The White Falcon - 22.11.1985, Page 7

Local Navy Chaplains celebrate their Corp's 210th birthday |
By Chaplain G.J. Blackburn
There will be two birthday parties at the Chap-
el of Light this Sunday. Besides being the tra-
ditional "Thanksgiving Sunday", it will also be
the 210th birthday celebration of the Navy Chap-
lain Corps.
Command Chaplain, Capt. Philip Anderson says,
"We will cut two Navy Chaplain Corps birthday
cakes in the chapel Fellowship Hall -- one follow-
ing the 11 a.m. Protestant worship'service arid
one following the 12:30 p.m. Catholic Mass. All
NATO base persons are invited to attend the ser-
vices and help us celebrate 210 years of Navy
Chaplain Corps ministry."
The Navy Chaplains of NAS Keflavik (L to R): Capt. Philip D. Ander-
son, Command Chaplain; Cmdr. William G. Condon; and Lt.Cmdr. Gerry
J. Blackburn. Lt. Robert W. Marshall (not shoim).
Navy Chaplain Corps history in Iceland goes
back to July 1961 when the U.S. Air Force trans-
ferred command of the Iceland Air Defense Force
(IADF) to the U.S. Navy. Navy Chaplains moved into
the former chapel building (currently used by the
Navy Campus and CAAC) and USAF chaplains remained
to provide support to the remote site activities
of the Air Force.
Prior to the Navy chaplains arriving, USAF
chaplains had provided religious services in two
different quonset huts. The second one was spe-
cifically built as a chapel and services were
first held there in December 1954. Thirty years
later, in December 1984, the current Chapel of
Light was dedicated and became the focal point of
a very full religious program.
Currently there are four Navy Chaplains, two
Air Force chaplains and four Religious Program
Specialists on the staff. They, along with eight
volunteer lay readers, provide worship services
and Mass for 800 to 1,000 people each week making
this Command Religious Program one of the most
active in the U.S. Navy.
WASHINGTON (NES) — Those who go to sea wit-
ness some of the grandest and most formidable
displays of nature. The nearness of nature often
brings seafaring souls nearer to their gods.
When early Latin mariners went to sea, they
took with them images of their gods, called pupi.
The elevated altar built on the afterdeck to hold
these idols led to the term "poop deck." When
Sir Francis Drake started his journey around the
world in 1578, Chaplain Francis Fletcher sailed
with him. Fletcher conducted the first Protestant
service in English on American soil.
Almost two centuries later, on Oct. 13, 1775,
the Continental Navy was established. In the
first set of Navy regulations adopted Nov. 28,
1775, the second article addressed the need for
divine guidance at sea:
"The Commanders of the ships of the 13 United
Colonies, are to take care that divine service be
performed twice a day on board, and a sermon
preached on Sundays, unless bad weather or other
extraordinary accidents prevent."
The Rev. Benjamin Balch is believed to be the
first chaplain to serve the Continental Navy. A
Harvard graduate and Congregational minister,
Balch fought as one of the Minute Men in the
Siege of Boston. He reported aboard the frigate
Boston on Oct. 28, 1778.
In 1780, Balch reported aboard A11iance. One
of only seven Continental Navy vessels, Alliance

saw more than its share of action. When its crew
captured two British vessels off Halifax, it was
reported that Balch, "armed cap-a-pie, was seen
in the midst of the fray," earning him the nick-
name of the fighting parson.
Benjamin Balch was the son of a chaplain who
had served King George. And one of Benjamin's
sons, William, continued the family tradition.
William Balch, reporting aboard Congress on
Oct. 30, 1779, was believed to be the first chap-
lain commissioned after the Navy Department's es-
tablishment in 1798.
Records show only two Continental Navy Chap-
lains served during the Revolutionary War: Ben-
jamin Balch and James Geagen, a Navy surgeon who
served as a chaplain. From 1798 to 1800 the Chap-
lain Corps had a transient roster of seven.
Until 1830, chaplains wore civilian clothes
while pn duty, and thei/ Nayy status wa§ ill-de-
fined until lo63. At that time, chaplains were
designated staff officers and given relative rank
with officers of the line. The following year,
naval uniforms were changed in accordance with
the Secretary of the Navy's desire for "republi-
can simplicity," and chaplains received their dis-
tinctive corps device--an embroidered Latin cross.
Over the next 30 years, the Navy was still a
bit unsteady. Chaplains lost and regained
their relative rank status, their corps de-
vice and the authorization to wear a uni-
form. By 1898, however, the Chaplain Corps'
status stabilized, and the next uniform
change was not until 1917, when an embroid-
ered sheperd's crook in lieu of the Latin
cross. In 1941, Jewish chaplains were au-
thorized to wear "the Star of David" above
and attached to the center of "the Tablets
of Law" as their corps device.
Let us give thanks
There will be an ecumenical
Thanksgiving Service at the
Chapel of Light, Wednesday
27 November at 7 p.m.
Child care will be provided at the
Child Care Center. Phone 7603
for reservations.
The "Old" and...
the "New" chapels
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November 22, 1985 The White Falcon
The White Falcon November 22, 1985
7