Avalon Chronicles #71: 'Land of the Free Because of the Brave"

Avalon Chronicles #71: "Land of the Free Because of the Brave"

by Allen B. Clark           allenbclark@aol.com

www.combatfaith.com   www.combatfaith.blogspot.com

Quoted from Streams in the Desert October 25

     "During the American Civil War, a certain man had a son who enlisted in the Union army. The father was a banker and although he gave his consent to his son, it seemed as if it would break his heart to let him go.

     Once his son had left, he became deeply interested in the plight of soldiers, and whenever he saw one in uniform, his heart went out to him as he thought of his own dear boy. Often to the neglect of his business, he began spending his time and money to care for the soldiers who came home disabled. His friends pleaded with him not to neglect his business in this way, by spending so much time and energy on the soldiers. So he decided to give it all up, taking his friends' advice.
     After he had made this decision, however, a young private in a faded, worn uniform stepped into his bank. It was easy to discern from the wounds on his face and hands that he had been in the army field hospital. The poor young man was fumbling in his pocket to find something, when the banker saw him. Perceiving his purpose for coming into the bank , he said to the soldier, 'My dear man, I cannot help you today. I am extremely busy. You will have to go to the army headquarters, where the officers will take care of you.'
     The poor wounded soldier still stood there, not seeming to fully understand what was being said to him. He continued to fumble in his pockets and finally pulled out a scrap of dirty paper. He laid the filthy page before the banker, who read the following words written in pencil:

     'Dear father,

          This is one of my friends, who was wounded in the last battle and is coming to you directly from the hospital. Please receive him as you would me.

       Charlie'

     All the banker's previous resolve to focus solely on his business instead of soldiers quickly flew away. He took the young man to his own magnificent home and gave him Charlie's room and seat at the dinner table. He cared for him until the food, rest, and love had returned him to health, and then sent him back to his place of service to again risk his life for his country's flag."

     We cannot all serve in the armed forces of our nation possibly on dangerous earthly battlefields, but, we all can arm ourselves for the spiritual battlefields of our lives by putting on the "Full Armor of God." Ephesians 6:17 (KJV).

     

   

Avalon Chronicles #70: "Fallen From Grace"

Avalon Chronicles #70: "Fallen From Grace"

by Allen B. Clark              allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com      www.combatfaith.blogspot.com

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." I John 2:16 (KJV)

     Linda and I are five episodes of ten through a new Netflix series, "The Crown," relating the stories of the United Kingdom's current royal family. Of course, there is related the abdication of Queen Elizabeth's uncle due to the desire to marry a twice-divorced American, the flirtations of Princess Margaret with married Group Captain Townsend, political machinations in the premiership of Winston Churchill, and tradeoffs at the highest levels of the British Empire. Presumably, ahead for our viewing "pleasure," are the shenanigans and falling from grace of Prince Charles, Prince Albert, Princess Anne, divorces, and the "mysterious" death of Diana. However, I am struck by the "dignity" of the life of future Queen Elizabeth II and her father, King George VI. One of the most poignant scenes is that of her father rehearsing with a young Elizabeth, prior to his own coronation, the sacred anointing with oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury by the application to the forehead, the heart, and the palm, (the soul, the spirit, and the body) with the sign of the cross. Episode five ends with the same ceremony for the new queen in Westminster Abbey. This all represents assuredly the merging of church and state in what was once the most powerful position in the world.
     Our Declaration of Independence and Constitution make clear our own founding was based upon separation of church and state. Our nation originally was founded by "escapees" from the intolerance of the Church of England. These adherents of a sincere belief in our God ruling their lives came upon our shores for freedom from the monarchies and oppressions of Europe. Our colonists picked up pitchforks and muskets and succeeded in our Revolution with securing freedom from the ancestors of the royalty of "The Crown." Who cannot be reminded of the dignity of a George Washington, becoming our first president, a leader in a position, which arguably would eventually be considered the most powerful position in the world, the leader of our own American Empire?
     On November 8, 2016 we again will pick from one of two candidates to become our president, the most powerful position in the world. Whereas our examples have been the dignity of a George Washington and a Queen Elizabeth II, we are confronted today in our election with claims, counterclaims  and charges of "misogyny, liar, abuser, criminal, divorced, corrupt, treason, traitor, sexting, illegitimate son, lesbianism, 'orgy island,' temperamental, 'play for pay,' obstruction of justice, coarse language, illegal contributions." Have I missed anything? Ah, yes, add "murder, adultery, pedophilia, bribery, access peddling, a porn star, nude modeling!" It is sickening! How far have we "Fallen From Grace?" I am distinctly saddened and appalled at the depths to which the standards of our Lord, that He has laid out for us in no uncertain terms in the Holy Scriptures, have descended! Americans will wake up on November 9, 2016 and almost half will be devastated at the choice determined and a few more will be elated that their candidate won. However, our great America, the land of the free because of the brave will have lost and "Fallen From Grace."
     What can we as individuals do? Where does this election put us? It puts us individually to aspire to seek the example of the words of John in Revelation 1:6 (KJV):

