VOL. 6, NO. 34 MAY 23, 2016

Battle Chaplain by Cpl. George Barrett, YANK Staff (Apr 13, 1945) He goes up under fire without arms, listens

to the TS gripes of his GIs and writes home to their families when they fall.WITH THE FIFTH ARMY– “I was the

traditional clergyman before I came into the Army,” the chaplain said. “Guess I had the idea that being in the clergy I was favored by the Almighty-privileged, in a way. But my first experience under shellfire was with screaming meemies, and when the Jerries opened up with a barrage against my dugout I remember saying ‘Oh, God, wait a minute. Let’s talk this over.’ ““On the Fifth Army front, Chaplain Yoder P.

Leith (right) gets a light from Catholic padre Alvin J. Jasinski” from Yank magazine, 13 April 1945 (author’s collection).

Chaplain Yoder P. Leith, padre of the 338th Infantry Regiment, 85th Division, is a slit-trench chaplain who talks GI.  He wears the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart and has been with the division as regimental and battalion chaplain almost since its activation, serving in maneuvers in Louisiana and California, in training in Africa and in combat in Italy.Before the war Chaplain Leith was a

Presbyterian minister in the blast-furnace section of Pittsburgh, Pa. He went to Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, did graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh and complete three years of training for the ministry at Pittsburgh’s Western Theological Seminary.The chaplain is 39 years old. He has a

year-old by -his first- whom he has never seen. He follows Li’l Abner faithfully and thinks Sad Sack’s prophylactic “Dream” was hi lar ious. The padre l ikes an occasional drink and confesses he’s a bad poker player.“We’re no crusaders,” he says.It was in th September push in Italy, when

the 338th was advancing slowly against enemy positions, that Chaplain Leith got his Purple Heart. Some of the companies lost two-thirds of their men, and casualties were high in every unit. Moving to a new position below the heights, the chaplain’s battalion bypassed a Kraut strong-point without knowing it. Jerry watched the whole battalion go down into the valley, then let them have it.

Under the heavy fire the battalion split up, and the padre found himself at the end of a column of soldiers trying to get out of the valley. They started out, through a defile, when a medical sergeant at the head of the column asked the chaplain to change places so he could watch for casualties. They switched, and 10 minutes later the sergeant was killed.“That made a very great impression on

me , ” t he chap la in says . “ I ’m no t superstitious. I realized that all of us here, more or less, are in the position of giving our lives for one another, and it might have been me who got it instead of him.”The Jerries pounded the column with

shells, and the chaplain got a fragment in his leg. The Germans kept up a steady machine-gun fire, and while Leith was scrambling along a ditch a Kraut bullet pierced his pack and tore a hole through a New Testament he was carrying. “I don’t know whether that Bible deflected the bullet,” he says, “but I sent it home to my wife to keep.”The duties fo all chaplains are pretty

clearly defined. In quiet periods up front the one Catholic and two Protestant chaplains who are in the regiment (the Jewish chaplain is assigned to the division) divide the work so that each will be generally responsible for the welfare of a battalion. But in action or during a push the two Protestant chaplains serve with the forward troops while the Catholic padre is stationed at the medical collecting point ot aid the

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Daily Scriptures May 23 2Sam 1-2, Ps119:105-112, Eph 4 May 24 2Sam 3-4,Ps119:113-120, Eph 5-6 May 25 2Sam 5-6, Ps119:121-128, Phil 1-2 May 26 2Sam 7-9, Ps119:129-136, Phil 3-4 May 27 2Sam 10-11, Ps119:137-144, Col 1-2 May 28 2Sam 12-13, Ps119:145-152, Col 3-4 May 29 2Sam 14-15, Ps119:153-160, 1The 1-2

Transformative Articles ~ Battle Chaplain~ Why Do I Need Forgiveness? Beware of the Wrong Answers~ Hitting Back Bullies

Spiritual Forge Pg 4~ Scripture, Prayer and Discipleship

Training Pg 5~ Training Event~ ASIST (Anakonda16)~ Strong Bonds for Couples

Things of Interest ~ Today In Church History Pg 2 ~ Surviving the Elements Pg 3 ~ Bible Trivia Quiz Pg 5

CHAPLAIN’S SITREP 18TH COMBAT SUSTAINMENT SUPPORT BATTALION

CH (CPT) Andrew Calvert & SPC Malcom Williams

VOL. 6, NO. 34 MAY 23, 2016wounded and give last rites. The catholic padre with the 338th, Father Alvin J. Jasinski, Michigan City, Ind., wears the Purple Heart in addition to a Bronze Star for his work at an aid station.There are many tight squeezes at the

front, and Chaplain Leith’s assistant, T-5 Warren B. Cramer, 26, of Paola, Kans., (“I knew how to play the organ, so I was made a chaplain’s assistant”) wears a Combat Infantryman’s Badge and carries an M1 -or carbine, if he can get it- when he drives the chaplain, who goes unarmed.

