Chaplain Col. Robert L. Marciano was relaxing Sunday night at the
rectory of Our Lady of Good Hope Parish in Mapleville, R.I. when he
received a text message from a friend in the military that al-Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden had been killed in a daring operation in Pakistan
led by U.S. Navy SEALs.
Immediately, thoughts flooded back to the pastor of those difficult
days following the 9/11 attacks when he and other military chaplains
would suit up and wade through the destruction at the Pentagon to offer
prayers for the dead as the remains of the 184 victims there were
recovered.
“It was a dark time. When we first arrived and saw the damage, it was
still smoldering,” recalls Father Marciano, who initially served three
weeks as a chaplain at the Pentagon following the terrorist attacks.
He would return to the Pentagon from 2006-2010 to serve as chief of
chaplains for the U.S. Air National Guard. He now serves as state
command chaplain for the Rhode Island National Guard.
“I certainly feel for the families. The mastermind behind the carnage has been brought to justice.”
Although he admits it is difficult to rejoice when someone is dead,
Father Marciano believes that the United States’ relentless pursuit of
bin Laden, who he called “the chief criminal of the world,” will send a
strong message to terrorists that they will pay a price for the harm
they do to others.
“It was done right, and in this case, there was no other
alternative,” he said. “You can run and you can hide, but our
intelligence forces are going to get you.”
Fr. Marciano said he never doubted that bin Laden, who was captured
and killed May 1 by U.S. forces in a residential compound in Abbottabad,
Pakistan after being in hiding for nearly 10 years since the 9/11
attacks, would one day be found.
“He was elusive and he was protected by that culture—which considers
him a hero—but it was only a matter of time,” he said. “Justice had to
be done. It’s a huge chapter that was still open.”
“We all pray for a day when there will be peace.”