Avalon Chronicles #204: West Point Cadet Nick Rowe Changed My Trajectory of Life-1959

 James N. Rowe Class of 1960 at West Point

Assigned in Vietnam to a Special Forces  "A-team." Captured by Viet Cong October 29, 1963.

Escaped from enemy captvity Dec. 31, 1968 and rescued in Vietnam's U Minh Forest. 

Can't make these connections up! In August 1959 I was a plebe (freshman at West Point) in what was called "Beast Barracks." By a unique set of circumstances I had been appointed to West Point after only eleven grades (ie: a high school dropout). I had just turned 17 and was the youngest member of the class of 1963. My Army officer father was recently stationed in Hawaii. I decided after six weeks that I would prefer to resign from West Point and return to Hawaii, finish high school and learn to surf! I informed my squad leader that I desired to resign. I was ordered to report to my New Cadet Company Commander James "Nick" Rowe class of 1960. As soon as I entered Rowe's room, he said, "I knew you were appointed to West Point. I read the article in my hometown newspaper, the McAllen, Texas Monitor. My mother sent the article." CONNECTION: I had also been born in McAllen and my mother was a casual acquaintance of Nick's mother! Nick asked me to reconsider resigning as the rigors of Beast Barracks would be over in two weeks. He said the regular academic year, beginning in two weeks would be colorful due to football games. Someone at this place, disciplined and harsh as it had been for a 17 year old, connected and knew me! He was the only one of then 2400 cadets. His pep talk worked! I remained at the Academy. I was assigned to Company M-1, the company in which he was the company commander, but, I was not aware of any special privileges, except he probably assigned me roommates like John Dunn, Dick Walsh and George DeGraff, all of whom were much more mature than I, all having prior college.

Nick graduated in 1960 and became Ranger and Special Forces-qualified. He was captured by the enemy Viet Cong on Oct. 29, 1963. He suffered the very harsh conditions of being a Prisoner of War and being confined for most of his five year captivity in a 3 by 4 by 6 feet bamboo cage. Details of his captivity are detailed in his 1971 book Five Years to Freedom. It took an incredible amount of resilience, strength and faith to survive.

Fast forward to New Years Eve Dec. 31, 1968. American forces began helicopter operations in the area of his captivity. There was pandemonium with the Viet Cong. Nick became separated with only one guard. Nick "disposed" of the guard and an American helicopter flew over him ready to take him out as an enemy, but, the door gunner yelled at the last minute to the pilot, "He is an American!" Nick's captivity was over! After 62 months.

 

It was my great honor and privilege later to enjoy several occasions to connect with Nick. I arranged for him to speak at the West Point Society of North Texas. One of our grads invited his parents to attend and they traveled from McAllen for his story to be told first hand. Texas Governor John Connally recruited him in 1974 to be a candidate for State Comptroller. During his campaign I introduced him at a function in Dallas. I spent a memorable evening with him, when he and his then spouse Jane joined me for the evening afterwards. He was defeated in that election. Nick had been befriended by Robin Moore, author of his book The Green Berets, later the name of a movie, whose star was John Wayne. 

Nick continued his service in the Army Reserves and was recalled to acive duty to design and build a course based upon his experience as a POW. The course bcame the (SERE) Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape course. Fast forward to April 21, 1989, when he was in the Philippines, providing counter insurgency training to their Armed Forces. On that day he was being driven to work in an armored vehicle, when two communists assassinated him! 

His funeral was at Arlington National Cemetery in May 1989 after a Memorial service at Fort Myer Chapel. I had just arived in Washington pending my confirmation at the Department of Veterans Affairs as Asst. Secy Veterans Affairs. One of the most unique experiences of my life occurred that day. I used my wheelchair for the short trek to the burial site, just to left of the Amphitheatre through an open gate. However, on the return from the cemetery that gate was closed and I found myself facing a low stone wall. General Richard Stilwell, who had been Commandant of Cadets, when I was a cadet, took immediate charge and directed several young men to grab my chair and hoist me to the other side of the brick wall!

My connection with his widow Susan continued in later years. I invited her to a Veterans Day program at the Amphitheatre and her two young sons, Alex and Brian joined her. Upon her introduction she received an overwhelming welcome. Afterwards the speaker for the program Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense, accompanied her and her sons to Nick's grave site. In a later year, when I worked in Durham, NC, I accompanied Susan as my guest to a West Point Founders Day at Fort Bragg. During our time together she indicated Ross Perot's foundation funded the college education of her two sons.

Years later I visited and spoke at the high school in McAllen named after Nick. Just recently I sent a copy of the 1960 class yearbook to the school.

