playnext.fm

Saint Michael and All Angels Sermons

“Some Gave All” (Veterans Day)

·20 min·2 clips
A chaplain reveals how his grandfather died from WWI wounds and his dad flew Spitfires, tracing service through his DNA.
The episode is a Veterans Day sermon delivered at Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Dallas. The speaker, a retired Air Force chaplain, opens by personalizing the occasion, noting his grandfather died from World War I wounds, his father flew Spitfires in the RAF, and his daughters once served. He explains that Veterans Day originated as Armistice Day on November 11, 1918, marking the end of World War I, and was renamed in 1954 to honor all veterans. Historical details include the burial of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey in 1920 and the unknown soldier in Arlington. The speaker shares lessons from his combat experience in Vietnam, such as the importance of humor, ammo, and covering your wingman. He describes the diverse, often anonymous lives of veterans, including an elderly liberator of a Nazi camp, a nurse in Vietnam, and a POW. A story is told of Keith Lewis, an F-4D Phantom Jet front-seater who became a POW and later an Air Force chaplain after praying for rescue. The speaker also mentions his wife's experience during their first anniversary apart when he was deployed to Thailand. Chaplains' roles are highlighted, with examples like Father Francis Sampson in Saving Private Ryan and chaplains on the USS Dorchester who gave up life jackets. The speaker reveals his own health challenges from Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, where he worked as an ordnance engineer handling weapons like napalm and laser-guided bombs. The sermon weaves together themes of faith, courage, resilience, and sacrifice, emphasizing that 'all gave some, some gave all' and calling for recognition of veterans and their families.

As heard by us

A solemn Veterans Day sermon that honors service while keeping its costs in view.

A Veterans Day sermon anchors this hour in remembrance, family service, and the strain military life can leave behind. The speaker draws from his own line of veterans and broadens that into a steady meditation on service, faith, courage, love, care for one another, and the…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

A Veterans Day sermon that centers service, sacrifice, camaraderie, and the wounds some carry home.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
Listen to the show on
Apple PodcastsSpotify
Play clips from this episodeMore from Saint Michael and All Angels Sermons