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October 2025
Transmitter Articles for October 2025
Saying Thank You to Your Home Congregation
by Chaplain (Capt.) James A. Konicki, H.K. Vedder Composite Squadron, NER-NY-392
As Chaplains we are called upon to be there, to be that presence in times of training and in times of distress. On occasion, this duty may conflict with our normal ministerial work in our home congregation. This is why three things are particularly important; 1. That our home congregation knows of our involvement in Civil Air Patrol; 2. That they know we may be called upon on a day or time that is not mutually convenient; and 3. That we say thank you. As in Civil Air patrol, clear, honest, communication with our congregational leadership, based on our ideal of Respect, is highly important.
In my faith tradition, the Polish National Catholic Church, the basis for our operations is ecclesial democracy. Each member of our parishes has a voice and a vote. We have elected parishioners who, together with the pastor, carry out the work of the congregation. Our Church was organized in the United States by immigrants who wanted to integrate the ideals of democracy into the work of the Church. Therefore, I am privileged to have an exceptionally supportive congregation at Holy Name of Jesus in Schenectady, New York. We pray for all members of the Civil Air Patrol weekly in our service. I wear my uniform on CAP Worship Weekend. I keep my congregation informed of the times I will be away or if I am called away in an emergency. I also have a very supportive hierarchy and fellow brothers in the clergy who cover for me (that network is very important).
In case you did not know, CAP offers a way to say thank you to your home congregation. You can request a Certificate of Appreciation by writing to HCX@hc.cap.gov. Another option includes purchasing a plague with an appropriate inscription. Note the name of your congregation, its address, and include a brief note about your home congregation’s support for your CAP Chaplaincy. And why not make a special occasion out of its presentation with your church and include inviting members of your command structure to join in too.
Chaplains on the Front Lines of War
By Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Allen Zaugg Pacific Region Deputy Chaplain - Personnel
On May 15, 2024, I received a letter from National Headquarters Civil Air Patrol, United States Air Force Auxiliary. When I opened the envelope, a letter from Major General Edward D. Phelka, National Commander, informing and congratulating me on being selected for the Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Robert Preston Taylor - Chaplain of the Year Award. Instantly I was curious about who Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Robert Preston Taylor was. I visited Wikipedia and United States Air Force webpage. There I discovered that Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Robert Preston Taylor served as the first Chief of Chaplains for the Civil Air Patrol and later as the third Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force. He served in the United States Army and the United States Air Force from 1940 to 1966, serving 26 years. With great distinction, his many decorations included the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal, and the Presidential Unit Citation with two oak leaf clusters.
Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Robert Preston Taylor was born in Henderson, Texas, in 1909, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, in 1933; a Master of Theology degree from Southwestern Baptist Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, in 1936; a Doctor of Theology degree from Southwestern Baptist Seminary in 1939.
Chaplain (Lt.) Taylor was first assigned as the post chaplain at Barksdale Field, LA. Next, he served as the regimental chaplain of the 31st Infantry Regiment, Philippine Division, arriving in Manila in May 1941. He was stationed at the famed Cuartel de Espana, within the old historic "Walled City" of Manila. With the declaration of war, the Philippine Division was transferred to the front lines on the Peninsula of Bataan. Chaplain Taylor was cited for bravery and awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action for his services in the Battle of Bataan. It is important to note that Chaplain Taylor always worked alongside of the men he was serving as a Chaplain. For example, he would grab a shovel and start digging foxholes with the men.
After the surrender of the American forces Philippines, as a POW, he marched in the sixty-five mile "Death March." Serving as a chaplain in the prison camp hospital at Cabanatuan, he ministered to more than 10,000 patients. In the summer of 1944, he spent fourteen weeks in solitary confinement for smuggling food and medicine to the patients. The relationships that Chaplain Taylor had with Chaplains of other faiths, Catholics, Methodists, and Jewish Chaplains, like any of the soldiers, were people whom Chaplain Taylor relied upon, and they equally relied upon him, especially during the Death March, and in the POW camp. Chaplain Taylor, himself, would often defend his men in front of Japanese soldiers, and as a result, was sent to the Heat Box, where he ministered to other men who were also there. Over time, in the Heat Box, Chaplain Taylor almost succumbed to death, due to the over exposure to the sun beating in on him and the men. Chaplain Taylor endured so much as a prisoner of war.
Through all this tragedy, Chaplain Taylor was instrumental in getting medical and food supplies, even lifting the spirits of the American POW's through prayer, bible lessons, counseling, and even working in medical wards as men were dying from diseases, amputations, sickness, starvation and dysentery. He recognized that if he was beaten down mentally and spiritually by the Japanese soldiers that he would be useless to the men he was entrusted to serve and care for in peace and in war.
