He Knew No Enemy
Chaplains had to keep records, and the most important were those of deaths and burials. Chaplain Wallace Hale’s files grew quite large during his service with the 88th
Infantry Division in North Africa and Italy. His combat workbook eventually listed more than a thousand soldiers, with name, rank, serial number, denomination, and location of burial. Many years later, a colleague referred to this workbook while eulogizing Chaplain Hale:
If you took that manual, you would find page after page after page of German soldiers: their names, their ranks, their units, their location of burial, because Wallace buried them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Wallace knew no enemy. Wallace saw people as either the sons and daughters of the Living God through Jesus Christ, or he saw them as potential sons and daughters of the Living God. No enemy. They were treated as lovingly, as tenderly, as each and every American soldier.252
Hale himself described his role as a chaplain: “ I was a regular army Chaplain who tried to use his religious experiences and knowledge to build men up… I stood for fairness, for justice, and for forgiveness in an organization that, at times, tried to ignore these concepts.”253
In a military organization highly focused on its combat mission and the material aspects of war, this man brought a deep concern for individual human beings, regardless of their religious condition or nationality. This is an example that Christians must follow. Jesus died for all mankind and focused his own ministry on those most in need. He was criticized for associating with prostitutes and tax collectors, but said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). Without Jesus we are all lost, and we share this status with every other human being. We should look at all others as “potential sons and daughters of the Living God.”
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
—1 Timothy 1:15