Albert Tappman

Capt. Albert Taylor Tappman, also known as A.T. Tappman or simply "The Chaplain", was the naive, Anabaptist chaplain in Yossarian's squadron. He has very low confidence and constantly worries about his wife and kids back in his home town of Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is usually a gentle, caring person, but is easily intimidated and tormented by others, such as his cruel, atheist assistant Corporal Whitcomb, and Colonel Cathcart.

Personality
Captain Albert Taylor Tappman, an introverted Anabaptist minister, is almost always referred to by his role as group chaplain. He desperately misses his wife and children, and prefers living alone in a tent in the woods, because the other officers make him ill at ease. He spends time in the officers' club as ordered, but resents being scheduled to eat in so many different mess tents that he never knows where to go. Others often take advantage of the chaplain. His aide, Corporal Whitcomb, causes him to be accused of forging "Washington Irving" on letters and documents. Colonel Cathcart forgets that he gave the chaplain a plum tomato, and accuses him of stealing it. But the chaplain opposes Corporal Whitcomb's idea of sending form letters to the families of men killed in combat, and also opposes Colonel Cathcart by protesting the number of missions the men must fly.

He has trouble holding to his faith in the war setting, but his faith is strengthened by what he sees as "signs" encountering Captain Flume as a "voice in the wilderness," and having a "vision" of a naked man in a tree during a funeral. The chaplain suffers from a feeling of deja vu--of playing a role that occurred before. By the end of the novel, he does reenact some elements of the past role of Christ, a man who suffered for others. He refuses to name Yossarian as a forger, even though he himself becomes the scapegoat. He learns to place his own conscience above military codes, and even enjoys inventing a new disease, "Wisconsin shingles," so he can go to the hospital to join his friend Yossarian.

Trivia

 * The chaplain's last name might be interpreted as meaning one who tries to "tap" or pierce the meaning of issues, such as the nature of good and evil.
 * In earlier editions he was called Chaplain Robert Oliver Shipman, but this was changed to Albert Taylor Tappman. Editions published in some other territories, notably Britain, have continued to use the original name.