Avalon Chronicles #30: "Defecting to the Enemy"
By Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
When the Korean War started on June 25, 1950 with the attack on South Korea by the North Korean Communists, I was in Sendai, Japan where my father was an officer in the Army of Occupation. I remember going to the railroad station and seeing off the troops traveling south to go to war. During the war many of our troops were captured by the Communists. My father was in Korea when the war ended in 1953. During the war when I was in Japan, I avidly read the Star and Stripes newspaper and kept up with the war. After the war I was appalled to read an article that about 23 American prisoner of war soldiers had chosen to remain with the enemy when prisoner repatriation occured. They had defected to the enemy. As a West Point cadet, Army officer, and Vietnam War Special Forces officer involved in clandestine operations, keeping my activities and information confidential, and especially away from the enemy, was a part of my life. Especially in Vietnam, we were always on the alert for any of our agents to have been defectors to the enemy. Military enemies are pretty well-defined. They are in the history books and deeply embedded in the memories of those of us in military and diplomatic circles.
Less well-recognized are our own personal spiritual enemies. Unequivocably, undeniably, and emphatically I believe in personal spiritual warfare. In my previous Chronicle I addressed "strategic" spiritual warfare. It is now time to address "tactical" spiritual warfare, the incessant and constant struggle we face each and every day to combat our individual enemies in the spiritual realm, wherein we are tempted mightily to defect to the enemy and leave God's protective fortress.
Back in the 1970s Flip Wilson starred in a television series and when he acted wrongly, he always claimed, "The devil made me do it!" There is great wisdom and truth in that simple comment and claim to deflect accountability for our inappropriate thoughts, words, and deeds, some not just "stupids," but also outright sins.
There is not time to reflect extensively on my beliefs in spiritual warfare, but allow me to be as succinct as possible. This is what I believe. Take it or leave it! An angelic being at one time high in the Heavenly power structure decided to defect from allegiance to God and became the "enemy." That being was Lucifer, and God evicted him from Heaven with one third of the angels who became the enemy force. In the New Testament in I Peter 5:8 it is written, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." The footnote in my KJV LASB elaborates thusly, "Lions attack sick, young, or straggling animals; they choose victims who are alone or not alert. Peter warns us to watch out for Satan when we are suffering or persecuted. Feeling alone, weak, helpless, and cut off from other believers, so focused on our troubles that we forget to watch for danger, we are especially vulnerable to Satan's attacks." In James 4:7 it is written, "...Resist the devil and he will flee from you." The footnote states this, "Satan is here now, however, and he is trying to win us over to his evil cause. With the Holy Spirit's power we can resist Satan and he will flee from us." Otherwise we may be taken in by the devil's wiles and if we succumb, by definition, we have defected to the enemy.
Back to those angels thrown from Heaven to earth. Their assignment is to oversee the toils, tribulations, and trials perpetrated by the higher earthly powers addressed by C.S. Lewis in the previous Chronicle. Our daily adversaries are demonic spirits. There is much discourse about from whence they emanate. I put all that academic discussion aside and just believe thay are prevalent as the enemy foot soldiers of Satan. Just as I was cognizant of my military enemies, I am cognizant of my spiritual enemies. If I allow them to direct me rather than following God's direction for my behavior, I have, in effect, "Defected to the enemy."
A friend of mine sent me just today a perfect scripture that relates how we can be armed to fight the schemes of the devil. It is Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." I add also, ACT on these things. Stay tuned as to how we must continue to arm ourselves to counter the personal spiritual enemies we face each day so that our behavior honors the Creator God and does not cause personal discord and unhappiness for us or others.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #29: "Life's Contrasts"
Avalon Chronicles #29: "Life's Contrasts"
by Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com www.combatfaith.com
I attended my daughter Elizabeth's wedding in early May in Solothurn, Switzerland, a country of unparalled natural beauty. She married Patrick, a gentleman and Swiss citizen. We celebrated the days there on two leisurely boat rides, one on Lake Thun, adjacent to Interlaken, with snow-capped Swiss Alps looking down upon our tranquil waters. There were several social events with wedding guests from England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Lichtenstein, and of course, the U.S.. The family and friends of the groom welcomed the American visitors with warmth, kindness, and great generosity, emotions significantly in contrast to those evidenced in the stories I read upon my return to the real world in the newspapers whose absence from my thoughts was very pleasant during my days abroad. It was most peaceful and elevating to visit that neutral nation, bask in its sunlight, wind through hilly curves to remote mountain hideaways to dine on the staple cheeses, and to stop at riverside spots to experience the charm of its ancient cities and villages untouched in centuries by warfare.
Now it is off to California for a series of opportunities to be a guest in Manteca and Lodi at ceremonies honoring our war dead. The wedding and these upcoming activities are great contrasts of life; Switzerland's peaceful mountain villages, historic walled towns, clean and clear rivers, gracious people and the somberness of our Memorial Day weekend when we recollect all the sad past times as we honor the great young Americans sacrificed so we and others might have tranquillity and peace in a strife-torn world. I will join the assemblages as we mourn the memory of our young men and women offered on the altars of freedom in faraway foreign lands.
Upon my return to my homeland my thoughts dwelled upon the same problems and challenges prevalent prior to my pleasant experiences at the wedding; Benghazi and terrorists, deaths in Ukraine, Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haran, Iranian and North Korean sabre-rattling, Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. They are still there and I suppose always will be since they started in the Garden of Eden with disobedience to God and will continue until the final return of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus, the Christ.
The bottom line in the strategic sense is that there has been from time immemorial a focus by most on the created, ourselves, rather than the Creator, our God. C.S. Lewis in his Mere Christianity captured this eternal struggle we face as humans on this earth, contrasted by the peace and beauty of our earth created by God and the turmoil and tribulation perpetrated and practiced by us humans also created by God. Lewis wrote, "Men and women have always hoped that...(they) could set up on their own as if they have created themselves-be their own masters-invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside of God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history-money, poverty, ambition, wars, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery-the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."
