Remembering Guadalcanal

I’ve been out to sea for almost a month, so no real activity on the blog because not much noteworthy happens on an open ocean transit. But, sometimes an amazing opportunity presents itself.

One of the great things about this who Navy Chaplain gig is that I get to travel to some amazing places and am provided with opportunities that most pastors never consider possible. I was honored and humbled to participate in a remembrance service off the coast of Guadalcanal this past week.

The CO of the ship on which I am currently embarked received a note in his suggestion box regarding a family connection with a survivor of the Battle of Guadalcanal. The sailor briefly described how is grandfather was in the battle and the ship he was on sank in Savo Sound, commonly referred to as Iron Bottom Sound because there are 46 warships resting on the bottom following 6 months of battles. This sailor also wrote that it was a dream of his since joining the Navy to make it to that specific spot in the ocean.

On the same night the sailor placed the suggestion, he stopped me in the passageway and gave me a brief rundown of how excited he was that he may travel close to the site of his grandfather’s ship. The next morning, the CO mentioned the note and asked me if I would put together a short service in case we passed close by the wreckage of the USS LAFFEY. As luck would have it, we were not only traveling through Savo Sound to refuel in Guadalcanal, our track was close enough that we could alter course slightly and pass directly over the LAFFEY.

I worked with the sailor and developed a short remembrance service to honor all who perished in the Guadalcanal campaign. This sailor created a memorial of sorts by adding a weight to his Dixie Cup (that is the trademark white cover that enlisted sailors wear) that he could place in the water and have it rest close to the ship.

With everything set, about 40 of us gathered on the flight deck as we departed Guadalcanal and with both Guadalcanal and Savo Island in clear view we conducted a short ceremony. In addition, the sailor chose to re-enlist in the Navy in the same spot in which his grandfather survived a major naval battle and the sinking of his ship.

No matter how long I am a chaplain, I will always remember two things about this whole experience off Guadalcanal. The look on a sailor’s face when I told him that the CO wanted me to do a ceremony to honor his grandfather and fulfill a life long dream of that sailor. And, the fact that I was called upon by a ship to conduct a ceremony in some historic waters, somewhere I may never have the opportunity to set my sight upon again.

This is what being a chaplain is all about.