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Bush honors wounded chaplain

May-21-2005 » Filed Under: Homefront

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President Bush honored an injured Twin Cities military chaplain during an address at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast on Friday in Washington, D.C.

"This morning we pray for the many Catholics who serve America in the cause of freedom," Bush said at the second annual event. "One of them is an army chaplain named Tim Vakoc. He's a beloved priest who was seriously wounded in Iraq last May. We pray for his recovery; we're inspired by his sacrifice.

"In the finest tradition of American chaplains, he once told his sister, 'The safest place for me to be is in the center of God's will, and if that is in the line of fire, that's where I'll be.'

"Father Tim's sister, Anita Brand, and her family, are with us today, and a grateful nation expresses our gratitude to a brave reverend."

Vakoc, 45, served as a priest in St. Anthony and Eagan until joining the Army full time in 1996. He remains in stable but "minimally conscious" condition at the VA Medical Center at Fort Snelling, according to family members. He suffered severe head injuries in an explosion last May 29 near Mosul, Iraq.


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