ONE LAST CONNECTION to this great hero, who changed the trajectory of my life in 1959. My cousin Patsy attended Nick's high school, was a classmate and upon his departure by bus from McAllen in summer of 1956, when his Beast Barracks was to begin, she and another classmate saw him off on his bus, when he left for West Point. I complete this story by ending on the note that Nick taught my cousin Patsy to dance! As they say in politics, "You cannot make this up!"

In POW camp in 1964 he wrote this;

"So look at times to come,

Despair is not for us,

We have a world and much more to see, 

While this remains behind."

Nick became a devout and committed Christian!

It is with great pleasure and pride as I document my connections with James "Nick" Rowe, an incredible patriot of service to our nation as an officer in the United States Army.  

Avalon Chronicles #203: WWII Vision From God Gave Soldier Hope

Elizabeth, friend at my church, is the source of the following special story, derived from a conversation her sister, Deborah, had in the late 1980s, with their father, Robert, WWII veteran (born in 1925). 

April 11, 2022: How God Gave My Father Hope for the Future   

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

In the conversation her father said to his daughter, "Did I ever tell you how I knew I was supposed to marry your mother?" Her father began, "There was a war going on. I was young, but, I wanted to serve, so I lied about my age to be able to join the Army. I was only 17 and ended up as a foot soldier somewhere in Europe, about 800 miles behind Patton. We'd march all day and camp at night-day after day. Everyone took turns standing guard. That's when I learned how to sleep standing up and also how to shoot from the hip. (It isn't just an expression, it's a strategy). I got pretty good at both."

"War is horrible. I saw countless atrocities that people did to people. It literally made me sick." Half crying and half angry, he said, "I was so angry with God I could have spit. Fed up, I started yelling at God, telling him just what I thought of him and this war. Amid my shouting something strange and unexpected happened. I saw, as if right in front of me, a portrait of myself with a woman and four children. Somehow, I knew she was my wife and these were our children, our family. I stopped yelling and felt a strange measure of peace, but, the rage was tempered. The war continued, the atrocities got worse and I promptly forgot about the vision. After my enlistment was up, I returned to the states and started college at Bucknell University. It was during my senior year in 1948, that things got interesting."

"In the previous two school years, Fr. Deppon, the chaplain at Bucknell, had been telling me there was a woman I needed to meet. I really wasn't interested in dating, so, I kept avoiding the subject. Since it was my senior year and Fr. Deppon was never going to give it a rest, I finally agreed to meet this woman he'd been telling me about. As she approached, I saw her face and SHE WAS THE WOMAN FROM THE PORTRAIT! The memory of that dark, cold, raining night, and the family portrait I'd forgotten about, came vividly flooding back. I was overwhelmed and tried hard to hold myself together."

Fr. Deppone; "Bob, meet Alice. Alice meet Bob."

Daughter Debbie: "Oh, my word, Daddy! What did you say to her?"

Daddy: "I could barely speak and I honestly don't remember much of the conversation. All I know is that I liked her and, well, you see where we ended up," he said with a twinkle in his eye. 

Debbie: "Did you tell her about the portrait?'

Daddy: Laughing hard, he said, "Are you kidding? That would have been something. Hi, Alice. You don't know me, but, I know I'm supposed to marry you and we're going to have 4 children together. Haha! No! I didn't have the courage to tell her until after the twins were born. (one being Elizabeth, my friend from church). I imagine that might have ended things before we had a chance to get started. No I kept it to myself until the portrait was complete."

Debbie: "Wow. That's amazing, Daddy."

Daddy: "Well it gets better. You know now that there are four of you kids, but, after you were born, the doctor told us not to risk having any more children. Your blood type is RH positive and youir mother's is RH negative, so you were basically poisoning each other for nine months. It wasn't until years later that the doctors figured out how to treat that, but, at the time, it was dangerous for both you and your mother and any fetus she might carry."

Daddy, continuing, "But, the fact remained that the portrait had four children, not two, and your mother and I had set our hearts on having four children, not two. You know how much she hated being an only child...We agreed to trust God and try for baby number three. As you know, she conceived! Your mother wondered early on whether she might be having twins. Each time she went to the docter she'd tell him that there seemed to be many more than four appendages jabbing her from within. She said it was like she was carrying an octopus. But, the doctor insisted it was only one, because he could never find a second heartbeat."

"The birth day (October 16, 1959) finally arrived. Off to the hospital we went. I got the happy news your mother had delivered a healthy baby boy. Then, five minutes later, after quite a flurry of activity, a second announcement: a healthy baby girl! (My church friend, Elizabeth). To the doctor's surprise your mother was right. I immediatley left the hospital to buy a dryer, knowing that we'd never survive without one, given the number of diapers we were going to have to wash going into the winter months."

