Father Charles Eggert had a long,
uninterrupted career in the
service of the Church, from the time he finished grade school and
entered
Nazareth Hall, forty-eight years as a priest and twelve years
preparing, a
total of sixty years of dedicated service [as of 1986].
His first assignment, after being
ordained, was St. Michaels
Church in St. Paul, where he served as an assistant from 1938 to 1942.
In October 1942 he enlisted in
the Navy as a chaplain. He
was assigned to the base at Norfolk, Virginia. Then he was transferred
to Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, where they trained torpedo pilots.
In June 1943 he was transferred
to the Marine Fleet and sent
to California, where he took a ship for Noumea, New Caledonia. The trip
took
twenty-nine days at sea, as they maneuvered to avoid hostile craft.
From
Noumea, he was sent to the First Marine Division, Fifth Marine Regiment
in
Melbourne, Australia, then to Milne, Bay, New Guinea.
On December 26, 1943, the day
after Christmas, they invaded
the Island of New Britain. The first
night, they dug foxholes, as the Japanese came over every night in what
were
called May-Tags, because of the noise they made.
In the jungle were snakes,
scorpions and mosquitoes. The men
slept in jungle hammocks, with a rubberized roof and meshed screens,
which
zipped shut to keep out the bugs. They were meant to be strung between
trees,
but the trees weren't always close enough, so they slept on the ground.
It
rained every day and Father contracted malaria. They fought there until
Good
Friday, 1944. Then the Army took over,
The next transfer was to the
Island of Pavuvu, in the
Russell Islands to regroup. Then it was to the Island of Peleliu where
fighting
continued from September to November 1944 when the island was secured.
Then back to Pavuvu to practice
landing for invading the
Japanese Islands, But before the invasion Father was returned to the
States,
having been in two invasions, which ware considered the maximum.
He was assigned to the Naval Air
Station, Camp Kearney in
January 1945. After serving there about
a year, he was sent to the Naval Base in San Diego until he was
discharged in
August, when the war ended.
He returned to St, Paul in the
summer of 1946. Then he went
to the Catholic University, Washington D.C. where he attended the
School of
Psychology and Psychiatry for two years and received a Master's Degree
in
Psychiatry. From there, he went to Loyola University in Chicago from
1948 to
1950, receiving a Degree in Experimental Psychology.
When he returned to St. Paul, he
was assigned to St. Thomas
Aquinas in St. Paul Park, where he served from 1950 to 1964.
He was then assigned to St. John
the Evangelist, in St. Paul
where he served as pastor for twenty-three years.
During that time he had 431
funerals, 693 baptisms, 210
weddings and has offered 8640 Masses.
This is
just a brief resume of Father Eggert's life
but it reflects a long life of service.
Update: Father Eggert died on Friday June 20, 2003 at
the age of 90.
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