A Christian Chaplain’s Wartime Experiences At an early age Mark Lowry was called by God into the Christian ministry. Overcoming early difficulties in obtaining an education, by age forty he had graduated with honors from college and earned a master’s degree and a doctor’s degree in theology. Having narrowly missed serving in the United States Army during World War I, on 7 December 1941 when he heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he knew exactly what the Lord wanted him to do. On the morning of 8 December 1941 he volunteered to serve in the United States Army as a chaplain at any time and any place the nation might need him. Six months later he was a first lieutenant in the United States Army serving as a chaplain in a combat unit training to go to war. His unit landed in North Africa the day the German Afrika Korps surrendered. In September 1943 he landed with his unit at Salerno, Italy, and served in some of the bloodiest battles of the Italian Campaign. With his unit he later made the amphibious landing at Anzio where he served until the breakout from that beach head. This book gives a vivid description of some of the German Luftwaffe and artillery attacks on United States troops. It also describes the challenges imposed upon medical personnel in treating the soldiers wounded in those attacks. Continuing to serve in combat, he remained in Italy until the war ended with his unit at the Brenner Pass. In this book he has described many accounts of the combat action in Italy, including the personal trials and experiences of some of the men to whom he ministered. This collection of short devotional poems and sketches is based upon his combat experiences during that war. It portrays the practical application of the Christian Faith to the everyday experiences of soldiers in armed combat. It is the memoir of a Christian soldier.
