Hi. I saw that defrocked TV Evanglist Jimmy Swaggart was taking
donations for bibles for soldiers. Doesnt the government supply them.
If so what version is it and can you find a link. Thanks.
PrepareToMeetYourMaker@gmail.com

It must be the "King George" version.

The "government" doesn't "issue" Bible to troops. They just make them
available. If the kind of Bible the troop wants isn't in the PX,
Supply Sergeant, or Chaplain's inventory the troop is allowed to buy,
receive, or otherwise acquire whatever version he or she wants.

tutuzdad-ga

I hope its this one...

http://www.familychristian.com/shop/product_image.asp?ProdID=7456

As a military member that just returned from Afghanistan I think I can
help.  The military does NOT issue bibles.  Never.  HOWEVER, Chaplains
are available at every location the military is at.  These Chaplains
can get us whatever bible pretty much that we need.  I got a copy of
the King James Version from the Catholic Chaplain in Afghanistan. 
Some troops got bibles with the Old Testiment only, you can get the
Book of Mormon if you see the Morman Chaplain.  And if (like at my
camp) there is one Chaplain, you can ask them to get you another kind
when they go somewhere else downrange.  However, the military will NOT
issue bibles.  It is a matter of speaking to a Chaplain and asking for
one.  Or going to the millions of online websites
(www.booksforsoldiers.com is one I like) and asking for something you
can't get where you are.

And they sell them in the BX also for us to buy.

I do have a bible issued to a soldier from WWII; it even has the
government ID number printed on front. Let me re-phrase that. It does
have the ID imprinted on it; maybe it was 'made available' for him;
not 'issued' per se. KJV New Testament only; u.s. gov color; zippered;
vest pocket.

As I type, I am looking at a small (5.25 x 3.5") paperback copy of the
New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs, New International Version (NIV).
Its cover design is standard camoflage. Beneath the title, it is
stamped with a circular emblem that includes a a son with spreading
rays, a dove with olive branch, a cross, a representation of the two
tables of the ten commandments, and a Latin phrase I can't quite make
out. It says, "Pro ___ et Patria," as far as I can tell. Beneath that
it says, "Chaplains United States Army." Beneath the emblem, also on
the cover, is stamped "Fort Jackson, SC."

This book was given to my son while he was in basic training at Ft.
Jackson in the summer of 1998. I know he didn't ask for it, because he
had his own Bible. and on his Christmas leave home that year, he left
this one behind, which is how I come to have it.

So although the military may not officially "issue" Bibles to
soldiers, apparently someone gives them out, perhaps on the basis of
whatever religion a soldier declares, that is stamped on their
dogtags, i.e. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc. Of course, that's just
speculation on my part, but the fact is this Bible I'm looking at was
given to a soldier and is clearly stamped as from the U.S. Army.

WOW. This is the kind of dream research, unfiltered answer I didnt
think was possible. THIS IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF ANSWER I NEEDED. Your
are Great. Thanks. PTMYM

........ But I have one edition of the Bible that I cherish not
because it is a particular translation but because it is the vest
pocket edition that was given to soldiers who went off to fight in
World War II. ?From July 1940 through December, 1945 American Bible
Society distribution of Bibles, Testaments and portions totaled
7,420,910 Scriptures.?

Let me describe it to you.  The most obvious feature is the front
cover.  It  is made of metal and in inscribed ?May This Keep You from
Harm.  Presumably this was to be put in a soldier?s breast pocket over
his heart. Maybe those who accepted this gift from the American Bible
Society or their unit chaplain had heard the story: During the Battle
of Vimy Ridge during the First World War, an artillery shell landed
close to  Sergeant Wesley Runions. It peppered his arm and stomach
with shrapnel. But the largest piece of metal in the shell, the fuse,
hit him in the chest right over his heart. His life was spared by the
New Testament he was carrying in his vest pocket. If it were not for
that little book, the metal fuse would have torn his heart out.

 Inside that cover is a page for the soldier?s name, address, and
nearest relative.  Surely there are stories of comrades who reached in
to a dead soldier?s pocket and took the Bible out to send to a fallen
man?s family if he died in battle. The next page is a letter from the
Commander in Chief commending the reading of the bible to all who
serve in the armed forces of the United States followed by the 
signature of Franklin Roosevelt. The Title page (New Testament in the
King James Version) is backed by a very useful table of contents for
all those who need some help navigating the pages to follow.

Following the full New Testament are some other scriptures including
the Ten Commandments, eight selected Psalms, the Lord?s Prayer and
prayers for going into Battle, for Loved Ones, for a pure heart, a
Prayer of Thanksgiving, Washington?s Prayer for the Nation and a
Prayer of Penitence.  (That prayer of penitence was our Prayer of
Confession this morning.)
Then there are the words to nine hymns and three patriotic hymns.

Last but not least is a section called ?Where to Look? with brief
?life situations? listed and a suggested text.   (excerpt from a
sermon for 3/26/06)