True happiness and peace for ourselves cannot be found outside God. For the world it cannot be found outside God. We, God's created, and recipients of my writings, cannot do much about all the interruptions to world peace, but we can seek and find our own personal peace. Stay tuned for my thoughts on how to attempt that for ourselves.
by Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
www.combatfaith.blogspot.com www.combatfaith.com
I attended my daughter Elizabeth's wedding in early May in Solothurn, Switzerland, a country of unparalled natural beauty. She married Patrick, a gentleman and Swiss citizen. We celebrated the days there on two leisurely boat rides, one on Lake Thun, adjacent to Interlaken, with snow-capped Swiss Alps looking down upon our tranquil waters. There were several social events with wedding guests from England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Lichtenstein, and of course, the U.S.. The family and friends of the groom welcomed the American visitors with warmth, kindness, and great generosity, emotions significantly in contrast to those evidenced in the stories I read upon my return to the real world in the newspapers whose absence from my thoughts was very pleasant during my days abroad. It was most peaceful and elevating to visit that neutral nation, bask in its sunlight, wind through hilly curves to remote mountain hideaways to dine on the staple cheeses, and to stop at riverside spots to experience the charm of its ancient cities and villages untouched in centuries by warfare.
Now it is off to California for a series of opportunities to be a guest in Manteca and Lodi at ceremonies honoring our war dead. The wedding and these upcoming activities are great contrasts of life; Switzerland's peaceful mountain villages, historic walled towns, clean and clear rivers, gracious people and the somberness of our Memorial Day weekend when we recollect all the sad past times as we honor the great young Americans sacrificed so we and others might have tranquillity and peace in a strife-torn world. I will join the assemblages as we mourn the memory of our young men and women offered on the altars of freedom in faraway foreign lands.
Upon my return to my homeland my thoughts dwelled upon the same problems and challenges prevalent prior to my pleasant experiences at the wedding; Benghazi and terrorists, deaths in Ukraine, Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haran, Iranian and North Korean sabre-rattling, Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. They are still there and I suppose always will be since they started in the Garden of Eden with disobedience to God and will continue until the final return of the Messiah, our Lord Jesus, the Christ.
The bottom line in the strategic sense is that there has been from time immemorial a focus by most on the created, ourselves, rather than the Creator, our God. C.S. Lewis in his Mere Christianity captured this eternal struggle we face as humans on this earth, contrasted by the peace and beauty of our earth created by God and the turmoil and tribulation perpetrated and practiced by us humans also created by God. Lewis wrote, "Men and women have always hoped that...(they) could set up on their own as if they have created themselves-be their own masters-invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside of God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history-money, poverty, ambition, wars, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery-the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."
True happiness and peace for ourselves cannot be found outside God. For the world it cannot be found outside God. We, God's created, and recipients of my writings, cannot do much about all the interruptions to world peace, but we can seek and find our own personal peace. Stay tuned for my thoughts on how to attempt that for ourselves.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #28: "Balm of Gilead"
Avalon Chronicles #28: "Balm of Gilead"
by Allen Clark www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
allenbclark@aol.com
Resurrection Day 2014 is a very propitious day to consider the topic of healing. Two or so weeks ago I received a message from Donald R. Moeller, an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, who lives in Columbus, Ga. Dr. Moeller is a D.D.S., and M.D., also with an MA in Biological Sciences. He had deployed as a Medical Corpsman to Vietnam and as a surgeon in his specialty to Desert Storm. He wrote, "I am a Vietnam and Desert Storm veteran who is treating veterans with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury" by means of what in my (Allen's) non-medical description is a mouthpiece worn at night to stop teeth-grinding and therefore helps alleviate headaches, nightmares, and sleep disruptions. Dr. Moeller sent me a paper that was published in the "Journal of Special Operations Medicine" describing his research and success with over 200 patients whom he has treated without charge. He said, "Time to add a spiritual dimension to this treatment. These guys and gals are still depressed even when their nightmares and headaches and sleep disruptions are gone....I am looking for Christian/Biblical methodologies which are proving successful....Got any thoughts on this or suggestions?"
I was immensely intrigued with what he was accomplishing with my fellow war veterans, curious as to how he found out about me, and most anxious to be in touch with him. I was not sure how to respond, but knew that the best way was to pray and receive guidance from God as how to proceed. Linda began a prayer and as she prayed, the word "balm" came to my mind. We began to discuss the topic and she said we place casts for broken bones, medicine for infection, and there was to be a balm for the spiritual healing of the soul. I looked up balm in my Webster's dictionary and found, "to soothe, to mitigate, to assuage" which led "to ease or lessen pain or grief or tumult, to soften in harshness or severity." In my personal lay ministry I have spoken to many troops and veterans about not just coping with our combat operating stressors, but as did I in the 1970s, come to a level of my Christian faith that I could heal with the major symptoms of my PTSD.
Linda's musical background led her to the Black-American spiritual titled "There is a Balm in Gilead." The words of this are, "There is a balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead, To heal the sin-sick soul." I commented that those of us with PTSD are not necessarily sinful, but we definitely are sick in our souls. Further research led us to find out about the geographical Gilead, which is located east of the Jordan River. In the Hebrew Old Testament Gilead was a place of refuge for Jacob (Genesis 31:21-55); the nation of Israel (I Samuel 13:7); and even King David (2Samuel 17:22).
