office can be reached at Post Office Box 95, Seabeck, Washington, United States of America, 98380 or [email protected]. All articles, editorials and other content of Curtana is copyrighted. Written permission is required for reproduction any of the contents except in the journal’s entirety (including this copyright notice). Curtana is not connected, in any way, to the United States Department of Defense, or any other governmental agency. The opinions expressed or implied in the journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or publisher. Additional information about the journal is available at justwar101.com/journal. 2 | Curtana † Sword of Mercy An Outsider’s View of the Military Chaplaincy 50 by Weeden Nichols Demonizing Our Enemies 54 by Robert C. Stroud Chaplain’s Rank 58 by Irving H. Berg Book Reviews Faith in the Fight 59 Soldiers, Commissars, and Chaplains 60 Broken Churches, Broken Nation 63 Resurrected Biographies 59 Joseph Ryan Abram † George F. Adams † James Madison Anderson † Jeremiah W. Asher Peter Francis August † Joseph L. Barlow † John R. Baumes † William Wallace Bennett John D. Beugless † John Davenport Blackwell † Adam Clarke Bledsoe † Emmons P. Bond Jabez S. Boyden † Jabez M. Brittain † William F. Broaddus † Alexander B. Brown Edwin T. Brown † John Bryce † James F. Buist † George Bullen † W.B. Carson † J.A. Chambliss Needham B. Cobb † Timothy R. Cressey † William Andrew Crocker † Robert Nelson Crooks W.G. Curry † James DeLany † Frederic Denison † Thomas Devan †J.H. DeVotie William Emory Edwards † Thomas B. Espy † Samuel Field † John Fletcher † Moses D. Gage John Gano † James Powell Garland † Thomas A. Gill † Charles M. Gordon † John C. Granbery David E. Halteman † John B. Hamberlin † Josiah Dickinson Hank † Augustus M. Haskell Jeremiah H. Hazen † James C. Hiden † Thomas Williamson Hooper † William Howard Thomas Hume, Jr. † John J. Hyman † John L. Johnson † David Jones † Jesse H. Jones James J. Kane † Josiah Keely † George Knox † John J. Lafferty † Samuel Summerfield Lambeth Augustus H. Lung † Asa M. Marshall † Asher E. Mather † W.D. Mayfield † Hugh B. McCallum Henry D. Miller † Leonard H. Milliken † James Nelson † Charles H. Noyes † William B. Owen Vincent Palen † James H. Parks † Peter Archer Peterson † George Henry Ray † Lewis Raymond John J. Renfroe † Wilbur Fisk Robbins † Charles H. Roe † William Rogers † Frank B. Rose Adoniram Rowland † William B. Royall † Miles Sanford † James Searcy † Josephus Shackelford Hezekiah Smith † Benjamin Spiller † Joseph Stockbridge † Thomas H. Stout † George B. Taylor James B. Taylor † Arthur G. Thomas † Charles Thompson † Isaac Tichenor † John H. Tomkies Crawford H. Toy † Henry A. Tupper † John L. Underwood † William Vanhorn † Thomas Vassar Charles W. Walker † William C. Walker † Thomas Alexander Ware † Herman L. Wayland Edwin Wheeler † John B. White † William Whitsett † Joseph Wightman † William H. Williams Edward J. Willis † Edward Portlock Wilson †Edwin T. Winkler † Augustus B. Woodfin Martial Poetry 163 Putting War into Words . Poetically 165 by Robert C. Stroud Poetry Gathered from Various Authors 167 Winifred M. Letts † Alan Seeger † Abram Joseph Ryan Theodosia Garrison † Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy Siegfried Sassoon † Wilfred Edward Salter Owen Isaac Rosenberg † Hermann Hesse † Walter Whitman Curious Citations 183 History & Humor, Parables & Pathos 183 Gleaned from an Eclectic Library of Publications Curtana † Sword of Mercy | 3 † Fore Words † An Introduction to the First Issue Welcome to the first issue of Curtana † Sword of Mercy, an independent professional journal for all military members and civilians intrigued by the manner in which the world’s armed forces provide for the religious needs of their members. It is natural for new serial publications to evolve a bit as they adjust to the needs of their readers, but we suspect the major elements you find here will remain constant. Let us know what you think. If you are interested in republishing any elements of Curtana, please note that the contents of the journal are copyrighted. It may be reproduced, without cost, in its entirety, with all copyright notices intact. The copyright to individual articles is held by their author, and written permission is required to reproduce them independent of the journal. Material compiled from public domain sources is also copyrighted—in the form presented in Curtana. In essence, that