He carried his prayerbook

My mother watched six sons leave home to serve in the military. Mom was a great believer in the rosary. As a family we had our rosary half an hour every evening. There were no exceptions. She said we could surely give God a half hour if he gave us 24 hours. Dad made most rules for the family but Mom was in complete control where prayers were concerned.

As her boys left for the service, usually in pairs as we had two sets of identical twins in our family, they would join the same service organization. They stayed together during basic training and were then separated. We were issued rosaries when we left home by Mom and were reminded of saying the rosary each time we got a letter from home. We were also issued prayerbooks and told to carry them with us always. Mom had first-hand knowledge of soldiers and prayerbooks.

Her grandfather on her mother’s side of the family migrated from Ireland to the United States in about 1840. When he received his First Communion his parents gave him a prayerbook. His mother said he should carry it always. He carried the prayerbook in his left shirt pocket near his heart. He would read from it daily and as he grew older stop his team in a shady place while doing farm chores and read a passage from his prayerbook.

When the American Civil War broke out he volunteered immediately. He served in several of the early battles when Union forces were being soundly defeated. His prayerbook was with him and he used it an awful lot.

At the Battle of Vicksburg his unit was ordered to charge. He was hit in the chest by a rifle ball. The impact knocked him out. When he regained his senses, he felt around for blood or a wound. He had neither. The rifle ball hit the prayerbook and lodged in it. The prayerbook had saved his life. He served until the end of the war. The prayerbook with the rifle ball intact was in his shirt pocket over his heart.

When he was discharged from the Union Army in 1865 he returned to Iowa where he was given 160 acres of land by the federal government for his army service. He no longer carried the prayerbook with the rifle ball. It was placed on the mantle of their fireplace. It would serve as a reminder to his family of how God works miracles in many ways. Some miracles are surely more obvious than others and this one spoke for itself.

My mother would look at the prayerbook and the rifle ball in it every time she visited his home. We were reminded of this many times in her life. I never saw the prayerbook and don’t know what happened to it, but I know the rosary and the prayerbook were how my mother and father could send six sons to the military and gon on living a peaceful life at home. Happy Veteran’s Day and remember to hug a veteran or shake their hand.

For nearly 25 years, until his death in 2015, retired grocer Don Behm wrote a column for The Storm Lake Times, “Cracker Barrel.” Don’s everyman view of everyday life was a favorite of Times readers.  This was first published on Nov. 16, 1994.