Chaplains in World War II

Clergy from all major American religious groups participated in the armed forces during World War II, serving both in battlefront positions and in more permanent installations. Through their presence and willingness to help whenever needed, chaplains proved themselves invaluable to the war effort.

Since General George Washington’s time, chaplains have been part of U.S. military life. Their presence, however, sometimes has been small. Just before the Pearl Harbor attack, the number of regular army chaplains was 140; in the buildup of armed forces that followed, the number grew to 9,111 within a year. For the rapid expansion, the army drew on reserve and National Guard chaplains and on volunteers from among civilian clergy.

Candidates had to be clergy in good standing with their own denomination. After completing a five-week “chaplain school” in army protocol and regulations, new chaplains received orders assigning them to a duty station. This could be a combat unit, a larger base, or a stateside location. Those assigned to smaller units found themselves responsible for the spiritual welfare of soldiers with religious traditions other than their own. Because of this, chaplains usually learned the basic prayers and rituals of other faiths and would use them in emergency situations.

Besides performing religious rites, chaplains’ pastoral duties included large amounts of listening, counseling, and trying to resolve servicemen’s problems. The many young men newly away from home and facing unknown dangers needed moral and practical support. The civilian population backed the chaplaincy because they saw chaplains as meeting this need of “the boys” as well as providing spiritual guidance.

The Geneva Convention forbade chaplains from carrying arms, but many did face situations of extreme danger. Chaplains with frontline assignment came under fire as they helped evacuate wounded, and as they brought them water and other aid on the battlefield. Perhaps the best known case of chaplains’ heroism occurred during the sinking of the troopship Dorchester, which was torpedoed in icy waters off Greenland’s coast in February, 1943. In the twenty-seven minutes before the ship sank, the four army chaplains aboard passed out life jackets, guided terrified young men into life rafts, gave up their own life jackets to men who needed them, and finally linked arms and prayed as the cold waves closed in. Their example, reported by men who were rescued, inspired others as the war went on.

Impact

Within the services, chaplains’ work proved so essential to the war effort that the Chaplains’ Corps became firmly established as part of the American military. Ordinary combat veterans often remembered their chaplain as “our guy” to whom they turned for moral support.

Within the larger society, chaplains’ experiences helped bolster the incipient interfaith movement and sentiments in American life. Just as the war brought together young men from disparate backgrounds, chaplains also served with other clergy and servicemen from many different faiths. Working together, often using unfamiliar prayers and rituals, made it impossible to maintain rigid attitudes about religion. Clergy carried this wider understanding of religious beliefs back to civilian pulpits; it helped fuel a growing belief in the value of a multifaith America.

Bibliography

Carpenter, Alton E. Chappie: World War II Diary of a Combat Chaplain. Mesa, Ariz.: Mead, 2007.

Gushwa, Robert L. The Best and Worst of Times: The United States Army Chaplaincy, 1920-1945. Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, 2004.

Kurzman, Dan. No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II. New York: Random House, 2004.