"And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever." 

     Admittedly this was written to describe what we are to be in eternity in the Kingdom of God, but I submit we can strive to reflect this in our lives today. The Abingdon Bible Commentary (Abingdon Press 1929) footnotes the passage thusly,"...Individually they are priests having access through His Blood into the Holy of Holies, offering living, reasonable, and spiritual sacrifices, making intercession for all men." The intercession must be extended by us to all in authority. They need it!
The footnote in (KJV) for Hebrews 13:15 indicates, "A sacrifice of praise today would include thanking Christ for His sacrifice on the cross and telling others about it."
     As citizens of this great land, America, with our magnificent contributions to the world and with the majority of us striving mightily to live by standards in our faith and to reflect dignity, we must pick up where the political world has let us down. In the 1980s I attended a Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge dinner in Dallas, honoring a Highland Park school teacher. I recall only one thing she said, "If it is to be, it is up to me." We each have a responsibility to speak positive words and to be loyal to God. We can be part of a Second Revolution, a spiritual one. The question I ask myself is, "If not I, who? If not now, when?"
     This is a worthy prayer: "In the Name of Jesus, I commit myself from this day forward to live by the Word of God, to live by my faith, and to live by the love of God." The country is pretty far gone, but we need not personally be so!!! We can, in military parlance, "Prep the landing zone," to be prepared for Christ's return.

Avalon Chronicles #69: "One More"

Avalon Chronicles #69: "One More"

by Allen B. Clark             allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com     www.combatfaith.blogspot.com

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 (KJV).