ONE of the hardest duties of the chaplains, Leith says, is writing letters of condolence to the families of soldiers killed or wounded in action. They try to supplement the War Department’s terse telegram with a complete story of how a soldier died or was wounded. This involves considerable inquiry. In one push, for example, the chaplains of the regiment and their assistants wrote 900 let ters, sometimes as many as six to one family, giving details of battle casualties.In a recent letter to the wife of a soldier

killed in action, Chaplain Leith described in blunt sentences the details of his death. “. . . Those who were with Richard at the time have told me how it happened. On the evening of November 18, 194, he was helping a group of men from his company in setting up defensive mines to guard against a possible counterattack by the enemy. An enemy machine gun opened up on the group from an unexpected quarter. Bullets hit Richard in the head and chest, killing him instantly . . . .”Every case is a different and moving case,

Leith says, and the chaplains do long research to give the families the information they are anxious to get. One wife asked a chaplain to get five buddies of her dead husband to write to her. He had to reply that all five had been killed.Other letters Chaplain Leith writes are less

sad–like this one: “. . . Received your letter concerning your husband, who has been reported to you as ‘missing in action.’ . . . I regret to have to tell you that your husband is now under guard serving a sentence for leaving his organization without permission. . . . I trust that none of us may be too harsh in judging his mistake. . . .”The chaplains of the Fifth Army often hold

religious services under fire. In forward areas they get groups of four of five men together to worship; back in the rear they hold services in buildings and caves directly under shellfire. Last Christmas many of the front-line services were conducted in stables.A sense of humor is important. Recently

Chaplain Leith dropped in on a unit whose men were eating fresh pork. “You see, Padre,” a sergeant explained, “this pig was walking through a mine field. We were afraid the pig would step on a mine and hurt somebody. So we shot him.” The chaplain joined them in a pork-chop dinner.Once a Catholic chaplain found a couple

of GIs eating fresh chicken. They hadn’t eaten fresh mean in 18 days, and when they tried to buy a chicken from a local farmer he refused to sell. So they killed one anyhow and ate it.TS, incidentally, is something chaplains

can often do something about, despite GI opinions to the contrary. Sometimes, of course, they don’t try, as when a soldier came to Leith and gleefully said he had a grave physical defect because a hospital reported him as “lacking in moral fiber.”But there’s plenty of sense in the crack,

“Go see the chaplain.” Transfers in combat areas are usually as hard to get as rotation, but Chaplain Leith tells about the rifleman in an Infantry company who was only moderately good in his job because he wanted to get into the Medics where he could continue his training for medicine. “I saw the proper authorities,” Leith says. “He got transferred. Today he’s doing a whiz of a job.”The chaplain insists that there are no

atheists in foxholes. “German 88s,” he says, “convert to Christianity.”Much of the work of forward-area

chaplains is with the Medics. As one aid-station captain says, the padre sometimes does more good than the medics; “there are times when the chaplain’s words give a man just enough to hold onto.”“Funny thing, though, ” Chaplain Leith

says. “The Army asks us to give the sex-morality lectures up here–not before the outfit goes into a rest area, but before it goes into the line.”

Why Do I Need Forgiveness? Beware of the Wrong Answers by John Piper, desiringgod.org (May 18, 2016) What is the ultimate aim of the cross for

me in the forgiveness of my sins? It’s one of the most foundational questions in the world, and the question gets answered in a dozen different ways, by some good answers, some poor answers, and some false answers, as well. And John Piper helps parse the answers in a 2015 sermon to the Co-Mission church planting network in Canterbury, England. Here’s how he explained it.Do you remember Romans 1:18 where it

says, in unrighteousness we suppress the truth of God’s glory and we embrace other things? Well, that word “unrighteous” is the word used in 1 Peter 3:18: Christ suffered once, “the righteous for the unrighteous.”So, as God looks down and sees hearts

that prefer other things to him, he doesn’t just get angry, he says: I am going to fix that. And the first thing I am going to do is put my Son as perfectly righteous, who never came within one width of exchanging my glory for anything else, I am going to put my Son out there to take their place and bear that anger that I feel so strongly towards their idolatry. And I put him in that