I was ready to talk to Dr. Moeller. Initially I was most curious as to how Dr. Moeller found me. In a fashion highly complimentary he said he did a search of hundreds of web sites and decided to contact me after coming across mine. Dr. Moeller referred me to a book titled War and the Soul by Edward Tick, Ph.D. I am not all the way through the book, but its basic thesis is that war causes "soul damage." This, of course, is the negative effect to our mind, emotions, and our will due to the traumas of combat. Damage to our soul ultimately is a spiritual issue. In my own healing process, the damage to my soul after my double leg amputation from Vietnam shrapnel wounds, my PTSD (whose term there is an effort to change to PTSI for injury), fourteen weeks in a closed psychiatric ward, and six years of psychiatrists and antidepressants, was solely due to my spiritual healing process by which I got the big picture about Jesus truly being the Son of God, Who died on a cross two thousand years ago, for me to have eternal life. At a church service I teared as I looked at the American flag and realized I needed to move my identity from that of a loyal and patriotic American soldier to add the dimension of an added and much more consequential identity as a Christian. Once I accomplished that spiritual maturation, I began a walk of faith which has served me in excellent stead to be "healed" from all the major issues I suffered in my damaged soul after Vietnam.
I asked Dr. Moeller about permission to describe what he does without charge to treat our troubled war veterans with his dental procedure and asked permission also to tell about how we came in contact and also mention his contact information. I said several hundred people read my Avalon Chronicles and he may have several new patients. He had told me previously that patients even outside his Fort Benning area come at their own expense in to Columbus and he fits them with his oral device. His reply, "Send all the patients you want. That is why I am on this earth." I have often wondered how my life would have differed had I not returned from Vietnam with my severe wounds. For sure I would not be attempting to help my fellow war veterans heal their soul damage by introducing them to the only long-term balm they can have to heal them which is the ultimate spiritual refuge, the healing power of Jesus. Perhaps, also, that is why I was able to remain on this earth. I published last year a tract which is my approach to the healing of PTSD(I) by Christian methodology. Anyone desiring a copy may message me at email above. May God bless and keep you.
Dr Moeller may be contacted at molar543@aol.com
by Allen Clark www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
allenbclark@aol.com
Resurrection Day 2014 is a very propitious day to consider the topic of healing. Two or so weeks ago I received a message from Donald R. Moeller, an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, who lives in Columbus, Ga. Dr. Moeller is a D.D.S., and M.D., also with an MA in Biological Sciences. He had deployed as a Medical Corpsman to Vietnam and as a surgeon in his specialty to Desert Storm. He wrote, "I am a Vietnam and Desert Storm veteran who is treating veterans with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury" by means of what in my (Allen's) non-medical description is a mouthpiece worn at night to stop teeth-grinding and therefore helps alleviate headaches, nightmares, and sleep disruptions. Dr. Moeller sent me a paper that was published in the "Journal of Special Operations Medicine" describing his research and success with over 200 patients whom he has treated without charge. He said, "Time to add a spiritual dimension to this treatment. These guys and gals are still depressed even when their nightmares and headaches and sleep disruptions are gone....I am looking for Christian/Biblical methodologies which are proving successful....Got any thoughts on this or suggestions?"
I was immensely intrigued with what he was accomplishing with my fellow war veterans, curious as to how he found out about me, and most anxious to be in touch with him. I was not sure how to respond, but knew that the best way was to pray and receive guidance from God as how to proceed. Linda began a prayer and as she prayed, the word "balm" came to my mind. We began to discuss the topic and she said we place casts for broken bones, medicine for infection, and there was to be a balm for the spiritual healing of the soul. I looked up balm in my Webster's dictionary and found, "to soothe, to mitigate, to assuage" which led "to ease or lessen pain or grief or tumult, to soften in harshness or severity." In my personal lay ministry I have spoken to many troops and veterans about not just coping with our combat operating stressors, but as did I in the 1970s, come to a level of my Christian faith that I could heal with the major symptoms of my PTSD.
Linda's musical background led her to the Black-American spiritual titled "There is a Balm in Gilead." The words of this are, "There is a balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead, To heal the sin-sick soul." I commented that those of us with PTSD are not necessarily sinful, but we definitely are sick in our souls. Further research led us to find out about the geographical Gilead, which is located east of the Jordan River. In the Hebrew Old Testament Gilead was a place of refuge for Jacob (Genesis 31:21-55); the nation of Israel (I Samuel 13:7); and even King David (2Samuel 17:22).
I was ready to talk to Dr. Moeller. Initially I was most curious as to how Dr. Moeller found me. In a fashion highly complimentary he said he did a search of hundreds of web sites and decided to contact me after coming across mine. Dr. Moeller referred me to a book titled War and the Soul by Edward Tick, Ph.D. I am not all the way through the book, but its basic thesis is that war causes "soul damage." This, of course, is the negative effect to our mind, emotions, and our will due to the traumas of combat. Damage to our soul ultimately is a spiritual issue. In my own healing process, the damage to my soul after my double leg amputation from Vietnam shrapnel wounds, my PTSD (whose term there is an effort to change to PTSI for injury), fourteen weeks in a closed psychiatric ward, and six years of psychiatrists and antidepressants, was solely due to my spiritual healing process by which I got the big picture about Jesus truly being the Son of God, Who died on a cross two thousand years ago, for me to have eternal life. At a church service I teared as I looked at the American flag and realized I needed to move my identity from that of a loyal and patriotic American soldier to add the dimension of an added and much more consequential identity as a Christian. Once I accomplished that spiritual maturation, I began a walk of faith which has served me in excellent stead to be "healed" from all the major issues I suffered in my damaged soul after Vietnam.
