A dedicated community servant, Jack ministers to local veterans as a chaplain at Dublin\’s Carl Vinson VA Medical Center and to readers of The Courier Herald through the encouraging words he pens in regular columns. He is a veteran of two different military branches, having served as a U.S. Marine in the Korean conflict and later a U.S. Army chaplain in various parts of Europe and Asia, including with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam. He has also worked as a pastor and dean of students at two Baptist colleges. Since moving to Dublin in 1991, he has ministered in various ways to former service members and others in need, particularly at the VA and in local hospitals and nursing homes, where he regularly visits and brings smiles to faces by playing tunes on his harmonica.
Philip Paul Bliss, song writer-composer, was born in Clearfield County, Rome, Pennsylvania, on July 9, 1838. God placed the music of faith deep within his heart, and he shared those musical gifts with the world. Pick-up and browse through most any Christian hymnal and you will see the songs and hymns of Philip P. Bliss.
The story behind the hymn Amazing Grace appeared in the "Our Daily Bread" daily devotional for May 22, 1968, while this chaplain was serving in Vietnam. The devotional was written by Henry G. Bosch (1914-1995), and I have saved it through the years for such a time as this.