means that while you can freely use small pieces of that “public” material, you cannot copy major portions of the data as compiled here, and present it as your own. Unpacking the Contents First up, we offer eight articles on a variety of subjects. The first explains the choice of the journal’s name. A British Marine Commando (since ordained, with a ministry of healing) relates the psychological wounds he experienced in combat. A Vietnam veteran shares an inspiring moment in the midst of war. A chaplain discusses the need to relentlessly battle against the causes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder today. A veteran commander from Bangladesh expounds on the benefits the addition of a single Christian chaplain could offer to his nation’s army. A chaplain describes a healing moment in a military hospital in Iraq. One of the military’s preeminent rabbis offers insight into questions we must ask ourselves when we are approached to pray in interfaith settings. And, finally, a chaplain looks back at a tragic humanitarian effort that is representative of much of the work done by military chaplains in our modern world. The second section of Curtana features several editorials certain to elicit an emotional response from some of our readers. The first two come from the pens of United States Navy chaplains, who possess divergent views of the nature of Church and State relationships in their 233 year old nation. These are followed by essays discussing a unique matrix for assessing genuine patriotism, the dangers of dehumanizing our enemies, and the benefits of removing rank from the uniforms of chaplains. 4 | Curtana † Sword of Mercy The three books reviewed in this issue all explore the interplay between religion and combat. Coincidentally, the reviews were all written by our editor (a situation you can help rectify by submitting a book review of your own for an upcoming issue). The section entitled “Resurrected Biographies” provides a collection of previously published biographical notices about military chaplains. These are gleaned from a variety of public domain sources. One of Curtana’s hopes is to become an electronic repository for this widely scattered data. More than one hundred such biographies are included in this issue. The next section is rather “experimental.” It includes military poetry either by or about chaplains, or exploring wartime subjects that should resonate with our readers. If there is sufficient interest, we hope to publish more poetry, and even fiction. So, let your creative juices flow. “Curious Citations” is an unusual feature which brings together brief passages with connections to the chaplaincy. In this issue, topics include America’s War of Independence, the Russo-Japanese War, Abu Ghraib and even the future envisioned by the creator of Star Trek. They are random in their appearance, so prepare for a few surprises as you read this feature. And, should you come across any “curious” citations in your own reading, consider passing them on to us to share. A significant amount of material included in this issue related to the American Civil War era. The reason for this is threefold. First, there was an amazing amount of material written by the participants in this historic upheaval. Second, barring restricted access to proprietary collections, all of the primary source material has entered the public domain. Finally, wartime reminiscences are inherently more fascinating than the recounting of peacetime service. That is why when people ask about our military service, we typically relate the momentous events like disaster relief or combat zone escapades, rather than the mundane routines of sermon preparation, facility management and attendance at thirty-seven weekly meetings. A Sincere Invitation We hope you enjoy this first issue of Curtana, and we welcome your suggestions and contributions towards improving the journal. Please share the journal with everyone you know who is interested in the interplay between religion and the military—in the past, present and future. Curtana † Sword of Mercy | 5 † Articles † Whence Cometh Curtana? Robert C. Stroud Named swords are the stuff of legends. Charlemagne had Joyeuse; his paladin Roland bore Durendal; Arthur wielded Excalibur. And the even more “legendary” Andúril was forged from the shattered remnants of Narsil for King Aragorn.

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