Letters from the Pacific : A Combat Chaplain in World War II (Annotated ed)

Many soldiers remember their relationship with a combat chaplain -- some with fondness or gratitude -- but few have the opportunity to view that bond through the chaplain's eyes.

In Letters from the Pacific, Russell Stroup offers readers the opportunity to see the effects of war from his unique perspective -- as a chaplain on the front lines of the South Pacific theater.

For the three years Stroup served in the military, he continually wrote home to his family in Virginia.

Composed under harrowing combat conditions, yet filled with humor and personality, these letters convey his remarkable search for meaning and purpose in the midst of world war.Unlike most of the chaplains who served in the armed forces, Stroup undertook infantry training so that he might usefully accompany troops on the front lines.

He then volunteered for first-wave assaults at Hollandia, Biak, and Sansapor in New Guinea, and Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines.

Despite all the dangers he faced, Stroup always put the soldiers before himself, all the while justifying his decision to his family. Edited, annotated, and introduced by Richard Cartwright Austin, Stroup's letters provide the most probing insight into a combat chaplain's role currently available.

His absorbing correspondence will resonate in one's memory long after his last letter is read.