Courtesy Photo | Maj. David W. Peters, chaplain, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 166th Aviation...... read more read more
By 1st Lt. Jocelyn L. White, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 166th Aviation Brigade, Division West
FORT HOOD, Texas — When one Army chaplain, during a time of divorce, alienation, despair, rejection and betrayal, turned to reading memoirs of others, it did not help him to understand his own problems.
Not finding the single story that could help, Maj. David W. Peters, chaplain, wrote his own book.
In “Death Letter: God, Sex and War,” Peters began with his 2006 deployment to Iraq with Fort Hood’s 62nd Engineer Battalion, and the trials of his homecoming. His dark and humorous picture of life after war has resonated with Soldiers, families and veterans who have read his book.
“One of my most cherished letters is from a woman whose son died in 2013. He was a homeless Vietnam veteran,” said Peters. “She said that she felt like her dead son was speaking to her through this book.”
Now a chaplain with First Army Division West's 166th Aviation Brigade, Peters finds he experiences the same numbness, anger and the broken marriage awaiting when he returned from Iraq. His attempts to numb his symptoms with alcohol and sex sent him into even deeper despair. He wrote his memoir during this time as an attempt to say goodbye to the man he was before he deployed, with the hope that he could figure out who he should become.
“The biggest problem downrange for most Soldiers in my experience was shattered relationships,” said Peters. “When I came home, I found out my relationship had shattered, just like the Soldiers I served.”
Peters also writes about his faith, and how he thought he’d lost that faith during war and homecoming. His fractured narrative, often explicit, gives the reader a snapshot of his struggles and challenges to continue to serve the many Soldiers that depended on him for spiritual support.
“I’m always surprised about the book’s impact on people,” said Peters. “So many family members and veterans have told me how the book helped them understand what happened to them or their loved one in war.”
On a somber note, Peters talks about an account with a Soldier he consoled that suffered from double limb amputation and relationship issues.
“I remember a young Army Ranger who was getting into frequent fights with his girlfriend. I went to his room one day and he was on the floor. His girlfriend was packing her bags, because she couldn’t take his anger anymore,” said Peters. “On the floor, he started sobbing. I just got down on the floor next to him and just stayed with him until he was ready to talk.”
Peters recalls the difficulty of that moment and also how he had to be strong for fellow comrade.
“There aren’t many words for those moments. ‘Where is God in those moments?’ we might wonder,” said Peters. “All I could think, in that difficult moment, was that God was down there on the floor with him, weeping.”
Peters recalls in "Death Letter" that when he left for Iraq, he thought about the many things he could lose: An arm, a leg or his life. He never expected to lose himself or the God he took with him to war. Now, Peters emphasizes the need for Soldiers to care for each other during our long journey home from war.
“It’s like U2 wrote in their song,” Peters says, “we get to carry each other.”
Peters, also a priest at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown, Texas, and saw that there were few rituals to bring warriors home from war, founded the Episcopal Veterans Fellowship that meets weekly and conducts "Pilgrimages of Remembrance and Reconciliation" at Central Texas churches.
“These groups are designed to build community and process the spiritual changes that happen after combat,” said Peters. “We always have someone bring a Lament, a poem, song, or story, that helps them process their own experience in war.”
The fellowship group has three regular meetings in Killeen, Georgetown and Austin. They soon plan to launch a group in Houston.
Most of Peters’ work in the 166th is not always out in front. While he loves praying at ceremonies, promotions, changes of command, and balls, his greatest privilege is to be with someone during their time of need. Chaplains maintain the strictest confidentiality with Soldiers during difficult times, such as depression, divorce, alcoholism and suicide.
“World War I Army Chaplain Paul Tillich said, ‘The first task of love is listening,'” sited Peters.
Peters’ book, “Death Letter: God, Sex, and War,” can be purchased wherever books are sold.
| Date Taken: | 03.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.13.2015 15:26 |
| Story ID: | 156980 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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