I asked Dr. Moeller about permission to describe what he does without charge to treat our troubled war veterans with his dental procedure and asked permission also to tell about how we came in contact and also mention his contact information. I said several hundred people read my Avalon Chronicles and he may have several new patients. He had told me previously that patients even outside his Fort Benning area come at their own expense in to Columbus and he fits them with his oral device. His reply, "Send all the patients you want. That is why I am on this earth." I have often wondered how my life would have differed had I not returned from Vietnam with my severe wounds. For sure I would not be attempting to help my fellow war veterans heal their soul damage by introducing them to the only long-term balm they can have to heal them which is the ultimate spiritual refuge, the healing power of Jesus. Perhaps, also, that is why I was able to remain on this earth. I published last year a tract which is my approach to the healing of PTSD(I) by Christian methodology. Anyone desiring a copy may message me at email above. May God bless and keep you.
Dr Moeller may be contacted at molar543@aol.com
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #27: "Valor in Vietnam"
Avalon Chronicles #27: "Valor in Vietnam"
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
In 1979 I became the special assistant for administration to newly-elected Texas Governor Bill Clements and moved with my family to Austin from Dallas. During my thirty month time in that very satisfying and uplifting position I met people from all over the state. One of the people I met was Robert Floyd, who represented the legislative interests of an organization. In those early years after the Vietnam War unless we met someone in a veteran setting, we did not necessarily realize we shared a mutual history as fellow Vietnam veterans. I do not recall whether I knew then that Robert had served in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division.
Fast forward to a few years ago on a cruise to Alaska on a Pastor Chuck Swindoll-led trip on which I became acquainted with an Austinite, Michael Wright, with whom I developed an instant affinity, mostly because we shared the Vietnam experience. He spoke about a committee on which he served titled the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument Committee, chaired by the same Robert Floyd, who had been off my radar screen for thirty or so years. Robert and I became reacquainted and I learned of the plans which had been ongoing since 2005 to build and place on the Texas Capitol grounds a monument to all Texans who served in Vietnam with special tribute to the 3,417 fallen Texas heroes who did not return with us. There are many war "memorials" to our Killed In Action (KIAs), but this was conceived as a "monument" to us all.
Several days before the actual March 29, 2014 unveiling of the monument on the Capitol grounds in Austin, Robert, who had been in attendance in July 2012 in Dallas with his son-in-law Troy Ferguson, a West Pointer class of 1995, at the inaugural book signing of my book Valor in Vietnam Chronicles of Honor, Courage, and Sacrifice sent me a note indicating he was to be including in his dedication remarks the term "Valor in Vietnam" as indicative of what we Vietnam veterans reflected by our service in the war.
The morning of March 29, 2014 dawned with a brilliantly clear and cloudless blue sky, a perfect day for the monument ceremony on the northeast grounds of the Capitol. The program described it thusly, "Above a 'sunset red' granite pediment a series of large bas-relief panels capture scenes depicting the men and women of Texas who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in Vietnam. Poised above the panels, five 'Dawn Patrol' figures represent the service and sacrifice of Texas combat infantry troops."
Seated just down the sidewalk from the center of the ceremony, we were serenaded by the Texas Children's Choir and the 36th Infantry Division Band. 4000 audience members packed seats and stands. Before the ceremony I stood and gazed around the audience and felt a great sense of pride to be amongst the men and women who had gone off to that controversial war with me. I scanned across the faces of the ones who truly reflected "Valor in Vietnam," a phrase in fact later included in Floyd's remarks, those who did not obtain deferments or skip off to Mexico or Canada or Scandinavia.
There were many poignant moments, but my tears gushed forth freely twice, once as I pulled Linda close to me when the blue covering fell away to reveal the breathtaking monument in all its glory and again when the choir sang "Mansions of the Lord," the theme song of the movie "We Were Soldiers." Joe Galloway, who was the war correspondent actually in the November 1965 Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, depicted in the movie, delivered most eloquent and heartfelt remarks. I believe it was Robert Floyd who attributed to Galloway that, "Vietnam veterans were not the 'Greatest Generation', but were the greatest of our generation." My belief in that sentiment was certainly enhanced after the day's experiences. Two of my West Point class of 1963 Texans were KIA in our war, Ralph Walker and Burt McCord, both of whose daughters I am acquainted.. Burt was singled out specifically by Floyd because they were both from Brady, Texas. A set of personalized dog tags for each of the Texas KIA is entombed in the monument, having been personally stamped by Marine Don Dorsey, another Vietnam veteran from the long-past Austin days.
Eddie McCord Cargile, Burt's widow, attended with Gene Cargile, another classmate. Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst delivered very moving remarks from his heart and afterwards we passed and he quietly said to me, "Thank you for all you do." Governor Rick Perry paused on his departure and hugged Linda.
Robert Floyd brought to that 2012 book signing as I mentioned his son-in-law Troy Ferguson. Troy has two sons, Caleb and Daniel. When the ceremony was over, I spoke to Troy, waved down the row to Kimberly, his wife and Robert and Sherry Floyd's daughter, touched the heads of both sons and asked them how they were. Daniel proclaimed only one word, "Awesome!" That one word said it all for me to describe the day. It was AWESOME!
Our Lord grants us great gifts in life. Many are what I term "closures" with people or happenings, full circle coming around experiences. This day was that with Robert Floyd amongst my fellow participants from that long ago, harsh and cruel war in that far-off land. The memories dim, but the experience was uplifted magnificently that day in the shared surroundings of my fellow "Greatest of Our Generation" Texans.
(A monument mobile tour may be found at www.tcvvm.org)
by Allen B. Clark allenbclark@aol.com www.combatfaith.com www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
In 1979 I became the special assistant for administration to newly-elected Texas Governor Bill Clements and moved with my family to Austin from Dallas. During my thirty month time in that very satisfying and uplifting position I met people from all over the state. One of the people I met was Robert Floyd, who represented the legislative interests of an organization. In those early years after the Vietnam War unless we met someone in a veteran setting, we did not necessarily realize we shared a mutual history as fellow Vietnam veterans. I do not recall whether I knew then that Robert had served in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division.
