Usually the IGTNT diaries, which remember our military casualties, are kept fairly ecumenical because people of all faiths and beliefs come to honor our fallen here. Also, we usually don't know if those covered in each of the IGTNT diaries were religious at all.
However, tonight we pay our respects to someone who was definitely a Christian, and someone who was surely dear enough to his God to now reside in the palm of His hand, Chaplain (Major) Henry Timothy Vakoc , known as "Father Tim Vakoc" to most who knew him. In tribute to this beloved Army Chaplin, I offer a verse from the Old Testament. It is one of my favorites:
I will not forget you, I have carved your name on the palm of my hand.
~Isaiah 49:15 |
Father Vakoc with Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of St . Paul-Minneapolis, Brenda Simmons, left, a friend of Father Vakoc, and Father Vakoc's mother, Phyllis
- 2005 photo by Dave Hrbacek / Catholic Spirit
Henry Timothy Vakoc was born January 8th, 1960. He was a native of Robbinsdale, Minnesota and graduated from Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park in 1978. Vakoc attended St. Cloud State University and worked with college students and university officials as the regional president of Tau Kappa Epsilon international fraternity.
He entered a seminary and studied to be a priest. After his ordination in 1992, he served as an associate pastor at St. Charles Borromeo in St. Anthony and St. John Neumann in Eagan from 1993 to 1996 before joining the Army.
His military service took him to Germany, Bosnia and Korea. He was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington when he was called up for active duty in 2003. He shipped out to Iraq shortly before his 44th birthday.
In May of 2004, the Reverend Tim Vakoc, was returning to his barracks after celebrating Mass for U.S. soldiers. A roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee, and he was gravely wounded. He was the first Army chaplain to be seriously injured in Iraq.
The Army Major was hospitalized for four months at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, and was transferred in a near coma to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis in October 2004.
After many surgeries and infections, he slowly started to recognize friends and family. In the fall of 2006, he spoke for the first time in 2½ years.
Father Vakoc had been living at the St. Therese of New Hope nursing facility in New Hope, Minnesota. On June 20th, 2009, Chaplain (Major) Henry Timothy Vakoc died. He was 49 years old. Family and friends were there with him when he died, according to his CaringBridge Web site. Several chaplains have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Vakoc is the first to die of combat-related wounds from either war.
His obituary from the Chicago Tribune states:
Vakoc, who was believed to be the first military chaplain wounded in Iraq, died at a nursing home in suburban New Hope on Saturday. The cause of death was not immediately released.
Vakoc was an Army chaplain on May 29, 2004, when the blast cost him an eye and severely damaged his brain as he was returning from celebrating Mass with troops near Mosul.
"A man of peace, he chose to endure the horror of war in order to bring the peace of Christ to America's fighting men and women," Archbishop John Nienstedt said in a statement. "He has been an inspiration to us all and we will miss him. We ask everyone to remember him in prayer.
The Catholic Spirit site has a long article about Father Vakoc, which quotes his brother, Jeff:
"When people saw him, they became grateful for their own lives, no matter what they were experiencing," he said. "His ministry didn’t end at the time of his injury; it just changed...
Jeff is very proud of his brother, he said. "We all wished he had been around more, but he was doing what he considered his calling," he said.
While stationed in Bosnia, Father Vakoc told his sister, "The safest place for me to be is in the center of God’s will, and if that is in the line of fire, that is where I will be."
Father Vakoc received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He also received the 2007 Distinguished Alumnus Award from St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity and the Combat Action Badge in 2007, which is awarded to soldiers actively engaged in a hostile action by the enemy in a combat zone or imminent danger area.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated on June 26th, at the Cathedral of St Paul, for Father Tim Valoc and his interment will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.
******************************************************************
Helping our troops:
If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, or Fisher House. If you have frequent flyer miles, they can be donated to hospitalized veterans or their families. See Fisher House’s Hero Miles program for details. Consider sponsoring a deployed service member at TroopCarePackage.com. Letters or care packages can make a real difference in a military person's life. To assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here. Also, you could visit:
When our veterans come back home, they need jobs. Look at the programs of Hire Heroes USA and Welcome Back Veterans to see if you can help out.
About the IGTNT series:
"I Got the News Today" is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifice of our troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo and Mediaprof. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but an important service to those Americans who have died and to our community’s respect for and remembrance of them. If you would like to volunteer, even once a month, please contact me, Sis.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the Department of Defense will usually be diaried two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each person more fully, but still in a timely manner
|
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.