Photo By Elizabeth Fraser | U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) William Green speaks during an event...... read more read more
Subscribe
Chaplains from across the U.S. Army gathered at Arlington National Cemetery’s Chaplains Hill on July 25, 2025, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Chaplain Corps. Established during the American Revolution, the Corps was created on July 29, 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized a Chaplain for each of the Continental Army’s 38 regiments.
In the shadow of Chaplain headstones and the four memorials to Chaplains’ service and sacrifice in our nation’s wars, ANC Senior Army Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Ludovic Foyou welcomed a crowd of Chaplains, family members and well-wishers, saying the cemetery was “where the legacy of our Corps is not just remembered, it is buried into the very soil we stand on.”
Foyou highlighted the significance of the memorials behind him, explaining their tributes: one honors Chaplains killed in World War I; another commemorates 134 Protestant Chaplains who died in both world wars; a third memorializes 83 Catholic Chaplains who lost their lives in World War II, Korea and Vietnam; and the most recent honors 14 Jewish Chaplains who died while serving their country. “These stones do not simply remember the dead,” he said. “We follow in the footsteps that walked through the mud, fire and fear to reach those in need.”
Army Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) William “Bill” Green Jr., spoke next, urging his audience to use the Chaplain Corps’ birthday as an opportunity to read the stories of names on the memorials. “They were called and they didn't shrink back,” he said. “Instead, when faced with danger and hardship, these Chaplains moved forward in faith and in love, and many of them, to the obedience of their call, lost their lives.”
Chaplain Green asked the crowd to listen closely as he recalled a line from a 1777 letter from Founding Father John Adams. “Posterity!” he quoted, “You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your Freedom. I hope you make good use of it.” Green then explained that past Chaplains, their families, friends, loved ones and communities bore the cost of prosperity. As he spoke, the crack of rifle salvos echoed through the cemetery, signifying a funeral service and driving home his point.
Green then led a prayer before he and U.S. Army Chaplain Corps Regimental Sgt. Maj. Meaghan Simmons, laid a wreath at the four memorials in honor of all the fallen Chaplain Corps service members interred at the cemetery. Chaplain (Capt.) Raymond Akeriwe concluded the ceremony at Chaplains Hill with a closing prayer.
The group then moved to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where Green and Simmons laid another wreath at the same site where the first Chief of Chaplains, Col. John Axton, officiated the interment of the World War I Unknown Soldier on Nov. 11, 1921.
After the wreath-laying, Green reflected on the importance of honoring the fallen, one of the Chaplain Corps’ three core competencies (the other two being to nurture the living and care for the wounded). “When it comes to honoring the fallen, it's a zero defect,” he said. “We have to make sure that we do that right, so that generations behind us will see how much we cherish and honor those who put their lives on the line for the freedoms we enjoy.”
Simmons also felt the gravity of the moment. “I was thinking about all the Chaplains who have honored the fallen,” she said, “and that we're doing as the seniors of our Corps, honoring those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country.”
The day’s events concluded at the Memorial Chapel at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, where the Chaplains and their guests celebrated the birthday with prayers, songs courtesy of the U.S. Army’s Chorus and Brass Quintet, and, of course, a cake cutting.
Chaplain (Col.) Keith Goode, the garrison Chaplain at Fort Meade, Maryland, summed up the significance of the day. “It’s an incredible reminder of the continuity and the strong shoulders I stand on,” he said. “There have been faithful Chaplains for more than two centuries that have just been very intentional about bringing God to the soldier and the soldier back to God, and we haven't lost sight of that after 250 years.”
| Date Taken: | 07.29.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.29.2025 13:18 |
| Story ID: | 544130 |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, U.S. Army Chaplain Corps Celebrates 250 Years of Service, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
