Local News
Gift Of Faith Comes At Christmastime For Soldier
Published: December 23, 2004
ATLANTA—Sgt. Justin Russell pulled his wallet out of his pocket, which was bulging with a black plastic rosary inside.
During his upcoming deployment to Iraq, the wallet and rosary will be in his side cargo-pants’ pocket along with a booklet of daily Scripture readings and family photos.
“I’ve been carrying (the rosary) everywhere I go for the last two weeks,” he said in an interview on Veterans Day. Memorizing the rosary and other prayers, taping them up on his wall at work, were all steps for Russell in an accelerated Christian initiation program at Holy Cross Church so he could become a Catholic before leaving for the Middle East. The program involved private instruction for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday nights, in addition to the regular group instruction on Sunday mornings, so he could receive six lessons a week. The class runs until Easter, but he joined the church in Advent before his deployment Jan. 3, the day before his birthday.
Russell’s sponsor, Maj. Jim Chatfield Jr. of the U.S. Army Reserves, shepherded Russell in his preparation to join the church and shared his insights from his own service from 2001-2003 in the Middle East. He taught him the rosary and passed on to him the rosary he received from a chaplain while serving in Kuwait last year. He has advised Russell to keep the rosary and a Magnificat booklet of Scripture readings with him.
Russell, a mechanic for Winder’s maintenance shop that supports the National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade, had been attending Mass at Holy Cross Church for three years with his wife, Sarah, who was raised a Catholic. He had been thinking about joining the Catholic Church since his 9-year-old son Alexander is Catholic and his 7-month-old baby girl, Hannah, was recently baptized. He was ready to join last year but had to have surgery, which postponed his plans, so when he learned of his upcoming deployment to Iraq, he just knew the time was right to complete the program.
48th Infantry Called To Service In New Year
The 48th Infantry Brigade was put on alert in early November for mobilization and deployment, and soldiers have begun preparations for arrival in Iraq by late spring for a 12-month tour of duty. The Macon-based brigade has units in over 30 cities and towns across the state, and the call-up had been expected for several months.
“It just feels like the thing I need to do before I go over there ... It’s very hard; it’s just a lot of things thrown together in one mixing bowl and trying to complete the class and take care of my family and, of course, work. It’s hard, but it’s something I just need to finish.”
He has enjoyed studying the saints—he loves the prayer of St. Michael the Archangel for protection in battle--and the Ten Commandments. As a soldier he had always struggled with the command not to kill but now more fully understands related teachings like the just war theory and the need for self-defense.
“The Ten Commandments, that really caught my attention because I hadn’t always been an exceptionally spiritual person especially in the first few years of being single on active duty,” he said, adding that he was then apathetic about religion.
“God has said we need to do this and that to be godlike, to spend eternity with him. That’s just all making sense now.”
While Chatfield had not known Russell before sponsoring him he knew of him, as their wives had become friends while the two men were both serving overseas. So Chatfield was glad to accept the invitation from an OCIA leader to serve as his sponsor.
After joining the OCIA program in early October Russell learned that his unit would be deployed to Iraq, where he’ll work on vehicles. He spoke with Holy Cross pastor Father Patrick Kingery and arranged to have the extra instruction. His dog tag now says that he’s Catholic.
“It’s a done deal now—I’ve already changed my dog tag. I can’t back out now.”
He struggles with fear as he prepares to face the volatile situation of suicide bombings, kidnappings and gun battles in Iraq, but has found a new sense of peace about the future and wartime atrocities he’s seen in the past. As he studies the faith he finds answers to questions like why God allows such bad things to happen.
From 2000-2001 he served on a peace-keeping mission in Bosnia, and also had another mission he does not like to speak about. In Bosnia he saw violence and evidence of the horrors of war through photos, including photos from a “rape house.”
“There are a lot of things I’ve seen that I hope I never have to relive,” he said. “I’ve actually come to terms with some things coming through this class.”
