Feb. 1, 2007

Dear Jon, Ben and Rick*,
The other day I was thinking of you three and the prospect that one or more of you may soon be going into unfriendly territory. There is something I want to share with you. It is from a long time ago, which is what old guys like me are likely to talk about, I'm afraid.

You may be wondering what could have happened to me in 1945 in World War II that would have any application to your present situation. Well, while tactics and weapons have changed a lot, some things haven't. In the final analysis, the mission of an army at war is the same: eliminating the enemy. And the foot soldier is the one asked to do it. Our enemies then were Nazi Germans, and now yours are religious terrorists. But the need to kill the enemy hasn't changed.

I assume your training taught you how to kill, and that it included stuff that was designed to get you to really hate the enemy. We certainly had that.

It only took six months—October to March—for me to move from being a civilian going to church every week, to being in combat conditions where both sides were searching for more effective ways to destroy each other. While I learned what I needed to, I was confused by the dramatic shift from "Love thy neighbor" and "Thou shalt not kill" to immersing myself in the mindset necessary for a military victory. I struggled to be both a good soldier and a good Christian.

When Killing Is Murder
How to kill and still keep the biblical commandments was a problem for me. No one in the military, or at home, had ever brought up this dilemma. And there was no one in our unit to turn to for advice. I was the newest replacement, 18 with a 14-year-old's face. I was known only as "Kid." We were a platoon of armored recon vehicles leading the invasion of inner Germany, and so we were focused people. We didn't talk about moral dilemmas.

As I pondered the problem, I came to a conclusion that worked for me. My studies showed me that the word "kill" in the sixth commandment (Ex. 20:13), as written in the King James Version of the Bible, is not the most accurate translation of the original Hebrew word. It really means "murder," not kill. What's the difference? A big one involving intent.

Murder is a premeditated act of taking a life, and one that's often inspired by hatred. A person acting in a "just cause" and on an authorized and impersonal basis isn't committing a murder, though he is killing. A cop killing an armed bank robber in the line of duty is not a murderer. Therefore, if you kill a terrorist in the midst of heated combat, it is not murder. But if you get ticked off about losing a buddy a few minutes before and, in your bitter rage, take out a couple Iraqi civilians, you are a murderer and will face criminal charges as well. When it is in the line of duty and lawful, you are obliged to do your job. However, you should never be happy about the necessity of taking a human life.

Resisting Hate
It became important to me that I not hate the enemy, even as I was trying to kill him. I know. That sounds stupid, right? But I needed to remain dispassionate and cool, not upset and bitter. How did it work out in combat? Pretty well, but in two cases I almost blew it.

In one episode, an old civilian was spouting Nazi garbage at me. I wanted to shoot him, but he was unarmed and a civilian, so I didn't. The other time a sniper got in three very close shots at me in a village we were taking, and I lost it and wanted to do anything to get the guy. I proposed exposing myself to draw his fire again while my buddies went for him. But older, wiser heads prevailed, saying "Settle down, Kid. We'll get him." And they did a little later. My anger and immaturity almost got me killed.

	"I tried to finish each day with a prayer for anyone I wounded or killed. I don't know if it helped them, but it helped me."

Can you shoot at the enemy without having a craw full of hate? Sure you can.

At first you are fighting fear, so hate isn't a big deal. But as combat goes on, the fear level becomes manageable and you reach a point where you're just doing the job you're charged to do. You're shooting at a target, not a person. That is how a soldier in combat must see it. Staying calm and not letting hate get involved makes you a better soldier, and it keeps you from becoming a murderer.

Sometimes combat becomes so routine that killing can seem casual or even sort of funny, in a twisted way. You all remember that I was severely wounded in combat, right? Well, just an hour before I was hit, a few of us from my platoon were stationed in the loft of a barn, looking out over a field we were preparing to secure. There were four or five of us, and one guy had just spotted a German crawling in a distant ditch and wanted to take him out. But it would be a very long, challenging shot. He took a couple shots, paused a minute, then said, "Oh, [shoot]! He's moving again. I didn't get him." Another soldier wanted a turn. He took several shots, as we all did in rotation until the German lay dead. It was a kind of casual contest for us, but now I realize we were not as respectful of a human life as we should have been.

