Serving his Country while sharing the word
- Sr Perspective
- 16 hours ago
- 6 min read
Florence man served 27 years as military chaplain
By Gary Kass
Charles James Anderson was born in 1951 in Tyler, Minn., just seven miles from his family farm near Florence. His parents were farmers and he grew up as a typical farm kid... hard work was expected.
“You start with little chores,” he said, “helping Mom with the chickens... then you work your way up. In those days, most farms had a little bit of everything in terms of livestock -- milked a few cows, have some beef cattle and calves, hogs, sheep and chickens.”
Anderson attended school in Balaton and remembers his school years fondly. He was a good student and played football and ran track in high school.
“You learn team spirit, cooperation, and sportsmanship,” he remembered.
Anderson was very uncertain on what to do after high school but finally decided that he would join the Marine Corps. In 1969, he graduated from Balaton High School and left for the Marines that August.
After Marine boot camp in San Diego, Anderson was trained as a Fire Control Radar Technician on the F-4J Phantom fighter. He expected to go to Vietnam, but by then the Marines had shifted his specialty from Vietnam to Hawaii. Anderson said his service in the US Marine Corps was notable.
“It was in the Marine Corps where I found faith in Christ,” he said, “started to walk with the Lord, and became disciplined. It was an excellent experience for me in terms of discipline, vision, where am I going, what do I want to do and then the walk of faith with Christ.”
Anderson excelled in the Corps and was promoted to the grade of Sergeant (E-5). He finished his enlistment in August 1973.
After his discharge, Anderson worked in a military ministry in Alaska then started college there, eventually transferring to Mankato State University (MSU). He graduated from MSU in 1978 with a degree in Political Science and Economics. He then enrolled in law school.
“I tried law school and it didn’t take but a few weeks to discover this isn’t for me,” he said. “So, I dropped out of that but, I had a very clear call from the Lord to the ministry. So, I enrolled in Bethel Seminary in Arden Hills.”
Soon after, Anderson met, fell in love, and married the love of his life--a girl from St. Paul, Judy (also named) Anderson. She had just returned from an overseas ministry with the Christian Missionary Alliance in Indonesia. The newlyweds lived in the Seminary Village adjacent to Bethel before moving to East St. Paul. There they affiliated with the Christian Missionary Alliance Church.
“I got my Master of Divinity degree from Bethel in 1983,” he said. “I went on full time with the church, as an Associate Pastor.”
Anderson completed his final preparations for ordination and then applied for endorsement from the Alliance Church to the Navy Chaplaincy.
“In the summer of 1985 we entered the Navy Chaplain Corps,” Chaplain Anderson said. “Judy was pregnant with our first born, and I went off to Newport, Rhode Island for the Chaplain’s Basic Course.”
Judy flew out for graduation and they embarked on a cross-country trip to San Diego where they were to homeport for the next 8 years.
“I think it was Sunday afternoon, we found an apartment,” he said. “Monday was Labor Day and Tuesday night, Judy took me to LAX (International Airport) to board a plane for the Indian Ocean. She went back and received the household goods and moved in. It was a big adventure to us, in the Navy, go to San Diego, I get on an airplane and go away... I went to join my ship in the Indian Ocean, a cruiser.”
Chaplain Anderson flew in a military chartered 747 via Alaska to Clark AFB, Philippines. He then boarded an Air Force C-141 to Diego Garcia, a remote British Indian Ocean atoll. From there he was flown to the carrier, USS Kitty Hawk, (CVA-64), then to another ship and finally by helicopter to his ship, the USS Fox, (CG-33), a guided missile cruiser. He remembers the helicopter flight to the USS Fox where he was lowered by helicopter onto the ship.
“I got over to my ship via helicopter, lowered by hoist and horse collar, scary as all get out!” he said.
The ship returned to San Diego before Christmas 1985, reuniting with Judy while his ship refitted and prepared for its next cruise. Their son, Ben, was born in February 1986.
