“There are no atheists in foxholes” is a famous quote attributed to U.S. military chaplain William Thomas Cummings. I am not here to argue whether Father Cummings’s observation is true in all circumstances, but if it is even directionally correct—and since there are 1,281,900 people in active duty in the U.S. armed forces with an additional 801,200 people in seven reserve components, not to mention spouses and families—then there are conservatively millions of U.S. citizens whose spiritual health and well-being are entrusted to the ministry of military chaplains.
Within a few days of my son’s death by suicide, a chaplain said to me, “You can’t stop people. If they are determined to end their lives, they will.” I could not fathom how that might be comforting news, but I was too numb to respond. Since that week, I have heard the same thing countless times.
