Local Chaplain Remembers Serving in Vietnam War

"I worked in the largest hospital in Southeast Asia it was in Tokyo, Japan ...saw a lot of the young men that were wounded and shot to pieces in nam, they came there," said Chaplain Price Mathieson.

Mathieson had been in Japan with his wife at the time doing missionary work, when war broke out. His casual golf relationship with some of the military there bloomed into something unexpected.

"There was a General that was over all of the forces and he had a lot of dignitaries that came and he went to a little mission where I spoke, that's where I first met him," said Mathieson.

Since they were without a protestant chaplain, Mathieson was given the proper credentials to get on base and became the fill in chaplain for the next couple of years.

"You have people that are in crisis, people that are hurting people that are in tears so you can stand there with them you can't make it go away but you can help them not feel so alone," said Mathieson.

Mathieson says he doesn't consider his time served to be nearly as brave as the men and women that risked life and limb to protect our country's freedom.

"We're extremely grateful for those who are willing to sacrifice everything to go and protect us," said Mathieson.

Mathieson has since been a chaplain at Hendrick Medical Center for the last 30 years.