Sincerely in Admiration

Below is a beautiful letter to Chris from his friend Jim McAteer. (posted with permission)

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January 12, 2011

Dear Chris,

You are my hero. Life is full of opportunities to do what is right. But too often people like me do not have the guts to cross the line. “Follow me”. I remember when I was at Ft Benning for 12 weeks of officer training at the infantry school during the Korean war aftermath (1955) commanding troops in combat required leadership. I wasn’t a good soldier -- in fact one of my efficiency reports went something like this:

“Lt. McAteer is a reluctant officer who performs his duty in a marginal manner.” But I was a pretty good lawyer having won several acquittals in court martial cases at Ft. Lewis.

The School for the Americas is a hellhole that trains Latin American soldiers to be the enemy of the people. Another of my heroes is Archbishop Romero. After returning to Seattle in 1997 after being a delegate on the visitation to Arcatao I purchased through Amazon a collection of Romero’s pastoral letters and other writings. Wow!! What a great man and saint. Last Sunday after the 9AM Mass Fr John W. gave a slide show of his trip to El Salvador, Arcatao, and UCA. He showed pictures of the rose garden where the 6 Jesuits were martyred and the church where Romero was slain. It brought back all my memories of the very memorable trip.

At our Friday 7AM prayer meeting, all present prayed for you and for your mom and dad. To me your courage is a great inspiration. May God bless you.

Sincerely in admiration, Peace

Jim McAteer