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In Soldiers of a Different Cloth, New York Times best-selling author and military historian John Wukovits tells the inspiring story of thirty-five chaplains and missionaries who, while garnering little acclaim, performed extraordinary feats of courage and persistence during World War II. Ranging in age from twenty-two to fifty-three, these University of Notre Dame priests and nuns were counselor, friend, parent, and older sibling to the young soldiers they served. These chaplains experienced the horrors of the Death March in the Philippines and the filthy holds of the infamous Hell Ships. They dangled from a parachute while descending toward German fire at Normandy and shivered in Belgium’s frigid snows during the Battle of the Bulge. They languished in German and Japanese prison camps, and stood speechless at Dachau.
Based on a vast collection of letters, papers, records, and photographs in the archives of the University of Notre Dame, as well as other contemporary sources, Wukovits brings to life these nearly forgotten heroes who served wherever duty sent them and wherever the war dictated. Wukovits intertwines their stories on the battlefronts with their memories of Notre Dame. In their letters to their superior in South Bend, Indiana, they often asked about campus, the Grotto, and the football team. Their love for Notre Dame helped buttress them during their wartime tribulations, and their return to campus was akin to a warm homecoming. Soldiers of a Different Cloth will fascinate and engage all readers interested in the history of World War II and alumni, friends, and fans of the Fighting Irish.
"Wukovits, a prolific author and historian of the Second World War, is also a second-generation Notre Dame graduate, and in this engaging work, he tells the stories of nearly three dozen chaplains (having deep connections to South Bend themselves) who left Indiana to serve on foreign fields. . . . Thoroughly researched, clearly written, and often emotionally moving, Soldiers of a Different Cloth will be a must read for professional and 'lay' historians of war, religion, and the intersection thereof." —H-War
John Wukovits is a New York Times best-selling author and military historian specializing in the Pacific theater of World War II. He is the author of many books, including Tin Can Titans, Hell from the Heavens, For Crew and Country, One Square Mile of Hell, and Pacific Alamo. He has also written numerous articles for such publications as WWII History, Naval History, and World War II. He lives in Michigan.
Fr. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., is president of the University of Notre Dame.
Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., was president of the University of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987.
FOREWORD
PREFACE
CHRONOLOGY
Part 1. THE CHAPLAINS HEAD TO WAR, 1920s to DECEMBER 1943
1. “Our First Baptism of Blood”: War Opens in the Philippines
2. “The Chaplain Is the Servant of God for All”: Chaplains in War Training
3. “Surely War Is a Dirty Game”: The Chaplains Go to War
Part 2. CHAPLAINS AT THE BATTLEFRONT, JANUARY 1943 to DECEMBER 1944
4. “I Never Expected to Come Out of the Philippines Alive”: Chaplains in the Pacific, 1943
5. “Daily Was I Shelled, Nightly Was I Bombed”: Father Barry from Sicily to Rome
6. “Face to Face with the Realism, the Tragedy, and the Horror of the War”: Father Sampson at D-Day
7. “Our Chaplains Are Becoming More Scattered Every Week”: Chaplains in the Pacific, 1944
8. “Hope Mr. Hitler Goes Underground Before Winter”: Chaplains in Europe to the End of 1944
Part 3. ONWARD TO VICTORY, JANUARY 1945 to PRESENT
9. “I Had the Devil Scared Out of Me Many a Time”: Closing in on Japan
10. “Facing the Insanity of Himmler’s Madmen”: Onward to Victory in Europe
11. “You Could Have Heard My Cheer in Niles”: Onward to Victory in the Pacific
12. “I Have Seen My Share of Blood, Death, Mud, Hunger and Cold”: Home