Fast forward to a few years ago on a cruise to Alaska on a Pastor Chuck Swindoll-led trip on which I became acquainted with an Austinite, Michael Wright, with whom I developed an instant affinity, mostly because we shared the Vietnam experience. He spoke about a committee on which he served titled the Texas Capitol Vietnam Veterans Monument Committee, chaired by the same Robert Floyd, who had been off my radar screen for thirty or so years. Robert and I became reacquainted and I learned of the plans which had been ongoing since 2005 to build and place on the Texas Capitol grounds a monument to all Texans who served in Vietnam with special tribute to the 3,417 fallen Texas heroes who did not return with us. There are many war "memorials" to our Killed In Action (KIAs), but this was conceived as a "monument" to us all.
Several days before the actual March 29, 2014 unveiling of the monument on the Capitol grounds in Austin, Robert, who had been in attendance in July 2012 in Dallas with his son-in-law Troy Ferguson, a West Pointer class of 1995, at the inaugural book signing of my book Valor in Vietnam Chronicles of Honor, Courage, and Sacrifice sent me a note indicating he was to be including in his dedication remarks the term "Valor in Vietnam" as indicative of what we Vietnam veterans reflected by our service in the war.
The morning of March 29, 2014 dawned with a brilliantly clear and cloudless blue sky, a perfect day for the monument ceremony on the northeast grounds of the Capitol. The program described it thusly, "Above a 'sunset red' granite pediment a series of large bas-relief panels capture scenes depicting the men and women of Texas who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in Vietnam. Poised above the panels, five 'Dawn Patrol' figures represent the service and sacrifice of Texas combat infantry troops."
Seated just down the sidewalk from the center of the ceremony, we were serenaded by the Texas Children's Choir and the 36th Infantry Division Band. 4000 audience members packed seats and stands. Before the ceremony I stood and gazed around the audience and felt a great sense of pride to be amongst the men and women who had gone off to that controversial war with me. I scanned across the faces of the ones who truly reflected "Valor in Vietnam," a phrase in fact later included in Floyd's remarks, those who did not obtain deferments or skip off to Mexico or Canada or Scandinavia.
There were many poignant moments, but my tears gushed forth freely twice, once as I pulled Linda close to me when the blue covering fell away to reveal the breathtaking monument in all its glory and again when the choir sang "Mansions of the Lord," the theme song of the movie "We Were Soldiers." Joe Galloway, who was the war correspondent actually in the November 1965 Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, depicted in the movie, delivered most eloquent and heartfelt remarks. I believe it was Robert Floyd who attributed to Galloway that, "Vietnam veterans were not the 'Greatest Generation', but were the greatest of our generation." My belief in that sentiment was certainly enhanced after the day's experiences. Two of my West Point class of 1963 Texans were KIA in our war, Ralph Walker and Burt McCord, both of whose daughters I am acquainted.. Burt was singled out specifically by Floyd because they were both from Brady, Texas. A set of personalized dog tags for each of the Texas KIA is entombed in the monument, having been personally stamped by Marine Don Dorsey, another Vietnam veteran from the long-past Austin days.
Eddie McCord Cargile, Burt's widow, attended with Gene Cargile, another classmate. Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst delivered very moving remarks from his heart and afterwards we passed and he quietly said to me, "Thank you for all you do." Governor Rick Perry paused on his departure and hugged Linda.
Robert Floyd brought to that 2012 book signing as I mentioned his son-in-law Troy Ferguson. Troy has two sons, Caleb and Daniel. When the ceremony was over, I spoke to Troy, waved down the row to Kimberly, his wife and Robert and Sherry Floyd's daughter, touched the heads of both sons and asked them how they were. Daniel proclaimed only one word, "Awesome!" That one word said it all for me to describe the day. It was AWESOME!
Our Lord grants us great gifts in life. Many are what I term "closures" with people or happenings, full circle coming around experiences. This day was that with Robert Floyd amongst my fellow participants from that long ago, harsh and cruel war in that far-off land. The memories dim, but the experience was uplifted magnificently that day in the shared surroundings of my fellow "Greatest of Our Generation" Texans.
(A monument mobile tour may be found at www.tcvvm.org)
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #26: "Our Inheritance"
Avalon Chronicles #26: "Our Inheritance"
by Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
Web Site: www.combatfaith.com
Blog Spot: www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Psalm 19 (NIV) 1: The heavens declare the glory of God
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
7: The law of the Lord is perfect
reviving the soul
8: The commands of the Lord are radiant
giving light to the eyes
Colossians 1 12: ...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you
to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
What is your inheritance? One naturally thinks first about worldly goods. When family members die, wills grant inheritance to the beneficiaries, money, land, homes, possessions. These are material blessings. More important are the supernatural blessings, those of the soul and spirit. What is bequeathed falls into two categories, what in military terms is strategic and tactical.
Strategic inheritance is from God, the Creator of all. We inherit, enjoy, and occupy a universe, mysterious, far-flung, and mostly unfathomable, understood only through the lenses of powerful telescopes, satellite pictures and moon missions. Closer to home is the inheritance we have for our very daily existence, this planet on which we subsist due to its abundant provision. This entire universe, but, especially our own abode, earth, is a part of the strategic inheritance of our God in Heaven Who created it all in its magnificent glory, provision, and richness.
In the fields of earthly warfare, the generals, admirals, and politicians dictate and determine the course of the strategy against the enemy. The junior officers and senior non-commissioned officers carry it out area by area, sector by sector, geographic locale by geographic locale, village by village to prevail over the enemy.
