| Written by Tony Gosgnach, Catholic Register Special,
|
Views : 864  |
 Vera Birett displays mementoes sent to her by a unit of the Australian Army. Birett, of Burlington, Ont., prayed for the unit, commanded by her nephew Major Russell Hamsey The 77-year-old Burlington widow started a campaign of personal prayer and encouraged others to join in when she learned that her 48-year old nephew, Major Russell W. Hamsey, was to be stationed in wartorn Iraq beginning in May 2007. He was to serve as commander of the 132nd Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battery of the Australian Army in the town of Tallil, 320 kilometres southeast of Baghdad.
A Burlington native who served with the Canadian Armed Forces before transferring to the Australian Army, Hamsey had previously been in Haiti, Honduras, Germany, Cypress and Afghanistan. But this was perhaps to be the married father of two’s most dangerous mission yet.
“I told him when he was going to Afghanistan, ‘I’ll say my Hail Marys for you and I’ll ask my (church’s) prayer group,’ ” said Birett, a parishioner at St. John’s Church in Burlington. “When we found out he was going to go to Iraq, my brother and sister-in-law in Winnipeg said, ‘Aunt Vera, you’re going to have to start saying those Hail Marys again for Russell and his men.’ So I did. I asked all my friends, the prayer group at St. John’s Church and all my friends. It didn’t matter what religion they were. I asked them to remember Russ in their prayers. They worked, because he got home safe and sound.”
In fact, the whole battery returned home relatively unscathed. During a seven-month tour of duty that ended just before Christmas, it suffered no deaths and just two injuries, with both of the wounded soldiers expected to fully recover.
The assignment was not without its close calls, but even in those instances, an unseen hand seemed to be keeping the soldiers from harm, as one incident demonstrated.
The unit’s Catholic padre, Capt. Morgan Batt, had presented each of the troops with a medal of St. Christopher, the patron of safe travel, at the beginning of their mission. It was shortly after Hamsey was sitting at his desk with his hand on the medal one day that a report came in that a land mine had detonated under one of his unit’s vehicles out on a reconnaissance mission, with six troops inside. Miraculously, they all escaped injury.
As the tour drew on, the troops became more aware and appreciative of the prayers being said on their behalf by strangers in a country an ocean away, especially since support for their mission among the Australian public was lukewarm at best.
“When I mentioned that you were praying for our safety, a number of my fellow soldiers and our chaplain were quite touched,” Hamsey wrote in a letter to Birett from Iraq. “Over the months, I made a point of reminding my lads that somebody cared enough to take time to remember them .… I would like to think that part of our luck came from above and that your prayers have been answered.”
As tokens of appreciation, the soldiers sent Birett three gifts that she treasures dearly. The first was a black-and-white certificate with a photo of the entire battery, as well as its seal, and the inscription: “Presented to Aunt Vera and the prayer group. Your prayers helped keep us safe. Presented by all ranks of the 132nd Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battery attached to the Overwatch Battle Group (West) – 3. Tallil, Iraq. May to December 2007.”
The second was an Australian Army Bible that had a camouflage-coloured cover with an emblem and inside, a dedication from the chaplain: “Dear Aunt Vera, please accept this Australian Bible as thanks for your prayers during our deployment to Iraq. Your nephew is a fine officer, gentleman and friend. Many blessings, Capt. Morgan Batt, Padre.”
The last item was the most prized: a two-metre-long Australian flag that actually flew over the battery’s Tallil base and exhibited the wear to prove it.
The letter and gifts were “extremely moving,” said Birett. “I was in tears … and, of course, feel very humbled by the fact they took the time to send all this stuff from Iraq, through Sydney (Australia) to Canada.”
Although Birett’s prayers for Hamsey have drawn to a close with the end of his mission in Iraq, she will renew her efforts if her nephew is next deployed to Afghanistan, as he is expected to be.
“If I know somebody needs prayer, I just say my Hail Marys. They work,” she said. “There’s always somebody who needs something. I really strongly believe in prayer.”
(Gosgnach is a freelance writer in Hamilton, Ont.)
Recommend this article...
|
(0 vote)
