PDA

View Full Version : A heavenly ‘nudge’ leads to life choices



thedrifter
12-06-05, 12:49 PM
December 12, 2005
A heavenly ‘nudge’ leads to life choices
By Barry R. Fetzer

There’s a lot of mystery in life, and I often ponder why things happen the way they do.

Do occurrences happen by chance or is a heavenly “nudge” of some sort offered? I certainly don’t have the answers, but I know what I believe. And I have to believe in the heavenly nudge theory, at least in the case of the “Black Knights” of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 264.

The Black Knights served in Beirut, Lebanon, during what some consider the beginning of America’s war on terrorism.

It was during this deployment that terrorists bombed the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in 1983, nearly destroying the building and killing 241 American service members — mostly Marines — as well as Lebanese citizens.

The Black Knights, serving aboard the amphibious assault ship Guam, were ordered to help maintain a tenuous peace between Israelis, Syrians and Muslim rebel forces during Lebanon’s decades-long civil war.

With just over 50 officers and around 400 enlisted Marines and sailors, including me, it was a big composite aviation combat element. It was armed and ready to accomplish any mission.

Typical of any large military outfit, we formed a mosaic of Marines coming from all corners of America, though we had jelled as a team. We trained hard for our mission for months. And we were proud and happy to be at the “pointy end of the spear.”

Looking at a cruise book from that deployment the other day, I was transported more than 20 years into the past when just about all of us — regardless of our background — had a bit of a swagger in our walk and more than a dash of pepper in our talk.

We were all rough-and-tumble Marines and knew — or so we thought — exactly what we wanted.

Like most leatherneck units, HMM-264 accomplished its mission and happily returned to North Carolina to a hero’s welcome.

Also typical was the unmerciful decimation of our unit by higher headquarters. From the top down, members were transferred and assigned to sister units or to staff or school assignments, which often left a tattered remnant of the original squadron.

It’s not unusual for some outfits to have less than 10 percent of their original manpower left when higher headquarters is done with them.

But, if you believe what I believe, a heavenly “nudge” made the Black Knights a little different from most returning outfits.

Out of only 50-some officers in the Black Knights, at least three got the Lord’s calling to become preachers.

Capts. Rick Hamme, Martin Earl and Bryan Crittendon left Marine Corps service after our return from Beirut, eventually becoming ordained ministers.

Hamme and Crittendon, CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter pilots, became chaplains. I’ve lost track of Hamme, but Crittendon got the calling as a Baptist minister. He is the chaplain with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, at Camp Lejeune, N.C., which is in Iraq.

Earl, a CH-53 pilot, transferred to the Navy and eventually retired. He then attended seminary along with his wife. Today, he’s a Methodist circuit preacher riding a motorcycle to three churches every Sunday in the South Dakota countryside.

Maybe there was something in the water aboard the Guam or in the food we ate ashore in Beirut. Possibly it was the extraordinary bonding experience we had in that squadron that year, or the fear of God many of us felt during some of our flying experiences at sea.

Either way, they did what they did. And as we celebrate the birthday of the Navy Chaplain Corps — which turned 230 on Nov. 28 — I’m reminded of these men and the choices they made.

What do I think really happened? I think that in 1983, in a typical Marine outfit just back from deployment, God’s assignment policy trumped higher headquarters’ and nudged a group of rough-and-tumble Marines over to God’s side of the playing field.

To the benefit of us all.

The writer is a retired Marine living in eastern North Carolina.

Ellie