My Friend the Enemy
It is distressing for me to realize that Christ died for the terrorists, too. As violent and anti-Christian as they are, Jesus died for even them. So how do we balance that awareness with the job of killing them? I don't have a well-developed answer for that one. I never got to the point that I'd aim at a German and hope to hit him while praying for his soul at the same time. But I was able to avoid hating the Nazis while I fought, and I thought that this was important for me as I tried to balance my faith with my combat duties.

One day we captured a couple Germans, and one was so young he looked a lot like me. He still had his wristwatch on, which meant he hadn't been searched. (We always "liberated" watches from the captured Germans.) So I patted him down and was amazed at what I found in his various pockets. There was a Bible, a Gospel of John, and a New Testament! If things had been different, this kid and I might have been in the same church somewhere. But there we were, trying to kill each other. I know—you aren't likely to find this happening in Iraq. But my point is that every life has value, and we shouldn't take for granted that every person was created in God's image—even our enemies. When you go through the pockets of someone you shoot and find the pictures of his family, it makes you think about more than just putting another notch on your belt.

At the beginning of every day in combat, I prayed for safety, of course. But I also tried to finish each day with a prayer for anybody I may have wounded or killed. I don't know if it ever helped them, but it helped me.

Defying Orders
For a long time, I was proud that I never failed to follow an order. But one night my convictions were put to the test. We were trying to recapture a village the Germans had taken back from us that day. It was dark when the fight got the hottest, and the Lieutenant said to a group of us, "If it gets any hotter, we are gonna have to high-tail it outta here. If we do, shoot the prisoners." We had three prisoners, as I recall.

I could hardly believe my ears. Yet I knew that orders like this were not uncommon. Just the week before, the word was that our guys had shot some German kids down from telephone poles where they were cutting wires. Although I'd heard of earlier times when neither side had taken prisoners, the prospect of ending our prisoners' lives because they would hinder our escape seemed wrong.

I knew it was important to obey an officer's orders, but I decided not to do it if it came to that, because it was an illegal order. He never could have brought me up on charges for disobeying, though my reputation in the platoon would've suffered. Fortunately, we got the upper hand and it was never necessary to defy the order.

My point is, following orders is the right thing to do, but only if they are legal orders. Our moral standards will at times be in conflict with our orders. May God help you to stand by your convictions during those times.

Blessed Assurance
That's it, guys. Keep cool, avoid hating as you perform, follow only lawful orders, and pray a lot. Try to balance your duty with the awareness that even terrorists have value in God's eyes.

I'll end with one more recollection and observation. Service days are perhaps the toughest time in life to walk the walk of faith as a Christian. The environment just doesn't give you many brownie points for acting anything like Jesus. But this is where the assurance of having a vital faith is really needed.

Like most of the GI's, I had the wish that if I got hit it would be in an arm or leg, not the chest or stomach. No one had body armor in those ancient times. When it happened, I knew immediately that I had a chest wound because the blood was bubbling out of a hole in my back. In addition, my legs wouldn't move when I tried to crawl over to my squad leader who lay near me. I was certain that I was dying, and I was scared stiff! At the same time, I felt a quiet assurance that I knew where I was going. I was secure in my faith in Jesus. It helped to have that final uncertainty taken care of. This same faith sustained me through a year of healing and learning to walk again after the quadriplegia passed. And it still comforts and assures me today, 62 years later.

Your experiences will be a whole lot different than mine, but I pray you will have the same confidence that comes from being one of Christ's own, whatever comes your way.

Love, "Great Uncle Bob"

*The events described in this letter are true, but the names have been changed to protect this family's privacy.

	What did you think of this story?
	Please to give us your feedback.

Read more from 'Build Your Faith'

Home  |  People of Faith  |  Stories of Hope  |  Today's Culture
Build Your Faith  |  Laughing Matters  |  Archives  |  Contact Us

				Try Today's Christian Woman Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. If you decide you want to keep Today's Christian Woman coming, honor your invoice for just $17.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Today's Christian Woman as a gift Order a gift subscription!

FREE Newsletter Subscribe to the Today's Christian Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help