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The Leapin' Deacon

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I know Conrad Walker and he is a sweet, wonderful man. The book is a slow, easy read. I enjoyed it and read it at my own pace. I could pick it up and put it down easily.

I just finished reading an interesting biography. "The Leapin' Deacon: The Soldier's Chaplain" by Conrad Walker and J. Walker Winslow, done by LangMarc Publishing, was insightful to me. I'm sure it will be to others as well.

Conrad, known as Connie to his friends and family, though born in Illinois came from a Scandinavian background. With a strong line of Norwegians in his family it is obvious that he came from that same bloodline. During his school years he played football and became a boxer. He fell in love with and married a very special woman-Ann. Eventually they had several children. Connie had entered Lutheran Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota and became a Lutheran minister. Then he "joined the Minnesota Army National Guard as a chaplain in the Viking Division." He also became an active member with his local volunteer fire department. BUT he felt he had a higher calling!

Connie requested a switch to join the active Army and it was approved. He and his family were soon at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in September 1962. Being assigned to the 101st Airborne Division also meant Connie had to attend Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia to become jump qualified. He was soon known as the "Leapin' Deacon" paratrooper chaplain.

Shortly after the Gulf of Tonkin incident Connie was reassigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. In April 1966 he was enroute to Bien Hoa, Vietnam with his new unit. During the course of the year he was in-country he made visits to the 93rd EVAC and the 3rd Surgical Hospital. He also came under fire several while traveling with or ministering to the troops and yes he was wounded at least once. He was also awarded the Silver Star.

With his combat tour over Connie's next assignment was at Ft Benning. Following that he was sent to Fort Hamilton, New York and that was followed by a tour in Thailand. From there he went to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1973 Connie was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, then Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania. In 1978 he was off to Korea followed by Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1980. Connie was then sent to Kaiserslauten, Germany with a brief stopover in Washington, DC. In 1987 Connie was stateside at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX. He retired from the Army in October 1990.

He took over as minister of the MacArthur Park Lutheran Church in San Antonio. He retired from the ministry in 1995. Connie and Ann now enjoy the simple life of retirees and have frequent visits of their children and grandchildren.

Throughout this book Connie interjects some of the people and incidents he encountered along his path. He certainly had an amazing career and he shows how his religious background and training helped him through it all. His strong background, his loving family by his side and their continued involvement in the church have all made an impact on their lives as well as the men and women they came to know.

If you served in any of the units that Connie ministered to you might want to read this book. If you didn't serve don't worry-you might still want to read this book. If you have, or even if you don't have, a religious background read this book-it is filled with spiritual passages throughout. It might just help you!