Forces in nature (the material) are positive or negative as are the forces in our own personal lives. In the supernatural strategic realm our Lord battles His ages long adversary, the devil, Satan, thrown from the higher spiritual reaches due to his original wrongdoing of expression of pride by the overthrowing of God's preeminence and installment of himself in God's position. From wherever they emanate, Satan has his army arrayed in an order of battle against us individually in the tactical arena. His troops are his demonic spirits, ready to pounce on us when the drawbridge in the heart of our personal castles is lowered by unforgiven sin, unforgiveness of others who hurt us, harboring of anger and bitterness, and commission of what we would call the sins of words and deeds.
However, our Lord has bequeathed us an inheritance for our tactical challenges in the personal battlefields of our soul (our mind, emotions, and will). In the New Testament it is all there, all the ways to live in the light, a righteous, holy, and pure life of integrity full of and expressing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and faith.
Our supernatural gift is both material in this grand earth on which we live and tactical on which we base our lives. This is our eternal inheritance. We can recognize it, receive it, and live our earthly lives in enjoyment of it so that upon our deaths we can reap the ultimate inheritance of living with God in Heaven, by, on earth, believing that God's Son, Jesus, sent to earth 2000 years ago, was Who He said He was.
by Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
Web Site: www.combatfaith.com
Blog Spot: www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Psalm 19 (NIV) 1: The heavens declare the glory of God
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
7: The law of the Lord is perfect
reviving the soul
8: The commands of the Lord are radiant
giving light to the eyes
Colossians 1 12: ...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you
to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
What is your inheritance? One naturally thinks first about worldly goods. When family members die, wills grant inheritance to the beneficiaries, money, land, homes, possessions. These are material blessings. More important are the supernatural blessings, those of the soul and spirit. What is bequeathed falls into two categories, what in military terms is strategic and tactical.
Strategic inheritance is from God, the Creator of all. We inherit, enjoy, and occupy a universe, mysterious, far-flung, and mostly unfathomable, understood only through the lenses of powerful telescopes, satellite pictures and moon missions. Closer to home is the inheritance we have for our very daily existence, this planet on which we subsist due to its abundant provision. This entire universe, but, especially our own abode, earth, is a part of the strategic inheritance of our God in Heaven Who created it all in its magnificent glory, provision, and richness.
In the fields of earthly warfare, the generals, admirals, and politicians dictate and determine the course of the strategy against the enemy. The junior officers and senior non-commissioned officers carry it out area by area, sector by sector, geographic locale by geographic locale, village by village to prevail over the enemy.
Forces in nature (the material) are positive or negative as are the forces in our own personal lives. In the supernatural strategic realm our Lord battles His ages long adversary, the devil, Satan, thrown from the higher spiritual reaches due to his original wrongdoing of expression of pride by the overthrowing of God's preeminence and installment of himself in God's position. From wherever they emanate, Satan has his army arrayed in an order of battle against us individually in the tactical arena. His troops are his demonic spirits, ready to pounce on us when the drawbridge in the heart of our personal castles is lowered by unforgiven sin, unforgiveness of others who hurt us, harboring of anger and bitterness, and commission of what we would call the sins of words and deeds.
However, our Lord has bequeathed us an inheritance for our tactical challenges in the personal battlefields of our soul (our mind, emotions, and will). In the New Testament it is all there, all the ways to live in the light, a righteous, holy, and pure life of integrity full of and expressing the fruit of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and faith.
Our supernatural gift is both material in this grand earth on which we live and tactical on which we base our lives. This is our eternal inheritance. We can recognize it, receive it, and live our earthly lives in enjoyment of it so that upon our deaths we can reap the ultimate inheritance of living with God in Heaven, by, on earth, believing that God's Son, Jesus, sent to earth 2000 years ago, was Who He said He was.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #25: "Lest We Forget"
Avalon Chronicles #25 "Lest We Forget"
by Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
Website: www.combatfaith.com Blog site: www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Great Britai never forgets! The original purpose for our unforgettable visit to England in November 2013 was to participate in the Nov. 10, 2013 ceremonies in Norwich, England for Remembrance Day, Britain's national day when war deaths of their military and civilians are memorialized in country-wide events recalling the sacrifice especially of their military on far-flung foreign fields under fire.
We were invited to be the guests of retired Air Force Colonel Chuck Walker and his wife wife Dede (Casad), our Dallas friends. Col. Walker was born at the end of WWI and he has been blessed with a long life. As mentioned previously he had been the commander of the Association of the 2nd Air Division of the 8th Air Force which flew bombing missions over Nazi Germany during WWII. Norwich is ringed by fourteen airfields from which those missions were flown. Col. Walker personally flew thirty five of those missions in his B-24 "Liberator" bomber. An incredible percentage of those bombers did not return after each sortie over Germany. He had been invited for several years to represent the Americans who served at those bases. With the utmost gratitude for the service and sacrifice of our Americans in protecting the freedom of the English during the war, Norwich under the leadership of a group of dedicated Englishmen has established a Trust that oversees in their city's Millenium Library a Memorial Library in honor of the 2nd Air Division.
On Nov. 9th Andrew Hawker, the Vice Chairman of the Memorial Trust, toured us to Norwich places of worship. We were shown and held in our respectful arms the poppy wreath that Col. Walker would lay the next day at the city memorial in memory of the 6,881 Americans who flew from the Norwich bases and did not return. In addition 2,000 Americans became German Prisoners of War when their planes were shot down. When they did not return, their belongings in the quarters were immediately removed so as not to affect the morale of their fellow Army Air Corps members. There were 40-50 bombers with a crew of 10 each and 3000-4000 Americans at each base.