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Today In Church History Monday - May 23, 1903Death of American Congregational

missionary Henry Blodget. He had served forty years in China and helped translate the New Testament into colloquial Mandarin.Tuesday - May 24, 1738John Wesley feels his “heart strangely

warmed” when he hears a reading of the preface to Luther’s commentary on Romans at London’s Aldersgate Chapel. The event turns him into a soul-winner.Wednesday - May 25, 1805Death of Wil l iam Paley. He had

developed an influential apologetic based on natural history. He made the argument from design his own, using the analogy of a clockmaker and watch.Thursday - May 26, 604Death of St. Augustine of Canterbury

who brought the gospel to Southern England.Friday - May 27, 1084Robert Guiscard, a Norman adventurer,

enters Rome at the request of Pope Gregory VII. He liberates the pope and reduces half the city to ruins. His men will rape even the nuns and sell thousands of Romans into slavery.Saturday - May 28, 1949A communis t par ty congress in

Czechoslavkia declares its right to educate children in atheistic Leninism without regard for their parents’ religious values.Sunday - May 29, 1538Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

procures a brief from Pope Paul III, setting aside a sentence against his favorite preacher, the Benedictine monk  Alonso de  Virués, who had been accused of L u t h e r a n i s m b e c a u s e o f h i s correspondence with Erasmus and isolated passages from his sermons.

VOL. 6, NO. 34 MAY 23, 2016place, and I am going to pour out my wrath on him.So, I will read it again: “Christ also

suffered once for sins, the righteous for the [truth-suppressing, God-exchanging] unrighteous,” and then here is the key phrase, “that he might bring us to God.” T h a t v e r s e i s p a r a m o u n t i n m y understanding of the gospel for this reason. I know that there are precious truths that we preach in the gospel and we terminate on them when they, in fact, are not the ultimate termination.What I mean is this:Christ died that my sins might be forgiven.

That is glorious. Christ died that I might be justified or counted perfectly righteous in the presence of the holy God. That is glorious — and that is not the ultimate goal of the cross. Christ died in order that his wrath might be removed. That is glorious — and that is not the ultimate goal of the gospel. Christ died that I might not go to hell. That is really good news — and that is not the ultimate goal of the gospel. This verse expresses the ultimate goal of the gospel. I will read it again: “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). All those other things — forgiveness, justification, removal of wrath, escape from hell — are all means to getting to him.I often ask people: Why would you want to

be forgiven? We’re all singing and waving our hands and, yes: forgiven, forgiven, forgiven! And I will say: Yes, yes, yes. Why? There are a lot of bad answers to that question, a lot of God-dishonoring answers.If I offend my wife in the morning and then

at breakfast there is ice in the air, her back is to me. She is at the sink. This relationship is broken. My fault. What needs to happen? I need to ask for forgiveness. I need to repent, and she needs to give me forgiveness. Why? Why do I want forgiveness from her?Here is a bad answer: If I don’t get

forgiveness, she might not make supper for me tonight. A lot of people answer God that way. Here is another bad answer: I hate having a guilty conscience all day. I want to get this fixed now, because I don’t like having a guilty conscience all day. That is a bad answer. It is true. It just has nothing to do with her value. Or God’s value. Right? Christianity is good for my psychological well-being. Thank you very much, God. Take a vacation. I have got what I want: psychological well-being. You get it? You see what is going on?If we don’t get to God through forgiveness,

through justification, through propitiation, through escape from hell, through removal

of wrath, if we don’t get to God and love him and treasure him and own him and say, He is everything to us, it hasn’t happened. Salvation hasn’t happened. That is what it is about. It is about him. It is not about me getting forgiven, me getting out of hell, me getting free from wrath. It is about me getting to God. I am made for God. I am made to know him and love him and be with him in a fellowship that is satisfying to my soul and, because it is satisfying to my soul, it is glorifying to his name. That is the end of the story. Everything else is means.I love this verse. “Christ also suffered once

for sins,” — my sins. My sins of exchanging God for other things. He died so that I could get to him and finally discover what my treasure is and my value in him is. That is the first thing that has to happen to restore God to the center is that Christ must die for our unrighteous exchange. And he did. And that is the heart of the gospel. But it is not the goal of the gospel. The goal of the gospel is God.