"That is when your mother and I knew our family was complete. I knew God had given me a picture of hope that cold, dark rainy night somewhere in the back woods of Europe. And in his mercy, he did it by giving us our third and fourth babies in one pregnancy, saving your mother from future health risks."

Daddy: "And that, Debbie, is how God gave me a hope and a future in the middle of a war."

Allen Clark: "If, after reading this commentary, you do not believe there is a God, read it again!!! What gifts may be awaiting you?"

VAYA CON DIOS! GO WITH GOD!

Avalon Chronicles #202: The Man on the Mountain

 Guest Author: Linda Clark

Quite a number of years ago, I was driving my mother to check on some timber land that she had inherited from her family. It was in a very remote northwest Arkansas area, that backs up to the Quachita National Forest, stretching from Arkansas into Oklahoma. It was customary, when I visited her from Texas, that I would drive her to the property to ensure its condition and to determine, if its trees were ready for harvest. Arkansas pine had long been valued by builders, as the trees grow very straight and tall, making them good for framing. 

My mother had prepared a lunch for us and it was our plan to picnic at a modest park across the highway from her land. The park provided a beautiful view of the valley below. We were satisfied that all was in order on her land so we drove the short distance to the dirt road that we knew led up to the park. Driving in, I sensed movement and rustling in the brush along the road, but, thought nothing of it, knowing that there were highway crews, who sometimes visited the park. Also, I was aware that the woods were full of animals. I carried my shotgun in the trunk and in those years was a fairly good shot, so I was confident that would be sufficient protection, if needed. 

As we approached, where we intended to enjoy our lunch, a man on horseback appeared from the side of the hill, that provided the beautiful view of the valley we had hoped to enjoy. He was a handsome man, whose age I guessed to be in his mid-thrties. He was wearing a hat with a brim, very well-groomed and wearing very nice clothing. The best way I can describe him is the way I thought of him to myself, "He looked like a Ralph Lauren ad in a magazine." His horse was beautiful and very well cared-for as well. Mother and I sat stunned in the car as the odds of seeing someone like him in the "wilds of Arkansas" are close to a million to one! He smiled in a very agreeable manner as he guided his horse to the car, where my mother and I sat totally stunned! I said hello and asked him from where he had come. He gave a very lame explanation that he had come from the Washington, DC area. I recall thinking to myself, "there is no way." He was very clean-shaven and had no bed roll or anything to suggest this could be true. We exchanged a few pleasantries, which I cannot even recall, but, my memory is he spoke with a European accent. I asked him what was his destination and he responded, "Washington State." This encounter seened so irregular that I looked at my mother and said, "We should leave." She silently nodded in agreement. We bid him goodbye and slowly and carefully departed the park. As we drove away, he and his horse crossed the ditch leading to the highway, as we waved goodbye. I silently drove away with neither my mother nor I saying a word on the drive home.

A number of years passed and it became time to move my mother to Texas as her years and subsequent decline required more care. It was my custom to visit her often at the assisted living residence, where she resided. One afternoon as were on the facility patio, visiting on rocking chairs, I began to recognize her memory was fading. I recalled the man on the beautiful horse, approaching us on the mountain that day and I asked her, if she remembered him well and she said, "Yes, he did not look like any of us." Neither she nor I said anything else about the encounter that we had shared those many years ago. I have always wondered, if we both had the same thoughts about the potential threat we may have faced that day from the sounds we heard in the brush. I have maintained all these many years since, that perhaps he was as an angel dispatched by God to watch over us with the horseman's presence to protect us from some harm. It has remained most unusual and unexpected. I remain convinced there is no other explanation!

Avalon Chronicles #201: Our God is Still in the Healing Business for His People

 Reference: Doing the Supernatural Works of Jesus by Everett Cox. Available on Amazon.

     Several of my recent Avalon Chronicles reference this valuable book. Here is a personal report of a supernatural healing. It would have been difficult for me to believe in God's healing by my own asking, if I had not personally witnessed it. In early 2024 my wife was knocked down in a restaurant, suffering a three hour surgery and four breaks in her femur. She has become mobile again, but with a limp as her injured leg shortened about a quarter inch or so. We have coffee together every morning and a couple of weeks ago I felt so sad she was limping as she walked toward the kitchen. 

