Sixty years ago, Lt. Col. Robert Elkowitz’s parents had just married, his mother was four months pregnant, and his father was preparing to deploy to Vietnam. It was the summer of 1965 — the same year Lt. Col. Emma M. Baird helped launch Army Community Service, now a cornerstone of Army life around the world.

Elkowitz, the garrison chaplain for U.S. Army Garrison Italy, spoke during a July 24 celebration at Caserma Ederle to mark ACS’s 60th anniversary. “When the Army started ACS, it was a whole different world. There was a whole different Army at that time,” Elkowitz said. “I’m now so thankful for ACS.”