A Chaplain’s Story

The Rev. Brenson Bishop was pleased when his fellow soldiers in Iraq gave him the nickname “Chappy” — until one of them told him how they came up with it.

“It meant ‘chaplain old enough to be their pappy,’ ” said Bishop, who was in his late 40s when he served in Iraq in 2004-05.

Bishop, a member of the Army Reserves from Louisville, had plenty of colleagues in their 30s and 40s — “reserve units tend to be older,” he said.

But he acknowledges feeling the pains of age as he endured the difficulties of wartime life.

His body armor, personal protective gear and supplies weighed about 50 pounds, he said, and he sometimes rode for hours in Humvees with little air conditioning in temperatures of about 120 degrees.

Bishop said such difficulties took a greater toll on him and others his age. Though they were mentally and emotionally mature, he said, they were not as strong or energetic as younger soldiers, and more likely to suffer back, knee, neck and joint pains.

“I noticed that with many of my soldiers, it took them longer to recover than your 19-year-old trooper who likes to laugh it off,” he said.

Bishop, an Army ROTC member in college, was commissioned into the Army in 1981. But in 1992, he failed the Army’s physical because of hearing problems. So he became a Presbyterian chaplain and joined the Army Reserves.

Deployed as a chaplain to Iraq, he was responsible for counseling troops in spiritual and other matters, holding services and helping with other tasks when the need arose.

“When you’re over there, it’s all hands on deck,” he said.

Once he was sent to a combat support hospital in Baghdad. Casualties were heavy and, besides ministering to the dying, Bishop had to help lift wounded soldiers and wrenched his back.

He also developed a serious infection in his feet. A staff he carried became a makeshift cane.

Bishop, who has three children in their 20s, said he used to love canoeing, adventure hiking and camping. But now, even bending down can be a challenge.

“My days of carrying a 40-pound backpack to go camping and sleeping on the ground are over,” he said.

Bishop is still able to work at a job he loves — Presbyterian chaplain at the Louisville VA. On a recent day, he stood near candles and an open Bible and gave a service in the VA chapel that was broadcast by closed-circuit television to veterans’ rooms.

A few days later, he lay on a table in his chiropractor’s office, as Dr. George Howard rubbed between his shoulder blades before adjusting him.

Howard said he’s not surprised by the physical toll of Bishop’s years as a soldier.

“It’s the military,” Howard said. “It’s a brutal job.”

____________________

(To read the original post, visit the Courier Journal.)

Bishop’s story is only one out of many, many chaplains who serve in our army today.