Every Day is Veterans Day for USD’s Father Mullen
Veterans Day was celebrated nationally on Wednesday, a day meant to honor all who have served in the U.S. military. To Father Owen Mullen, chaplain at the University of San Diego, it was a continuation.“It’s not just one day to me,” he says.
Mullen has strong ties to the military, with whom he served in the Army National Guard, as a chaplain at West Point and retired as a full colonel. His University Ministry office space features photos, plaques, mementos and a Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) cap.
He conducts the daily mass at Founders Chapel twice a week, offering support when presenting the prayers of the faithful to “let us remember those in the armed forces, particularly those in troubled spots in the world, for them and their families, and that they come home safely.”
Mullen, now 71, didn’t see any battle time during his military career, but it wasn’t by choice. “When I went into the seminary they put us in a different distinction and it got us out of the draft. But it always bothered me because I wanted to be like everybody else.”
When he was ordained, Mullen asked a bishop about the possibility of joining. “He said, ‘I can’t let you go right now. I need priests here.’ He let me sign up for the National Guard reserves, but in those days people were fighting for a spot. Today, they’re begging for chaplains. I thought it was my duty to our country and for all of those who had served in the past that I take their place.”
Mullen worked for several years at West Point welcoming and working with new cadets and seeing their potential as leaders. “Where else in the world do 22-year-olds have the responsibility of leading 11 or 12 people, and they’re responsible for their lives?,” Mullen asks. “It takes a pretty strong person to do it. That’s what I admire about the military, including our own NROTC graduates.”
Mullen’s commitment to young people is consistent. He is in his second stint at USD, first from 1981-89, now back on campus since 2004. He is the team chaplain for USD’s football, baseball and club lacrosse teams, works with the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity and delivers the invocation at the San Diego NROTC fall and spring commissioning ceremonies.
“I was here when the NROTC started on campus (1982) and I think it’s one of the greatest things in the world,” Mullen says. “I listen to our students and I have lunch with them pretty much every day. They’re very positive. Those I meet through my work with the different organizations think it’s great that (NROTC students) are here. I think it’s great for the university and it makes a statement.”
— Ryan T. Blystone
Link to original article
No comments:
Post a Comment