Chaplaincy in Military Service

 

                                                         Lt.-Colonel John Weir Foote

Earlier on this Remembrance Day morning I listened to an interview with a Canadian military chaplain who is also a historian of this important role through many conflicts of the past and into the present day.

He noted that Canadian chaplains have never carried arms yet many of them went willingly to the front where they provided support to the wounded and comforted the dying. Lots of chaplains were recognized for their bravery and one Lt.-Colonel John Weir Foote was awarded the Victoria Cross for his involvement during the landing at Dieppe, France, during WW2. 

Upon landing on the beach, the burly chaplain attached himself to the Regimental Aid Post, assisting the medical officer and wounded soldiers both spiritually and physically. Descriptions of his bravery that day are utterly incredible and inspiring.Over the course of eight harrowing hours on the beach Foote carried more than 30 wounded soldiers to the aid post.  His citation reads in part:

“… with utter disregard for his personal safety, Honourary Captain Foote exposed himself to an inferno of fire and saved many lives by his gallant efforts … his example inspired all around him. Those who observed him state that the calmness of this heroic officer as he walked about, collecting the wounded on the fire-swept beach will never be forgotten.”

When the time came to evacuate, Foote volunteered to remain behind with those who couldn’t be evacuated, so he could provide pastoral services to those who needed them. 

Both my father and father-in-law were WW2 veterans, as was my mother-in-law. Both men went on to become ministers following the war. My father-in-law was seconded to assist a chaplain during the war and while stationed in Belgium he was involved in removing bodies from a packed cinema in Antwerp after it was hit by a German rocket. There were approximately 1,100 people inside the cinema and the explosion killed 567 people including 296 Allied servicemen. We never spoke about his military service and what it was like to provide spiritual solace to those whose lives were so precarious. 

As we express gratitude for those who served today we can remember those who were and are chaplains. In the First World War all chaplains were Christians while today they come from every religious background, and both women and men serve. 

Chaplains in the Canadian Armed Forces wear patches on their uniforms above their name tags to identify their faith—most often a Latin cross, a crescent moon or tablets with a Star of David. As the first Buddhist chaplain in the CAF, Capt. Joanne Yuasa is also the inaugural service member to wear a dharma wheel emblazoned on her uniform.