     On Nov. 2, 2016 this verse was remembered by me when first quoted by then 2nd. Lt. Bob Dees (later a Major General U.S. Army) upon visiting around 1972-1973 a Bible study in Dallas, led by my classmate Andy Seidel and his wife Gail. Dees spoke about what sustained him spiritually in what may be considered the most physically challenging Army training, Ranger school. It had come to my mind again when there was a gathering of my veteran clan, comprising as it is written in I Chronicles 7:2 (KJV), "...they were valiant men of might in their generation;" Doug, John, Patrick, Don, Woody, Chuck, Hamp, Al, Curtis, Ira, Scott,Hank, Karl, Jess, Wade, Gene, John, Ben, Chris, Lewis, and Steven.
     They and other veterans, their spouses, and VA personnel had gathered for a showing of a new movie about to be released Nov. 4, "Hacksaw Ridge," directed by Mel Gibson, who starred in other great movies such as "Braveheart" and "We Were Soldiers." The movie will not soon be forgotten by me. Desert Storm veteran Wade Myers (Ranger-qualified by the way), who organized the showing (with the assistance of Marine Gene Blanton and myself) had his adorable ten year old daughter Sophia lead us in the singing of our National Anthem. And, by the way, no one in the theatre "took a knee."
     It was my privilege to introduce the film and these are the words I spoke, not yet even having seen it; "It is not entertaining. The takeaways are faith, courage, inspiration, cameraderie, devotion to duty, and sheer determination to serve the cause of freedom so children like Sophia all over the world can live in freedom. Bow your heads please as I offer a blessing for all those who have lived in and served this land of the free because of the brave." The movie about Medal of Honor Recipient Desmond Doss on Okinawa in 1945 encompassed all of the above attributes and much much more. The Purple Hearters, Combat Medics, and Navy Corpsmen were recognized.
     I prayed, "Our Father in Heaven, we come before you in this assembly with gratitude for our great land, for gratitude as the Chronicles in our Bible relate about the valiant men of might in their generations, for our men and women present, who have sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears in faraway lands against enemies of justice and liberty. May our wounds of body, soul, and spirit be healed as we recognize the value of our endeavors. We pray this in the Name of Jesus the Christ. Amen."
     The movie commenced with a scene of incredible violence and carnage on that Okinawa battlefield. Violence was all-pervasive throughout the film. Wade Myers, who had personally previously met and conversed with Mel Gibson, said Gibson explained the violence had to be extended to reflect indelibly on the viewers the miraculous nature of the courage exhibited by Doss as he moved through shelling and close by enemy soldiers to carry off the battlefield no less than seventy five wounded Americans. On lighter notes there is a warm romantic appeal in the courting and marriage before his departure of a local nurse.
     In 1992 in Tennessee it had been my privilege to meet the "real-life" Desmond Doss at a national cemetery ceremony. How well I recollect the still slight and thin Doss, humble and unassuming. At the beginning of WWII Doss was living in Lynchburg, VA, a devout member of the Seventh Day Adventist denomination. He took literally the Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" and thus joined the Army, undergirded with a strong conviction of personal faith in his Christian upbringing that he would not go into harms way armed with a rifle. Only a man of strong faith with the power of God within him could have withstood discrimination in the Army because he refused to carry a rifle, sticking to a belief to become a combat medic and "save" rather than "take" lives. He claimed Conscientious Objector status and off he went to the Pacific with the 77th Infantry Division. One must see the movie itself to grasp the extraordinary and perhaps even superhuman feats he accomplished as he evacuated wounded fellow comrade after fellow comrade. Each time he returned to the corpse-strewn battlefield, scarred by shelling, he repeated, "One More." He did not stop until all he found were evacuated.
     It is not within the small range of my verbal ability to place in appropriate words the scope of what this film reflects in faith in God, conviction, redemption, forgiveness, and sheer physical courage. One must see the movie for oneself to grasp the message.
     Doss' division was the "Statue of Liberty" Division. Mark Alexander of the "Patriot Post" reviewed the film and quoted President Ronald Reagan:
      "In 1992, during one of Ronald Reagan's last public addresses, he offered these words about honoring our legacy of freedom: 'My fondest hope for each one of you is that you will love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism. May each of you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your having been here. May all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek divine guidance, and never lose your natural, God-given optimism. And finally, my fellow Americans, may every dawn be a great new beginning for America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city upon a hill.'"
     Our heroic origins have been kept alive and flourished again and again in our nation's history because of the valiant men and women who put their lives on the line to serve in the armed forces of the land of the free because of the brave, the United States of America. Desmond Doss represented the epitome of the attributes that have represented our great America.
     My final observation for each of us is, will we individually be that "One More" that believes Jesus is truly the Son of God? Will we take to heart the responsibility to extend the Gospel message to reach that "One More" spiritually to live in Heaven just as Desmond Doss kept saving off the secular battlefield just "One More."

Avalon Chronicles #68: "Red, White, and Blue Night"

Avalon Chronicles #68: "Red, White, and Blue Night"

by Allen B. Clark            allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com    www.combatfaith.blogspot.com

