NCO Shares Journey of Faith Through Written Word

By T. Anthony Bell, Fort Lee Public AffairsJune 4, 2009

Author ... Soldier
For Staff Sgt. Gerald Peckham, a mortuary affairs Soldier with the 54th Quartermaster Company, 240th QM Battalion, 49th QM Group, writing books and sharing his experiences has been exercises in faith and healing. Photo by T. Anthony Bell, Fort Lee Pu... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT LEE, Va. (June 4, 2009) -- Staff Sgt. Gerald Peckham is a mortuary affairs Soldier.

His choice to enter this line of work is an acceptance that he will forever carry the stark imagery of sacrifices made by his fellow Soldiers.

Peckham is an author who wants to use the compassion that drew him to his profession and his experiences performing his duties in war to help Soldiers cope during trying times.

"I believe in sharing my experiences and successes I've had the past 13 years," said the 46-year-old Indianapolis native.A,A

Peckham, assigned to the 54th Quartermaster Company, 240th QM Battalion, 49th QM Group, is a Christian who has had nine books published since 2008.A,A All of his works, he said, share common themes about faith.

"All of the books are connected in one way or another," he said.A,A "They share my past experience, things I've learned from my life.A,A A little bit of me is in every book."

Peckham's path to a greater spirituality began 13 years ago when his grandmother was on her deathbed.A,A The two were very close and she had provided him spiritual guidance throughout his life.

"The very last day I was at her bedside, I remembered that particular day was a sad day," he recalled.A,A "I was standing next to her, and I basically just prayed out to God. I was curious.A,A Here I was, not a Christian, but curious, because of everything that she had talked about."

Peckham said he called out to God with naked vulnerability and "... at that instance, I closed my eyes and a vision appeared," he said.A,A "In that vision were three people."

The former Reservist said he witnessed recognizable, silhouetted images of his deceased grandmother, grandfather and an uncle who suffered an accidental death as a child.A,A It was a vision he has never forgotten.

"He (God) knew what my heart desired, and he made it possible," said Peckham.A,A "Ten days later, I became a Christian."

It would serve him well.A,A Peckham endured financial and marital problems because of his newfound faith.A,A His faith also sustained him through his first tour to Iraq four years ago, where he said he handled the remains of 130 people, mostly Soldiers.

"It was very tough," he said.A,A "... Each night I would pray and ask God for his strength to carry me on each and every day.A,A Each time God was telling me that what I was doing was something that takes a special person, a special heart to do it."A,A

Peckham returned to Iraq in 2007, carrying matters of the heart by the ton but more faithful than ever.A,A That tour was comparatively less incidental than the first.A,A It provided him the opportunity to finish a book about his grandmother that he had been working on since her death.A,A "The Heart of a Shepherd" was published in 2008.

The books Peckham has published since then are truly exercises in faith and healing.A,A They are also the means to enlighten. Peckham said enlightenment is a first step to faith and faith is something that can benefit Soldiers because of the nature of their work.A,A They are likely to find themselves in dangerous or life-threatening situations, suffer horrific wounds or experience the death of a close friend or fellow Soldier.

"Soldiers need something to believe in," he said.A,A "... The Army Values are great values and I believe that I've lived those values and used them... but Soldiers need a little more assurance ..."

Peckham is currently working on his 10th book, directed toward children.A,A He was inspired to write "Tommy Tuttle and the Fire Station" because of an incident during his first tour to Iraq.A,A Peckham said he was two to three weeks away from redeployment when four Soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb. The unit didn't have any previous deaths and were near the end of its tour as well.

"It really affected the unit as a whole," he recalled, noting that one of the Soldiers had eight children.A,A "... I thought about all the kids and how their lives are going to be changed. My heart really went out to them."

Peckham said the book will be dedicated to the men and women of the Armed Forces and the sacrifices they make.A,A He said dealing with the result of those sacrifices has taught him to treasure life, take nothing for granted and strive to further his faith.

"It could have been me instead of those Soldiers," he said, "so I want to make sure that I'm in the right place, so if I'm the next one, at least I have the assurance that God is going to take care of me."