Article April 21, 2003 Issue

A wartime chaplain finds cause for comfort

By Karl S. Sandberg, Jr.

One of the hardest things anyone has to deal with in wartime is surely the loss of a family member or close friend. As an Army chaplain, I learned that no matter on which side of a war one fights, the feelings of pain and sadness that come at the moment when one learns of such a loss are the same. Regarding the current conflict in Iraq, it might be helpful to remember that the pain and loss felt by the families and friends of coalition soldiers who have been killed, and the pain and loss felt by the families and friends of Iraqi soldiers who have been killed, are the same.

As I have watched television reports of tens of thousands of military personnel fighting in Iraq, with casualty lists rising, I can't help recalling the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of being in a war zone in Vietnam, ministering to a wounded soldier.

It was just a week before I was to rotate out of my unit and come home. The sound of the satchel charges detonating close by startled me from sleep, and sent me running to the aid station. There on the floor lay a soldier who I was told wasn't expected to live. The medics were all engaged in working with the men whom they thought they could save.

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