     I had read Everett's book the first time in 2014 and had just reread it again. Believe me, if you read this book and apply its spiritual principles, you will never be the same again! Let me tell you upfront it will require a commitment of self-revelation about spiritual matters. Chapter 11 is on Physical Healing. That same afternoon I asked Linda to sit with me for me to pray for her healing. She consented and the key element in the healing process is to recollect everyone about whom one has harbored unforgiveness or bitterness or resentment through life. She had gotten so accustomed to harboring ill-feeling about a hurt from as far back as her childhood from a person that even now is already deceased. She forgave her. That becomes unsettling to recollect all one's past hurts. It becomes brutal emotionally, but critical to the process. But, the exercise brings results. After she had spent one hour recollecting her past hurts, recalling all the past harmful memories and my listing them, she forgave all and we prayed for her healing and lengthening her leg. Forgiving does not require a liking of the individuals. 

     She got up and walked away without limping!!!!!! We had to witness it to believe it. This was not a spiritual game with God. It was serious and Jesus healed her. She hurt her right hand a year ago, when she overworked it. We prayed last night and the hand was healed and by this morning!  

     When we accept membership in the family of God and proclaim our belief that God's Son died on that cross at Calvary two thousand years for the redemption of us and our sins, we join the membership that far surpasses all the groups to which we pay annual dues. God desires we benefit from Jesus' passion. Here Linda and I are in our early '80s, we have attended church for decades, we have heard hundreds of sermons, read dozens of  "religious" books, but never have we been at the spiritual level we now are after reading and absorbing and applying Everett's book. Our faith matured us and we applied Jesus' teachings.

     We will never be the same again1 Praise God, our Father in Heaven, who sent His son to live amongst us for 33 years, died on the cross and was resurrected. When Jesus returned to Heaven, he left the Holy Spirit to continue to minister to us. 

Avalon Chronicles #200: It is Time to Say Goodbye for Avalon Chronicles!

      The traffic to my message site has hit some phenomenal numbers this year after being published since 2011. I  have derived a high degree of pleasure the last few months of 2025 with the traffic visiting my site from all over the world. I began fifteen years ago at age 68 to write about my life experiences: trips, military, my alma mater West Point, my beloved country America, thoughts on faith and my belief in the Trinity of God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. If you are reading this final message and are in the statistics through the years to have visited my site, I am grateful.

     The bottom line of all my messages and my desire for you is that you pray the following prayer I found on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association site;

        I pray for all to receive Jesus as personal Savior and Lord: I have.

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I ask you for Your forgiveness. I believe that You are the Son of God and that you died on the cross for my sins and rose again. I choose to turn from my sins and give my life to You. Please come into my heart, be my Lord and Savior, and fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your grace and for this new life.

     I have often questioned myself as to whether, in Vietnam in 1967, I would have gone to live eternally with my Lord and Savior. I was saved bodily and miraculously in my Vietnam War that day to return home, be married to two special women, father two fantastic daughters, with two special grandchildren. I have lived with both my legs amputated below my knees. I know today after 83 years of living and breathing that eternal life in Heaven is my gift from God with no hesitation nor lack of conviction. If you have never prayed this prayer, I pray you will.

      SEE YOU IN HEAVEN?

                                                                    FINIS!

Avalon Chronicles #199: Spiritual Healing-Part Five (The Occult)

Reference: Cox, Everett. Doing the Supernatural Works of Jesus. Xulon Elite. 2010. Amazon.

     The immediately prior messages have referenced multitudes of issues that can cause us to allow or be invaded by ungodly soul ties that work us over spiritually until dealt with spiritually. Everett Cox's book delineates, defines and addresses this negative spiritual world in one volume that pulls it all together to identify and address through prayer, issues impacting each of us in the spirit world. 

     On page 35 the book has a section titled:

 "MORE DOORS HAVE BEEN OPENED THROUGH THE OCCULT"

     I cannot do justice in discussion of this arena that is so important without quoting from my source book. "Most demons that torment Christians come through doors that they or their ancestors opened....As discussed before, one of these doors is any involvement with witchcraft through ouija boards, having your palm read, going to a fortune teller, horoscopes, tarot cards, palm readers...the list goes on and on....Any time we seek information from the satanic world or covet objects that represent the dark side, legal rights can be given for demons to enter our soul or physical body....These types of things are "...an abomination unto the Lord." (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). (35)

    Take Heed and Pay Attention Please: The well-being of your children is at stake! "Children are tormented by demons that came through these doors that were opened to the enemy: Pokemon, dream catchers, unicorns, posters on their walls of satanic rock groups and their music, 'Dungeons and Dragons.'"(35) Cox writes that children have been tormented "with fear and other torments, including infirmities. When the objects were taken out of the house, they stayed free." 