     For five straight years now Linda and I have been privileged to be attendees at what unarguably is the most patriotic event staged in America to celebrate our nation and its patriots who serve in the military. SkyBall is a fund-raiser for a multitude of most worthy veteran and military causes, the most notable being Snowball Express, which is an annual gathering of the children and their surviving parent of our Killed in Action in the warfare since Sep. 11, 2001 and the Gary Sinise Foundation, which provides homes for severely wounded veterans. There are many others. A major sponsor is American Airlines in whose monstrous hanger at DFW Airport the event is held annually. Last night 3000 attendees were welcomed, seated and served by 800 volunteers, mostly American Airlines employees.The sponsoring organization is the Fort Worth Airpower Foundation, consisting of an incredible group of patriotic and public-spirited citizens of that terrific city to the west of my own Dallas. The honored group of military at last night's extravaganza was our Special Operations Command. This comprises our Army Special Forces; Navy SEALS; Air Force Commandos; Marine Force Recon units; Army Rangers; and the 160th Aviation Brigade, the "Night Stalkers." There are others to include Delta Force, but readers get the picture! Jim Palmersheim, an American Airlines Captain, is the big sparkplug and organizer of the annual event.
     Linda and I were able to meet and visit with some amazing people. We met and conversed with five Medal of Honor Recipients beginning with Navy SEAL Michael Thornton, who gifted us a copy of his newly-published book, By Honor Bound, the story of his and fellow SEAL Lt. Tom Norris' actions in Vietnam, which led to their receiving the Medal of Honor. Mike Thornton is one of the most inspiring speakers I have ever heard. We also visited with other MOH Recipients like Bruce Crandall, the valorous helicopter pilot featured in the movie, "We Were Soldiers;" Paul W. Bucha, West Point class of 1965; Roger (and Norma) Donlon, my long-time fellow Vietnam veteran, who received his MOH for actions in 1964 in the defense of Nam Dong, a Special Forces "A"camp; and Gary Littrell, who served four years as President of the Medal of Honor Society. We met the forty year long President of the Metro Washington USO, Elaine Rogers; Tig Teigen, one of the featured combatants of the fierce fighting after the Benghazi outpost attack; and Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, retiring soon from many decades of service to our nation. We were blessed to be at a table with three young Navy SEALs, one of whom is my dear friend, Ryan Parrott, who oversees a charity for burn victims, Sons of the Flag. Tim McGraw was the featured headliner entertainer and at lunch we just "happened" to cross paths with his two sisters, one of whom is Tracey Jewell, a Desert Storm Army veteran, who oversees McGraw's charity. Our dear friend, "Maggie" (and wife Carol) Megellas, ninety nine years young, was in attendance, just as lucid and alert as ever. He received a Distinguished Service Cross with the 82nd Airborne Division in Europe in WWII.
     My dear wife Linda, capsulized what is always a special event for us, "The entire event was extraordinary! It represented all that is the best of America. We had breakfast with one of the Recipients. He is strong, stable, devout, an honest American hero. I could still be there listening and talking to him. He represented all that is good about this country and the kind of person who has made it great. The whole event was filled with good people. It was wonderful, just wonderful. We were able to see many people we knew and meet many more really sterling and outstanding people.This year's SkyBall was the best yet! I teared up during the program thinking how beautiful the true spirit of America is and that we are in danger of losing all of this, the land of the free because of the brave. My parents gave many of their young years during WWII (almost five years) to protect this land from the evil of their time. I was almost five years old before my father came home. They suffered much to give us what we have as many of their generation did."
     My own personal comments are, "We are a proud and strong homeland because of the sacrifices of blood, sweat, and tears of so many of our patriots, who went to countries, whose language we did not speak, to bring them freedom and protect our own. The spiritual dimension of our great land has strengthened and sustained our history. May we never depart from the spiritual and traditional values which have been our foundation. If we do, we will go the way of every great empire in the world's history, to the ash heaps in the history books."
     President Ronald Reagan once said, "Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it, have never known it again." Last night Linda and I were amongst those of true nobility, who have fought for those freedoms to be preserved.

Avalon Chronicle #67: "Focus: Flowers or Weeds?"

Avalon Chronicles #67: "Focus: Flowers or Weeds?"

by Allen Clark                 allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com    www.combatfaith.blogspot.com

I do not have the original sources in many cases. They have been collected through the years.

