A 16-foot high stained-glass window...

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...would be the first known tribute in glass to Army airborne chaplains.

     Army veterans and others are trying to raise $55,000 for the first stained-glass window to honor Army airborne chaplains.      The three-section window, which is almost 16 feet high and 12 feet wide, will be placed over the entrance to the George B. Wood Memorial Chapel on Ardennes Street at Fort Bragg.
     "I don't know of any window that commemorates airborne chaplains," said Lt.Col. Lawrence Krause, the head chaplain for the 82nd Airborne Division. "I don't think there is anything like it."
     The stained glass, which is being created in Philadelphia at Willet Stained Glass Studios, will replace a window of amber glass.
     The 82nd Airborne Division Memorial Fund Association has raised $21,000 for the project through letter campaigns and word of mouth.
     Much of the money has come from members in the 82nd Airborne Division Association's 101 chapters across the country.
     "Very few times the 82nd has asked the local community for anything," said Bob O'Brien, the treasurer for the fund, who is a former command sergeant major. "And we're asking them now."
     O'Brien and others want to have the window in place in time for All American Week in May. Every May, hundreds of 82nd veterans return to Fort Bragg to meet old friends and young paratroopers and to celebrate the division's heritage.
     The window, which is hand-blown and contains close to 1,000 pieces of European leaded stained glass, shows an airborne chaplain holding a shepherd's staff praying over three kneeling paratroopers on a drop zone. Behind them, parachute canopies float to the ground.
     "One central religious theme that cuts across all religions and cultures is the theme of the shepherd," Krause said.
     Beneath the scene are words from the ninth verse of Psalm 28: "O save your people and bless your heritage; be their shepherd, and carry them forever."
     Airborne chaplains jump into battle unarmed with their troops and team up with medics at aid stations to care and pray for dying and critically wounded soldiers.
     Of the 95 chaplains at Fort Bragg, 60 jump out of airplanes.
     Organizers say the George B. Wood Memorial Chapel is an appropriate place to honor chaplains.
     Wood, who died last January, was the only World War II chaplain to have parachuted into combat four times.
     Division South Chapel was renamed after Wood last year.
Patron saint
     The stained glass also shows master parachutists' wings, glider wings, the 82nd insignia, chaplain and assistant chaplain insignias, and a St. Michael medallion.
     Krause said some have asked him why the window has the archangel, Michael, who is a Catholic saint.
     "St. Michael is recognized by Judaism, Islamic and Christian groups," Krause said. "I don't know of another emblem that is so closely tied to the 82nd Airborne Division."
     St. Michael is the patron saint of paratroopers. Many soldiers of all religions carry a St. Michael's medallion when they jump from airplanes.
Spiritual moments
     Military scenes depicted in stained glass have always been a part of Army chapels. The chaplain window will be the fifth and largest stained-glass window at the Wood Memorial Chapel.
     Other windows display scenes from four military operations in which 82nd troops have participated in recent years; the Gulf War, Panama, the Sinai and Grenada.
     "These are peak experiences in their lives," Krause said. "And they're also peak spiritual moments in their lives."
     During the Panama invasion, soldiers of all faiths requested rosaries and St. Michael medals, Krause said. One soldier found a postcard of the Virgin Mary and taped it to the stock of his gun, he said.
     "When the bullets are coming their way, they rely on spiritual strength," he said. "These windows are markers for those experiences."
     Tax-deductible contributions may be made to:

(This article, by Tanya S. Biank, appeared in The Fayetteville Observer of February 3, 2000.)

We have been advised that those contributing $82 or more receive a certificate and thank you note from LTG (R) James H. Johnson, former Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division.
(As information, Military Mail / Friends of Our Troops has no connection with the 82nd Airborne Division Memorial Association, and we have not posted this page for any financial benefit to us.)

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