He saw terrible poverty like homeless children and families with no fathers, as many had been killed in their war, and 12 people living together in a small house. But he knew the troops were helping the Bosnians rebuild their country, and one of the most rewarding experiences of his life was rebuilding a school. He and others then visited the school after its opening and brought the students school supplies. When they were out patrolling the children would ask for pens for writing before they’d ask for anything else, he recalled.
“They don’t have that stuff. It was a very meaningful experience seeing all these kids getting so excited about paper and pencils.”
He recalled attending a Christian church service in a little chapel over in Bosnia with five other men, including a roommate who was a minister’s son, and being given a St. Michael the Archangel prayer card by the minister. He was under heavy stress and found that the service “relaxed” him. After coming home he began attending church regularly with his family.
The sergeant, 30, was raised in the Mormon church but in high school started drifting away from it. He sees a similarity between it and the Catholic Church in its emphasis on the importance of family. He carried on a family tradition in joining the military, as many relatives have served in it including his father and stepfather, who were in the Navy, and his two grandfathers and an uncle who served in the Army. His brother Travis is in the Air Force Academy. He joined the Army on Oct. 29, 1992, and served for four years on active duty at Fort Stewart near Savannah. Later he left active duty, took college classes in mechanical engineering and, after he and his family moved to Atlanta, worked for MARTA. He later reenlisted in the Reserves and then was offered and took a full-time job with the National Guard.
It’s difficult for him to leave home and family again, but this military savant knows his responsibility to answer his call to duty.
“I’m just doing a job. I’ve got people depending on me and I’ve got to make sure whatever happens my guys come home and they’re safe. It’s a career I’ve chosen, and I truly love my job … If it means offering my life to make sure (my soldiers) come home that’s what I have to do,” said Russell. “I don’t question (my mission). I have to support my commander-in-chief and I will.”
He spoke of the importance of trust among soldiers. “As long as you can depend on your fellow soldiers, as long as they can depend on you, everything seems to work out. You have to have faith in your friends and in your soldiers.”
Marriage Grows Through Journey
His joining the church has deepened his relationship with his wife. “We have had a few ups and downs in the last couple of years. It’s brought us a lot closer because now I actually understand what’s going on in Mass. I can sit and stand and kneel with the whole family during Mass.”
His wife, Sarah, was surprised when he told her this summer that he was going to join the church, as she had never pushed him to convert.
“I’m very excited he’s becoming Catholic because he’s becoming a better role model for his son both in a physical, emotional and spiritual manner. It gives him a sense of home, a sense of belonging. I know he has a relationship with God. To me this helps me support him even more in leaving,” she said. “If the worst happens and he doesn’t come home, I know his relationship has gotten stronger with God now that he’s found a home and a church. I’m happy about that.”
Her husband “is the type of person who will do anything for anybody.” The couple has talked honestly with their son, whom they hope to send to Catholic school, about his deployment and feel they are growing in appreciation for each other.
“I think we’re able to appreciate things more and even before he got called up. Now that he’s been called up our relationship has strengthened even more because we know we have precious time.”
Teresa Vigil, one of Russell’s OCIA instructors, admires his perseverance. “He is very determined … The Holy Spirit is guiding him. It’s wonderful to see people grow in faith,” she said. “He’s very, very sincere about learning about the faith and wanting to just basically do what is right.”
Sponsor Shares Insights From Service In Middle East
Chatfield is glad to help Russell to grow in faith, which he will be able to carry with him over to Iraq and throughout his life.
“It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to be able to share it with somebody, especially when his personal experiences are a lot like mine.”
Chatfield is a member of the 335 Theater Signal Command based in East Point outside Fort McPherson. He was glad to be able to apply his military training and serve his country in Iraq and Afghanistan, having served 12 years in the National Guard and the last four in the Reserves. His father retired as a colonel in the Army.