     I could go on and on to relate to you readers numerous more messages I read and was informed related in my source book, but I ask you, if you desire, please buy the book and continue your learning. I close with references to physical healing. I believe in healing because I have prayed and received answers to my prayers. "If there is a spirit that is causing an illness or sickness, it may very well be there because it has a right to be there. Any evil spirit, including spirits of infirmity, can use the same doors, previously discussed to oppress your life." (63) Major blocks to physical healing relate to unforgiveness or bitterness. Also specified are feelings of abandonment, rejection, anger or hurt that have not been thought through. Technique: "Say the name of the person you are forgiving and declare that you forgive them for the specific offense....Stress and anxiety may be a root cause of your sickness....Spirits of stress and anxiety may need to be renounced and cast out before healing can be received." The technique specifically to forgive others or heal an infirmity  is "...speak in Jesus' Name ...command, in Jesus' Name, that (name infirmity) is to be gone and healing  is to occur." In reality it may not occur so be sure all the door openers previously discussed are shut down. The previous messages #195 through this one #199 are probably the most important to protect oneself spiritually and physically. May they prove worthy of your attention.

I have a family heritage from Asturias, Spain and was fairly proficient in Spanish many decades ago.

I close with 'Vaya Con Dios."  GO WITH GOD.

 

 

Avalon Chronicles #198: Spiritual Healing -Part Four Door Openers (Cont)

Reference: Cox, Everett. Doing the Supernatural Works of Jesus. Xulon Elite. 2010. Available Amazon.

     Doors that Evil Spirits Often Use

Hypnosis: When we subnit to hypnosis, we yield our mind to someone else. The hypnotist may have some evil spirits attached to them.

Idolatry: Something or someone may have preeminence in one's life other than Jesus. "(Matthew 6:33) tells us we are to, 'seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.'"(31). To the exclusion of our Lord, certain areas of our lives may become predominant: "self, sports, hobbies, our work, money, people, sex, drugs, alcohol, food, collections, problems, sickness, etc." Some may worship these to the exclusion of Jesus. The major loss may be our spouse and family. Participation in secret societies may be idolatry. (Exodus 20:3) is very clear, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 

Rebellion and Disobedience Toward God-Not Keeping God's Commandments: This is considered sin and must be repented. A brand new spiritual truth becomes evident herein and this relates to our being susceptible to issues/sins of our past family generations, ie:..."disease, poverty, early death, destruction, trauma, sorrow and tragedy on our lives." Now readers may say what is this all about? Recall Biblically, sins and situations may be carried on for several generations. However we may break those sins and conditions by praying to break the past spiritual sins and conditions. "I suggest that you speak to your specific ptoblem, declaring that it is under the curse of the law, but that you have been redeemed by Jesus at the Cross. Therefore you are healed."(32).

Ungodly Inheritance: "Exodus 20:5 tells us that the iniquity (sin) of the fathers as far as four generations back can be held against us. It is likely that this four generation curse would apply to most of us because we have parents and grandparents who have sinned. Involvement with murders, suicides and/or abortions by us or our forefathers would certainly fit here. Sins caused by taking certain oaths, speaking and accepting ungodly dedications, or allowing certain secret society curses to be spoken over us results in generational demonic activity as well." (32). Thankfully we can repent of all those sins, known and unknown. We can call on our Lord for forgiveness for ourselves and our forefathers. "(Nehemiah 9:2) And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers." (33). This was a big surprise to me. And somewhat shocking to be affected by my family indiscretions. I can assure you what Everett Cox writes emanates from intense study of the scriptures and his experience in his ministry sessions.

Curses by the Tongue: This door opener perhaps is the one manifested most often. Others may cast aspersions or negative words against us and they take hold without our knowledge or even recognition, but, if you are reading this message, you now know! Be aware when we speak negatively of others that comment remains in the air and can take hold on that person. We can pray that spirits attached to words spoken to us about us or those we send into the atmosphere can be rendered null and void. This is by breaking the spiritual power through prayer. When this happens, Cox reports that the evil spirits are called out and his subjects literally cough them out. 

Ungodly Soul Ties: This section was a major surprise for me. "Soul ties form in our hearts by associating with someone, by bonding, following them, by accepting their influence....Ungodly soul ties take form from such activities as addictions, drug addiction , alcohol, gambling, stealing or cult activity."(34). Making someone an idol becomes an ungodly soul tie. Sexual abuse, as unfair as it is, creates a negative soul tie. "Sexual activity outside marriage will set up ungodly soul ties."(34).