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A video produced for the top chaplain in the National Guard, Air National Guard Major General John Ellington, uses the story of Father Francis P. Duffy, the famous chaplain of the 69th Infantry during World War I, to tell the story of the National Guard’s chaplains.
Duffy, at right in the photo above with Col. William "Wild Bill" Donovan, the commander of the 69th Infantry during World War I.
As the chaplain of the 69th Infantry, Father Francis P. Duffy inspired a generation of New York National Guardsmen who fought in World War I.
The video will be shown to chaplains, leaders, and anybody else who wants to know about the National Guard chaplaincy, Ellington said.
The essence of the chaplaincy is being present with the troops and for the troops at all times, and nobody lived that more than Lt. Col. Francis Duffy, Ellington said.
"He was present not only in World War I, but also on the border (in 1916) when he was called to Mexico," Ellington said. "He did his drills, he was called up, and he came back, just like we do today."
Duffy was a featured character in the 1940 movie "The Fighting 69th" and is memoralized with a statue in Times Square.
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