Hitting Back Bullies by David Coleman, keepingchildrensafe.co.uk (Mar 7, 2016) Psychologist David Coleman caused

controversy when he said on air that children should hit back in the playground. Here, he explains his logicWhat would you say if your son or

daughter comes home, telling you that there is a kid in their class who regularly pushes them, pokes them or trips them in the yard at school?I am sure many of you would tell them to

avoid the child, ignore them, or tell the teacher about what is going on. But would you tell your child that they could push back, or poke back or trip in return?

I would because I want my child to feel that they can assert themselves. I don’t want my child to be aggressive, or

domineering, but I do want them to show that they are not willing to let anyone push them around.I gave this advice, on air, on RTE Radio 1

recently and it attracted quite a bit of comment. From what I could gather, the texts to the show seemed evenly split between those who agreed with me and those who disagreed.That is fair enough. Everyone is entitled to

their opinion. But I did wonder what the actual objection was, of those who felt that a child should not be given permission to fight back?Maybe some parents, or, as in the case of

a couple of texters to the show – primary school principals – feel that a child should submit to physical bullying. Perhaps they should, literally, turn the other cheek to their attacker?But I wonder what that will achieve, other

than to identify them as a future target for more of the same.I use the word “attacker” carefully and

consciously, because that is what I believe is going on. One child (or group of children) is attacking another. Either this happens as a once-off occurrence, or if it is sustained, repeated and insidious, it becomes bullying.In my experience, and the experience of

many of the youngsters that I have worked with, if an initial physical attack is not met with some degree of physical response, then it tends to happen again. If another child discovers that they can push someone around, they often continue to do so.In most cases, if a physical attack leads to

a physical response, like a shove, or a thump, it may develop into a full-blown fight, but that then tends to be the end of it. There is rarely a “second go”.The attacker thinks twice about picking on

a child who fights back because it requires so much more effort. It is easier to just move on to a different child who may be an easier target.

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Camp SkillsWire Saws Improvise a saw using a green sapling to form a hacksaw frame. You can use the wire saw in your survival tin for the cutting edge. Alternatively, simply insert short wooden handles into the loops on each end of the saw.

McNab, Chris Special Forces Survival Guide; MJF Books, 2008.

VOL. 6, NO. 34 MAY 23, 2016Whereas if a child submits to the initial

assault, be it a shove, a kick, or a thump, then they are at much greater risk of receiving another the next day, and for as long as the attacker chooses.By not fighting back they give a very clear

message that they will not resist. They give an equally clear message that they accept the other child’s dominance.But why should they? Who gave the other

kid the right to push my child around? Nobody did. But children, absolutely, have the right to defend themselves.I do need to be very clear that I am not

suggesting that you give your child a message that fighting is good, or even desirable. I do not believe that we should ever encourage our children to be the aggressors or those that strike first.But I think it is fine for children to hear that

fighting has its place. I think it is fine for children to believe that it is acceptable to push back against someone who has intentionally pushed them.I also want to be clear that I am talking,

only, about responding to physical attacks and physical bullying. I am not talking about responding to verbal bullying, psychological bullying or cyberbullying.Each of those are separate and discrete

experiences that children might suffer and there are separate and discrete ways of responding to them too. Responding, like for like, is not the best way of dealing with these kinds of bullying.But physical bullying is its own thing too,

and it requires, in my view, its own particular response. I believe fighting fire with fire is an appropriate way to respond to physical bullying.As with all choices that our children make,

there are likely to be consequences to their a c t i o n s . F i g h t i n g b a c k w i l l h a v e consequences.So, like I mentioned, one possible

consequence is that physically defending yourself against an

attack might lead to a fight.Your child might lose that fight. They may get hurt. The attacker may get hur t . The teachers , mentors or adults in c h a r g e , m a y g e t

involved. Your child might get sanctioned for fighting.

But I think it is worth it if it prevents your child from being further poked, pushed or hit in the future.

