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Military chaplains

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 2016.568 | RG Number: RG-60.1950 | Film ID: 4255

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    Military chaplains
    Transcript
    He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high
    shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
    I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God.
    In him will I trust.
    This was the beginning for our generation.
    Here, in the peaceful houses of worship,
    young Americans grew to manhood in the sight of God.
    Among these men, there were those
    who would grow to guide the souls of other men.
    You knew them then as ministers, priests, and rabbis.
    You know them now as chaplains.
    On a battle-scarred field somewhere inside Germany,
    American soldiers kneel to pray.
    These humble men know the power of arms.
    They have felt the might of the enemy's firepower.
    They have crawled through the mud.
    They have died there to destroy the enemy who
    would destroy all free men, and yet look at their faces.
    Each holds a simple truth.
    Battles, they say, are won by military power.
    Wars are won by spiritual power.
    Look closely at their faces.
    Can the chaplain ask a higher reward?
    Can this strength be defeated?
    There are many sides to the spiritual well-being
    of the soldier, and these sides are also
    the concern of the chaplain.
    He is more than a man who leads them in prayer.
    He's a friend, the mailman.
    Why not?
    Here's a chance to see his men smile.
    He's one of them, and they are glad that he is there
    among them.
    Morale is an everyday service of the army chaplain, a magazine,
    an extra package of cigarettes, a joke remembered,
    a friendly exchange of views in the a lull of battle.
    Noah Webster says, friendship is the state
    of being friends and affection arising from mutual esteem,
    respect, and goodwill.
    How like that definition is this scene?
    Leadership, Webster says, is the property of one
    who can guide or show the way, one who inspires the confidence
    and enthusiasm of other men.
    Perhaps this soldier needs encouragement.
    Perhaps he wants to tell the chaplain
    of some disturbing news that has come from home in the afternoon
    mail, or perhaps he just wants to tell him
    how lovely his girl looked that last day at the train.
    But whatever, in the heat of battle
    or in the grim respites between, the chaplain
    is there, offering judgment, integrity, and friendship.
    Wherever an American soldier goes to fight,
    an army chaplain goes with him, armed only with faith
    and the word of God the gives free men
    the moral strength and courage to fight
    for the freedom of all men.
    Faith, friendship, and high courage--
    these are the spiritual weapons with which
    an army chaplain goes to war.
    The chaplain brought his ingenuity
    to the Italian battlefront, where
    our men were pressing ever closer to the southern border
    of Germany.
    His Sunday service reached the men
    holding their positions all along the front.
    Through this amplifier, the chaplain's message
    was heard by the enemy, and perhaps in the enemy camp
    there were some men who listened and understood.
    The army chaplain has taken ingenuity
    to the dense jungles of the Pacific,
    and out of the wilderness a church is wrought,
    a church where men may pray and find peace, men of any race,
    of any creed, of any color, a church that
    is a part of the men who built it,
    men who have lived together and died together for the right
    to pray together, for the right to worship at Easter,
    for the right to observe Passover, for the right
    to sing the Lord's praises, for the right
    of a Japanese-American chaplain to lead
    his men from a leaflet called "Hymns From
    Home" on a war-weary street, and for the right
    to celebrate mass.
    This is why free men fight.
    This is why free men keep faith.
    In these breathless hours before invasion,
    an army chaplain stood erect to lead
    these humble men in prayer.
    This was the 11th hour, a time when men instinctively
    felt closer to God.
    When the mouths of assault boats fell open,
    soldier and chaplain alike stormed ashore.
    Strong in the strength of the Lord, they do not march alone.
    This is Germany, home of the men who
    denied God and persecuted those who
    would not break faith with him.
    And so the army chaplain has become the missionary
    of every liberated mile, and they entered into a covenant
    to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their hearts
    and with all their souls.
    And when they, in their trouble, did turn unto him
    and sought him, he was found of them.
    In this conquered German town east of the Rhine,
    the cathedral doors have again been opened,
    and this is the way victorious American soldiers have chosen
    to celebrate their conquest.
    Surely, then, there is hope for an abiding peace,
    so long as there are men such as these
    who will pray, so long as there are men such as these
    who will lead them.
    No textbook or manual can describe all the duties
    of the army chaplain, for in combat his actions are not
    always governed by the book.
    His wish is to be at the side of a man in pain,
    to encourage the sick and suffering,
    to aid the distressed, to comfort the dying,
    and to bury the dead, no martial music here.
    And yet there is a greater strength in the solitude.
    A cross or star marks the place where these heroes lie at rest.
    The Lord is my shepherd.
    I shall not want.
    He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
    He leadeth me beside the still waters.
    He restoreth my soul.
    He leadeth me on the paths of righteousness for his namesake.
    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
    Thy rod and thy staff--
    they comfort me.
    Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
    of mine enemies.
    Thou anointest my head with oil.
    My cup runneth over.
    Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
    me all the days of my life, and I
    will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
    When the war is won, soldier and chaplain
    will return to these peaceful houses of worship.
    Here, young Americans will continue
    to grow to manhood in the sight of God.
    Here, a free people will still pray for an everlasting peace.

