Baptism

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.”