Jeremiah J. Rodell (September 28, 1921 – April 17, 2015) was a brigadier general in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

that served as

Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force The Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force is the second senior-most Military chaplain, chaplain in the United States Air Force]Chaplain Corps holding the rank of brigadier general, and acting as principal deputy to the Chief of ...

from 1978 to 1980.

Biography

Rodell was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1921. He grew up in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Chicago. He then attended St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois from 1940 to 1947 and graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree. On June 5, 1947, Rodell was ordained for the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. The Vatican erected it as a diocese in 1843 and elevated it to an ar ...

and served as a parish priest on Chicago's West Side from June 1947 to December 1955. Rodell entered active military service in December 1955. For the next 18 years he served stateside military parishes at

Holloman Air Force Base Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base established in 1942 located six miles (10 km) southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, which is the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The b ...

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...

Little Rock Air Force Base Little Rock Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas. The facility covers 6,217 acres (2,516 ha) with a resident population of over 3,300 and working population of approximate ...

March Air Force Base March Air Reserve Base (March ARB), previously known as March Air Force Base (March AFB), is located in Riverside County, California, between the cities of Riverside, Moreno Valley, and Perris. It is the home to the Air Force Reserve Comm ...

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

, and

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the ...

. During this some period, his overseas assignments included

Naha Airport is an international airport located west of the city hallAIS Japan
in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is Japan's ...

(Okinawa, Japan),

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, Turkey,

Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base in Luzon, located west of Angeles City, and about northwest of Metro Manila. It was previously operated by the U.S. Air Force and, before that, the U.S. Army, from 1903 to 1991. The base cov ...

(Philippines), Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base (Thailand), and

Wiesbaden Air Base Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden forms a conurbation with a population of aro ...

(Germany). In 1973 Rodell was assigned to Headquarters Aerospace Defense Command, Colorado Springs, Colorado, as chief of Catholic plans and programs. In 1975 he was transferred to the Personnel Division, Office of the Chief of Chaplains. Rodell assumed the position of deputy chief of chaplains on August 1, 1978. Rodell's military decorations and awards include the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters and Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. Rodell served for three years on the Advisory Council to the Military Vicar, Terence Cardinal Cooke. In 1978, he became the chairman of the Action Committee to the Advisory Council. Since 1974, he had been active in the worldwide Marriage Encounter movement. Rodell's hobbies included tennis, sailing, painting, and swimming. He was promoted to the grade of brigadier general on December 1, 1978, with the same date of rank, and retired on August 1, 1980. He died in 2015.Archdiocesan Priest Jeremiah J. Rodell Dies
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodell, Jeremiah J. 1921 births 2015 deaths Military personnel from Chicago Military personnel from Minneapolis Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago American Roman Catholic priests Religious leaders from Illinois Clergy from Minneapolis Catholics from Illinois United States Air Force generals

Biography

See also

References