Nearly 100 years ago, a bullet fired from the gun of Gavrilo Princip killed the Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand and plunged the world into what would be known as the Great War.
Through a series of intricate alliances, countries banded together, soldiers marched over the poppy fields of Europe and ANZAC troops fought on the shores of Gallipoli.
After four years of fighting, on November 11 at exactly 11am, the armistice was signed, ending the bloodshed that had ravaged the globe. Every year since, in honour of the defence forces and the bravery of soldiers, Remembrance Day is observed.
With 30 years of experience in the army, Father Michael Morrissey, parish priest of Mullewa, Vicar General of the Geraldton diocese and senior chaplain to the Second Reserve Division, has a wealth of knowledge on the subject.
“Remembrance Day isn’t about glorifying war,” he told The Record. “We’ve moved away from that image.”
Fr Michael describes Remembrance Day as a time to honour those who gave their lives to defend the values and the freedoms that we accept in Australia today.
“It’s not about celebrating a victory over someone who wanted to inflict a particular way of life on a group of people, especially during the Second World War,” he says.
“It’s about remembering those families who never saw their children come home, who never had the opportunity to see their children grow up or to have their own children.
“They went over as young people and never had the opportunity to finish their lives.”
Fr Michael’s grandmother’s brother and his grandfather’s first cousin were both in their early 20s when they were killed in action on the western front. They are buried in Belgium.
Year 12 Lumen Christi College student Regan Jacobs-Smith also has family buried in Europe.
He visited the Commonwealth War Grave in France where his great-great-uncle Private Edward Regan lies.
Private Regan, the youngest of six children, was killed on May 19, 1918, and among his personal belongings were found his religious medallions and his prayer cards.
“As I reached the cemetery many emotions arose in me,” Mr Jacobs-Smith said.
“Seeing the war grave of my ancestor whom I am named after caused me to reflect on how important family and ancestral history is.”
By visiting his ancestor’s grave Mr Jacobs-Smith says he truly appreciated the monumental sacrifice that a soldier makes.
“Knowing that my great-great-uncle’s values and his courage to fight for what he believed in was very powerful,” he said.
Both Fr Michael and Mr Jacobs-Smith have ties to the Great War, but Fr Michael hasn’t forgotten the Australian soldiers of today.
“Many have been to Timor, the Solomon Islands and the Middle East,” Fr Michael said.
“They experienced some of the same issues that soldiers in the First World War experienced; it’s important to honour them.”
Private Edward Regan was one of the eight million lives that the Great War claimed and while death brings fear to everyone, the one comforting presence in the army is that of an army chaplain.
Fr Michael grew up in Yalgoo on a sheep station before he joined St Charles’ Seminary followed by St Francis’ Seminary in Adelaide.
He was ordained in 1981 and two years later answered the call of Bishop Foley for a Catholic reserve chaplain for the Pilbara regiment.
He says the experience of being an army chaplain has made him a better person and a better priest.
“Pastorally, it has helped me,” he said. “You encourage focusing on Jesus himself and what would he do in the situation; being an army chaplain hasn’t diminished my identity as a Catholic priest, it has strengthened it,”
Fr Michael has undergone extensive physical training as part of his role as a chaplain.
“I’m not as fit as them,” he says with a laugh. “But that’s a good thing too, as you don’t want to show up a young soldier.”
Fr Michael has passed a fitness test based on his age, and does a certain number of push-ups and sit-ups, as well as a walk which he has to complete within a certain time frame.
Other courses Fr Michael has completed as part of his training have taught him about life in the army, who to salute, how to relate to the soldiers, the names of different weapons and how they work so that he is able to converse easily with the soldiers.
He also completed the Initial Chaplain Course in order to fully understand how his role worked from a religious point of view.
“The one thing that has always struck me in my 30 years of being an army reserve chaplain is that [the officers] always respect you,” Fr Michael said.
“Whether they believe in God or not they always respect the chaplain and they like having a chaplain in their unit.”
Fr Michael was in Kuwait in 2006 before being posted to Afghanistan, where the Australian soldiers faced a number of issues.
“It was a great experience,” Fr Michael said. “I would wander around the base and start talking to the men and they would say ‘Come on, padre, come and have a chat’.”
Fr Michael would bless the soldiers before they went out on their operations and he would be there to welcome them back, but at times it was difficult knowing that the soldiers did not always return.
“It can be emotionally draining but it is also fulfilling,” he said.
“That’s my role as a priest; you’re the chaplain to all of them whether it’s the commanding officer or the most junior officer.”
During his years as an army chaplain Fr Michael has developed a great rapport with the Commanding Officers (CO), the Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSM) and the medics.
“I can speak to the CO and the RSM in strict confidence about the troops and their wellbeing,” Fr Michael said.
“It’s also important to talk to the medics, they deal with the physical and mental issues, and I look after the spiritual side.”
Fr Michael views his role as an army chaplain as similar to that of a parish priest.
One of the key characteristics in becoming an army chaplain is that the candidate must have worked as a parish priest for three to four years.
“They want you to have normal, ordinary human experiences,” Fr Michael said.
“People in the army are human beings and I have to simply be present to the soldiers and their families in a normal way that I would be in a normal parish setting.”
Fr Michael recently spent six months in Kapooka training recruits for the reserves and full-time army.
He also enjoys going out to the bases and participating in the training, which is where he says the informal conversations occur.
“Once they get to know you and trust you, they start having the serious conversations about marriage, relationships, sickness, and things they can’t handle in a particular situation,” Fr Michael said.
“You have to be present for the soldier to help him out.”
Fr Michael administers to the needs of Catholic soldiers but he also talks to troops from other denominations as well as the ones who have no particular religious beliefs.
He said that by talking to the soldiers his identity as a Catholic has been strengthened.
“When you talk to someone who doesn’t believe there is still a common element,” Fr Michael said.
“You share tears, sadness, compassion and I’ve found that the chaplain is the one they go to if they need to talk.
“When I’ve seen Australian soldiers in practice and reality, not one of those soldiers would deliberately go out and harm someone else and as a chaplain I help them develop values and ethics.”
While Fr Michael aids the troops on the bases he said that he asks the Holy Spirit to grant him strength and wisdom in order to fulfil his duty as an army chaplain.
“As much as it’s a relationship with the soldiers, it is also all about a relationship with Jesus and God,” he said.