His second cruise on the Fox was to the Indian Ocean as well. The ship’s destination was suddenly changed when on May 17, 1987 the USS Stark, (FFG-31), was badly damaged by Iraqi missiles in the Persian Gulf. The Fox turned around at Diego Garcia and re-traversed the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf, now under orders to assert American might.
“We transited the Straight of Hormoz under general quarters,” Chaplain Anderson said, “because we didn’t know who might try to shoot at us. We spent the summer in the Gulf, oh, what a hot place.”
At the end of the deployment, he returned with his ship to San Diego, reuniting with his wife and son.
Chaplain Anderson’s next assignments were based in San Diego as well, first as a Chaplain at the US Marine Corps Recruit Depot, where he provided spiritual guidance to Marine recruits, drill instructors and other military staff. Next, he was assigned to a destroyer squadron homeported in San Diego. In 1988, their son Nathan was born.
In 1993, Chaplain Anderson was assigned as the first chaplain to what is called TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out), the Navy’s Strategic Communications Wing One at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City. Many aspects of the Navy’s TACAMO Wing are classified, suffice to say the Wing provides airborne communications, command, and control in the event of a threatened nuclear strike on the United States. Judy’s parents lived nearby and his boys got to spend time with their grandparents.
“I went out and flew a lot with those guys and gals on the big TACAMO aircraft,” he said.
In 1997, Chaplain Anderson was reassigned to the carrier USS Carl Vinson, (CVN-70), homeported in Bremerton, Washington. He served one short and one long deployment on the carrier until September 2000 and was next assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune North Carolina.
“I was assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force,” Pastor Anderson said. “It has three Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs), numbered, 22nd, 24th, and 26th. I was assigned to the 22nd MEU in 2003.” He added, “A Marine Expeditionary Unit has manning of 2200-2300. You have various elements folded into that--infantry, artillery, tanks, intelligence, logistics and a command element. I was with the command element. I had two other chaplains with me.”
Then came the attack of September 11, 2001 and America’s reaction and military deployments in light of the terrible events of that day. In 2004, the 22nd MEU was deployed to south central Afghanistan from March until August.
“Very remote, very rural, and you see just grinding poverty,” Chaplain Anderson recalls. “The saddest part was I would encounter Afghans who had never heard the name of Jesus.”
Pastor Anderson’s duties were many--mentoring Marines, conducting church services, conveying communion to Marines at scattered outposts, and helping deliver medical and dental services to Afghan civilians.
“It was only semi-risky! We only got shot at a few times!” he said.
Sadly, there was one Marine killed and 11 wounded. Chaplain Anderson conducted an in-country memorial service for the Marine who was killed.
In 2005 Chaplain Anderson was assigned to his final duties at the Navy’s Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois.
“The facility is a modern, purpose-built, top-of-the-line training facility, well suited to train young men and women to serve in the modern US Navy,” he said, despite the sometimes difficult winter weather.
With 27 years of service, four in the Marines and 23 in the Navy, Chaplain Anderson retired from the Navy in 2008.
Retiring to Oklahoma City, Chaplain Anderson continued his ministry, serving in an outreach ministry to Sailors and Airmen at Tinker AFB. Judy became caregiver for her parents, then in their 90s. He also continued his ministry by serving a large funeral home in Oklahoma City. There he helped comfort family on the loss of their loved ones and helped them to make funeral arrangements. If no other minister was scheduled, he would then officiate the funeral.
In 2019, Pastor Anderson and Judy decided to return to Florence. There they bought a house not far from his boyhood farm. He was soon called to be the pastor at the First Congregational Church in Garvin, where he continues to serve the Lord to this day. Pastor Anderson, or as he likes to be called, Pastor Chuck, is an accomplished veteran, a compassionate and thoughtful man of God. Pastor Chuck is a man of deep faith in the Lord and we are blessed to have him have in our midst.
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