Overseas with the Chaplain: Complete Collection of Articles by Boardman Wallace Edwards written about his WWII tours in Europe, the Philippine Islands

Boardman Wallace Edwards Sr., was a Captain and a Chaplain in World War II. During his time overseas he sent articles back to the states and were published in the Edisto Citizen newspaper. This is his collection of articles.
He served from about October 1943 until about July 1946. Of that time he served 19 months overseas. He spent the first part of his tour in Europe. He was assigned to the 1157th Engineering (Combat) Group whose task was to repair roads and bridges taken out during the war. He was with them in Europe and in the Philippines, then they were disbanded. He then joined the 749th railroad operating battalion for his remaining six months in Korea.

He arrived in Europe at the very end of the war. He was in Paris the day Germany was defeated, “VE” day, and entered Germany the very next day. He spent some time touring in England, France, Luzon and Korea and many other countries. He talks of how he had been deprived of many luxuries. In his letters he tells stories of Germans and Orientals returning to their homes, after being displaced or sent to work camps. He talked to prisoners of war in the hospitals and heard their stories of brutality. He relays a story how he got lost one night and was almost attacked by German sympathizers on a dark road at 2:00 in the morning. He ministered and preached to both soldiers of all denominations and in the local communities where he was stationed. He was able to see both sides of the wars with Europe and Japan. On the day the war ended in Japan, “VJ” day, he was the lead chaplain on board a ship, the “Marine Eagle” in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He conducted a Thanksgiving service where everybody attended, where he says Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Jewish faiths all worshipped in one Thanksgiving service. And he talks of having to take showers in the rain and washing clothes in his helmet. He talks of the beauty of architecture in the places he was at and the ugliness of destroyed buildings caused by war. He tells of a touching story outside Notre Dame cathedral where children approached him in a loving manner. He mentions the attitudes of the local people about the politics, how the Russians desired to take over Korea. He relays the attitude of those who tells how brutal both the Russians and Japanese and Germans treated those they were at war with. All this and more.