Looking back -- xxxiv

 

Chaplain Van mentions "points" frequently, points that every veteran in Europe had to accumulate/total to determine who went home first. The more points a soldier had, the sooner he could be discharged and sent home.

The Army's formula went something like this:

• Months of service: 1 point per month in the Army

• Months overseas: 1 additional point per month served abroad

• Combat awards: 5 points per decoration (e.g., Bronze Star, Purple Heart)

• Campaign participation: 5 points per campaign

• Children under 18: 12 points per child (up to 3 children)

To qualify for discharge, a soldier initially needed 85 points, though this threshold was lowered over time as more troops were processed.

In September of 1945, five months after the end of the war in Europe, Chaplain Van, for no good reason that he can explain, gets a transfer. He is not particularly pleased, but he is not a complainer. He will be part of the 759th ROB, stationed somewhere near Frankfurt, Germany. 

I shouldn't be surprised, I'd guess, that the diaries contain no spite whatsoever. He's been working diligently ever since the war's end, setting up worship services wherever he can, whenever he can, and listening in to endless personal problems. 

Among the GIs left in Europe, the problems he spent so much time trying to help find their way back into the ranks.

The 759th ROB 

September 7: 

The 759th expects to leave this month for the United States. This ROB [Railroad Operational Battalion] is composed of all high-point men. They all have over 80 points. This ROB operated in Africa, Italy, France and Germany. If HQ does not transfer me to another unit, I will be going home this month. 

This last line is recorded matter-of-factly, far less enthusiasm that I would have guessed, although it is typical of Chaplain Van, who is a man seemingly unaffected by the kinds of emotions one might expect. Undoubtedly, that beefy constitution served him well in the time he spent in the war.

Then again, maybe there's little joy in that last sentence because this man's attachment to his work--God's work--was quite simply overpowering. The war may be over, but his work is not.

The 762th ROB called me to hold a funeral service for one of their men. This soldier had experienced service in Africa, Italy, and  France without being hurt. He was ready to go  home; but unknowingly he stepped on a German mine and was killed.

The officers of the 746th used a lot of profanity; the offers of the 759th seldom do and neither do they talk about sex.

Lt. S. . . of the 746th was a faithful church-goer in civilian life. He had a strict Christian upbringing, but he couldn't stand on his own feet in the Army. He was out with another woman when he received word that his wife had a baby.

August 26, Sunday

I received a letter from Rev. De Korne, the Secretary of the CRC Mission field. He wants me to consider foreign missions as my work after the war. However, I have  become persuaded that the home base of missions must be reinforced before effective foreign mission work can be accomplished. In other words, I feel that Christian education for the youth of our church is more  important and is basic to the work of missions.

It may come as no surprise then, that when Chaplain Van returned to the States and to his family, he began teaching in Christian schools--first at Western Christian High School, Hull, Iowa, and then at Dordt College, a new regional college in Sioux Center. 

He has, several times, made very clear to his diary that strengthening the schools, Christian schools, is the best Christendom can do to restrain worldliness all around.

The 759th ROB

The officers of the 746th used a lot of profanity; the officers of the 759thsedom do and neither do they talk about sex.

Lt. S. . .of the 746th was a faithful church-goer in civilian life. He had a strict Christian up bringing, but he couldn't stand on his own feet in the Army. He was out with another woman when he received word that his wife had a baby.

Paris

I went to Paris to attend a meeting of all the ROB chaplains in the ETO.. . .It is about a year ago that ai first came to Paris. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then--the Bulge, the Rhine Campaign, the Central Germany offensive, the Rhur, the surrender of Germany and Japan. When I first came to Paris, I felt lost. I didn't know how to begin, yet I soon found myself and my work and enjoyed all of it immensely.

It's not difficult to be taken aback by this last sentence--that this righteous man, so driven by doing right and avoiding wrong would say, honestly, to his diary, he "enjoyed all of it immensely," seems preposterous. On the other hand, I've heard Vietnam vets describe their years in the armed services as a horrible experience they wouldn't trade for the world. That's where I put the source of his exuberance.