fr. eric albertson

Military Chaplain Shares Snapshots of Soldiers’ Daily Lives in Iraq

By Gretchen R. Crowe
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 5/24/07) fr. albertson

A bullet hole in a tank; a mortar round-shaped hole in the roof. A “Honk if You’re an Insurgent” bumper sticker; the hollow cavities of a tired soldier’s eyes.
These four moments of reality captured in glossy print by Father Eric Albertson, U.S. Army Ranger, Airborne, chaplain and photographer, only begin to illustrate the 12 months the chaplain spent ministering to U.S. soldiers and Marines in Ar Ramadi, Iraq — where “locking and loading” was as much a way of life as playing catch.
For a short time on Friday afternoon, Catholic business leaders gathered at the Waterford in Springfield to get a tiny taste of life on the front lines of combat while Father Albertson, dressed in military attire, narrated a slideshow of the day-to-day lives of soldiers at war.
“The news gives you this macro vision,” said Father Albertson. “This is the micro vision.”
Each photo literally provided a “snapshot” view into a soldier’s daily life, whether it was drinking soda and eating Doritos while holding a machine gun, doing laundry, filling sandbags or playing checkers.
Chaplains bring a different perspective than what you might find from embedded journalists or other media, said Judy McCloskey, founder of Catholics in the Military, sponsor of the luncheon hosted by the Catholic Business Network of Northern Virginia.
“They’re there and they’re allowed to go to places where the media aren’t,” she said. “They get the real stories.”
Father Albertson’s unit, which was deployed to Iraq directly from a “hardship tour” in Korea, took fire indirectly four to five days a week. More than 100 troops stationed with Father Albertson were killed with more than 650 wounded, including several in the first 48 hours on site.
“Most of our soldiers were away from home between 23 and 28 months, making this the longest deployment in the history of the Army since the Korean War,” he said.
He started taking portrait photos of the soldiers both to send home to their families as well as to those who had sent care packages.
“You know you’ve hit home when you get thank-yous from the thank-yous,” he said.
A photograph can capture a moment, Father Albertson said, or a way of life, as did one shot of the floor of a Humvee that contained everything of value to a soldier at war.
“His sunglasses, his smokes, his machine gun, his radio, all the ammunition,” Father Albertson said. “It kind of captures the soldier.”
This individuality and personality of each solider is often forgotten, McCloskey said, especially in partisan politics on Capitol Hill.
“You have to separate the politics from the servicemen,” she said. “If you’re unhappy with the politics then go vote. Do not under any circumstances hold that against any of our soldiers, sailors and Marines.”
As chaplain, Father Albertson was first and foremost on site to hear confessions, anoint the wounded and preside at memorial services for the fallen. He distributed rosaries to every Catholic and many non-Catholics.
“As a U.S. Army chaplain, Father Albertson’s vocation is best described as a ministry of presence,” McCloskey said. “In that one aspect no other priestly vocation more closely imitates Christ incarnate. A chaplain must first become a soldier and immerse himself in their world and be present to them to minister to them.”
Relief would break out in the camp if they returned from a firefight with no one wounded. On days when the camp wasn’t so lucky, memorial services would be arranged with military tributes to the fallen: a photo, flag, boots, weapon, dog tags and helmet. Following the memorial service, the soldiers would salute the tributes.
“That’s how the soldiers say farewell,” Father Albertson said.
During the long nights after battle, the soldiers would begin processing the events.
“They would sit around, have a fire, smoke a cigarette and talk it out,” Father Albertson said. “This was a very opportune time for the chaplain to make his rounds, see how everybody was doing.”
The average age of the soldiers was between 18 and 23, but experience took its toll, Father Albertson said.
“Some of the soldiers just had this particular look after awhile, a combination of being tired and seeing some of their friends get hurt or killed but also having to do the killing themselves.”
One soldier asked if he could shoot the enemy twice.
“He wanted to shoot him, make him flop around a little bit and then finish him off,” Father Albertson said. “And I said, ‘you know, you really can’t do that.’ Although there is a certain amount of privacy with this type of combat, there is still a moral integrity to their conduct on the battlefield. I stressed to them (that) when this thing’s all said and done, you’re going to have to live with yourself, so we’re not going to play their games, we’re not going to play their rules and we’re going to continue to do the right thing even in a combat situation.”
After Father Albertson left Iraq in 2005, he was stationed in Fort Carson, Colo., then spent eight months in Korea and finally ended up at Fort Belvoir, his eighth move in four years. Because burials of active duty Catholics must be presided over by an active duty chaplain, Father Albertson has buried eight soldiers at Arlington Cemetery in the last eight months.
“I’m doing good work at Fort Belvoir, but hands down the greatest need is in the field,” he said. “You do feel a little like you’re sitting on your hands.”
McCloskey said that a presentation like Father Albertson’s “increases the awareness for the need for more Catholic priests in the military” and “changes the focus from the causalities.
“Eighty to 90 percent of the mission is to rebuild Iraq, to educate people to be able to be self-reliant, to build schools, hospitals, communities,” she said. “It’s more Peace Corps work than military work.”
The single largest group of young adult Catholics in the United States belongs to the military, she added.
“They literally grow up in the military,” she said. “They grow up into manhood and into their faith. How crucial it is for a priest to be truly present to these dear, brave, young soldiers.”
Gretchen R. Crowe can be reached at gcrowe@catholicherald.com.