Artifact Friday: Field Altar Kit

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Wars tend not to care about your schedule, let alone your weekend plans. Such has been the case for nearly all of human history. With that harsh reality in mind, it has been common for soldiers to bring their faith with them into battle, sometimes in a figurative sense, but also quite literally. Among our collection is a chaplain’s field altar kit from the Vietnam War.

The United States Military, and many other militaries throughout the world, have incorporated chaplains into their ranks. The altar kit consists of a chalice, candles, a cross, communion cups, a bible, and any other components to form a proper place of worship. Together, these items could be assembled in just about any scenario and allow the chaplain to carry out Sunday service.

While military chaplains could be devoted to one particular denomination of Christianity, their duty was to fulfill the spiritual needs of all service members. In addition to conducting regular chaplain duties, military chaplains also acted as advisors to their superior officers, not for tactical or combat reasons, but for morality and ethics. Despite being non- combatants, Chaplains are often in just as much danger as the rest of the servicemen.

One chaplain, Robert R Brett, spent the Siege of Khe Sanh caring for the wounded when an enemy artillery strike took his life. Another chaplain, Vincent Robert Capodanno, was killed while delivering aid and last rites to his comrades during a firefight. It is these brave chaplains and many others that we recognize for bringing compassion into battlefields.