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I haven’t seen it yet, but there’s a Chris Pratt produced movie out about military chaplains. Marine Corps Times has the story<\/a>;<\/p>\n When Army chaplain Justin Roberts sought to make sense of his experiences at war in Afghanistan, it was the life and legacy of another chaplain \u2014 Medal of Honor recipient Emil Kapaun, who died in Korean captivity \u2014 that pulled him back from the brink and gave him a new purpose.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the central conceit behind \u201cFighting Spirit: A Combat Chaplain\u2019s Journey,\u201d which opened in 150 theaters nationwide on Nov. 8.<\/p>\n Produced by the Catholic media company Paulist Productions, the 72-minute documentary grabbed the attention of A-list actor Chris Pratt, who signed on as an executive producer and promoted the project from his social media accounts.<\/p>\n The film, though, ventures well beyond the experiences of a single chaplain. In a series of poignant vignettes, it pays tribute to a spectrum of faith leaders in uniform, from the \u201cFour Chaplains\u201d who went down with the SS Dorchester, sacrificing their lives while comforting and helping rescue other passengers; to Charlie Liteky, who carried 20 soldiers to safety in Vietnam, but later renounced his Medal of Honor in protest.<\/p>\n It\u2019s almost as if the filmmakers, with one shot to highlight chaplains on a national stage, couldn\u2019t bring themselves to leave any story out.<\/p>\n The result can feel busy and meandering at times, as Roberts, the ostensible narrator, comes in and out of focus. But the creators of \u201cFighting Spirit\u201d have a point: the stories of chaplains, those uniformed pastors and leaders who deploy to conflict but carry no weapons, are not as well known as they should be.<\/p>\n \u201cThe second that we forget about the sacrifices that were made, and we don\u2019t learn those lessons, a part of our nation\u2019s spirit dies,\u201d Roberts, 44, told Military Times.<\/p>\n Billed as a co-director on the film, Roberts served as an Army chaplain from 2009-2015, deploying with the 101st Airborne Division to Afghanistan in 2010. The footage he captured with the division\u2019s legendary 2\/327th \u201cNo Slack\u201d battalion would seed his first documentary project, \u201cNo Greater Love,\u201d released in 2015.<\/p>\n The new film opens on Roberts at home with his family more than half a decade later, still at loose ends and sometimes despairing from his experience in combat with a battalion that sustained troublingly high suicide rates.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal was to be there with them in the fight while they were facing the enemy,\u201d Roberts says of his soldiers in the film, \u201cso that whenever they faced the internal fight, they might be able to come to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Amid this soul-searching, Roberts sees news: Kapaun\u2019s remains, long missing, have been identified at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. The legendary chaplain was to be returned to his Wichita, Kansas, hometown for a September 2021 funeral vigil and burial. Roberts decides to find meaning in the moment and travel from his home in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to attend the ceremony.<\/p>\n From interviews with those who suffered in the prisoner-of-war camp alongside Kapaun, the film provides a clearer picture of his heroism. Fellow troops recall how Kapaun worked tirelessly to raise the spirits of other prisoners, volunteering to attend every burial and returning with the clothing of the deceased to distribute to the most needy survivors. They describe a man who instilled not only hope, but also dignity in his comrades.<\/p>\n \u201cFather could turn a mud hut into a cathedral by walking into it,\u201d one man memorably says.<\/p>\n Roberts told Military Times he was astounded by the packed-out Hartman Arena in Park City, Kansas, filled to capacity with those paying tribute. Footage of the horse-drawn caisson with Kapaun\u2019s remains traveling down a street lined with unbroken rows of American flags makes up one of the most moving scenes of the film.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew his story, but I didn\u2019t realize that everybody else knew his story too,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cAnd the heartfelt gratitude that I saw from those people brought me to tears.\u201d<\/p>\n Film director Richard Hull described the discovery of Kapaun\u2019s remains as an unexpected development that took place as he was developing a documentary intended to tell chaplains\u2019 stories.<\/p>\n He likened the evolution of \u201cFighting Spirit\u201d to that in the Oscar-winning documentary \u201cMy Octopus Teacher,\u201d which was originally envisioned as a nature film.<\/p>\n In that film, \u201cit turns out [filmmaker Craig Foster] was going through something in his own life, and they went and interviewed him, and they wove those two [stories] together,\u201d Hull said. \u201cAnd we kind of took some inspiration from that, and we wove Justin\u2019s journey through the journey of these other stories that had inspired him. And I think that\u2019s really where the movie kind of found its heartbeat.\u201d<\/p>\n Hull described Pratt as a personal friend who quickly signed on to support the film after hearing about it.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, this project checks a lot of boxes for Chris,\u201d Hull said. \u201cHe\u2019s a very vocal military supporter. He\u2019s a very faith-forward guy. He\u2019s somebody that really appreciates good storytelling. And these are surely a lot of good stories, and stories that I think have never been told.\u201d<\/p>\n The film also has support from the military, with Col. Brandon Moore, chief of recruiting and accessions for the Army Chaplain Corps, serving as a co-producer.<\/p>\n Moore was part of a group representing the film who traveled to the Vatican for a 2023 special first screening for Pope Francis. Though a Protestant chaplain himself, the moment moved him.<\/p>\n \u201c[Kapaun] died in a prisoner of war camp, and he never got to meet the Pope or go to the Vatican or be appreciated for what he\u2019s done,\u201d Moore said. \u201cAnd I felt like in some way \u2026 I was doing this for [him].\u201d<\/p>\n As for Roberts, his experience motivated him to take on new projects, including one that took him to Ukraine\u2019s Donbas region for a year for an upcoming documentary.<\/p>\n \u201cI can use my camera to do the ministry I feel called to do, and I can still serve and love people in this way,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cAnd really, what this enables me to do is to reach millions.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n On the topic of military chaplains, longtime readers of this series will know that I’ve highlighted several, including Father Kapaun. Here’s some of them for your reading pleasure as you digest yesterday’s turkey;<\/p>\n\n
Chris Pratt-produced film on heroic military chaplains hits theaters<\/h3>\n
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