Sky Pilots: The Yankee Division Chaplains in World War I

1. “Sky Pilots”

1 Chapter One “Sky Pilots” The Chaplaincy Evolves Ever since 1775, when General Artemas Ward took command of the aggregation of militias surrounding Boston, chaplains have been a part of what would become the United States Army. In fact, the Provincial Congress “was practically flooded with offers from patriotic preachers who wanted to serve,” including Dr. Samuel Langdon, president of Harvard College , though the overall spiritual effect may very well have been minimal. In spite of twice-daily church services and an abundance of clergy, profanity persisted throughout the army.1 The Continental Congress weighed in a year later, when it authorized the recruitment of chaplains, and George Washington himself followed up with General Orders dated July 9, 1776, in which he directed that a chaplain be assigned to each regiment. Commanding officers were ordered to seek out, “persons of good characters and exemplary lives.”2 Nevertheless, nearly 150 years would pass before a Chaplain ’s Corps would be formed and integrated into the Army after the close of the First World War. Elihu Root Beginning in 1903, the truly transformational effects of the fundamental changes to the Army cannot be overstated, and they were primarily attributable to the vision and executive ability of Elihu Root. A successful New York attorney, Root was tapped by President William McKinley to be his Secretary of War, following the departure of Secretary Russell Alger from the Cabinet. The process begun by Root was continued by Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, as Chief of Staff, and later Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, both of whom also vigorously seized upon the opportunity to reform the Army, from its inefficient and highly politicized bureau system to glacially slow promotions based strictly on seniority. In spite of resistance from die- 2 SKY PILOTS hard senior officers, the most significant reform was the establishment of a General Staff and the appointment of a Chief of Staff to replace the rank of Commanding General. Promotions would gradually start to be made on merit and fitness, although the inevitable politics still played a role regarding promotions to the higher ranks. John J. Pershing was a prime example. There was also an emphasis on the training and education of officers in service schools, in an effort to make these leaders more professional. Also important was the effort to create a more modern army on a European model, with larger units like “maneuver” divisions, composed of infantry, artillery, and cavalry. Regiments would now have three battalions. In short, it was a complete makeover.3 Traditionally, a chaplain’s duties were loosely defined, more often than not by the individual regimental commander. Aside from conducting religious services . . . chaplains were the morale officers of their day. Not all posts had chapels, so they had to hold services in whatever room was available. . . . They usually supervised the post school and library and gave lectures on assorted topics, and used stereopticon and lantern slides as well as movies to entertain the troops.4 As part of the reform effort, changes were made regarding the selection of chaplains. Instead of appointments by the Secretary of War, an examination was added, along with a background check, and more significantly, the various denominations were given increased input into the recommendation and selection of candidates. Once appointed, chaplains were accorded actual rank as officers, and the Army assigned assistants from the enlisted ranks and allocated transportation by the Quartermaster. More importantly , there was an increase in the overall number of chaplains to one per regiment . As early as 1908, Chaplain Aldred Adino Pruden proposed a board or commission be appointed to recommend chaplains to the General Staff. Gradually that idea took hold, and each of the major religious denominations established such entities, and they became the primary source of chaplain candidates. Later, the Protestant denominations would coalesce into the General Committee on Army and Navy Chaplains, while the Catholic Church would act through the National Catholic War Council.5 The Need One thing is for certain—there were never enough chaplains in the AEF. As of April 1917, at the beginning of America’s entry into the war, there was “Sky Pilots” 3 still only a single chaplain assigned to each regiment, roughly composed of 1,200 men. The next month, Congress passed a defense bill without increasing the number of chaplains per regiment, while at the same time it increased the size of an infantry regiment to...