"You know, it's ministry to families, ministry to single men and to single women. It's ministry on marriage preparation and marriage counseling, the problem of drugs and alcohol and how to deal with that." (Audio interview, 3:32)

Victor J. Ivers

War: Korean War, 1950-1953; Vietnam War, 1961-1975 Branch: Navy; Navy Unit: Chaplain; Chaplain Service Location: Korea; Vietnam Rank: Captain Place of Birth: IL

Ordained as a Catholic priest in 1945, Captain Victor J. Ivers decided soon after to become a military chaplain; by the 1960s, he had served abroad in Korea as well as throughout the United States. Throughout his time in the Navy, flexibility and versatility defined his approach to ministering, both aboard ship and while serving Stateside. From notifying sailors of family deaths and counseling submariners, to organizing Bible study groups and choirs, to caring for Vietnamese refugees in Guam at the end of the Vietnam War— he approached every task with the welfare of his sailors in mind, even serving chow and cutting hair aboard ship when needed.