Lieutenant Commander and U.S. Navy Chaplain Father Daniel
Mode has landed by helicopter in the midst of gunfire on the
rocky battlefields of Afghanistan to reach wounded soldiers.
Wearing fatigues and a helmet with an identifiable cross, he
is a welcome sight to soldiers.
With the words, “I am going to anoint you,” he has brought
Christ’s peace to the dying and, through the Eucharist,
strength and hope to those in battle.
He is an unsung hero, one of three Arlington priests on loan
to the U.S. military thanks to Arlington Bishop Paul S.
Loverde. Along with Fathers Eric Albertson and Michael
Duesterhaus, Father Mode voluntarily brings the sacraments to
thousands of Catholic troops stationed around the world.
Their unending battle waged is the biggest one: the battle
for souls for eternity.
In May 2005, at the age of 38, Father Mode, then pastor of
Queen of Apostles Parish in Alexandria and a naval reservist,
was sent to Bagram, Afghanistan, to serve in Operation
Enduring Freedom as chaplain to Combined Joint Task Force 76.
In the 22 months he was stationed there, he served as the
supervisory chaplain of 17 U.S. and coalition chaplains and
coordinated the Catholic coverage of 30,000 soldiers. He
moved every couple of days, traveling on 263 missions to 51
forward operating bases and offered 601 Masses for 16,360
troops.
“There were four incidents when I knew that my life was in
danger,” Father Mode said of his battlefield experiences.
“There were people shot right in front of me.” He said that
he was not afraid. His bravery earned numerous awards,
including he Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious
Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal and the Combat
Action Ribbon.
“You make your peace with it all. As a priest, you are always
engaging them for eternity,” he said. “For all of us, whether
in Afghanistan or drinking a latte in Falls Church, we are
all headed toward eternity.
“The last four years of my life I call my ‘St. Francis
phase,'” said Father Mode of his years of being one of 6-9
Catholic priests assigned as chaplain. “I lived out of a
duffle bag.” He said that he slept when he could, sometimes
while traveling.
To reach his “parishioners” he traveled constantly using
varying modes of transportation, including 12 different
ships, two oil platforms, six different types of aircraft and
five different types of vehicles. Through it all he never
lost his zeal to serve God and his fellow soldiers so
grateful for his presence.
“It is the greatest joy there is to be that missionary, to be
sent, to bring Our Lord to them which may be the first time
in months,” said Father Mode. “This may be the only time they
can receive Communion.”
In March 2007, Father Mode was assigned to active duty in the
U.S. Navy and appointed chaplain on the aircraft carrier USS
Truman deployed to the Persian Gulf. This ship, as high as a
24-story building, with a flight deck of 4.5 acres, can
accommodate 80 aircraft.
“Living on the Truman was like living in a monastery,” said
Father Mode. “There were a lot of similarities – the cells
were the living quarters, there were bells that woke you up
and sent you to bed. There was the 9:55 p.m. set prayer time.
We all wore uniforms, kind of like habits. There was a pace
to the day. It was a very monastic setting.”
During this assignment, he offered 496 Masses to 5,064
personnel on nine different ships. One of his greatest honors
was in November 2007 when he took a group of 150 soldiers to
meet the Holy Father during a port call in Rome.
Father Mode said that a chaplain’s job is similar to that of
a parish priest. In addition to celebrating Mass, chaplains
baptize, hear confessions, anoint the sick, and officiate at
weddings and funerals. They are involved in the spiritual
formation of the troops and run catechetical programs.
“Nothing stops when you are aboard a ship,” Father Mode said.
“Seventeen people joined the Church.”
His door was always open to anyone who needed to talk, often
times for advice.
“You do a lot of counseling,” he said. “I counseled about 839
sailors in two years.”
This June he was assigned as chaplain of the U.S. Coast Guard
Academy in New London, Conn., where 1,000 students are in
training to be officers.
He said that change and flexibility come easy to him since
growing up in a military home, which gave him a “missionary
spirit.” His father was a Surface Warfare Officer. The
youngest of four sons, Father Mode was born in Portsmouth,
but the family moved to 15 different houses in 18 years. They
lived in seven states and one foreign country – Korea. He
attended three different high schools, finally graduating
from West Springfield High School.
He realized his religious vocation in the eighth grade while
sitting at his aunt’s dining room table on Christmas Day.
“I heard in my heart, ‘Dan, you are to be a priest,’ between
‘pass the potatoes,'” he said. His calling became more
evident as the years passed.
Father Mode joined the naval reserves in 1989 as a Chaplain
Candidate Program Officer, commissioned by his brother,
Lieutenant Commander Kevin Mode, a submarine officer. He
attended the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio,
followed by Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. He
graduated in 1992 and was ordained the same year. His first
assignments were associate pastor of St. Mary of Sorrows
Parish in Fairfax, and later, vice principal and chaplain at
Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington where he served in
the naval reserves during summers.
While in the seminary, Father Mode discovered the story of
Father Vincent Capodanno, a Navy chaplain during the Vietnam
War who received the Medal of Honor after he was killed in
September 1967 during a battle called Operation Swift.
Father Mode’s master’s thesis on Father Capodanno was later
published as a book, The Grunt Padre. In May 2006, Father
Capodanno was declared Servant of God and Father Mode was
appointed postulator for the cause after 10 years of
“legwork” and promotion of this holy priest.
“Father Capodanno was so normal,” said Father Mode. “In his
normalcy, he did extraordinary things in a heroic way. He
served and laid down his life for his friends. He is famous
because of his death.”
Father Capodanno has been an inspiration for Father Mode.
“His story is my story and everybody’s story,” he said. “He
shows me this is what I need to do.”
