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A Man Of Peace In Time Of War

Tribune photo by Jim Reed

At age 51, Riverview minister Sam Dunaway is about to be deployed to Iraq as a chaplain.

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 20, 2008

Updated: 01/20/2008 12:56 am

RIVERVIEW - The package arrived unceremoniously on a Monday in mid-December, dropped at the front door by an anonymous delivery person.

Sam Dunaway, pastor at Simmons Loop Baptist Church, father of six and grandfather of one, opened the thick manila envelope and scanned the contents.

"Oh my goodness," the 51-year-old Riverview man gasped, turning to his wife. "I'm on active duty!"

He was going to war.

Robin was the first to recover.

"How long?" she asked.

Four hundred days, the orders said.

It begins today. Dunaway is leaving for Fort Jackson, S.C. After a few weeks of medical tests, he'll be deployed to the "theater," military jargon for the combat zone and surrounding areas, where he'll be chaplain to the troops.

The Army says it has a critical need for men like Dunaway.

Dunaway was a seasoned minister and a family man when he joined the Reserves in 1987 at age 38. The extra money helped, and he felt God's calling to serve a different sort of congregation.

His 10 years in the Army included tours of duty stateside, in Germany and in Kuwait. When he left as a major in 1997, he opted to go on individual ready reserve status.

A Tradition Of Service

It paid $10,000 a year. Yes, he had the chance that his number could come up anytime, and he was OK with that. The money would help raise his big family on the income of a minister to a small church. He would go if the Army called. No problem. As the years went by and his hair grayed, however, the military asked nothing of him. He relaxed.

His daughter Amber, 23, joined the Air Force. Son Samuel enlisted in the Marines. Their three sisters and brother still live at home.

The two eldest children could end up in Iraq with their dad.

"I prefer not to think about that right now," Robin says.

Daughter Rebecca, 16, just started driving, and Danielle, 13, is, well, 13. Son Robert, 14, feels burdened by the prospect of having to be the man of the household. He's a little angry. "It's not supposed to happen this way," he says.

Daughter Jessie, 22, juggles school, work and the responsibilities of being a single mom to toddler Marc.

"Dad is my son's father figure," she says. "We all depend on him. I think he's a little old for this."

Dunaway says he knows God will watch over his family and him, wherever he is sent. He has to concentrate on his mission: taking care of the troops.

For his own comfort, he will turn to one of his favorite Scriptures, Psalm 61:

"Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy."

It's been 10 years since Dunaway wore his uniform, 10 years since he trained. But he's kept himself in good shape. His biggest concern is the terrorists' rules of warfare - "shameful fighting," he calls it.

After being away from the military for so long, he will have to rely on experience and the chaplain's assistant, an armed soldier assigned to protect him.

He leaves with his 70-pound duffle bag and a borrowed laptop from Jessie, so he can keep in touch by e-mail, and leaves behind instructions to Rebecca not to drink and drive when she gets behind the wheel of his Chevy Cavalier. He'll miss his only grandchild's first birthday Jan. 29 and his 25th wedding anniversary June 10 - and all the milestones and holidays in between.

For Simmons Loop Baptist congregation, losing the pastor they've just come to know after eight months isn't easy. Especially as it is a small church, with about 250 active members.

"It came out of the blue, a real shock," says Bonnie Jervis, 55. "We were still in the honeymoon stage with him."

But they've come to believe there's some sort of divine hand in all of this.

Robin says she's over the shock. Her husband is a good soldier and a good chaplain. God has a reason for taking him from her; someone really must need him over there.

"What scares me most is disappointing Sam," she says. "I don't want him to worry about us back here. I just want him to do the job he does well and get home safely."

A Seasoned Soldier's Job

Being called up at such an advanced age, by military standards, is not so unusual for Army chaplains, says Chaplain Ran Dolinger, of the Army's Office of the Chief of Chaplains in Virginia.

The average minister is about 37 or 38 when he signs up. Requirements include a three-year degree in theology, at least two years of civilian pastoral experience and an endorsement from the sponsoring faith group.

Chaplains also undergo a 12-week basic leadership course in Fort Jackson.

The Army has 3,000 chaplains. It needs another 600.

Given the resume required, chaplains are usually twice the age of their flock.

"That's why we call chaplains 'pastors with attitude.' That's what it takes to crawl in the mud and jump out of airplanes in your more mature years."

Getting called back to active duty after being out of commission for 10 years is not so common, Dolinger says. But the need is great: There's a critical shortage of chaplains, and an urgency to replenish troops with trained reservists.

Offering Comfort And Guidance

Dolinger, 49, a member of Bible Churches Chaplaincy, served in Bosnia and Iraq. He dismisses the widespread axiom that there are no atheists in foxholes. Nonbelievers don't necessarily make spiritual conversions in combat situations, he says. But people of faith and soldiers on a spiritual search need leadership.

"You're not there to force your beliefs on someone; you're there to be a source of comfort to those who seek it out," he says. "You can't imagine what it means to pray with a soldier before going out on a convoy. That's a powerful gift to give to someone."

Bernie Lieving, executive pastor at Hyde Park United Methodist Church, gave that gift in two tours - Vietnam in 1967-68, and Desert Storm in 1991.

"I've often said there's no better job than a chaplain in a war zone," says Lieving, 69, who retired as a colonel after 27 years. "But don't ask me to do it again."

Lieving was in his late 20s when he went to Vietnam; he was 52 when he got his orders for Desert Storm.

"When you're younger, you think you're invincible," he says. "But you know better when you're older. You realize you might not come back."

Like all chaplains, Lieving never carried a weapon. That's forbidden by the military. He shook off his early feelings of vulnerability and concentrated on his role as spiritual protector.

He saw death. He listened to frightened men appalled by the notion of killing another human being and breaking one of the 10 Commandments.

He comforted them.

His advice to Dunaway? "Stay safe and don't do anything stupid. Be true to your calling and be who God called you to be."

Reporter Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613 or mbearden@tampatrib.com

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