     Next to my bedside table I have a laminated card I read when I arise. The most important sentence on it is, "Do not give nourishment to the bad weeds this day!" Yesterday I thought about focusing on the flowers each day. The most beautiful flower in my life is my wife Linda. I asked her what flower she would choose to be, if she were to be one. Before she answered, "lily," I thought of the lily as being appropriate for her. She asked me how I knew that. I said, "I guess I just know you well." I asked her why she chose a lily? She said because it is graceful, simple, and beautiful. That describes my Linda!
     I have other laminated cards in the books and daily meditations I read each day. I thought I would send to you randomly some of these that have been important enough to me through the years that I would have them laminated and recollect them each day.
     "Before you arise from your bed in the morning, I have already arranged the events of your day."
     Jeremiah 29:13: (KJV) "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord:...""
     "So determine in your heart today to be loyal toward God in every word you speak."
     "Holy Spirit, use me to pray for someone today. I offer you my measure of faith."
     "No prayer is ever lost, or any prayer breathed in vain.There is no such thing as prayer unanswered or unnoticed by God, and some things we see as refusals or denials are simply delays."
Horatio Bonar. Streams in the Desert  Jul 10.
     "The very instant you wholeheartedly turn away from every symptom of discouragement and lack of trust, the blessed Holy Spirit will reawaken your faith and breathe God's divine strength into your soul. Initially you may be unaware that this is happening, but as you determine to uncompromisingly shun every attack of even the tendency toward doubt and depression, you will quickly see the powers of darkness being turned away." Streams in the Desert. April 1.
     Prov 15:1 (KJV) "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."
     Psalm 51:10 (KJV): "Create in me a clean heart, O Go; and renew a right spirit within me."
     Romans 6:12 (NIV):  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires."
     2 Corinthians 7:1 (KJV) "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
     Romans 13:14 (KJV) "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Note: (LASB) Tyndale page 1987: "We also must not give our desires any opportunity to lead us into sin. Avoid those situations that open the door to gratifying sinful desires."
     "This is the distinctive mark of the born-again child of God. He is no longer a slave of sin and Satan. He is a Son of God. As such, he possesses a new authority. He no longer succumbs to temptation or opposition. He meets and overcomes these things by virtue of the new life within him."
Derek Prince.
     "In the Name of Jesus, I commit myself from this day forward to live by my faith, and to live by the love of God. Decide today to give the devil no place."
     

Avalon Chronicles #66: "Incarcerated"

Avalon Chronicles #66: "Incarcerated"

by Allen B. Clark            allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com    www.combatfaith.blogspot.com

     After parking, I deposited my wallet, cell phone, and pocket contents in the car storage space, keeping only my glasses and photo ID card. Luckily there was a space adjacent to my destination. Soon I was to receive a second blessing, minor, but, indeed special. As I opened my door to put on my artificial leg, the woman standing behind the adjacent auto was on her cell phone. She finished and said, "The parking fee is $5.00 and lasts until 4pm (it was 12:25). I only used 25 minutes, so take the ticket and you can save $5.00." I did so and by the time I grasped the situation in fairness to turn around and remit $5.00 to her, she had gone.
     With a modest amount of trepidation, but no fear, haltingly, as always, I walked up fifteen steps and into Dallas' Lew Sterrett Justice Center to the office designated "Religious Activities," where a pleasant sheriff's deputy inquired about my pocket contents and being told I could walk without my cane, took the cane to leave it in his office. After pinning on my access badge and depositing my ID card, my escort took me through a maze of corridors and offices to our destination. On the way I related to him about having attended several years previously a gathering of combat veterans from four nations, where a Canadian said he had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but not from combat, but rather having been employed in a prison after his military service. My host said prison work is most harrowing and dangerous. He related that many of the regular prison inmates (we were in a county jail) were very mean-spirited and would just as soon stab a guard in the heart as anything, if given the opportunity.
