Saint Martin's Cloak

At the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast, the president spoke about religious freedom around the world .

Today is the 71st anniversary of the sinking of the troop ship Dorchester  in the Labrador Sea just after midnight on February 3, 1943. Six-hundred seventy-two passengers and crew died when a German submarine put a torpedo in its side. Among the dead were four chaplains: George Fox (Methodist), John Washington (Roman Catholic), Alexander Goode (Jewish) and Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed). As the ship sank into the icy deep, the chaplains prayed with frightened soldiers, encouraging them and comforting them in the darkness. Survivors reported that the chaplains gave their own life vests to soldiers who lacked them, and then linked arms in prayer as the ship slipped from sight about 25 minutes after being hit. The story of the four chaplains continues to inspire those who hear it, and it serves as one of the Army chaplaincy's formational narratives. U.S. Army Chaplain Corps historian Dr. Mark W. Johnson recently published an article looking at the background of the sinking. ...

The film based on Robert Edsel's story of The Monuments Men opens later this week. For those who haven't seen the advertising, the film tells the story of art historians, museum curators and artists who served in the Army in World War II in order to protect the cultural heritage of Europe and recover artwork stolen by the Nazis. In his book Edsel refers to the writings of Walker Hancock, a renowned sculptor from St. Louis and a member of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program. When Third Army liberated Buchenwald Concentration Camp in April 1945, Hancock was located in the nearby German city of Weimar. Edsel writes: A few days later, [Hancock] had a chance meeting with his friend, a Jewish chaplain. The chaplain had recently been to Buchenwald to conduct a service for the survivors, their first since being interned. The story the chaplain told was “heartrending – emotional beyond description,” especially when he mentioned the anguish over the lack of a Torah. “...

Later this afternoon, someone will sing the national anthem before the football game begins. I have no idea what the performer has planned, but based on previous big-events this Marine's advice seems appropriate: "So with all the kindness I can muster, I give this one piece of advice to the next pop star who is asked to sing the national anthem at a sporting event: save the vocal gymnastics and the physical gyrations for your concerts. Just sing this song the way you were taught to sing it in kindergarten - straight up, no styling. Sing it with the constant awareness that there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines watching you from bases and outposts all over the world. Don't make them cringe with your self-centered ego gratification. Sing it as if you are standing before a row of 86-year-old WWII vets wearing their Purple Hearts, Silver Stars and flag pins on their cardigans and you want them to be proud of you for honoring them and the country they love - not b...