Alan Walsh served two tours in Afghanistan and Iraq as an Army Chaplain and attained the rank of major. Seven years ago, he was part of a convoy on patrol in southeastern Iraq that ran into an ambush of roadside IEDs and enemy insurgents. The vehicle in which he was riding was destroyed, and one of his religious affairs specialists, Pfc. Cade Hess, received a grievous head wound.

One of Alan's legs was severed in the explosion and the other was so terribly wounded doctors were forced to remove it, leaving him a double amputee (both below the knees) and earning a plane ticket stateside. After his convalescence, he was honorably discharged from the army and returned to his home town of Beacon Point, Michigan.

For the past seven years, Alan Walsh has served as pastor to the United Church of Christ Lighthouse in Beacon Point, Michigan. Upon his return home, his congregation welcomed him with open arms and convinced him to take up his religious duties in civilian life. Never a large flock, the congregants are close knit and all locals--many having been members of the church their whole lives.

As pastor, Alan has organized various fund-raisers and charitable events, sending the proceeds to contacts in the army for the benefit of children in Iraq and Afghanistan. He regularaly hosts non-demoninational holiday worships--sometimes to the chagrin of his longtime congregants--and is more open about spreading God's message to anyone who will listen, regardless of religious affiliation.

Alan has no known family and never married, putting his faith and career before his own happiness. While he had several friends in the army, his closest has become Cade Hess, the young private who saved his life in Iraq after the ambush, and remains at his side, continuing to protect his chaplain.