An Unforgettable Memory in the Combat Zone

Note: About a month after SFA Chapter 78’s Christmas party Sentinel editor How Miller received this letter. In it, Vahan Sipantzi, who had attended the party as an honored guest, shared the following story. We thank Chaplain Sipantzi for sharing this memory with us and our readers.

By Vahan Sipantzi
Chaplain (COC) USA SF (ret.)

During my first six months in Vietnam (68-69), I was the Protestant Chaplain for the 101st Airborne Division Div-Arty. My partner, a Jesuit priest, and I were providing Chaplain coverage for 12 battalions of artillery belonging to the 101st and 24 Corps. We normally averaged at least 14 services a week flying or driving from firebase to firebase.

The 101st and 24th Corps, working in I Corps just outside of Hue, had firebases not only along the edge and floor of the A-Shau Valley, in the mountains between it and Camp Eagle, the 101st base camp, but in the barren hills further north around Camp Evans. Those hills around Camp Evans had no bushes, no trees, and NO WATER except what was brought in by choppers in large rubber blivets or “water buffalos” sling loaded under CH-47’s.

On a visit to one particular firebase in protective ring around Camp Evans with a battery of 105-102’s, a young black artillery man asked if he could be baptized. We talked about the meaning of baptism and what it would mean to him kneeling in the dirt before his fellow “red legs” to acknowledge his trust and belief in Jesus Christ. He said he was OK with that and we agreed to do it on my next visit.

An unidentified Chaplain with the 101st Airborne conducts services in the field somewhere in Vietnam circa 1969. (https://www.armyheritage.org/soldier-stories/robert-speer-a-chaplains-tale/)

Another hot humid day brought us back. The altar was the tail of his 105, the pews the sandbags that protected it, and the water of baptism, because of the shortage of water, the wine in my communion cup. For a Baptist Chaplain who was first baptized by sprinkling in a Presbyterian Church then immersed “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” (3 times holding my breath) in the local Brethren Church, and who believed in and practiced “baptism by immersion”, baptizing this young soldier in the combat zone sprinkling him with communion wine was without a doubt one of the most memorable and meaningful experiences of my 34 years of service. It dawned on me as I’m writing this that Jesus turned water into wine. He no doubt turned that communion wine into water.

I pray that this young “red leg” made it through his 12 months deployment and stayed faithful to his commitment to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ after his “freedom bird” lifted off Vietnamese soil.

Vahan Sipantzi, at right, with long-time friend Richard Simonian, was the Guest of Honor at the 2023 Chapter Christmas party. Both are SF Originals.

About the Author:

The following biography is from the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) website, posted in honor of Colonel (Chaplain) Vahan Sipantzi, U.S. Army, Retired, who was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the Special Forces Regiment on November 5, 2020.

As a young non-commisioned officer in the U.S. Army, Vahan Sipantzi was among the first Soldiers to volunteer for service in the U.S. Army Special Forces. One of the “originals,” he served under Col. Aaron Bank, “the father of Special Forces.” Then, Sgt. Sipantzi trained the first class to undergo formal SF training.

During his illustrious career, he served in both general purpose and special operations units and commands. As a Special Forces Soldier, he served in the 1st, 7th, 10th, 12th, 17th and 77th Special Forces Groups as an NCO and later as Ex- ecutive Officer, Commander and Chaplain. In 1967, he served as a unit chaplain in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, where he saw not only to the spiritual needs of his Soldiers, but also took the lead in assisting them in building and supporting orphanages.

As Command Chaplain of the 351st Civil Affairs Command, he brought his Special Forces training and background to the Army Reserve Civil Affairs community at a time when they were being integrated into Army Special Operations. He later deployed to Iraq as Unit Chaplain of the 422 CA Company assigned to, and in direct support of, the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. While there, he was instrumental in establishing two refugee camps in his area and was a key player in the rescue and repatriation of an Iraqi professor married to an American who had recently returned to the United States with their children.

Chaplain Sipantzi’s service in Special Forces units was also noteworthy. While serving multiple tours with 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Panama, El Salvador, Honduras Bolivia and Peru, he not only provided religious counseling service to his SF brothers, but also participated in numerous Medial Civic Action Programs, building relationships with local missionary groups and religious leaders, which enhanced the unit’s success.

After more than 40 years of selfless service, he returned from the Army in 1993. His commitment to the Special Forces Motto – “De Opresso libre,” never wavered. He continued to serve those in need around the world. During his retirement, he has responded to crisis in Haiti, Nigeria, Chile, Mexico and even here at home in Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina.

Chaplain Sipantzi uses his farm’s output to provide fruit and vegetables to a local church and food bank serving the needy, donating more than 12,000 pounds of apples and more than 12,000 pounds of vegetables to a local food bank. Chaplain Sipantzi is the embodiment of Special Forces.