Deeds of heroism and bravery : $b The book of heroes and personal daring
History
Deeds of heroism and bravery : $b The book of heroes and personal daring
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
“’Tis all one great church, the front line is. In all Christendom, in
all the rest of the world you will not find so much unselfishness,
so much Christian charity, so much loving kindness, as you find at
the front. There, if anywhere, the men are brothers. We feel it.
Denominations or sects are pretty much forgotten. Faith, war makes
strange bunkies, and ’tis me and my pal, the Presbyterian minister,
have been shelled out of the same quarters together.”
The article continues:
“Father Brady ought to know, for he penetrated the farthermost American
position and has crawled beyond the front lines to hear confessions of
Marines in the outpost. He was decorated for extraordinary heroism at
the battle of Château-Thierry where his unfailing ministrations were a
big factor in conserving the morale of the men.
“The true spirit of the Marines is Father Brady’s. He laughs at
obstacles and perils, and his indomitable will carries him through
the most difficult tasks. Often he has accomplished the seemingly
impossible and he is honored by Protestant and Jew as he is by those of
his own faith. Regardless of creed, the Devil Dogs of the 5th Regiment
are proud of their chaplain.”
HIS LEATHERNECKS
“There was to be an attack the next morning in the gray hours before
the sun was up, when Father Brady reached the wooded country between
Soissons and Château-Thierry where his Leathernecks crouched under
the Hun bombardments. He crawled and stumbled along the lines to hear
confessions from his warriors. Hard-bitten old-timers who had not
seen the interior of a church in years bared their souls and went
light-hearted into the hell that followed the opening barrage.
“Reaching the final outpost, the young priest spied a shallow trench
from which a sentry peeped. In spite of warnings he slipped out among
the shadows and wormed his way forward and rolled into the ditch. He
heard the confession as he and the outpost lay side by side looking
up at the stars, and as he crept back to cover he knew that he had
never granted absolution in stranger places. He has said mass for the
faithful with his altar cloth on the shattered stump of a tree during
the last lull before the attack.
“Friend and foe alike received the sacrament from the young Catholic
priest. His enmity for the Germans ceased when he went among the young
wounded Bavarians left on the field and gave them the last consolation
of the church. Often he bent over young Germans, scarcely able to speak
as they groped for their rosaries, and left them facing death more
bravely.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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