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“FREE me from the trap that is set for me and keep me safe.”
Those words jumped off the pages of Chaplain Charles Vesely’s Bible when he read them aloud to Australian troops at their base in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan, in 2009.
Chaplain Vesely, who is now the co-ordinating chaplain based at Latchford Barracks, was leading evening prayer ahead of a testing task.
The following day, the troops were to pass through Baluchi Valley, commonly called “IED alley” because of its reputation for being strewn with explosive devices.
The words from the Psalm stunned his audience, given they knew what could be ahead.
Thankfully, the following evening they were altogether again, safely on the other side of the valley.
Chaplain Vesely’s military Bible is part of an exhibition called Their Sacrifice, put together by the Bible Society to reflect on war and the spirit of those who have served.
Fairfax has compiled more than 1000 Faces of Anzacs from you, our readers, as a tribute to the men and women who served our country in the name of freedom. You can read their stories at the link above.
Chaplain Vesely, who spoke at a Bible Society business lunch at the MCG this week about his experiences, will be part of tomorrow’s dawn service at Latchford Barracks, followed by a morning tea at the SS and A and marching with the Albury RSL sub-branch.
He said this week that chaplains had been serving with Australian troops ever since the department was established in 1913.
“Wherever the troops are, the chaplains go,” Chaplain Vesely said.
“Out of that come the conversations where someone says, ‘Hey Padre can I have a chat to you?’
“So you wander off to a quiet spot and listen to their concerns.”
“I am firstly and foremostly a minister and priest, not an army officer first.”