#126: Should We Then Live by the Character of Founding Father President George Washington?

      If I were imprisoned and only was allowed to have two books, one would be the Bible and the second would be Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary published by the Foundation for American Christian Education. Whenever I desire to obtain a definition for use of a word, this is my "Go to" resource. Webster produced an incredible dictionary. It reflects the linguistic derivation of words and their meaning with some very topical uses of the word in writings by well-known classical authors of the time. The 1828 dictionary by the publisher of this facsimile edition is dedicated "...to the Christian students of America, who, under the guidance of their parents and teachers, are developing a character of obedience to God's Biblical principles of life and liberty." The dedication page writes of President George Washington:

     "After eight long years as Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Republic, Washington was ready to resign his commission. He wrote from his Head Quarters at Newburgh, June 14, 1783, in his circular letter to the states, 'I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow Citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field, and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristicks of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.'"

     Daniel Webster, Bunker Hill Monument Address, 1843.-"America has furnished to the world the character of Washington! And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind."

#125: Desert Storm Battlefield and Answered Prayer

      At age eight I had already mapped out a goal for my then short-lived life. I set my sights on obtaining admission to West Point and becoming a regular Army officer. My father mapped out my high school experience to assist me. For ninth and tenth grades I commuted from Alexandria, VA to Gonzaga Jesuit High School just north of the U.S. Capitol. The headmaster there recommended I enroll in a boarding school for the rest of high school because my father was due for an overseas tour. I enrolled at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire and was admitted to West Point as the youngest member of the 1963 class after my eleventh grade at Exeter, thus I became a "high school dropout." Exeter began a number of connections with another student, Chuck Krulak, who went on to graduate from Annapolis. The following story was originally related in my autobiography Wounded Soldier Healing Warrior (Zenith Press 2007).

     "In the summer of 1992 Major General Charles Krulak, later to become commandant of the Marine Corps, was a guest speaker at a Veterans Affairs Department religious group. General Krulak had been a class behind me at Exeter Academy and was the quarterback of a club football team with which I had limited playing time due to my broken rib. Chuck was responsible(among many other heavy responsibilities) for locating and providing water in the amount of one hundred thousands gallons per day for the coalition assault in Desert Storm the previous year. The area where he was based was typically dry and dusty and many miles from the coastal desalinization plants, and no water was to be found. He said they asked tribal members, petroleum engineers, and anyone with knowledge of the area, but to no avail.

     He had been accustomed to having prayers as a regular part of his morning meetings with his staff, and he said prayers were sent up to find water so the ground assault would not be delayed. A morning meeting was interrupted one day and a fellow Marine asked the general to follow him as they proceeded down a road heavily traveled every day by the coalition forces.

     Off the road about fifty yards, General Krulak came upon an amazing sight. Protruding from the ground was a pipe that had at its base a green generator(already containing one thousand gallons of diesel fuel), a red pump and four new batteries. No one could explain who dug it nor how it had not been seen before. Krulak did the honors and pushed the ignition switch and you know the rest of the story. It produced one hundred thousand gallons of water per day!

     Doubt that God answers big and little prayers offered in true faith and it is your loss!