Chatfield’s first call to duty involved serving in Qatar from November 2001-October 2002 where he provided communications support to Army central command and special operations to support the mission in Afghanistan. He then came home for five months before being redeployed, two weeks after his fourth child was born, to Kuwait from April until December 2003, where he was part of the signal command for the Coalition Forces Land Component Command, and traveled in and out of Baghdad. He served in the same unit with Lt. Col. Paul Morse, a parishioner at Holy Trinity Church, Peachtree City. Chatfield’s regular job is as an information technology consultant for Keane, Inc., largely as a program manager. He said his experiences in Iraq fueled his understanding of the need for intervention.
“I knew exactly why we were over there. There was certainly always a longing to go home, (but) I saw very clear evidence of why we’re over there—the atrocities (Saddam Hussein) committed on his people over there were pretty horrific,” said Chatfield. He’s not surprised by the insurgency as fighters “don’t want to see a free democratic environment over there; they want power themselves.”
On his second trip to the Middle East he carried his purple rosary beads, given to him by his mother, and a Magnificat in his pocket and found it “very helpful to have daily readings.” Chatfield was able to regularly attend Mass.
“That was a real sanctuary for me, a moment of peace and quiet,” he recalled. At some services “I got to be the altar boy, eucharistic minister and lector all at once.”
He made it home last year on Christmas Eve, just in time for Mass, where he surprised his children. As he was away from the front line conflict, the hardest part for him was being away from his family; he adjusted surprisingly well to the over 125 degree heat. He has a new appreciation for religious freedom, as he saw firsthand how even in “friendly” Arab countries like Qatar and Kuwait non-Muslims must keep their faith to themselves. But he found there to be many good, decent Arab people including in Iraq where, after the fall of Saddam Hussein, he worked alongside Iraqis to restore communications. He even brought his family over for three weeks to experience life in the Middle East.
There are many “genuine, loving, decent people in the Middle East that I had an opportunity to work with and we shouldn’t forget are there because only some violent, obsessed ones are in the news. A lot of the people I met are regular, everyday people, but the culture is different, the religion is different.”
He now takes news reports “with a grain of salt,” as he knows that despite all the real dangers and conflict a lot of development and progress is never reported.
Russell is grateful for the support and insight of Chatfield and others and cherishes his family time during this difficult Advent season of waiting. And he will rely on Christ for strength and the peace that surpasses all understanding as he journeys to the Middle East.
“It’s going to bring me some inner peace … It’s gonna help me through a tough time,” he said of his faith. “I’m not going to lie to you, I’m scared. Right now I’m focusing on becoming Catholic and making sure my family is taken care of.”
He also has faith in the outcome of their mission.
“In my personal opinion that’s why we’re fighting this war, in faith, that we’re going to get this country rebuilt and eventually everybody comes home.”
Soldier Joins Church Weeks Before Deployment
Russell stood in the vestibule of Holy Cross, wearing a tie with teddy bears and carrying his St. Michael the Archangel prayer card, on Dec. 19 as he prepared to join the church. His brother Travis, who flew in from Colorado, held his baby nearby.
“I’m just ready to do this and go overseas and do my job. The class was an amazing experience, and I had a blast doing it,” said the soldier, who will portray Joseph in the Nativity play before deployment. “That I’m so nervous is the only thing that bothers me.”
As his family sat on the front pew, Russell was called forward for baptism and confirmation. The congregation applauded as he was sealed with the Holy Spirit, and his serious expression turned into a smile. Later he came forward again to receive Communion. Chatfield put his hand on his shoulder as Father Kingery prayed, “As you go forward to distant places you will be remembered in our prayers. May God protect and defend you in times of danger, may he strengthen your heart and give you courage when you are afraid. May he sustain you in hope and bring you safely home.”
Following the Mass members congratulated him, thanked him for his service, and one said his picture is on her refrigerator. His teary-eyed mother-in-law Davene Strawser said he’s always been a Christian and loves his family deeply, but she is grateful to see the family more unified. This situation “has brought me to my knees,” she said. To relieve her fear “the only thing you can do is turn it over to the Lord.”
Russell appeared to have done the same, being all smiles at the reception. Pulling out his St. Michael prayer card he said that as he travels to distant lands, “I feel like a new man.”
