May 18, 2013
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Sixty-eight years ago, a young Army chaplain confronted the horrors of the Battle of the Bulge.
John David Laida rarely speaks of what he saw during World War II. He chooses to focus on the present and future. But he told The Leaf-Chronicle the lessons he learned from that experience are still relevant today.
The Clarksville pastor said he believes there is hope beyond the world and its strife, with the power to heal the worst injuries to body, mind and soul.
That's why, at age 93, Laida is taking on a new challenge. Starting Jan. 11, he will join chaplains and pastors at Fort Campbell's Liberty Chapel. Together they will seek ways to cope with the ravages of war afflicting a new generation of soldiers and military families.