Later he was taken to Japan and then to Manchuria on one of the infamous "Hell Ships" which was bombed twice by American planes. During the second bombing, Chaplain Taylor was wounded in the wrist and leg by flying fragments.
After surviving the horrors of Japanese prison camps for forty-two months, following his liberation, Chaplain Taylor was assigned in January 1946 as deputy staff chaplain, Headquarters Army Air Forces Training Command at Barksdale Field, La., the base he had left five and a half years earlier for the Philippines.
Several prominent men urged the U.S. Air Force Chief of Chaplains to establish a Civil Air Patrol Chaplaincy. “In early 1949 Gill Robb Wilson and Major General Lucas V. Beau, USAF
and Brigadier General Harold Byrd, CAP urged the US Air Force Chief of Chaplains to establish CAP Chaplaincy and organize the CAP Chaplain Service even to station an USAF Chaplain to CAP, to function in oversight. This recommendation was not adopted at this time.”1 Then on January 5, 1950, the Civil Air Patrol Chaplaincy was founded, with the assistance of the United States Air Force. Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Robert Preston Taylor was assigned as the first National Chaplain to Civil Air Patrol, to assist organizing the new CAP Chaplain Corps. Chaplain Taylor would later become the USAF Chief of Chaplains. As the first National Air Chaplain of the Civil Air Patrol, Chaplain, Lt. Col. Robert Taylor had the daunting task of not only ministering to the leadership of CAP, but he also creating the organization of the CAP Chaplain Service; he recruited, and developed tools for a viable moral and character guidance program.
On July 1, 1958, Chaplain Taylor was appointed as Deputy Chief of Chaplains for the Air Force and promoted to the grade of brigadier general. On September 1, 1962, Chaplain Taylor was appointed as the Air Force Chief of Chaplains and promoted to the grade of Major General.
A year has passed since receiving the Chaplain of Year Award. One day, while sitting in my office, I glanced up at the plaque presented to me, the Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Robert Preston Taylor - Chaplain of the Year Award. Continuing to focus upon this plaque, I realized that I still knew very little about Chaplain Taylor. I wanted to learn even more about this extraordinary chaplain.
Recently I came across a book titled "Days of Anguish Days of Hope: Chaplain Robert Preston Taylor's Ordeal and Triumph as a POW in World War II" by Bill Keith, who in 1972 published the first edition. I ordered the book and read the account of Chaplain Taylor’s life as a POW. The text after the title page read "The Military Chaplain's Association Honors Author". Reading on I discovered that in 2009, the Military Chaplains Association honored Bill Keith during their annual meeting. The plaque was inscribed: "The Military Chaplains Association takes great pleasure in granting honorary life membership to Bill Keith." Keith granted permission to MCA to print 5,000 copies of the book to be given to all active military chaplains and to the members of Congress. I continued reading and after the Forward, there was an introduction by Chaplain Robert Preston Taylor himself. Once I finished this, I found myself unable to put the book down, so I continued reading.
Trying not to reveal so much here about Chaplain Taylor, for it is my hope that others will take some interest in notable military officers and Chaplains, and read their military life accounts, and that some will read Bill Keith's book on Chaplain Taylor. "Days of Anguish Days of Hope" provides an account of Chaplain Taylor’s time spent as a chaplain and prisoner of war. He spent 3 years enduring pain and suffering in a Japanese POW camp. A Chaplain devoted to God and his troops.
As a Civil Air Patrol Chaplain, and learning life story of Chaplain Taylor, I have a greater appreciation for the legacy he left for the Air Force and Civil Air Patrol Chaplaincies. It is a legacy that we have been entrusted with, must guard, and pass on to those who follow us, Chaplains and Character Development Instructors. It Is a model to look up to and a legacy to guard and share. He was a true servant who served “God and Country” (Army Chaplain motto). Chaplain, Major General Robert Preston Taylor is truly a saint, and a man of great honor. Learning about why this award was named for him, I have come to deeper appreciation of the honor I have received. I have discovered a new insight into my own Chaplaincy, my ministry, that encourages me now to provide even greater service to God, and to my Civil Air Patrol and USAF brothers and sisters. Truthfully, I was not fully aware of Chaplain Taylor's involvement with CAP and that he was instrumental in the founding of the CAP Chaplaincy.
Resources
- Chaplain, Lt. Col. Steven E. Thomas. HISTORY OF THE CIVIL AIR PATROL CHAPLAIN SERVICE/CORPS, VOLUME ONE: “OVER FLY,” page 5. History-of-CAP-Chaplain-Corps.pdf
- If interested in getting a copy of the book authored by Bill Keith: "Days of Anguish Days of Hope: Chaplain Robert Preston Taylor's Ordeal and Triumph as a POW in World War II," it can be purchased through Amazon very inexpensively - ISBN number 978-1889730158.