    Overview

    Description
    Narration. U.S. War Dept. Misc. 1170. Different houses of worship. People pray, sing. Ministers, priests and rabbis. American soldiers read the Bible. “Battles are won by military power, wars are won by spiritual power.” Military chaplains present communion wafers to soldiers kneeling. Army chaplain provides a group of soldiers with cigarettes, magazines, and letters. They smile and laugh. Chaplain writes and converses with soldiers. Sermon on a massive anti-aircraft weapon. Soldiers read bibles. A chaplain uses broadcasting technology to deliver sermons to men on the battlefront. Locals and soldiers build a church in the jungle. “Sunday Services, 9 AM.” Rabbi leads services. Men sit at a table for the Passover Seder. matzah. More services for each religious group. A Japanese-American chaplain leads services from a pamphlet - “hymns from home.” Services on a battleship. An explosion, landing craft on beach. American soldiers in liberated Germany. A chaplain in a German church. Rabbi with Torah scrolls. Christmas mass in “a conquered German town east of the Rhine.” Chaplains comfort those who have been injured in battle. Funeral prayers in front of a row of graves marked by wooden crosses and the Star of David. Churches in the U.S. An intertitle with FDR quote, “For we need divine guidance that this people may be a humble people… humble in spirit but strong in the conviction of the right. Steadfast to endure sacrifice, and brave to achieve a victory of liberty and peace.”
    Film Title
    Front Line Chaplain
    Duration
    00:09:55
    Date
    Event:  1945
    Locale
    Germany
    Credit
    Accessed at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Library of Congress

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Genre/Form
    Documentary.
    B&W / Color
    Black & White
    Image Quality
    Fair
    Film Format
    • Master
      • Master 4255 Digital: ProRes HD HQ 422 - b&w - HD
      Master 4255 Digital: ProRes HD HQ 422 - b&w - HD
      Master 4255 Digital: ProRes HD HQ 422 - b&w - HD
      Master 4255 Digital: ProRes HD HQ 422 - b&w - HD

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
    Copyright
    Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
    Conditions on Use
    The Library of Congress does not own the copyright to this material. To the best of their knowledge, there are no copyright, donor or any other restrictions on the MacDonald Collection of films.

    Copyright Holder
    Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Legal Status
    Permanent Collection
    Film Provenance
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased high-resolution copies of amateur films and other footage from the Library of Congress in February 2017.
    Film Source
    Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
    File Number
    Source Archive Number: 1862455-1-1
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 08:01:32
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn560625

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    Also in MacDonald Collection

    J. Fred MacDonald, a longtime professor of history at Northeastern Illinois University until his retirement, amassed one of the world’s largest personal collections of films: 40,000 reels of film, as well as 40,000 hours of recordings of radio broadcasts. This collection, with its huge diversity, reflected the scope of MacDonald's interests and imagination. The Library of Congress purchased the collection in 2010 and is gradually processing it. The collection is famous for its variety and has been characterized as “a bottomless well of oddities." MacDonald published six books, including "Blacks and White TV: African Americans in Television Since 1948"; "Television and the Red Menace: The Video Road to Vietnam"; and "Don’t Touch That Dial! Radio Programming in American Life from 1920 to 1960." He made much of his work freely available in online reproductions. Fred MacDonald died on 9 April 2015. He was 74.

    Family home movies of Germany; election poster; boat ride

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    Film

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    Boy celebrates birthday; bathes; visits park

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    Film

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    German family in city, riverboat tour

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    Film

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    Trial and hanging of German war criminals; US Army returns home

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    Film

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