thedrifter
03-06-08, 07:57 AM
New Dahlgren Chaplain is War-Tested
By Jeron Hayes
When you meet Lt. Eric Malmstrom of the Navy Chaplain Corps, he will convey a laid-back attitude. His demeanor is easy-going and his voice is quiet. It is when you mention his duty in Iraq and the Marines he worked with that his eyes light up and excitement creeps into his voice.
‘‘I’m ready to go back right now,” said Malmstrom. ‘‘When you leave there, you leave part of yourself. I’d go back in a heartbeat.”
Malmstrom, a reservist who was serving with a Lutheran parish in Ft. Wayne, Ind., has replaced Cmdr. Lynn Peterson as the Protestant chaplain at the Dahlgren Chapel.
A California native, Malmstrom toyed with college after graduating high school but quickly became bored. After researching all branches of the service, he decided to enlist in the Navy.
‘‘When I joined, I tried to find the most challenging thing I could, the most difficult job,” said Malmstrom, who became an Electrician’s Mate with nuclear qualifications and rode fast attack submarines. He served on several Westpac and Northpac cruises, then decided to leave the Navy and finish college.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, his religious calling kept nagging at him. ‘‘I actually knew it a long time ago but I kept putting it off,” he said. Finally realizing his future was as a minister (he is a sixth-generation pastor), Malmstrom was graduated from Concordia University in Irvine, Calif and later Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind.
While serving as a seventh and eighth grade instructor at Zion Lutheran Academy, he received the call that he would deploy to Iraq with the Cleveland-based 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines (a Reserve Unit) in 2005. His unit was stationed near the towns of Hit and Haditha in the Al Anbar Province and saw heavy combat on a daily basis.
‘‘We took indirect fire everyday,” he said. ‘‘At one point, we received over 200 rounds of indirect fire in seven months.”
Such heavy combat took its toll. Malmstrom’s unit lost 48 Marines during their deployment. ‘‘I saw some awful things,” he said, ‘‘but I saw things that gave me hope.” Malmstrom recalled a Marine whose leg was injured badly from an improvised explosive device. ‘‘I was certain he’d lose his leg,” he said, recounting the horrific sight. Upon his return to the U.S., Malmstrom saw the Marine, limping a bit, but walking. ‘‘It was amazing,” he said.
Providing religious support to ‘‘his Marines” gave Malmstrom much comfort. When he had the chance to meet with the families of those who’d died, Malmstrom said he was happy to relay to them the time he’d spent with their sons. ‘‘I told them that they had come to religious services or that we’d had many chances to talk.” He was grateful to comfort the families with the knowledge that he’d stayed with their sons as long as he could before their long trip home.
Malmstrom said he was also eager to spread the message that the work being done by American troops was helping the people of Iraq. ‘‘By the time we left, Iraqi residents would point out houses to us and tell us ‘Ali Baba’ is in that house,” said Malmstrom. ‘‘Ali Baba meant they were bad guys.” When voting was held in the area before we arrived, virtually no one came out to vote. But after American troops began securing the area, ‘‘the next time they voted, they ran out of ballots,” Malmstrom said proudly. He also recounted work that might have taken years to accomplish that the Navy Seabees completed within weeks. ‘‘They quadrupled water supplies and built structures. It was amazing,” he said.
Leaving the country was more emotional than he’d imagined. ‘‘It is hard to leave,” said Malmstrom. ‘‘You have given so much of yourself to that country, it’s very personal. It’s hard to hand it over to someone else.” He said the Iraqi people thanked them often for their sacrifices, and Iraqi soldiers cried as his unit left. The Iraqi soldiers said, ‘‘Marines aren’t friends, they’re brothers,” said Malmstrom. ‘‘It was very, very emotional.”
Malmstrom even found himself in the national limelight for a brief moment. One of his Marines was referred to the now-cancelled ‘‘Three Wishes” show hosted by Amy Grant, and was treated to a televised wedding that Malmstrom officiated. ‘‘We had a good friend who was a big Amy Grant fan and we asked Amy to call her on the cell phone,” he said. ‘‘She was thrilled!”
Now Malmstrom finds himself on active duty at Dahlgren, where his wife Leslie and three young sons will soon join him. He is enjoying getting to know his Protestant congregation and finding his way around the area. ‘‘There is so much history here, I’m looking forward to seeing it all,” he said.
And what about those from the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines? ‘‘I think of them everyday,” he said. ‘‘I still talk to many of them.” Malmstrom said that bond will remain strong for many years to come.
