Rest for the War-Weary
David Alexander on a Marine Chaplain & the Legacy of Okinawa
As a Fleet Marine Force chaplain, I have the honor of serving with Marines. I live alongside them, train with them, go to war with them, and in the valley of the shadow of death I give them my blessing and they keep me alive. I cry with them in the face of great loss when it is the only way to keep our humanity. We answer our nation's call together, and we strive together and grow weary together. Some of my Marines have deployed seven times over the last ten years. We are all getting tired, even as we continue to prepare to answer the call of our nation "in every clime and place."
These days I am given a little rest, along with the solemn duty of helping others find rest, as I have been tasked with running a retreat program for Marine forces and their families serving in the Pacific theater. Along with providing rest, my staff provides help in strengthening marriages and families, developing warrior resilience from a spiritual perspective, and aiding units in cultivating character and leadership potential in their junior Marines. I live on the island of Okinawa, and my duties take me to Korea and to many locations across Japan.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
33.3—May/June 2020
Maternal Body: A Theology of Incarnation from the Christian East by Carrie Frederick Frost
Fertile Ground: A Pilgrimage Through Pregnancy by Laura S. Jansson by Agnes R. Howard
33.2—March/April 2020
Lewis, Chesterton, et al. Against the Frauds, Experts & Revisionists by Vigen Guroian
27.6—Nov/Dec 2014
Tales of Forbidden Stereotypes
Real-Life Men & Women & the Tragic Loss of Human Comedy by Anthony Esolen
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
