Consilio et Animis!  By wisdom and courage!

“Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place. Now therefore, arise, O Lord God, to your resting place, you and the ark of your strength” (2 Chronicles 6: 40 – 41).

First of all, we have to start with a question: What is a SHRINE? A shrine is a little chapel where Orthodox Christians pray, light candles and display their religious objects: ICONS. When it comes to their faith, they are very deep and profound in their tradition of worship.

In 2007, the Armenian Orthodox soldiers came to Iraq to fulfill their duty as other soldiers, helping the Iraqi people to build a new society where people can be free, live in peace and have freedom of religion.

Like any other Christians, the Armenian soldiers were concerned about their spiritual needs. In order to have a place for worship, they built their own place of worship: THE SHRINE.

Last year (2009), the Armenian soldiers went home.

Shortly after I arrived in theater on March 2010, I received a phone call from CH (MAJ) David Lile, Brigade Chaplain for 3/3 telling me about the shrine left behind and asked me what to do with it. His concern about the shrine was that when the drawdown will start, it would be good to offer the shrine to a local Orthodox Church as a gift from the US Army.

The shrine was located at that time on FOB Echo. With his assistant SSG Jeremy Stewart and couple more soldiers, CH Lile disassembled the shrine, refurbished it and loaded it into a container.

At the end of May, he moved the shrine from FOB Echo to Camp Striker and asked me to find an Orthodox local church in order to deliver the shrine.

With help from USF-I Chaplain Office, we were able to locate St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Orthodox Church in downtown Baghdad. CH (LTC) Ira Houck, the World Religion Chaplain from the USF-I, and his interpreter Mr. Amer Hanna, established the connection between our unit and the cathedral.

Once we established the connection, our Battalion Commander LTC James E. McCarthy gave us the approval and blessing to proceed with the Operation Kentucky - moving the shrine from Camp Striker to St. Gregory Cathedral.

On an early morning, after tremendous work in planning by our S3 CPT Joel Welter and S2 LT Staci Galahue, the holy convoy started to roll out to take the Holy Shrine to the final destination.

With the effort of 282^nd Company which provided the transportation and security, the shrine made its way traveling through downtown Baghdad to the St. Gregory Armenian Orthodox Cathedral.

Boots on the Holy Ground! By the grace of God, we arrived at the cathedral. The engineers from the 492^nd EN CO helped to assemble the shrine at ground zero. It was a historical moment and at the same time a very emotional event.

The three priests from the Cathedral were very impressed with the transportation of the Shrine and the way that our soldiers acted on the ground.

Very Reverend Father Nareg Ishkanian, the rector of the Cathedral, said: ”The soldiers were very respectful, humble and helpful. They did a good job, and we were very pleased with the Shrine as a place to remember them and pray for peace in Iraq.”

Talking with Father Ishkanian, I found out that the Armenian Cathedral helped the Armenian Orthodox soldiers by providing them with icons and different holy objects to be used during the services or prayer times in the Shrine. One of the icons representing our Lord Jesus Christ was the main one donated to the soldiers.

I had the honor and the privilege to return the icon personally to Father Ishkanian and the Shrine at the same time as a gift on behalf of the United States Army and the Armenian soldiers.

What does this mean to all of us, to our soldiers, to the Army, to the Armenian soldiers and the Iraqi people? The moving of the Shrine displayed a nice cooperation between the Iraqi Army, Iraqi Police and US Army, showing the people that they could all work together. It was a historical event in the life of the parish, of its parishioners, in the life of our soldiers and the Iraqi soldiers. Furthermore, the Armenian soldiers will not be forgotten - their presence here in Iraq will be remembered forever.

So the Shrine arrived at its final destination. In it the soldiers prayed, cried and told God their sorrows and happy moments and asked Him for protection and peace. It will continue to be an oasis of remembrance for the faithful of the Cathedral and remind them about the sacrifices that our US soldiers and Armenians soldiers made for their peace and liberty.

At the completion of the move, the priests and the soldiers prayed together for PEACE:

“Almighty God and Creator, you are the Father of all people on the earth. Guide, we pray, all the nations and their leaders in the ways of justice and peace. Protect us from the evils of injustice, prejudice, exploitation, conflict and war. Help us to put away mistrust, bitterness and hatred. Teach us to cease the storing and using of implements of war. Lead us to find peace, respect and freedom. Unite us in the making and sharing of tools of peace against ignorance, poverty, disease and oppression. Grant that we may grow in harmony and friendship as brothers and sisters created in Your image. We ask all of this in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

Blessings and many thanks to all who supported this noble cause!

Pro Deo ET Patria!

CH (CPT) George Oanca

Battalion Chaplain

367^th Engineer Battalion

TF 367^th North Star

Camp Striker, Baghdad, Iraq

“The hero is the man who forgets himself for others.” (Soldier’s Testament)