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| September 2004 |
| Diocesan residents, clergy have seen
war zones first hand and up close |
Gene Young
Managing Editor |
Father Joe Holzhauser, pastor of Holy
Trinity Parish, Huron, was recently back in his parish on a
short leave from the military.
Father Holzhauser is also known as Chaplain Holzhauser and Lieutenant
Colonel Holzhauser.
The Huron pastor has been serving in Afghanistan since May.
He expects to be there through the early part of next year.
Father Holzhauser is serving as chaplain to troops who are part
of the war on terrorism and who are trying to help the people
of Afghanistan rebuild their nation.
Father Holzhauser celebrates Mass daily for the troops at Bagram
Air Base where he is stationed.
He also brings celebration of the Mass and the sacraments to
forward operating bases. But the schedule for liturgy in those
places depends on what is going on and whenever it is best for
the troops serving in harms way.
Life in Afghanistan has been a adjustment for the diocesan priest.
“We live at BAF (Bagram Air Base) in wooden barracks,”
he said. There is air conditioning and all he needs is within
one square mile of his cot.
That kind of proximity does make living conditions cramped.
“The 5,000 of us are a little tight,” said Father
Holzhauser.
Bagram Air base used to be a Soviet military station. Holzhauser
said it is surrounded with land mines, making the troops “safe,
but also confined.”
The troops there are responsible for expanding the airfield
and that includes the dangerous work of land mine removal.
Father Holzhauser’s unit is comprised of combat engineers.
“So in addition to land mine removal, we are building
a 150 kilometer road in central Afghanistan, several schools
through the country and upgrading forward operating bases and
provincial reconstruction teams,” he said. Those facilities
will be used as local governmental facilities after the new
constitution is in place. They will become the municipal halls,
county courthouses and police stations.
Father Holzhauser found getting used to the heat was difficult.
“It is has been very hot (over 100 everyday), dry, windy,
dusty,” he said. “The soil is very sandy but with
water there is vegetation. He went on to say irrigation makes
it possible to produce wheat and forage for the livestock. But
despite that, many farmers turn to producing drugs because it
is so much more lucrative for them.
South Dakotans and soldiers from the diocese have also seen
action in the Iraq theatre of operations.
Dick Gustaf, a member of St. Michael Parish, Sioux Falls, spent
time in Iraq when his Air National Guard unit was activated.
Gustaf is a lieutenant colonel in the South Dakota Air National
Guard. He serves with the 114th Civil Engineering Squadron that
is ordinarily responsible for maintaining the base and airfield
at Joe Foss Field.
This was the first time Gustaf’s guard unit had ever been
activated.
He and his unit hit the ground in Iraq on Easter Sunday 2003.
They returned home later that summer in August.
But while in Iraq, the unit did much the same work as part of
the 407 Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron. They were
stationed at Tallil in the southern part of Iraq.
Gustaf said you that he and his men were somewhat insulated
from the fighting and bombings in other parts of the country
but they were still in harm’s way and had to stay sharp.
“We were always talking about rules of engagement. You
always had to be on your toes. Don’t relax for a minute
because that’s when you are going to get caught,’
said Gustaf.
But overall, the experience was good.
“We definitely had a very rewarding experience albeit
in harm’s way,” Gustaf said. “We were concerned
and you had to sleep with one eye open. But it was still very
personally rewarding because you know you were doing something
good for the locals and they appreciated it.” He added
people at home do not hear enough about how well Iraqi nationals
have received and responded to the coalition troops.
Many of those native Iraqis realize that real improvement in
their way of life may not be fully realized in their life time.
“Most of those Iraqis who are of grown up age knew that
most of the activity that we were doing was more for their children
than them,” said Gustaf. “They realize it was going
to take that kind of time to get it in place and get things
organized enough that they would be a peaceful, stable country.”
The prospects for Afghanistan may be even tougher to address.
Father Holzhauser pointed out that there are so many tribes
in Afghanistan with different languages and dialects that unity
is still a long way off, if it can ever be accomplished.
Father Holzhauser shared how much his service means to the troops.
“As a Catholic priest in the war zone, the soldiers are
very appreciative when I come as far forward to the battle as
possible for confession and Mass,” he said.
But those trips are the most dangerous aspect of his service.
“We always have to be careful because the chaplain doesn’t
carry or use a weapon,” he added.
Even in a war zone, though, Father Holzhauser saw how religion
and faith can bridge differences. “They like all religious
people because at least they believe,” he said.
He found being in a war zone made many of the troops turn more
regularly to faith and God. “The number of soldiers who
want the sacrament of reconciliation is powerful,” Father
Holzhauser he said.
While Father Holzhauser is back in Afghanistan, Dick Gustaf
now takes his experience from Iraq and shares it with church
groups or others that ask him to speak about what he saw and
experienced so far from home. |
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