     The inmates to whom I was being led to talk to were in the county sheriff's jail in downtown Dallas. They were awaiting trial or sentencing. My audience was not in individual "barred" cells, but rather in a "pod," which was open in a large room and populated by about sixty inmates, who were grouped together and desirous of being instructed in anger management and parenting skills among other subjects. My escort entered the the big room to determine if I would address the guys in three smaller groups in a small outer room, where I awaited the decision by sitting on a desk or in the large room all at one time. The larger and entire group became my audience in the pod which was encircled on an upper tier with double stacked bunks, with an officer stationed at a desk behind me with all the men sitting at tables in a semi-circle around my raised space. The space was reached up a wheelchair ramp with metal railings. Beginning, I decided to brace myself while I stood leaning on the top railing bar. I gazed out at the mostly attentive men (a couple were still in their bunks), began, and one hour later looked up at the clock.
     I do not recall all that I related, but without notes, I spoke of my time in Vietnam and the details of my wounding and rehabilitation, but, focused on the spiritual aspects of my salvation message and belief in Jesus the Christ and my maturation to the Lordship level of Christian faith. My remarks related to strategic spiritual warfare, that of God versus the devil in the heavens, and the tactical spiritual warfare we all encounter with individual demonic attacks. In no uncertain terms I spoke of Jesus' death on the cross and that significance for us, about confession of sins with its attendant forgiveness, and forgiveness of all others. I said I knew they desired physical freedom from incarceration, but, more importantly, they must seek spiritual freedom from the incarceration of their souls. I spoke about what I call my spiritual audit of writing down in column one on a sheet of paper all their unmet needs, unhealed hurts, and unresolved issues, then writing down in column two what it would take to resolve and address the three areas, then pray to God to answer through prayer the column two list.
     I had prayed in agreement with Linda for an anointing by the Holy Spirit for what I would say and had requested classmates and friends to begin praying for me at 1pm that day. Several responded that they would do so or said they did. There was intermittent humor to elevate the spirits of the men residing in a very drab physical and emotional environment. Only a handful indicated they were veterans. When I asked if there were any amputees among them, one only said he lost a leg. I told him. "That's not good enough, you only lost one!" There was pretty good laughter with that one. At some time during the one hour while remaining standing, my escort handed me my cane, which he had called to be brought up from downstairs.
     It ended with only a few questions, a prayer, and a STANDING OVATION, which sometimes I do not receive even in the "free" world. One fellow shouted out, "When are you coming back?" I said, I don't have anything else to say." He said, 'We have turnover." Another said, "Thank you for your service." Another said, "You look pretty good for 74." I responded, "I will tell  my wife," and cutting up with the group, who all were under my age, flexed my muscle like the body-builders due at their events! Another right at a table at the front twice closed his fist and pumped his heart.
     Upon my departure my escort said these men have really experienced life on the streets. I could only imagine. We went to the outreach program's director and my host reported, 'They had been very quiet." When I returned to my car, it felt great to be free and breathing fresh air and also to know after many decades of diligently seeking the truths taught by Jesus, that I had loosed the greater majority of the multitude of the issues that had incarcerated my soul and that also I am free!