There is a lot to be said for enrolling your child in a

martial arts, or self-defence class. Martial ar ts are not about learning to be aggressive, they are all about learning the discipline and skills to defend yourself.Knowing that you have the skills and

capacity to defend yourself gives most children a new outlook and a new attitude. Children who have such skills often exude that extra self-assurance that can even prevent an attack.I don’t like physical aggression. I do my

utmost to avoid it. I encourage my children to avoid it too. But if they can’t avoid it then I want my children to know that they have my permission to fight back.

Daily Devotional 23 MAY8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true,

whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of p ra i se , th ink abou t these th ings . (Philippians 4:8, ESV)God is the inventor of positive thinking. Prayer: Lord, reorient my mind to be ever

cognizant of your attributes that I may emulate them.24 MAY2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:2, ESV)Thinking about who God is and how He

loves His people can be good medicine for the soul. Prayer: Lord, let me never forget your

presence even for a moment. 25 MAY6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the

truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, ESV)Jesus is that narrow gate to God. Prayer: Lord, I serve you through faith

alone by grace alone. For you alone are the source of salvation.26 MAY23 But the hour is coming, and is now

here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24, ESV)True worship can be accomplished without

rituals, traditions, and places. It is wholly focused on the person of God. It is sincere and honest. It is simple and unrestrained. Worship is our expression of love to our Creator, our Savior, our Heavenly Father. Prayer: Lord, every moment, every word

and every action is done in worship of you. May my acts rise to you as holy offerings.27 MAY14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what

shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” (Luke 3:14, ESV)As you notice, John the Baptist does not

say anything bad about the Soldier’s profession. In fact, being content with wages assumes they will continue in their service. The only thing the Prophet asks them was quite simply to treat people fairly. Prayer: Lord, may my interactions be fair,

just, gracious and honorable to your name and for other’s dignity. 28 MAY 16 “For God so loved the world, that he

gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, ESV)The Football Verse. It’s always displayed

behind the goal post. But do we stop to think about its meaning? Or has it grown so common and popular that it’s kind of like Christmas (the meaning sometimes is lost in the hoopla)? Take a few minutes to really let this verse soak in. Prayer: Lord, you loved me and gave me

life. Thank you.29 MAY 33 So the disciples said to one another,

“Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (John 4:33-34, ESV)The work of the Father was more

important to Jesus than his very food. What work does the Father have for you to do? If Jesus thought it was that important, perhaps we ought to make it a priority as well. Prayer: Lord, you are my sustenance in all

circumstances.

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God : His Holiness 23

Revelation 15:4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you,for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

VOL. 6, NO. 34 MAY 23, 2016

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Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) A S I S T i s t h e G 1 a p p r o v e d s u i c i d e intervention training

program to be taught to all “Gatekeepers.” That’s all first-line supervisors, so it probably includes you. It is my goal to have 20% of all 40th ESB Service Members trained in ASIST.ASIST is a two-day, skills based workshop that

prepares caregivers of all kinds to provide suicide first aid interventions. Professionals, Volunteers and informal helpers all need to know how to help persons with thoughts of suicide in ways that increase their suicide safetyYOUR NEXT TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES IS JUNE (ANAKONDA16: EXACTS DATES TBD)

PRAY

FOR THE

PERSECUTED

Strong Bonds for 16th Sustainment Brigade Strong Bonds for Couples: 3-5 Aug 16Curriculum: Lasting Intimacy through Nurturing Knowledge and Skills (LINKS)

Location: Sauerland Stern Hotel, Villingen, GM

Registration Opens: 19 Jun 16Spots Available: 9 Couples per Battalion

1.He taught as one with authority (Matt 7:29)

2.Works (Jam 2:17) 3.Go with them for two miles (Matt 5:41) 4.Build nests (Matt 13:32) 5.Field of Blood (Acts 1:19)

Weekly Bible Quiz 1. How did the people listening to the

Sermon on the Mount view Jesus teachings? 2. What does faith require to make it a

living faith? 3. What did Jesus say you should do if

someone asks you to go with them for a mile? 4. In the parable of the grain of mustard

seed, when it becomes a tree birds come and do what? 5. The field that Judas Iscariot

purchased with his betrayal money was called Aceldama, but as what was it also known?

Answers

Spiritual Fitness & Family Resiliency through Martial

Arts Training TUESDAY & THURSDAY18:30-20:00 at Tower Barracks

Physical Fitness Center in the Combatives Room.Ages 10 to Adult.

Parents must remain present with children 10-15 years old.For More

information see soartsd.com or contact CH Calvert.