PANAMA
CITY, FLA – On the banks of West Bay in Panama City, Fla, two miles from where
the now tattered building in which 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry Regiment is
headquartered, 1st Lt. Shaun S. Fitzgerald opened a new chapter in his life by
being baptized on October 17, 2018.
“I was
just baptized by Chaplain Williams with the 1-153rd Cav,” said Fitzgerald still
wet from the bay. “Once Chaplain Williams learned of all the frustrations I had
with trying to get baptized, he offered to do it here.”
“This was my
first military baptism as a military chaplain,” said Chaplain (Capt.) Jacob S.
Williams. “So it was special to me.”
Fitzgerald
and Williams are members of members of 1st Squadron, 153rd Cavalry Regiment and
have served in the unit together for about five years. During that time, they
have developed a special relationship.
“I’ve know
him for a couple of years now,” said Williams. “I’ve developed a relationship
with him we joke around a lot and we have a good time together, but I felt like
it was a good opportunity to get this done before we leave this place.”
“I wanted
to have somebody, who is a religious figure that actually means something to
me, baptize me,” said Fitzgerald. “Being a military chaplain is a little bit
different than any other type of chaplain because as a chaplain he is there in the
austere environments with us and he puts himself into really vulnerable
situations as he supports our Soldiers first hand and not just with religious
means, but with any other type of problems they have.”
Fitzgerald
and Chaplain Williams are currently activated in support of Hurricane Michael
Relief efforts.
“I didn’t
want to take away from what we were doing here, but I thought it was kind of
symbolic that there is all this devastation going around yet the opportunity
presented itself,” said Fitzgerald. “This is my fifth hurricane I’ve been
activated for and you get to see the worse in people and you also see the best
of people. And I always try to focus on the best things.”
“I thought
it was interesting that it was during this hurricane response,” said Williams.
In the midst of all this heartache we can find this moment of peace through
this ceremony.”
