Steve Lannen
U.S. Army Chaplain Maj. Charles 'Ed' Hamlin, left, offered Communion at a recent service in Iraq. Photo by Steve Lannen staff
Kentucky chaplain seeks to give comfort in IraqHelps in the toughest times
By Steve Lannen
McClatchy Newspapers
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq — In a place where everyone is armed, all he carries is a camouflage Bible.
Five years into the war, this is Maj. Charles ”Ed“ Hamlin's first tour in Iraq.
At 44, Hamlin is old enough to be the father of many of the soldiers he ministers to. The lanky man wears oval glasses and his black hair is high and tight.
Hamlin is in Baghdad, part of the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, attached to the 716th Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade.
He is still in the early stages of his own 15-month deployment, which had him and his battalion in Kuwait for Christmas. He readily admits he would rather be at home in Flaherty, Ky., with his wife, Pam, two sons, a daughter and golden Labrador retriever. ”I have 11 months, 25 days to go.“
The Army chaplain was very familiar with this war and its results before he got to Baghdad. From 2004 to 2006, he was posted at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, where he officiated at services and ministered to the families of soldiers who'd been killed in action.
Now he ministers to young soldiers who are alive, saluting or joking with them, a friendly face in a war of daily drudgery spliced with moments of terror.
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http://www.kentucky.com/158/story/360148.html
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