CAPT. S. M. SHELTON, USN
Commanding Officer
A DAK
SUN
CDR. E. L. CRANCE, USN
Executive Officer
Published each Monday for all personnel
on Adak by Special Services* Provisions
for NavExos P-35 (Rev. July 58) complied
with. Mimeographed at NavSta Adak. Funds
furnished from non-appropriated sources
at no cost to the government. Articles
contained^herein are not to. be construed
as representing tKe official opinion of
the Commanding Officer or the Navy Dep
artment, inasmuch as the Adak Sun is not
an official publication.
EDITORs H. T. DAVIS, YN1 055-J or 365
CHAPLAINS CORNER
IT BLESSES HIM WHO GIVESi
The story was told 2000 years ago,
but the situation described is time
less. It could and does occur in mod
ern times.
"A servant owed his master a large
sum. The master to settle accounts
decided to sell the servant, his wife
and children. The servant begged his
master to change his mind. Moved with
compassion the master forgave the debt.
A short time later the servant met a
fellow-servant who owed him a little
money. He demanded immediate payment
when the man begged for time he had him
thrown in jail.
Sixteen hundred years later Shakes
speare saw the same situation recurring
in his era. He wrote about the credit
or who sued in court to collect a pound
of flesh in payment of a debt. In
pleading the case the debtor*s lawyer
reminded the court that "the quality of
mercy...is twice blest; it blesses him
who gives and him who takes." This is
a poetic paraphrase of a divinely re
vealed truth-"Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall receive mercy."
Pride, selfishness, Thoughtfulness,
all manner of human imperfections can
motivate a man to bo without mercy in
his dealings with the men around’ him.
(continued next column)
Inability to overcome this tendency is
not new in the world.
What is relatively new in this age
less universe is the desire to over
come these tendencies which are unworthy
of a human being. Because it is only
two thousand years old, men are not yet
practised in this ability to forgive,
be merciful despite personal feelings
or weakness. Facility comes with prac
tice, which in turn depends on motivat
ion, Some men will try to practise
mercy only be a fear of Gods Anyone
who collects* a pound of flesh from his
neighbor has it on divine authority
that someday he will have to pay more
than a "Ton of flesh" that he owed God.
It is to the eternal profit of every
man to be aware of this great truth -I
"Blessed are the merciful, for they
shall receive mercy" or "The quality of
mercy,,,,is twice blest, it blessed him
who gives and him who takes,"
Francis A. Fay, Catholic Chaplain
MIDWAY ISLANDS —(NAVNEWS) - Mobile
Construction Battalion NINE (MCB-9)
has been awarded the Peltier Award as
the outstanding SeaBee Battalion in the
U. S. Navy for fiscal year 1961.
The Peltier Award is named for Rear
Admiral Eugene J. Peltier, CEC, USN,
Chief of Civil Engineers and Chief of
the Bureau of Yards and Docks. It is
a new award which will be presented
annually to the Navyis outstanding CB
Battalion. The award is presented by
the Society of American Military Eng
ineers with the cooperation of the Navy*
Commander F, W. Arnold, USN, of
Port Hueneme, skipper of MCB-9, received
official notification of the award in A®
a letter from the Society of American
Military Engineers.
The Peltier Award, in the form of a
silver plaquw, will be presented May 15
to MCB-9 in a ceremony at Washington,D,C.
MCB-9, home-ported at Port Hueneme,
California, is composed of 17 officers
and 440 enlisted men. The MCB-9 detach
ment at Adak last year is well remember
ed for their "can do” and the fine job
they did for Adakians.
The Battalion is currently deployed
in the Midway Islands.