On the evening of Nov. 9th we watched on television a magnificently touching national Remembrance Day ceremony, attended by Queen Elizabeth, in Prince Albert Hall in London. The morning of Nov. 10th dawned cool and crisp covered by a cloudy sky. On the way to the ceremony at the square in front of City Hall I happened by a group of young soldiers forming for the parade. Never one to miss an opportunity to introduce myself to strangers, I approached the leader and proudly introduced myself as an American soldier who was in Vietnam. The leader proceeded to gather his people around me and I vigorously proclaimed, "I am an American soldier and (recalling Britain's contributions as our ally in Iraq and Afghanistan) I thank you for being such loyal allies of the U.S. in the cause of freedom and peace," and then remembering that they had fought us 200 years previously in the War of 1812, I added, "except in the War of 1812." As we walked away, my host Tony Harmer, commented that the young soldiers probably did not even know what was the War of 1812!
We viewed the parade and wreath-laying by many to include Col. Walker from the balcony of City Hall. The ceremony theme was "We will remember them." This they were doing again one year prior to the centennnial of the commencement in 1914 of the Great War (WWI). The solemn ceremony was most touching, preceded by a procession of military and veterans through a square and street lined with many citizens, young and old. Significantly, in contrast to the typically secularized ceremonies in the United States this ceremony included unabashedly Christian spiritual aspects. At exactly 11 AM after what was called the Last Post, there was a two minute period of total silence presided over by the Union Jack flag atop City Hall. Many poppy wreaths were laid, but we watched with especial interest and pride as Colonel Walker paced forward to lay his.
The somber silence of the just ended observance in front of the Memorial, inscribed simply "Our Glorious Dead," was suddenly broken by the bark of a dog. Pigeons flew over the square reflecting in their flight the symbolism of energy again to the quietude of the setting. The smell of bread baking wafted throught he air, indicative of the aliveness of the Norwich community only decades before decimated by German bombing raids wreaking their death and destruction upon the Norwich citizenry. Afterwards we attended a very poignant and touching religious service in the Norwich Cathedral.
A closing to Great Britain's Remembrance Day as well as our own annual Memorial Day is capsulized in these words:
When you go home
Tell them of us and say
For your tomorrow
We gave our today
WE MUST NEVER FORGET!
by Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
Website: www.combatfaith.com Blog site: www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
Great Britai never forgets! The original purpose for our unforgettable visit to England in November 2013 was to participate in the Nov. 10, 2013 ceremonies in Norwich, England for Remembrance Day, Britain's national day when war deaths of their military and civilians are memorialized in country-wide events recalling the sacrifice especially of their military on far-flung foreign fields under fire.
We were invited to be the guests of retired Air Force Colonel Chuck Walker and his wife wife Dede (Casad), our Dallas friends. Col. Walker was born at the end of WWI and he has been blessed with a long life. As mentioned previously he had been the commander of the Association of the 2nd Air Division of the 8th Air Force which flew bombing missions over Nazi Germany during WWII. Norwich is ringed by fourteen airfields from which those missions were flown. Col. Walker personally flew thirty five of those missions in his B-24 "Liberator" bomber. An incredible percentage of those bombers did not return after each sortie over Germany. He had been invited for several years to represent the Americans who served at those bases. With the utmost gratitude for the service and sacrifice of our Americans in protecting the freedom of the English during the war, Norwich under the leadership of a group of dedicated Englishmen has established a Trust that oversees in their city's Millenium Library a Memorial Library in honor of the 2nd Air Division.
On Nov. 9th Andrew Hawker, the Vice Chairman of the Memorial Trust, toured us to Norwich places of worship. We were shown and held in our respectful arms the poppy wreath that Col. Walker would lay the next day at the city memorial in memory of the 6,881 Americans who flew from the Norwich bases and did not return. In addition 2,000 Americans became German Prisoners of War when their planes were shot down. When they did not return, their belongings in the quarters were immediately removed so as not to affect the morale of their fellow Army Air Corps members. There were 40-50 bombers with a crew of 10 each and 3000-4000 Americans at each base.
On the evening of Nov. 9th we watched on television a magnificently touching national Remembrance Day ceremony, attended by Queen Elizabeth, in Prince Albert Hall in London. The morning of Nov. 10th dawned cool and crisp covered by a cloudy sky. On the way to the ceremony at the square in front of City Hall I happened by a group of young soldiers forming for the parade. Never one to miss an opportunity to introduce myself to strangers, I approached the leader and proudly introduced myself as an American soldier who was in Vietnam. The leader proceeded to gather his people around me and I vigorously proclaimed, "I am an American soldier and (recalling Britain's contributions as our ally in Iraq and Afghanistan) I thank you for being such loyal allies of the U.S. in the cause of freedom and peace," and then remembering that they had fought us 200 years previously in the War of 1812, I added, "except in the War of 1812." As we walked away, my host Tony Harmer, commented that the young soldiers probably did not even know what was the War of 1812!
We viewed the parade and wreath-laying by many to include Col. Walker from the balcony of City Hall. The ceremony theme was "We will remember them." This they were doing again one year prior to the centennnial of the commencement in 1914 of the Great War (WWI). The solemn ceremony was most touching, preceded by a procession of military and veterans through a square and street lined with many citizens, young and old. Significantly, in contrast to the typically secularized ceremonies in the United States this ceremony included unabashedly Christian spiritual aspects. At exactly 11 AM after what was called the Last Post, there was a two minute period of total silence presided over by the Union Jack flag atop City Hall. Many poppy wreaths were laid, but we watched with especial interest and pride as Colonel Walker paced forward to lay his.
The somber silence of the just ended observance in front of the Memorial, inscribed simply "Our Glorious Dead," was suddenly broken by the bark of a dog. Pigeons flew over the square reflecting in their flight the symbolism of energy again to the quietude of the setting. The smell of bread baking wafted throught he air, indicative of the aliveness of the Norwich community only decades before decimated by German bombing raids wreaking their death and destruction upon the Norwich citizenry. Afterwards we attended a very poignant and touching religious service in the Norwich Cathedral.