Avalon Chronicles #65: "East Meets West"

Avalon Chronicles #65: "East Meets West"

by Allen B. Clark               allenbclark@aol.com

 www.combatfaith.com      www.combatfaith.blogspot.com

                                            They Came by Air, Land, and Sea

     On April 30, 1975, when the final evacuation of Saigon in Vietnam occurred, I had been returned from Vietnam for eight years. After transfusions of twenty pints of blood, fifteen months at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio from June 1967 to September 1968, twelve surgical procedures, probably 150 stitches, and a very severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, I was in Dallas with a wonderful job at a bank, two young daughters, and a new found faith walk in which I was growing by leaps and bounds. I began to perceive that my involvement in Vietnam as an Army captain assigned to the Green Berets in an intelligence gathering operation in Vietnam was as a white pawn on a huge chess board of history with the two king antagonists being good versus evil, my Lord God, combating in spiritual warfare the forces of evil, led by Satan, commanding the dark set of pieces on the board.
     There began to be news reports of the Vietnamese "Boat People" escaping the now Communist country of Vietnam. At the time I paid scant attention to the news because I was consumed with my new civilian career and family life. In 1981 I was in the third year of my service to my state of Texas as a special assistant to Texas Governor Bill Clements. Some of the "Boat People" had immigrated as new refugees on the Texas coast in several fishing communities where they were making a new life for themselves by building fishing boats and working long hours to make a living in competition with long-time native Texas fisherman, who had derived their own living for decades in the fishing industry. The competition and imposition of the Vietnamese refugees into the business environment in quiet Texas fishing communities was reaching the stage where it was close to violence. The Governor assigned me the responsibility to conduct a fact-finding trip to the coast to present him with recommendations to address the issues. My very small "task force" visited three towns within which we met separately with all the five affected and involved parties; law enforcement, government officials, American fishermen, Vietnamesese, and culminating with a town hall meeting at one of which my answer was displeasing to about fifteen members of the local Ku Klux Klan, who staged an immediate walkout from the room! After my visits and some actions accomplished, the towns became more quiet and for the time being things settled down. My gratitude was expressed by the American fishermen in Rockport inviting me and my family on a shrimp boat fishing trip and a spaghetti dinner at one of their homes. After that I moved to Washington D.C. and had no further involvement for many years with the refugees from the country to which I had deployed as a soldier to preserve their freedom.
     My involvement began anew in a very significant and deeply emotional fashion on August 25, 2016, when an American of Vietnamese ancestry, Andy Nguyen, invited me to Arlington, Texas for a celebration commemorating his sixth year as an elected public service as a County Commissioner in Tarrant County (main city Fort Worth). It was my honor to be able to relate the story of my time in his former homeland of Vietnam and especially my healing from my wounds, which had necessitated the amputation of both my legs below my knees. Many of his guests were Americans, who had escaped from Vietnam at the end of the war or in the following years. To report to you that the evening, the conversations, the stories related to Linda and me of their refugee sagas, and their starting all over to fulfill their "Living the American Dream," so magnificently reflected by Andy Nguyen and his wife Julie, was not of such a nature admittedly literally to tear at our heart strings would do it an injustice.
     During the course of the evening I offered for purchase my two published books, one especially Valor in Vietnam, and the purchasers allowed Linda and me to hear first hand many poignant, compelling, and, yes, harrowing accounts of these warm and wonderful first generation immigrants from the country where I had made such a huge sacrifice as a soldier to maintain their freedoms. We heard the narratives of the lives of families, wherein their parents were members of the Vietnamese Army and Navy, policemen,  public officials, and merchants. Some I had heard previously such as a small family with only wife and two children being crowded into the cockpit of a small plane, which landed on the deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. Another story was of a family escaping on a small boat, which was intercepted by pirates, who raped and killed the wife and mother and threw her overboard.
     That night we had extended conversations with several attendees. Andy and Julie Nguyen had departed Vietnam at separate times and on different boats. As a young student another related how two groups of students had begun traveling cross country to traverse Laos to reach safety in Thailand through the area in Kontum province near my Special Forces camp of Dak To. One group made it, but the attendee with whom I spoke was apprehended and imprisoned. He later left by boat and displays in his living room a picture of the U.S. Navy ship that rescued him.
     Another gentleman to whom Linda and I became quickly attached had escaped on a boat with his high-ranking Vietnamese Army officer father. He has been successful in business and has not forgotten his original homeland where he returns to help in building schools and bridges and donating shoes.
     I have left my final story to the older couple with whom I spoke at the end of the evening. She was four months pregnant on April 29, 1975, the day before the final evacuation of Saigon. Her husband had been a police officer who got on a boat still in uniform. She had gone behind him to board to be sure he got away because he would have been targeted for death as a police officer by the fast-approaching Communists.  The wife would have been left behind as the boat pushed away from the pier, but one of the men placed a board across to the pier and she got aboard! The passengers survived several days with no food nor water. When the boat was met again by the angels of the U.S. Navy in international waters, she was the last to disembark and discovered on the deck among the residue a Christian cross left behind! I inquired whether she had been of the Buddhist or Christian faith upon her escape. She related she had been neither, but rather adhered to "ancestor worship" only. I noted she now wore a Christian cross adorning her neck and asked her about it. She said after being the last passenger on the boat, discovering the cross, coming to America only with the clothes she wore on the boat, and working several jobs without federal assistance to become self-sufficient as a refugee, she knew there was a God!
     At the culmination of my presentation, literally with tears wetting my cheeks, I looked over at Julie and Andy and the audience of very much so assimilated refugees, who sincerely appreciated America and did not take their freedom here for granted, and said I had often agonized over the worth of my sacrifice in their former country, but, being there with Julie and Andy as the living embodiment of successful immigrants, who represented "Living the American Dream,' I proclaimed that their successes and the assimilation of all in meaningful pursuits in the land of the free because of our bravery as Vietnam veterans made much of it finally worthwhile! It was an amazing closure fifty years after my Vietnam War experience commenced in August 1966. I complete this message again with tears of gratitude in my eyes for my freedom and theirs. God has blessed America. May we continue to deserve the gift.