Crosspointer and veteran, Dick Edwards, wrote the following encouragement.

I can recall some times when I wondered if God was with me after all that I was going through.  I can remember especially a time when God was with me in Viet Nam that I’d like to share with you.

Viet Nam, February 1969.  We were told that evening;  that tomorrow we would be air lifted for a major battle with the North Vietnamese Army near My Lai, South Viet Nam.  Things didn’t go well from that moment on.  At chow, that evening, a large 2 bladed  Schnook helicopter, was hovering over a stack 4X8x1” thick plywood and it was blowing it around like a deck of cards.  Anyway, one of those boards hit me square on my helmet, but it didn’t break my neck. 

The next morning when we were taking off, I was the last one on the chopper.  We airlifted and banked very rapidly and I started to slide out, but a fellow soldier grabbed my straps on my backpack and pulled me back in.  When we reached the landing zone, choppers were already dropping from enemy gun fire.   As we hovered, we jumped from the aircraft and headed for cover while the bullets were ripping at our feet.  I hid in the high foliage alone and scared.  At that moment, I began to pray to Jesus, and saying Lord, If this is to be the end of my time on earth, please take me into heaven to be with you, but if you have plans to save my life then I ask for your protection through this battle that is upon us. 

A little later, I heard familiar voices so we joined together with our 32 men.  A normal company is about 120 so we were short-handed going in.  The captain called in artillery to saturate the area around us;  at least long enough so we could dig some shallow fox holes out in the middle of a dried rice patty.  As evening came over us, the enemy attacked us on all four sides with every thing they had.  I was carrying a machine gun so I made a pretty good target. 

At one point a grenade landed right by me so I threw it back.  Then, here came another grenade and I quickly brushed it away, but it exploded right by my buddy and it blew off his ear.  Our bayonets were fixed for hand to hand combat, but we didn’t have to go that far.  The air and artillery support was fantastic so the enemy withdrew, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.   But I give all of the glory and praise to God’s angels for protecting us that night.  Somehow, 18 of us made it out alive. 

He’s using me today in ways that I never dreamed possible with prison ministries, and nursing home music ministries. So never give up on God because He will never give up on you.  God bless the soldiers and may God bless America.