Ellie
By Jeron Hayes
When you meet Lt. Eric Malmstrom of the Navy Chaplain Corps, he will convey a laid-back attitude. His demeanor is easy-going and his voice is quiet. It is when you mention his duty in Iraq and the Marines he worked with that his eyes light up and excitement creeps into his voice.
‘‘I’m ready to go back right now,” said Malmstrom. ‘‘When you leave there, you leave part of yourself. I’d go back in a heartbeat.”
Malmstrom, a reservist who was serving with a Lutheran parish in Ft. Wayne, Ind., has replaced Cmdr. Lynn Peterson as the Protestant chaplain at the Dahlgren Chapel.
A California native, Malmstrom toyed with college after graduating high school but quickly became bored. After researching all branches of the service, he decided to enlist in the Navy.
‘‘When I joined, I tried to find the most challenging thing I could, the most difficult job,” said Malmstrom, who became an Electrician’s Mate with nuclear qualifications and rode fast attack submarines. He served on several Westpac and Northpac cruises, then decided to leave the Navy and finish college.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, his religious calling kept nagging at him. ‘‘I actually knew it a long time ago but I kept putting it off,” he said. Finally realizing his future was as a minister (he is a sixth-generation pastor), Malmstrom was graduated from Concordia University in Irvine, Calif and later Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind.
While serving as a seventh and eighth grade instructor at Zion Lutheran Academy, he received the call that he would deploy to Iraq with the Cleveland-based 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines (a Reserve Unit) in 2005. His unit was stationed near the towns of Hit and Haditha in the Al Anbar Province and saw heavy combat on a daily basis.
‘‘We took indirect fire everyday,” he said. ‘‘At one point, we received over 200 rounds of indirect fire in seven months.”
Such heavy combat took its toll. Malmstrom’s unit lost 48 Marines during their deployment. ‘‘I saw some awful things,” he said, ‘‘but I saw things that gave me hope.” Malmstrom recalled a Marine whose leg was injured badly from an improvised explosive device. ‘‘I was certain he’d lose his leg,” he said, recounting the horrific sight. Upon his return to the U.S., Malmstrom saw the Marine, limping a bit, but walking. ‘‘It was amazing,” he said.
Providing religious support to ‘‘his Marines” gave Malmstrom much comfort. When he had the chance to meet with the families of those who’d died, Malmstrom said he was happy to relay to them the time he’d spent with their sons. ‘‘I told them that they had come to religious services or that we’d had many chances to talk.” He was grateful to comfort the families with the knowledge that he’d stayed with their sons as long as he could before their long trip home.
Malmstrom said he was also eager to spread the message that the work being done by American troops was helping the people of Iraq. ‘‘By the time we left, Iraqi residents would point out houses to us and tell us ‘Ali Baba’ is in that house,” said Malmstrom. ‘‘Ali Baba meant they were bad guys.” When voting was held in the area before we arrived, virtually no one came out to vote. But after American troops began securing the area, ‘‘the next time they voted, they ran out of ballots,” Malmstrom said proudly. He also recounted work that might have taken years to accomplish that the Navy Seabees completed within weeks. ‘‘They quadrupled water supplies and built structures. It was amazing,” he said.
Leaving the country was more emotional than he’d imagined. ‘‘It is hard to leave,” said Malmstrom. ‘‘You have given so much of yourself to that country, it’s very personal. It’s hard to hand it over to someone else.” He said the Iraqi people thanked them often for their sacrifices, and Iraqi soldiers cried as his unit left. The Iraqi soldiers said, ‘‘Marines aren’t friends, they’re brothers,” said Malmstrom. ‘‘It was very, very emotional.”
Malmstrom even found himself in the national limelight for a brief moment. One of his Marines was referred to the now-cancelled ‘‘Three Wishes” show hosted by Amy Grant, and was treated to a televised wedding that Malmstrom officiated. ‘‘We had a good friend who was a big Amy Grant fan and we asked Amy to call her on the cell phone,” he said. ‘‘She was thrilled!”
Now Malmstrom finds himself on active duty at Dahlgren, where his wife Leslie and three young sons will soon join him. He is enjoying getting to know his Protestant congregation and finding his way around the area. ‘‘There is so much history here, I’m looking forward to seeing it all,” he said.
And what about those from the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines? ‘‘I think of them everyday,” he said. ‘‘I still talk to many of them.” Malmstrom said that bond will remain strong for many years to come.
Ellie