James City County woman honors her grandfather, a chaplain killed during WWII

Two years ago, Jill Pyles discovered an article that surprised her.

Her grandfather’s chaplain kit had popped up at a Goodwill in Washington state. Pyles, a James City County resident, didn’t know much about her grandfather, who died tragically when her mother was just 10 weeks old. So, she sent a Facebook message to the man who had posted pictures of the kit and decided to see what she could find out.

After a flurry of research, exchanged emails and visits to museums across the country over the past few years, Pyles and the man who now owns her grandfather’s chaplain kit finally met in late July at a fitting occasion: the celebration of the 247th Anniversary of Army Chaplaincy at Fort Belvoir.

Chaplain Robert Nay, who owns the chaplain kit and has done extensive research on Pyle’s grandfather, was a speaker at the event and invited Pyles as his guest. He shared the story of Pyles’ grandfather, Keith Munro from Alameda County, California, as part of his speech highlighting the stories of chaplains.

Keith Munro was only 30 years old when he died in New Guinea during an air raid in World War II. He had just finished giving a sermon when the bombings began and he died while trying to help others seek shelter. Tuesday marked the 79th anniversary of his death.

He had learned his first child, Pyles’ mother, was born just days before his death. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.

According to an archived local newspaper article, Secretary of War Henry Stimson wrote to Munro’s wife sending his condolences.

“It is sent to you, as well, with my deepest personal sympathy for your bereavement. The loss of a loved one is beyond man’s repairing, and the medal is of slight value; no so, however, the message it carries,” Stimson wrote. “We are all comrades in arms in this battle for our country, and those who have gone are not, and never will be, forgotten by those of us who remain. I hope you will accept the medal in evidence of such remembrance.”

Before Nay’s research began, few knew about the tragic story of Keith Munro. Pyles said her grandmother never talked about him.

“No story is more heartbreaking,” Pyles said.

Nay has spent hours over the past few years researching Keith Munro. His journey began with the Presbyterian chaplain’s kit, which had his name printed on it. Nay then went on to read newspaper articles, academic reports and reports from his time in the military.

“The way that we memorialize something is that we don’t forget. I think what we’re doing right now, in telling the story, what we’ve done online, what we did when we celebrated the recent anniversary of the army chaplaincy is a way of memorializing,” Nay said.

Nay was drawn to the story because it shows a higher level of love and care. Munro died on a Sunday, teaching and helping others. He was even found with a piece of paper that said “emphasize prayer,” all of which showed his dedication to his chaplaincy, Nay said.

The family has kept a few mementos from Keith Munro’s life; a diary with a few entries in it, the Purple Heart medal, a painting from the scene of Munro’s death and the recently-found chaplain’s kit.

In Pyles’ small immediate family, she’s been the one to take up the mantle of researching Keith Munro’s history and has toured several museums, hoping to set up an exhibit with the family artifacts one day.

“It has been sad to research this at times, but hopefully something good comes from something bad,” Pyles said. “It was an honor to be at the anniversary though I hadn’t done anything except be born, but Chaplain Nay said I would be honoring the chaplains there and my grandfather.”

Madison Peek, madison.peek@virginiamedia.com