A closing to Great Britain's Remembrance Day as well as our own annual Memorial Day is capsulized in these words:
When you go home
Tell them of us and say
For your tomorrow
We gave our today
WE MUST NEVER FORGET!
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Avalon Chronicles #24-"England From the Romans to the Magna Carta"
Avalon Chronicles #24: "England From the Romans to the Magna Carta"
by Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
Website: www.combatfaith.com
Blog: www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
We recognized in England its incredible contribution to the history of Christianity and the roots of spiritual faith in the founding of our own country. The Christian Travelers Guide to Great Britain points out, "To forget our history is the first step to the abandonment of our faith, the triumph of secularism, the ascendancy of New Age spirituality and the rebirth of paganism."
In 410 AD the Romans departed England for the defense of Rome itself. The Saxon invasions began and the Saxons controlled most of Britain except for a few parts of Wales and Cumbria until the Normans came in 1066 from, where else, Normandy, the site of of the Allied invasion on June 6, 1944 of Fortress Europe held by the Germans. During the sixth century several Saxon kingdoms were prevalent, but Christianity through the upholding and preservation of the Scarlet Thread (knitting together the garment of salvation) maintained its solid influence and most Saxons eventually were converted to Christianity. In 793 the Saxons were invaded by pagan Viking raiders and this began almost 300 years of constant conflict and destructive raids. When the Danish attacked in East Anglia in 865, a Christian king, Alfred the Great, fought them fiercely. In 973 Edgar was crowned the first king of England in a ceremony in Bath.
In 1066 William, the Duke of Normandy, attacked Saxon England, initiating a deliberate policy of destroying Saxon culture by destroying churches and sacred shrines. Christian clergy were replaced by Normans. Eventually the basic English culture prevailed and the Normans were assimilated. In Scotland in the late 11th century the Scottish church came in to the Roman Catholic fold ending a long-time influence of Celtic Christianity.
England became a discovery, unknown to me previously, that the history of Great Britain was one of constant conflict between Celts, Druids, Romans, Saxons, Danes, Vikings, Normans, Welsh, French, and Scots. The ground of Great Britain has absorbed lakes of human blood. Much blood flowed due to religious strife and that condition was to be prevalent for several more centuries. It was not just pagans versus Christians, but unfortunately warring Roman Catholics and Protestants.
This beautiful planet of ours, created by our God, has been continuously scarred by the slashes of swords wielded by humans killing other humans. It began with Cain and Abel and has continued through the millenia even until the present day. The strife of the sword will continue until the Lord's second coming. What we must understand is the true enemy of humankind is not philosophy or religion or economics or national pride or boundaries, but God's adversary, the devil, Satan, thrown from the heavens in ages long past. That enemy directs himself through the captains and the kings of the earth. Only our King will be the final victor of all the ongoing tumults, tribulations, and turbulences. For, as the hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," proclaims, For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe, ...The body they may kill: (but) God's truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever,...a bulwark never failing."
by Allen Clark allenbclark@aol.com
Website: www.combatfaith.com
Blog: www.combatfaith.blogspot.com
We recognized in England its incredible contribution to the history of Christianity and the roots of spiritual faith in the founding of our own country. The Christian Travelers Guide to Great Britain points out, "To forget our history is the first step to the abandonment of our faith, the triumph of secularism, the ascendancy of New Age spirituality and the rebirth of paganism."
In 410 AD the Romans departed England for the defense of Rome itself. The Saxon invasions began and the Saxons controlled most of Britain except for a few parts of Wales and Cumbria until the Normans came in 1066 from, where else, Normandy, the site of of the Allied invasion on June 6, 1944 of Fortress Europe held by the Germans. During the sixth century several Saxon kingdoms were prevalent, but Christianity through the upholding and preservation of the Scarlet Thread (knitting together the garment of salvation) maintained its solid influence and most Saxons eventually were converted to Christianity. In 793 the Saxons were invaded by pagan Viking raiders and this began almost 300 years of constant conflict and destructive raids. When the Danish attacked in East Anglia in 865, a Christian king, Alfred the Great, fought them fiercely. In 973 Edgar was crowned the first king of England in a ceremony in Bath.
In 1066 William, the Duke of Normandy, attacked Saxon England, initiating a deliberate policy of destroying Saxon culture by destroying churches and sacred shrines. Christian clergy were replaced by Normans. Eventually the basic English culture prevailed and the Normans were assimilated. In Scotland in the late 11th century the Scottish church came in to the Roman Catholic fold ending a long-time influence of Celtic Christianity.
England became a discovery, unknown to me previously, that the history of Great Britain was one of constant conflict between Celts, Druids, Romans, Saxons, Danes, Vikings, Normans, Welsh, French, and Scots. The ground of Great Britain has absorbed lakes of human blood. Much blood flowed due to religious strife and that condition was to be prevalent for several more centuries. It was not just pagans versus Christians, but unfortunately warring Roman Catholics and Protestants.
This beautiful planet of ours, created by our God, has been continuously scarred by the slashes of swords wielded by humans killing other humans. It began with Cain and Abel and has continued through the millenia even until the present day. The strife of the sword will continue until the Lord's second coming. What we must understand is the true enemy of humankind is not philosophy or religion or economics or national pride or boundaries, but God's adversary, the devil, Satan, thrown from the heavens in ages long past. That enemy directs himself through the captains and the kings of the earth. Only our King will be the final victor of all the ongoing tumults, tribulations, and turbulences. For, as the hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," proclaims, For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe, ...The body they may kill: (but) God's truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever,...a bulwark never failing."
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