The Chaplain Corps marked its 239th anniversary July 29.
Fort Benning chaplains and chaplain assistants gathered to celebrate the anniversary with a presentation from Lyle Dorsett, a history professor and author of the book Serving God and Country: U.S. Military Chaplains in World War II.
In his presentation, he shared inspiring stories of Jewish, Catholic and Protestant chaplains who served and ministered during that war. Along with those stories and a viewing of historical photographs, Dorsett emphasized the role of unit ministry teams in the battlefield.
"We would not have won WWII without the involvement of the unit ministry teams," he said.
After several examples of that wartime ministry, Dorsett summarized what made chaplains and chaplain assistants effective then, and how those lessons can be applied in the midst of the current rotations from deployments to garrison life. He encouraged his audience to take God to Soldiers and to remember that chaplains are friends and fathers to many.
Those chaplains and chaplain assistants who attended participated in a follow-on discussion with the author before celebrating with an anniversary cake.
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