Commentary
On Aug. 19, 1942, nearly 5,000 Canadian troops stormed the beaches of a German-held town in France. Among them, landing under heavy fire, was an unarmed Presbyterian chaplain attached to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.
Throughout the disastrous Dieppe Raid, chaplain John Weir Foote exposed himself to enemy machine guns by administering first aid, collecting the wounded, and carrying them to safety. When it came time to withdraw, Foote refused to be evacuated, giving up his place so he could stay behind and minister to those who were going to be taken captive. He spent years in a prisoner-of-war camp, still tending to the spiritual needs of his men….