thedrifter
05-31-09, 09:11 AM
Armed Forces Day evokes combat memories
By Rick Cousins
Contributor
Published May 16, 2009
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series. Our Faith: Faith under Fire continues next Saturday for Memorial Day weekend.
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Consider first the elegant, embellished, illuminated and extended medieval prayers that were hand drawn in prayer books and also chanted by robed monks late into the night for centuries. Then consider the terse, urgent, two-word prayer recalled by local veterans on this Armed Forces Day: “Oh, God!”
Given the exigencies of the battlefield, how does prayer change?
“Let me say that being shot at causes you to do some obvious things in response,” said Ted Duck, a retired U.S. Army colonel and current Baptist pastor. Duck, who lives in Dickinson, commanded helicopters in Vietnam.
“Green tracer rounds directed at your aircraft have the tendency to cause you to react instantly,” he said.
“As your adrenaline elevates, you do what you have been trained to do — return fire and destroy the enemy. Somewhere in the midst of a firefight, there is prayer. ‘Oh, God’ is one of the more common prayers.”
The fact that fervency generally outranks elegance probably comes as no surprise to any soldier.
From the strains of the popular 1942 ballad “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” to today’s e-mailed prayers from Iraq, warriors still are seeking solace and support.
“Routinely, that prayer is heard from the pilot of an aircraft initially coming under fire and quite frequently from foxholes,” Duck said.
“It’s not surprising how fear, threats and the possibility of dying cause one to utter the name of God and to pray.”
Duck cited the ubiquitous Gideon pocket New Testament as the serviceman’s friend, recalling how fellow soldiers would turn, especially to the 23rd Psalm, in times of need.
The Rev. Bob Flick, rector of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Texas City and the son of a decorated World War II veteran, has felt the impact of war on families — his own and those of his congregation.
“Each and every person in military service lives day-to-day in the face of many more questions than could ever be articulated here,” he said.
“I pray that as they continue in their service the questions can lead them to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with their God through long and difficult days to a time of real and personal peace.”
Navy chaplain David Dinkins, pastor of Highlands Baptist Church in La Marque, recalled a prayer during combat in Iraq in 2004.
“On Nov. 7, that year, assembled outside the city limits of Fallujah, I led the men of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd U.S. Marines in a worship service,” he said.
“Traditionally, Navy chaplains lead marines and corpsmen in a communion service just before crossing the line of departure.”
Dinkins then stopped to write this prayer in the margins of his Bible:
“Heavenly Father, on this day of battle, we commit our bodies and souls to your keeping. When we are in peril of life, give us courage to do our duty. When we are tempted to sin, give us strength to resist. If we are wounded, grant us healing. If we fall, of your mercy, receive us to yourself, forgiving us all our sins. Bless all who are near and dear to us and keep them in your fatherly care. And in your good providence, out of this evil bring a lasting peace.”
Though many will never experience the horrors of armed conflict, there is still a lesson for all this day, Duck said.
“I’ve learned a very valuable lesson from combat on the battlefield as well as combat in life,” he said, paraphrasing a verse from the New Testament book of Philippians.
“Don’t wait until the shooting starts, but ‘be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.’”
Ellie
By Rick Cousins
Contributor
Published May 16, 2009
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a two-part series. Our Faith: Faith under Fire continues next Saturday for Memorial Day weekend.
+++
Consider first the elegant, embellished, illuminated and extended medieval prayers that were hand drawn in prayer books and also chanted by robed monks late into the night for centuries. Then consider the terse, urgent, two-word prayer recalled by local veterans on this Armed Forces Day: “Oh, God!”
Given the exigencies of the battlefield, how does prayer change?
“Let me say that being shot at causes you to do some obvious things in response,” said Ted Duck, a retired U.S. Army colonel and current Baptist pastor. Duck, who lives in Dickinson, commanded helicopters in Vietnam.
“Green tracer rounds directed at your aircraft have the tendency to cause you to react instantly,” he said.
“As your adrenaline elevates, you do what you have been trained to do — return fire and destroy the enemy. Somewhere in the midst of a firefight, there is prayer. ‘Oh, God’ is one of the more common prayers.”
The fact that fervency generally outranks elegance probably comes as no surprise to any soldier.
From the strains of the popular 1942 ballad “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” to today’s e-mailed prayers from Iraq, warriors still are seeking solace and support.
“Routinely, that prayer is heard from the pilot of an aircraft initially coming under fire and quite frequently from foxholes,” Duck said.
“It’s not surprising how fear, threats and the possibility of dying cause one to utter the name of God and to pray.”
Duck cited the ubiquitous Gideon pocket New Testament as the serviceman’s friend, recalling how fellow soldiers would turn, especially to the 23rd Psalm, in times of need.
The Rev. Bob Flick, rector of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Texas City and the son of a decorated World War II veteran, has felt the impact of war on families — his own and those of his congregation.
“Each and every person in military service lives day-to-day in the face of many more questions than could ever be articulated here,” he said.
“I pray that as they continue in their service the questions can lead them to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with their God through long and difficult days to a time of real and personal peace.”
Navy chaplain David Dinkins, pastor of Highlands Baptist Church in La Marque, recalled a prayer during combat in Iraq in 2004.
“On Nov. 7, that year, assembled outside the city limits of Fallujah, I led the men of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd U.S. Marines in a worship service,” he said.
“Traditionally, Navy chaplains lead marines and corpsmen in a communion service just before crossing the line of departure.”
Dinkins then stopped to write this prayer in the margins of his Bible:
“Heavenly Father, on this day of battle, we commit our bodies and souls to your keeping. When we are in peril of life, give us courage to do our duty. When we are tempted to sin, give us strength to resist. If we are wounded, grant us healing. If we fall, of your mercy, receive us to yourself, forgiving us all our sins. Bless all who are near and dear to us and keep them in your fatherly care. And in your good providence, out of this evil bring a lasting peace.”
Though many will never experience the horrors of armed conflict, there is still a lesson for all this day, Duck said.
“I’ve learned a very valuable lesson from combat on the battlefield as well as combat in life,” he said, paraphrasing a verse from the New Testament book of Philippians.
“Don’t wait until the shooting starts, but ‘be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.’”
Ellie