Chaplains of the
36th Infantry Division
by
Chaplain (Colonel) Herbert E. MacCombie
Division Chaplain
Chaplain School At Harvard University
In October 1942 I was ordered to attend the
Chaplain School at Harvard University. It was here I first met Chaplain
Robert E. L. Alspaugh. Later he was assigned to a hospital unit, but
asked for transfer to a combat unit. We received him as a replacement.
He was a fine chaplain, but was one of the older men. When I sent him to
join the 141st Infantry, he reached the foot of the mountain after dark.
He called the battalion commander, and said that he would report in the
morning. The battalion commander told him to come up “Right Now!” Later
the battalion commander told me, “When Chaplain Alspaugh arrived, I was
astounded. He seemed old enough to be my father, but he had made that
difficult trip up the mountain in the dark like a good infantry man.”
Later Chaplain Alspaugh was killed in action.
At the Chaplain School I was made a section
leader. One of the men in my section was a Jewish chaplain named Robert
S. Marcus. He seemed rather forlorn, and I tried to make friends with
him. I invited him to go to dinner with me in Boston. I thought there
might be dietary problems in a regular restaurant, so I decided to go to
Ye Olde Union Oyster House which specialized in seafood. I thought fish
would be safe. I ordered two lobster dinners. Chaplain Marcus told me,
“I can’t eat lobster”. My education in ministering to Jewish men took a
giant leap. My talks with Chaplain Marcus made possible the 36th Division
record of outstanding care for our Jewish men, despite the fact that we
never had a Jewish chaplain in combat. Chaplain Marcus presented me with
a copy of the book; “The Jews Come to America”. On the flyleaf he wrote
“To Chaplain Herbert E. MacCombie, ‘he has the quality of the heart in
every fiber of his being’”.
In the next session of the Chaplain School
Chaplain Dan Laning was a student. While he was there Cardinal Spellman
visited the school and gave a dinner for the Catholic chaplains. He sent
word to me by Chaplain Laning. “Tell Chaplain MacCombie that this dinner
was strictly for Catholic chaplains. I did not even invite Cardinal
O’Connell. Otherwise I would have invited him to join us”. I thought it
was a very gracious message.
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Copyright 2001
by Mary MacCombie Fietsam
Printed by Permission |
