ACC command chaplain inspires faith

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Danielle Grannan
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  Members of the 55th Wing joined with personnel from U.S. Strategic Command and the Air Force Weather Agency to celebrate faith at this year's National Prayer Luncheon at the Patriot Club Feb. 24. 

The luncheon began with a series of readings representing a variety of faiths including Psalm 121 in Hebrew, the Second Letter from Paul to the Corinthians, a reading from the Koran, and a Baha'i prayer for aid and assistance. 

Chief Master Sgt. Victor Rountree, 55th Comptroller Squadron superintendant, offered a prayer for deployed service members and their families followed by a prayer for the nation offered by Father Dennis Hanneman of St. Mary's Church in Bellevue.
The featured speaker for the event was the command chaplain of Air Combat Command, Chaplain (Col.) Bobby V. Page. 

Chaplain Page was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Louisiana State University in 1973, and believes that faith serves as a pair of spiritual night vision goggles to help people see God watching over them in their darkest moments. 

"Whether you have two stripes or two stars, the time will come when you will need help...help that even the best wingman can't give you." 

The Command Chaplain told the story of Lt. Preston Taylor, who suffered through the Bataan Death March, and then was held prisoner at a Japanese labor camp during World War II. The lieutenant was caught smuggling medicine into the camp for fellow prisoners and was sentenced to an indefinite stay in a "hot box," a small, overheated box with no ventilation. 

Lieutenant Taylor was a chaplain who shared his faith with his fellow prisoners, said Chaplain Page. After more than two months in the hot box with little water and even less food, Lieutenant Taylor was thought to be dead. However, when the guards pulled him from the box, they discovered a faint heartbeat and the lieutenant recovered after several months in the medical ward. 24-hour prayer vigils by his fellow prisoners proved the impact his faith had on those around him, said Chaplain Page. 

Lieutenant Taylor never lost sight of God watching over him, the command chaplain added. 

"Psalm 121 does not promise to cushion your life. You will walk through the dark valley, but you won't do it alone," said Chaplain Page. 

Col. Robert Maness, 55th Wing vice commander, was on hand to thank Chaplain Page for his inspirational words, saying that the chaplain corps "provides us with that blanket of cover." 

"God has provided you to take care of us," added Colonel Maness. "We couldn't do any of this without the team from ACC or from the chapel here. You all do great work."